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Former Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons' husband says she was aware of her significance to the party's future.
Fitzsimons died last night after suffering a fall on her farm during the day, and then a stroke in the evening.
The 75-year-old co-lead the Greens from 1995 to 2009, and was a Green MP from 1996 to 2010.
Her husband, Harry Parke, told Heather du Plessis-Allan she knew everything hinged on her winning the Coromandel electorate seat in 1999.
“The Greens only got list voters after believing Jeanette could win the Coromandel seat."
Parke says they'd both talked about reaching the end of their lives - and he thought he'd die first.
“We both agreed we would want to go quickly and suddenly, and she certainly did that, but she wasn’t supposed to beat me to it.”
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