The decision: It’s Julia Gillard as Prime Minister

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PRIME Minister Julia Gillard says Labor is prepared to deliver stable and effective government for the next three years after winning the support of two key rural independents.

“Labor is prepared to govern,” she said.

“Labor is prepared to deliver stable, effective and secure government for the next three years.”

Earlier, rural independents Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor said they’d back Labor, giving Ms Gillard the 76 votes required to form a minority government.

Ms Gillard said the Australian people had told the government it would be held more accountable than ever before and more than any government in modern memory.

“Ours will be a government with just one purpose, and that’s to serve the Australian people,” she said.

“We will be held to higher standards of transparency and reform and it’s in that spirit I approach the task of forming a government.”

Ms Gillard said the political deadlock had resulted in more openness, transparency and reform in how the parliament was conducted than any other time in modern Australian politics.

The political players had been open with the Australian people throughout the process.

“To quote Rob Oakeshott, sunshine is the best disinfectant,” Ms Gillard said.

“We’ve agreed to far-reaching reforms that make me as prime minister and our government and how it functions more accountable to the Australian people.

“So let’s draw back the curtains and let the sun shine in, let our parliament be more open than it was before.”

Labor would govern in the best interests of the Australian people, Ms Gillard said.

“I know that if we fail in this solemn responsibility, we will be judged harshly when we next face the Australian people at the next election,” she said.

“Being held to that test is just the way I want it.”

The government would be true to its beliefs and pragmatic on policy, Ms Gillard said.

She also reached out to Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and Nationals leader Warren Truss, saying that the closeness of the election result showed voters wanted them to find more common ground in the national interest.

“I pledge my best efforts as prime minister to work constructively with you and your colleagues to find common ground where we can,” she said.

Ms Gillard said she would meet Governor-General Quentin Bryce later today and present her with the documents to prove she had the 76 seats required to form government.

“I will then move through to create the new government.”

Ms Gillard said she had offered a regional affairs ministry to Mr Oakeshott, who is considering his options.

“I’ve certainly spoken to Mr Oakeshott and whether he would be interested in serving in an executive capacity, he’s considering that,” she said.

“Obviously, that’s an unusual arrangement, he’s also a man with a very young family and a new baby on the way.

“I’ve said to him that if he wanted to serve to help drive these reforms for regional Australia that I would be open to that discussion.”

As part of the agreement with the independents, Ms Gillard has promised to give regional Australia “its fair share”.

“The next round of health and hospitals funding will be focused and dedicated to regional Australia,” she said.

“So will the next round of funding from the education investment fund.”

The government will ensure its national broadband network will have uniform wholesale prices across the country, while regional Australia also will be given priority as the network rolls out.

Labor will dedicate $800 million to a priority regional infrastructure program, while $573 million of the regional infrastructure fund will be spent with the guidance of regional development officers.

Ms Gillard said those commitments came on top of Labor’s general commitment to the $6 billion regional infrastructure fund and the telly-health and building better cities programs outlined during the election campaign.

“In total this means, for regional Australia, they can look forward to benefits in the order of $9.9 billion,” she said.

“But that’s a fair share, it’s been worked through with Mr Oakeshott and Mr Windsor and I thank them for working through that with me and (Treasurer) Wayne Swan.”

Ms Gillard said Mr Abbott had phoned to wish her well.

“I thank him for the simple courtesy and decency that making such a call shows,” she said.

“It can’t have been easy for him and I genuinely thank him for that.”

Ms Gillard said her aim was to forge a government that delivered for regional Australia, “recognising that in our nation one size does not fit all”.

Ms Gillard said Mr Oakeshott was the only crossbencher to be offered an executive position.

She said the MP had the interests of the regions at heart, and could serve them from the crossbenches.

“Another way of doing it of course is to determine that you will at least for some purposes serve in executive government,” she said.

“That’s an offer that is there, it’s there for Mr Oakeshott to consider.”

Ms Gillard said $2 billion of the $6 billion in revenue coming from Labor’s proposed minerals resource rent tax would flow to Western Australia.

About half a billion dollars would be specifically allocated with the advice and assistance of regional development authorities.

The revenue from the mining tax was brought into question, with a report revealing a multibillion dollar shortfall.

Mr Swan said the regional infrastructure fund was in place earlier this year before any of the political events unfolded.

He said it was part of the response to mining boom “mark two”.

“And the regional infrastructure fund is a very, very important part of all of that.”

Ms Gillard was asked if there would be a gentler, kinder parliament as the independents have demanded.

“I’m not naive about political processes,” she said in response.

“I think Australians want us to have a hard contest when there are real differences.”

But the prime minister said the Australian people had delivered a message about “needless partisanship”.

“(They are) not wanting to see bickering and imaginary contests and I’ve heard that message.”

Ms Gillard said former prime minister Kevin Rudd would be offered a senior portfolio but she declined to say if he would get foreign affairs.

“I gave Kevin Rudd a commitment that he would be a senior member of my ministerial team, a cabinet minister, as he will be,” she said.

When it came to deciding the date of the next election, Ms Gillard said she would work with Mr Oakeshott and Mr Windsor.

“I would be hoping we could make that date transparent well in advance of it coming on,” she said.

Ms Gillard revealed Mr Oakeshott and Mr Windsor had not informed her of their decision.

Instead she had “sat and watched” their news conference along with Mr Swan.

Ms Gillard needs to await advice from leader of government business Anthony Albanese before indicating when parliament will reconvene.

“I’ve asked him as soon as we move out of the period of caretaker, which we will once I’ve seen the governor-general, to get some advice for us about parliamentary dates,” she said.

“My intention would be to have the parliament come together in a reasonable period of time, but I can’t now, without the benefit of that advice, give you a greater specific date.”