Labor didn’t just lose the state election over the weekend – it crushed to just 6 seats in an 89-seat parliament. Here’s why:

Broadband was central to Independent MP Tony Windsor's decision to back Labor, delivering it a 76 - 74 majority in Australia's lower house.

Fellow independent Rob Oakeshott also backed Julia Gillard's party, while a third, Bob Katter, broke for the Liberal-National coalition.

"The issues [sic] that I thought were critical to this, and possibly the most critical, was broadband," Mr Windsor told a press conference in Canberra.

Australia's knife-edge election could hang on horse-trading over Crown fibre - with the giant project looking set to survive either way.

All five swing MPs now being wooed by the major parties - including the three rural-conservatives - support the broadband plan.

The national broadband network (NBN) was one of the few substantive issues of the Australian election.