(Transcript from World News Radio)
The new Senate which will take its place on July 1 poses significant challenges for the government.
It's clear that Prime Minister Tony Abbott will have to deal with the smaller parties in order to get some of his signature legislation though.
Mr Abbott is facing numerous demands in return for the votes he needs as complex negotiations begin in order to secure crossbench support for government policies opposed by Labor and the Greens.
That legislation includes abolishing the carbon and mining taxes, introducing a generous paid parental leave scheme and the government direct action climate policy.
Amanda Cavill reports.The result of the Senate voting re-run in Western Australia means that from July 1, the Coalition faces eight minor-party Senators on the crossbench.
They include Dio Wang, Jacqui Lambie and Glenn Lazarus from the Palmer United Party, and Ricky Muir from the PUP-aligned Motoring Enthusiast party.
The other four cross-bench Senators are Family First's Bob Day, the Democratic Labor Party's John Madigan, the Liberal Democratic Party's David Leyonhjelm and independent Senator Nick Xenophon.
The Coalition will need the support of six of those eight Senators to pass any bills opposed by Labor and the Greens.
Tony Abbott says he's sure they can all work together for good results for the Australian people.
"Particularly after the difficulties of the last parliament I think the public want to see a much more constructive parliament this time. I'm going to be working as constructively as I can with everyone in the parliament. My view is I will treat everyone in the parliament with courtesy and respect, including minor party and independent members of parliament."
But Mr Abbott will have a big task wrestling with the mixed bag of Senators, who all promote different agendas.
Senator Muir - dubbed the 'kangaroo poo' Senator after YouTube footage emerged of him laughing and throwing what appeared to be kangaroo dung at his family - has a strong focus on road safety and the rights of four-wheel drive vehicle owners.
Senator Day is a former Liberal who accused his old party of rigging a pre-selection in the electorate of Mayo so is unlikely to want to cooperate.
He campaigned hard on the issue of declining housing affordability.
Senator Leyonhjelm - who many believe was elected into the Senate due to voters thinking his Liberal Democratic Party was affiliated with the Liberal Party - is pro-guns and ultra-conservative.
He says he'll likely align with the Coalition on many policy points - but not all.
"Tony Abbott's government will be able to get its legislation through if it's nice to us. My party's libertarian classic liberal party. Very firmly libertarian, no exceptions. We support low taxes, less regulation, free markets individual liberty, an end to the nanny state. So what does that mean? Well, the carbon tax, if I can vote for getting rid of it's gone. The mining tax the same story. But I won't vote for Tony Abbott's paid parental leave. I won't vote for direct action on climate change."
The Palmer United Party will be critical for the success of Tony Abbott's legislative agenda.
Leader Clive Palmer has been hard to pin down on his intentions on government legislation, and has been equivocal on a number of issues including the re-introduction of Temporary Protection Visas.
Mr Palmer, who initially flagged his support for repealing the carbon and mining taxes, appears to have changed his mind.
The government says it will tie the the central plank of its 'direct action' plan, the Emissions Reduction Fund, to the Budget bills.
But Mr Palmer says that is blackmail and he is prepared to vote against the legislation.
"They are doing this, really, as a tactic, like little kids wanting to get their way. But if they're going to adopt a tactic like that, we'll have to reconsider our position when it comes to the mining tax and the carbon tax. If that's the sort of way that they want to play out power politics in Australia, if they won't let the Australian Senate have a fair and free vote on a matter like that, we'll have to see what we do."
The Motoring Enthusiast Party's Ricky Muir is yet to publicly state a position on issues like the mining and carbon taxes.
But he does say he'll be working closely with Clive Palmer's party.
"We shall work with the Palmer United Party to ensure the smooth operation of parliament and the orderly operation of the Senate. Together I can do so much more than I could have achieved alone."
Greens leader Senator Christine Milne says negotiating legislation through such a fragmented Senate won't be easy for the Abbott government.
But she says there's a certain irony in the situation.
"Tony Abbott is going to have to do exactly what he condemned Julia Gillard for doing. And that is to negotiate on a daily basis with a group of people who have no policy platform in most cases. Some of them are extreme conservatives, right off the map in terms of extreme. And you have no idea on how they are going to vote on anything."
The Coalition also faces Senate crossbench opposition to its paid parental leave scheme, which can pass only with Greens backing, and also to proposed changes to financial advice laws and the Qantas Sales Act.
Other controversial plans, such as changes to the Racial Discrimination Act, are likely to rely on the as-yet-undeclared position of the PUP.
The assortment of Senators on the crossbench insist they will use their power constructively.
But just how they define constructive - and whether the Coalition agrees with the definition - may be another thing.
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