Gillard harnesses the Greens' power

Julia Gillard and Adam Bandt sign the deal between Labor and the Greens / Picture: Ray Strange Source: News Limited

Ms Gillard's historic deal with the Greens yesterday secures an extra vote in the House of Representatives and a co-operative Senate in exchange for faster action on climate change, improved dental care and parliamentary reforms.

The deal signed by Ms Gillard and Greens leader Bob Brown locks in the Lower House vote of new Greens MP Adam Bandt against no-confidence motions, formally taking Labor's numbers to 73 - the same as the Coalition.

It will place added pressure on the remaining four independents to also throw their support behind Ms Gillard. This is because, crucially, it means she can offer something her opponent, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, cannot: A workable Senate next year, when the nine Greens will hold the balance of power.

Ms Gillard defended the deal but said it could not be seen as a coalition agreement, as Mr Abbott immediately characterised it.

"No it's not . . . I'd expect Mr Abbott to say that," she said."What is agreed is clearly displayed there, including, very clearly specifying, that Mr Bandt in the House of Representatives and the Greens in the Senate, will make up their minds on propositions before the Parliament, will vote in accordance with their party's policies, their conscience, what Mr Bandt considers to be in the best interests of his electorate, that's absolutely transparent on the face of the agreement."

As well as attacking the deal's contents, Mr Abbott claimed it had been struck secretly before the election.

And he expressed disappointment in Senator Brown for throwing his lot in with the "most corrupted Labor Party in living memory".

"If the Greens had been serious about even-handedness, they would have at least talked to us," he said.

While Ms Gillard has taken a decisive step forward in her quest for re-appointment, the pact will make it tricky for at least three of the remaining four independents, whose regional voters may be wary of Greens' policies.

The principal concession made by Labor is an agreement to move towards a price on carbon, via the establishment of an all-party committee resourced to the level of a Cabinet committee.

That effectively sidelines Ms Gillard's ill-conceived 150 member citizens' assembly, which had drawn nothing but criticism.

Several other things will also be included in the new deal, such as a commitment to get a universal dental care scheme going and the right of Greens MPs to submit policy ideas to the bureaucracy and have them costed.

For Labor, the benefits are clear too.

A guaranteed extra number in the Lower House, adding to its case to garner the support of the other independents and, importantly, the promise that an otherwise hostile Senate will be co-operative.

This allows Ms Gillard to meet a key demand of all the independents - that a prospective PM must be able to demonstrate that stable governance is achievable.