He was one of the famous faces of the 43rd parliament and now Tony Windsor is considering a political comeback.
The former independent MP, whose seat is now held by deputy Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, says the decision by the federal government to grant Chinese company Shenhua approval for the $1 billion Watermark coalmine near Gunnedah has given him another reason to re-enter the game.
"I haven't made a firm decision one way or the other, but I've found that since I left politics that I'm still very interested in it," Mr Windsor told ABC radio on Thursday.
Liberal senator Zed Seselja said people would remember that Mr Windsor helped keep Julia Gillard as prime minister, and gave Australia a carbon tax.
"He helped deliver us one of the worst, dysfunctional governments we've ever seen," he told Sky News.
After Mr Joyce hit out at his government's decision to approve the mine - arguing the world had gone mad - Labor MP Amanda Rishworth said there appeared to be another split in the Abbott government's cabinet.
