Six new senators are about to liven up Australian politics - for better or worse.
Since the September 2013 election, the Abbott government has had to negotiate with Labor or the Greens in the Senate to pass legislation.
That changes on July 1.
The government will have another option to pass budget measures and enact its policies - do a deal with a new batch of cross-bench senators.
The Liberal-National coalition will have 33 senators and Labor and the Greens between them will have 35.
In the 76-seat upper house, the government will need 39 votes - meaning it will need to pick up six more votes.
The government's newest "best friends" include the three Palmer United Party senators, Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania), Glenn Lazarus (Queensland), and Dio Wang (WA), Ricky Muir from Victoria's Motoring Enthusiast Party, the Liberal Democrats' David Leyonhjelm (NSW), and Bob Day from Family First (SA).
Also on the crossbench are prominent independent Nick Xenophon (SA) and the Democratic Labour Party's John Madigan.
Within the crossbenches are a number of loose alliances and common interests.
The three PUP senators have an agreement with Ricky Muir to work together on legislation, although it is yet to be put to the test.
Leyonhjelm and Day have been caucusing in the lead-up to July 1 and have many common causes, including lower taxes and smaller government.
Madigan and Xenophon have campaigned together on a range of issues from Qantas to buying Australian-made goods.
Day and Madigan are like-minded social conservatives.
But the most watched political relationship will be between Clive Palmer and his PUP team.
Leyonhjelm, who has spoken with all of his crossbench colleagues, says the PUP senators will start off having a party position on issues but won't stay of a single mind forever.
Behind the scenes, the government has appointed Senate Leader Eric Abetz and manager of government business Mitch Fifield to lead negotiations.
Fifield says that until the Senate actually sits and the senators see what they are voting on, it's hard to know exactly what positions will be taken or what compromises will be sought.
Every senator will be treated as an individual and every party will be briefed in the way they choose, he says.
Labor's Senate leader Penny Wong will be there to frustrate the government's efforts and argue for opposition amendments.
It will be a steep learning curve for the new senators.
They can move into their Parliament House offices and hire staff from July 1.
But they will be required to get up to speed on complex legislation by July 7 when the Senate holds a special sitting week without the lower house.
To help them along, they will sit down with Senate officials in Canberra for two days next week for training in parliamentary procedure and how to negotiate.
A further factor in the mix will be how each senator treats their duties as a representative of their state.
If they take a leaf out of the book of the late Brian Harradine - Australia's longest-serving independent senator - the government may find itself forking out hundreds of millions of dollars in largesse for state roads and hospitals in exchange for support.
The Greens should not be written off, despite their opposition to most of the government's policy agenda.
They were crucial in helping the coalition get rid of the debt ceiling and may yet be called on to get the fuel excise hike through the Senate.
Labor, too, might find itself an unlikely government partner, especially if Abbott pushes ahead with Senate electoral reform.
That reform, which would make it harder for micro-parties to get elected, might go into the too-hard basket if it rubs the government's new-found besties up the wrong way.
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