Friday 11th of November 2005

One thing I won't miss about Rod Donald is his carping on about investing in international markets being like gambling on the casino economies of the world.

Like the majority of New Zealanders Rod's passing stunned me.

Many of the zillions of obits to Rod have expressed similiar sentiments which, although I agree with, I won't repeat.
To me his passing has many other dimensions.

While the Greens are closely tied to environmental and social issues, Rod was also highly interested in savings.
I haven't always agreed with his comments - such as the casino one - and I have publicly criticised him strongly for some of his utterings.

However, it is imperative to record his interest in savings areas and the fact that Rod was one of the few minor party politicians who would research a savings topic, form a view then present it.

He deserves huge credit for his interest and input into savings issues.

I disagreed with his idea of capital gains tax on residential property.

A couple of days ago National's John Key put out a statement saying Michael Cullen wanted a capital gains tax on property.
Key manufactured a story with zero attention to fact. He demonstrated one of the worst instances of a journalist interviewing his typewriter.

Rod would argue this case on facts - this is miles ahead of Key's approach.

Rod was always accessible to the media. I recall sometime many years ago calling him one evening to discuss something. He was reading a bedtime story to one of his daughters and asked to finish it then call me back.

It is a measure of a man who knew the importance of the media, but also that family came first.

I mourn our loss of Rod as he was a friend of the planet and someone who stood staunchly for his beliefs.

But I will also miss his input into our industry.