Green MPs often ask themselves - What would Rod have done?

Sue Kedgely

He may be gone, but Rob Donald's former caucus colleagues feel he is very much still with them.

Metiria Turei, the Green Party's musterer, often feels like she has caught a glimpse of Mr Donald rushing down the Bowen House stairs towards Parliament's debating chamber.

For Sue Kedgely, there is a sense of Mr Donald hovering over the party.

Ms Kedgley said the caucus missed Mr Donald very much, a loss accentuated by a range of issues with which he had an affinity being on the current political agenda.

"On many issues we keenly feel his absence and think 'Now, what would Rod have done about this and that and the next thing?'," Ms Kedgley said.

"On the other hand, I think we are in pretty good heart and surprised at how we have managed to not just survive, but manage pretty well without him. Not that we are not constantly thinking about him, his drive and energy."

Mrs Turei said she and Mr Donald had discussed how she should handle her new job just days before his death.

"He was fine with that and that was really good but, then not having him around at all to tell me what the job involved, it was quite difficult," Mrs Turei said.

"From a professional point of view, that's been the most difficult thing, discovering all the things that Rod did for us that we didn't know about, little process things that made being a Green MP much easier and much more effective. Because we didn't know he was doing it, we couldn't appreciate it and thank him until we discovered it was gone."

The Greens have a new male co-leader (Russel Norman) and a replacement MP (Nandor Tanczos) in Mr Donald's stead.

Replacing someone with Mr Donald's mana was always going to be difficult.

Mr Norman was singled out as a potential replacement for Mr Donald within days of his death, something he resented.

"We had quite a lot of fun together, and I really miss that," Mr Norman said.

"When he died, literally within a week people started talking about me as someone who could take over and that was a really big step up for me. At the same time as I was trying to deal with missing Rod I had to deal with all the stuff about [being] co-leader, which was really hard and I didn't like it."

Since winning a four-way contest to replace Mr Donald in June, Mr Norman has spent his time travelling the country and trying to build a profile that transcends the impression he is "the new Rod Donald" and sets him out as a leader in his own right.

He was particularly keen to push the Greens' economic message and felt the party had a view in that area that needed to be heard. Chiefly, he is keen that Mr Donald's work for the party is not forgotten.

"He was an important political figure, he was very important for the Greens and he has left a big hole."