He may have only been in the Senate for one term, but new Greens leader Richard Di Natale will bring a healthy dose of experience.
The GP and public health specialist was elected in 2010 becoming the Greens’ first Victorian senator.
In his previous career the 44-year-old son of Italian immigrants worked on HIV prevention in India, Aboriginal health in the Northern Territory and Victoria’s health department as part of an outbreak investigation team.
The father of two, who lives with wife Lucy in Victoria’s Otways Ranges, played VFA football for six years and labels himself a long-suffering Richmond Tigers fan.
He claims his achievements in parliament as securing almost $5 billion towards Medicare-funded dentistry and winning a campaign to divest $250 million worth of tobacco stocks from the Future Fund.
He has also led Senate inquiries into issues such as dying with dignity, hospital funding, budget cuts, medicinal cannabis and gambling reform.
Most recently he caused a stir by leading a one-man expedition to West Africa to get a first-hand look at the Ebola crisis.
He was concerned the Abbott government was not doing enough to tackle the outbreak.
But a potential outbreak of disunity will be the key issue Di Natale may have to address ahead of the 2016 federal election.
The Greens have some very outspoken – and some Liberals would call “radical” – senators and party discipline has been crucial to retaining a national primary vote of around 12 per cent.
The party will be looking for him to be a steadying influence, in a similar manner to outgoing leader Christine Milne.