Tony Windsor
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Antony Harold Curties Windsor, (born 2 September 1950) is a former Australian politician. Windsor was an
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
member for the
New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...
seat of Tamworth from 1991 to 2001 − supporting the incumbent Greiner
Liberal/National Coalition The Liberal–National Coalition, commonly known simply as "the Coalition" or informally as the LNP, is an political alliance, alliance of Centre-right politics, centre-right political parties that forms one of the two major groupings in Politic ...
minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...
at the 1991 election. He subsequently entered federal politics, serving as an
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
member for the
Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members of the ...
seat of
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
from 2001 until retiring in 2013 − supporting the incumbent Gillard
Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...
minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...
at the 2010 election. At the 2016 election, Windsor unsuccessfully attempted to regain the seat of New England against Nationals incumbent
Barnaby Joyce Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce (born 17 April 1967) is an Australian politician who served as the 17th deputy prime minister of Australia under Malcolm Turnbull from 2016 to 2018 and under Scott Morrison from 2021 to 2022. He was the leader of the ...
.


Early life

Tony Windsor was born in
Quirindi Quirindi ( or ) is a small town on the North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, in Liverpool Plains Shire. At the , Quirindi had a population of 3,444. It is the nearest link to Gunnedah to the west and Tamworth to the north. ...
, New South Wales. He was one of three sons raised by their mother after their father was killed in a farm accident when Windsor was eight years old. He was educated at
Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School Farrer may refer to People * Alisha Farrer (born 1943), Australian actress and model * Austin Farrer (1904–1968), English theologian, philosopher, and friend of C. S. Lewis * Buster Farrer (1936-), South African cricketer * Claude Farrer (1862â ...
, Tamworth and the University of New England, where he graduated with a
Bachelor of Economics The Bachelor of Economics (BEc or BEcon), or the "Bachelor of Applied Economics", is a bachelor's degree awarded by many universities and colleges for completion of an undergraduate program in economics, econometrics, or applied economics; the ...
. He was a farmer at
Werris Creek Werris Creek is a small town in New South Wales, Australia, near Tamworth, New South Wales, Tamworth, in Liverpool Plains Shire. It is north of Quirindi, New South Wales, Quirindi and is at the junction of the Main North railway line, New South ...
before entering politics.


New South Wales political career

In the 1991 election, Windsor was first elected to the
New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...
as the Member for Tamworth. Windsor had originally sought National Party preselection for this seat, but allegations in regards to a drink-driving incident arose on the day of his preselection, and the National Party endorsed another candidate. In spite of the allegations, Windsor won as an independent candidate and held the seat for ten years. Windsor was one of the four independents who held the balance of power after Nick Greiner's
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
-National
Coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...
lost 10 seats, resulting in a
hung parliament A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing coalition (also known as an alliance or bloc) has an absolute majority of legisl ...
. His decision to support the incumbent Coalition government ensured a second term in government for Greiner. After an adverse ruling by the Independent Commission Against Corruption against Greiner for offering former minister
Terry Metherell Terry Alan Metherell (born 9 January 1947) is a former Australian politician who represented the Electoral district of Davidson in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1981 to 1992. When the Liberal Party won the 1988 election, Premi ...
a patronage job, the Labor opposition tabled a
motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
in the government. Windsor and the other three independents told Greiner that unless he resigned, they would withdraw their support from the government and support the no-confidence motion. Rather than face certain defeat in the House, Greiner resigned and was succeeded by John Fahey.


Federal political career

Windsor resigned from the state parliament in September 2001 in order to contest the federal seat of New England. In the federal election held later that year, he defeated one-term National incumbent Stuart St. Clair. Windsor took a large lead on the first count, and defeated St. Clair on Labor and other party preferences. Windsor's victory was considered a shock result, since the National Party and its predecessor, the Country Party, had held New England since 1922, usually without serious difficulty. In September 2004, in an interview with Tony Vermeer from ''
The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', kn ...
'', Windsor was the centre of controversy over an alleged breach of the Commonwealth Electoral Act. Windsor claimed that he had been approached, in May 2004, by a figure associated with the National Party with the offer of a diplomatic position in exchange for retiring from politics. Windsor made the allegations during the course of the 2004 federal election campaign, some five months after the incident allegedly occurred. The
Australian Electoral Commission The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent federal agency in charge of organising, conducting and supervising federal Australian elections, by-elections and referendums. Responsibilities The AEC's main responsibility is to ...
referred the matter to the
Australian Federal Police The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the national and principal federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government with the unique role of investigating crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth of Australia. Th ...
(AFP). Windsor was comfortably re-elected in the October 2004 election, increasing his majority to 21 percent. A month later, speaking under
parliamentary privilege Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties. ...
, he said that National Party leader
John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Business *John Anderson (Scottish businessman) (1747–1820), Scottish merchant and founder of Fermoy, Ireland * John Byers Anderson (1817–1897), American educator, military officer and railroad executive, mentor of ...
and Senator Sandy Macdonald had made the offer through an intermediary, Tamworth businessman Greg McGuire. Windsor also claimed that the AFP had referred the matter to the
Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions The Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions or, informally, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) is an independent prosecuting service and government agency within the portfolio of the Attorney-General of A ...
for determination. Anderson, Macdonald, and McGuire denied the claims. The AFP investigated Windsor's claims and advised that the matter would not be prosecuted. Windsor was comfortably re-elected in
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
, increasing his majority to 24 per cent.


2010 federal election

As one of the six
crossbencher A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...
s elected to the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
at the 2010 election, Windsor was at the centre of negotiations to determine the government after both major parties failed to win a majority in their own right. Windsor, together with
Rob Oakeshott Robert James Murray Oakeshott (born 14 December 1969) is a retired Australian politician. He was the independent Member of the House of Representatives for the Division of Lyne in New South Wales from 2008, when he won the 2008 Lyne by-electi ...
and
Bob Katter Robert Bellarmine Carl Katter (born 22 May 1945) is an Australian politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives since 1993. He was previously active in Queensland state politics from 1974 to 1992. Katter was a member of the ...
, initially resolved to form a bloc to assist negotiations with the major parties to form government. However, several days later, Windsor claimed it should not be assumed that the three rural independents would move together. In a press conference on 7 September 2010, Windsor revealed that he would support the incumbent Labor government during confidence motions and supply bills. Oakeshott also threw his support to the incumbent Labor government, handing Labor a second term. It had been assumed that Windsor would support the Coalition due to his past membership of the National Party but on this Windsor made an analogy of him being an ex-smoker: "I've never been in parliament as a National, I gave up smoking about the same time ndI've rid myself of two cancers". Windsor is known as the architect of the bill which became an amendment to the ''
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cultu ...
'' (EPBC Act) known as the
water trigger The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cultu ...
. The new legislation forced the government through a process whereby actions by large
coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
developments, in particular
coal seam gas Coalbed methane (CBM or coal-bed methane), coalbed gas, coal seam gas (CSG), or coal-mine methane (CMM) is a form of natural gas extracted from coal beds. In recent decades it has become an important source of energy in United States, Canada, Au ...
, which may adversely affect
groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidate ...
in the area and thereby significantly affecting
water resources Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. 97% of the water on the Earth is salt water and only three percent is fresh water; slight ...
, had to be assessed for
environmental impact Environmental issues are effects of human activity on the biophysical environment, most often of which are harmful effects that cause environmental degradation. Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment on t ...
.


2013 federal election

On 26 June 2013 Windsor announced that he would not be contesting the 2013 election; partly due to an undisclosed medical condition.


2016 federal election

On 10 March 2016, Windsor announced his intention to contest his former seat of
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
as an
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
candidate at the 2016 election. Windsor faced incumbent
Deputy Prime Minister of Australia The deputy prime minister of Australia is the deputy chief executive and the second highest ranking officer of the Australian Government. The office of deputy prime minister was officially created as a ministerial portfolio in 1968, althoug ...
and Leader of the
National Party of Australia The National Party of Australia, also known as The Nationals or The Nats, is an List of political parties in Australia, Australian political party. Traditionally representing graziers, farmers, and regional voters generally, it began as the Au ...
Barnaby Joyce Barnaby Thomas Gerard Joyce (born 17 April 1967) is an Australian politician who served as the 17th deputy prime minister of Australia under Malcolm Turnbull from 2016 to 2018 and under Scott Morrison from 2021 to 2022. He was the leader of the ...
at the 2016 election, who had won the seat upon Windsor's retirement at the previous election. Seat-level polling in the seat of New England found Joyce and Windsor neck and neck. On election day, however, Windsor was convincingly defeated, taking 41 percent of the two-party vote. Joyce actually won a majority on the primary vote, enough to retain the seat without the need for preferences. Before his defeat at this election Windsor said, "You haven't seen the last of me" and was asked if he would stand again if he did not win he answered, "I wouldn't rule anything out."


Political views

In an interview published in ''
The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
'' following the 2010 federal election, it was reported that Windsor supports a rent resources tax, deep cuts to
carbon emissions Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and larg ...
, and improved services to rural and regional areas such as Labor's proposed
National Broadband Network The National Broadband Network (NBN) is an Australian national wholesale open-access data network. It includes wired and radio communication components rolled out and operated by NBN Co, a Government-owned corporation. Internet service provider ...
but wants to ensure the scheme is fully costed. The same article claimed that Windsor supports the Coalition's position on water, and the Greens position on a universal dental scheme. He has fought a long-standing battle protecting the interests of local landholders and farmers living on one of NSW's richest agricultural regions, the
Liverpool Plains The Liverpool Plains are an extensive agricultural area covering about of the north-western slopes of New South Wales in Australia. These plains are a region of prime agricultural land bounded to the east by the Great Dividing Range, to the s ...
, due to the impact of mining on underlying groundwater. The region is rich in coal deposits and mining companies, such as
BHP BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...
and Whitehaven Coal, have sought to acquire land. Greens have campaigned alongside Windsor, against mining companies. During the 2010 federal election campaign, it was revealed that Windsor had sold his family farm at Werris Creek to a wholly owned subsidiary of Whitehaven Coal, and then leased the property back. The reported sale was for more than A$4.5 million. ''
The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
'' subsequently claimed that Windsor yielded a return about three times greater than other farmers who sold their properties to the same company in the previous 18 months. Windsor was present at the February 2011 announcement by the Prime Minister,
Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...
, on the proposed July 2012 introduction of a tax on carbon emissions, together with Greens senators
Bob Brown Robert James Brown (born 27 December 1944) is a former Australian politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian Senate on the Tasman ...
and
Christine Milne Christine Anne Milne (; born 14 May 1953) is an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Tasmania. She was the leader of the parliamentary caucus of the Australian Greens from 2012 to 2015. Milne stepped down as leader on 6 May 2015, ...
, the
Minister for Climate Change A list of ministers of climate change or officials in charge of cabinet positions with portfolios dealing primarily with climate change and issues related to mitigation of global warming. A Australia Austria B Belgium C Canada D Denm ...
,
Greg Combet Gregory Ivan Combet (; born 28 April 1958) is a former Australian politician and trade unionist. He was Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions between 1999 and 2007. He was elected member for the New South Wales Federal seat of Ch ...
, and independent MP Rob Oakeshott. Windsor downplayed his presence at the announcement, stating, "Please don't construe from my presence here that I will be supporting anything." He was later reported as stating that he would not accept increased transport fuel costs for country people. He subsequently announced that he was supporting Gillard's carbon policy, as a matter of principle, and stated: "This is about the history of people, most of whom haven't even been born yet. And if I'm sacked from politics because of that, well, I'll remove myself with a smile on my face." Tony Windsor called for a referendum on
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
back in 2013, saying that the issue should be removed from the hands of politicians. He has also endorsed a referendum on the death penalty in the 1990's.


After politics

''Tony Windsor – The Biography'' was published in 2014. In October 2021 Windsor was named as an advisor for climate fund,
Climate 200 Climate 200 is an Australian company that provides political funding. It describes itself as a "community crowdfunding initiative" that supports community-backed independents to stand for election to advance climate policy, reduce greenhouse g ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Windsor, Tony 1950 births Living people Independent members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for New England Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly University of New England (Australia) alumni People from Tamworth, New South Wales Members of the Order of Australia 21st-century Australian politicians