Rod Donald 1957 - 2005

By this stage you will have undoubtedly already heard that Rod Donald, co-leader of the Green Party, passed away on Saturday night as a result of a heart attack, but I'd just like to pay my respects to this great New Zealander. He was a powerful driving force behind progressive politics in this country as well as internationally, and also was one of the strongest advocates for the system of proportional presentation in Parliament that the citizens of this society reap the benefits of today. People located at all points along the length and breadth of the political spectrum can appreciate that Rod was a remarkable individual who contributed richly to New Zealand as a whole.

In my eyes, Rod was the embodiment of the courage, the positivity and the persistence that the Green Party managed to exhibit during the recent adversity brought on by the party's disappointing election result and its rejection from Labour's coalition arrangement. Despite the grillings that he underwent in numerous television interviews post-election, Rod always stood tall for the values of the Green Party, and never let the commentators pull him down. He was consistent in his citing of the factors that he believed to have caused the Greens to suffer in the final election results -- a fear of a National government leading would-be Green voters to shift their support to the Labour Party.

Rod was also to be the face of the imminent implementation of the Buy NZ-Made campaign, a programme that he had made extensive efforts to have put in place should the Labour government be re-elected -- which of course it has been. Although the campaign will now be fronted by another individual, the New Zealand people have Rod to thank for having secured the go-ahead for it. Most tragically, of course, this indescribable misfortune occurs with Rod having made it only to a mere forty-eight years of age. The fact that he was a healthy-living middle-aged person serves only to increase the sense of disbelief that one is compelled to feel towards this sudden, shocking and unexpected event. It is undoubtable that he would have had further ambitions still, in the interests of making New Zealand an even better place. Rod Donald's noble legacy will ensure that his contributions to society are felt for years to come.