Minor parties in Australia are not known for their longevity.
But the Greens have been able to buck this trend. Since forming as a national entity in 1992, the party has become a major feature of federal politics.
Its first two leaders, Bob Brown and Christine Milne, cut their teeth in environmental activism in Tasmania, while Richard Di Natale came to the role via a different route.
Early life
Senator Di Natale was born in Melbourne to Italian immigrant parents.
"His father came from Siracusa in Sicily at age 29 and learned English while doing his apprenticeship to become a sparky," Greens material about the leader states.
"His mum and her parents came here from San Marco, a small village in Southern Italy and opened up a grocery store in Brunswick."
Senator Di Natale attended secondary school and university in Melbourne, receiving Bachelor and Master’s degrees in medicine and science from Monash and La Trobe universities respectively.
He went on to work as in the health sector as a GP and public health specialist.
ریچارد دی نتالی هنگام کار به عنوان داکتر Source: The Greens
This role saw him work in Indigenous health in the Northern Territory, on HIV prevention in India and in the drug and alcohol sector.
His activism for strategies related to drug harm minimisation continues today, having become one of the country’s most vocal supporters of .
Entry into politics
The 48-year-old, then 39, entered politics after the 2010 election, where he won a Senate seat representing Victoria.
He spoke of his family's roots in his maiden Senate speech.
ریچارد دی نتالی (راست) پشت سر رهبر پیشین سبزها باب برون در یک نشست خبری حزب سبز در سال 2010. Source: AAP
"I stand here today as the product of that wonderful Australian experiment called multiculturalism,” he said.
“[My parents] didn’t speak any English, but they were armed with something far more important: the hope for a better life."
Rise to leader
Senator Di Natale took the party leadership in May 2015 after the surprise resignation of then-leader Ms Milne.
"He has been absolutely a stalwart in the last few years and built a real profile, especially for his concern around health in particular," Ms Milne said at the time.
Senator Di Natale said the future of the party was “very bright”.
Richard Di Natale delivers his maiden speech to the Senate in Canberra, Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2011. Source: AAP
“We are the natural home of progressive … Australian voters and we are going to give voice to their concerns - decent healthcare, decent education, affordable housing, public transport,” he said.
Popularity stalled
The Greens' continue to promote a progressive policy plank, advocating clean energy, refugee rights and stronger public institutions.
But their overall popularity appears to have plateaued in recent years.
The party holds ten parliamentary seats: nine in the Senate and one in the House of Representatives. That's one less than at the time of the 2016 federal election.
Greens leader Richard Di Natale with former leaders Bob Brown and Christine Milne in 2016 Source: AAP
However, some analysts say the plateau has less to do with Senator Di Natale, and more to do with other factors.
“Senator Di Natale has performed really strongly,” Dr Zareh Ghazarian, author and political scientist at Monash University, said.
“But leading a minor party is very difficult with the limited resources compared to what the major parties have, and the Greens have been sometimes overpowered by what's going on in the major parties."
Another possible reason for the plateau, Dr Ghazarian said, is because previously Greens-centric issues – such as climate change and asylum seekers - have entered the thinking of the major parties.
رهبر حزب سبز آسترالیا، ریچارد دی نتالی، در حال صحبت با رسانهها در یک نشست خبری در ملبورن Source: AAP
While Senator Di Natale deserves credit for helping push those issues into the mainstream, as party leader, he would also be expected to find new issues to provide a point of distinction, Dr Ghazarian said.
"The Greens need an issue that is significant enough to galvanise their supporters and really position themselves as being very different to the established major parties.”
Dr Jill Sheppard, a lecturer at the Australian National University's School of Politics, said Senator Di Natale is also facing challenges different to those faced by his predecessors.
“The Greens have been around long enough now they are starting to have some of the same problems as the major parties,” she said.
“Senator Di Natale is definitely facing a slightly different set of problems, but I think when we look back, we will say he has done a pretty good job of managing them.”
Election watch
The electorates the Greens best performed in at the 2016 federal election were metropolitan seats such as Melbourne, Higgins and Macnamara (formerly Melbourne Ports).
The party is again targeting these seats this time around, hoping to win a second seat in the House of Representatives for the first time ever.
But a poor showing at the election, Dr Jill Sheppard said, might bring calls for change.
"I think Senator Di Natale has shown he's a really competent, a very capable leader of the Greens - but I suspect if the Greens don't do very well at this election, he might have to stand down and someone else will take his place."
