One member is a former Wall Street stockbroker. Another is an industrial relations lawyer with a PhD in law and politics. The third is a doctor with health policy expertise.

And they plan to shake things up this year.

The first signs of change emerged last week, when the Greens struck a deal with the Coalition to support the Abbott government's proposed changes to the pension asset test, allowing the changes to pass the Senate and save the budget $2.4 billion over four years.

It caught Labor off-guard and left the unions and industry super funds angry. John Passant, a former Australian Tax Office assistant commissioner, slammed the deal on his blog.

"In their eagerness to prove their 'realistic and pragmatic' credentials, the Greens have been sold a pension pup," he spat.

But the Greens' new leader, Richard Di Natale, says people shouldn't have been surprised by the decision. It allowed the Greens to reverse an unfair Howard government policy.

"I was staggered that Labor didn't support it," he told Fairfax Media.

It was the first major deal he had struck since replacing Christine Milne as leader last month.

Under his watch, the Greens have also released a new, costed policy proposal on negative gearing that set off a cloud of commentary-dust in the media.

Challenging the stereotype

The Greens have long been criticised for not understanding economics. In many ways they have themselves to blame, but in others the criticism is unwarranted.

The nature of the two-party system means they have less time to argue their case. It means good economic ideas – which they have had for years – often go unnoticed. And their policy proposals, when they make them, often aren't taken seriously because they don't have the power to make them a legislative reality.

But it's been harder to ignore them recently.

Their new economics team comprises Di Natale as party leader; Adam Bandt, the high-profile federal member for Melbourne; and Peter Whish-Wilson, a senator from Tasmania.

As far as stereotypes go, Whish-Wilson - who was handed the finance portfolio in the party's reshuffle - has the most interesting background.

He has a Masters in Economics and Finance. He's worked for Merrill Lynch on Wall Street and Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong. He made money as a stockbroker researching mining companies. He's worked as a labourer in Western Australia's mines.

A number of years ago he turned his back on global finance because he found it unfulfilling. He moved his family to Tasmania to run a vineyard and go surfing instead. It was there that he became an activist when he joined the fight against Gunns Ltd, that infamous corporation with a Banana Republic-influence on Tasmania's political system.

In recent years, he has been a central player in Senate inquiries into Australia's major banks, which have been ripping off customers through their financial planning arms, and large multinationals shifting profits overseas. 

It was his line of questioning in Senate estimates recently that led Treasury secretary John Fraser to warn that Sydney had an "unequivocal" housing bubble.

He knows he's not a "typical" Green.

He sometimes wears silver cuff links, of a bull and a bear, that were given to him by a client on Wall Street. They remind him in important moments that he knows what he's talking about.

"I don't have the classic mould of being a Green, but for those on the hard Left who say I should be joining the Liberal Party, I turn around to them and say well, have you worked in global markets? Do you understand how they work? I did, and I turned my back on that. I walked away from that to literally go surfing and live on $100 a week," he says.

Liberal senator Sean Edwards, who chairs a Senate estimates committee with Whish-Wilson, says the Greens have benefited from Whish-Wilson's contribution.

"A lot of the stuff I've talked to him about privately I've found him economically very sound and he would fit quite squarely in the Coalition with a lot of his positions," Edwards said.

"I suspect I have an affinity with him because he comes from a background of finance and small business. He understands it. And at least he can read a balance sheet."

Adam Bandt is more well-known, being the first Green to win a lower house seat.

He has an arts/law honours degree, and a Phd from Monash University. His PhD focused on the connection between the evolution of globalisation and attempts by governments to suspend the rule of law and human rights.

He is also a barrister who specialises in industrial relations law. He worked for a decade for Slater & Gordon. He was a member of the Labor Party in his youth, but tired of their internal politics. 

He has responsibility for the Greens' treasury portfolio, as well as employment and workplace relations.

Di Natale is a former GP and public health specialist, with a keen interest in indigenous health. He's keeping an eye on the health portfolio. 

Environmentalism and the economy

The trio want voters to understand the Greens' view of economics.

"The economy's got to serve people, not the other way around. We have to start talking about the economy in a different way," Di Natale says.

Whish-Wilson: "The most important thing the Greens can achieve with our economics team is to make Australians understand what our view is of the role of government. Governments have a strong role to price externalities, to correct for market failures, to levy taxes on common pool resources – like a mining tax – and to push tax reform for equity or equality."

Labor senator Sam Dastyari is critical of the Greens'  past contributions to economic and budget debates, such as its infamous decision to vote against the Rudd government's emissions trading scheme in 2009.

But their new-look economics team will be worth watching, he says.

"The attitude of the Greens towards sensible economic policy and making hard political decisions when it comes to revenue and expenditure measures has always previously been farcical," he says.

"It will be interesting to see whether or not this is a shift or just a tactical move, and whether this represents a different approach to fiscal matters," he said of their pension deal with the government.

The team at a glance

Richard Di Natale:

• The Greens' new leader
• Former GP and public health specialist. Has worked in indigenous health in the Northern Territory, and HIV prevention in India
• Responsible for prime minister and cabinet; health, multiculturalism and sport portfolios

Adam Bandt:

• Barrister and industrial relations lawyer
• Holds arts/law honours, and a PhD on the recent trend of governments suspending basic human rights
• First Greens MP elected to the House of Representatives
• Responsible for the treasury, employment and workplace relations, innovation, industry and science portfolios 

Peter Whish-Wilson:

• An economist and former Wall Street stockbroker
• Lives in Tasmania. A keen surfer and national board member of the Surfrider Foundation
• Joined the Senate in June 2012, replacing Bob Brown
• Responsible for the finance, trade, competition policy, small business and consumer affairs and defence portfolios

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