BOB Brown today resigned as the Leader of the Greens and as a Senator. The shock announcement was made this morning, with Deputy Leader Christine Milne named as the new leader.

ACT Greens Leader Meredith Hunter has described Senator Brown as an “inspiration to all of us in the Greens”.

“In an era of short-term, negative, poll driven politics, Bob has instead shown compassionate, courageous and principled leadership and put long-term vision back into the national conversation,” she said.

“The ACT Greens thank Bob, in particular, for the way he stood up for Canberra on the Federal scene.

“The first Bill that Senator Brown successfully passed through both houses of Parliament, the ‘Territory Rights Bill‘, was one which increased the democratic rights of Canberrans.

“Bob has always stood up for the importance of public servants and the work so many Canberrans do that benefit the whole nation, while both Labor and Liberal talk about ‘razor gangs’.

“The legacy of Bob Brown’s leadership of the Greens is strong representation in every level of Government.”