The main hurdles are the vagaries of the Independents and the policies of the Greens, together with likely parliamentary guerrilla warfare from the Opposition.

The agreements signed between Labor and the Greens and Independent MPs Tony Windsor, Rob Oakeshott and Andrew Wilkie provide guarantees of support concerning motions of no-confidence and supply Bills. However, they do not extend to guaranteed support for the Government's legislative program.

Every other parliamentary motion and piece of legislation will have to be negotiated through the House of Representatives in much the same way that the Senate has dealt with legislation in recent decades.

However, while successive governments have been able to cope with the delay or defeat of legislation in the Senate, the defeat of government legislation in the House of Representatives would be politically embarrassing to say the least.

So expect a lot of negotiation behind closed doors before Bills are introduced into the Parliament.

Greens leader Bob Brown has been promised regular meetings with Prime Minister Julia Gillard, during which they will discuss legislation. Mr Windsor, Mr Oakeshott and Mr Wilkie can also expect regular meetings with Ms Gillard and Mr Oakeshott may yet be appointed to a ministerial role.

Lobbyists and interest groups will be keen to engage the Greens and the Independents and a process characterised by extensive consultations is likely to result in ambitious reforms being modified or delayed.

''It will be a very cautious Government,'' the ANU's Norman Abjorensen said yesterday.

''It seems that a lot of initiatives will be cancelled out in the negotiation process. I'm not sure if that's either stable government or good government.''

This point was emphasised when Mr Oakeshott said he was not giving a mandate to either side or endorsing a particular philosophy.