There were quite a few similarities between the former co leader of The Greens Rod Donald and the one who's about to quit politics Russel Norman, other than their ginger locks and the fact that their surnames are more commonly used as Christian names.

The Greens are an unconventional political party with both Donald and Norman, both being elected as leaders before they came into Parliament and with both showing they had an eye to the future.

Donald, who tragically died at just 48, the day before he was due to be sworn in as a fourth term MP almost exactly ten years ago, had a keen eye for political opportunity. He had an antennae that detected the mood for electoral change. He campaigned long and hard for a new electoral system.

Donald felt it was grossly unfair to parties who scored well on the popular vote, but couldn't win an electorate seat, and therefore remained unrepresented in Parliament.
He was credited as being the main driving force for MMP which saw The Alliance, which The Greens were then part of, sweeping into Parliament at the first election under the new system in 1996.

Norman was a student of politics and he came to God's Own from Queensland to have a closer look at the red/green alliance. For his doctoral thesis he studied The Alliance and was obviously comfortable when after just three years, The Greens opted out to successfully stand on their own.

Six months after Rod Donald's death he became the co leader and a couple of years after that he was waving The Green banner in Parliament's bear pit.

But like all Green leaders before him, he's always been the groomsman, never the groom and after last year's election result, when Labour did so badly, he obviously decided the political wilderness wasn't for him.

He hasn't quite shaken the green shackle though, accepting the job of leading Greenpeace in this country.

Prepare to hear more from that quarter in the future!