Ben Oquist was long the Australian Greens' most astute political strategist, respected across political divides, who helped engineer the party's significant influence within the minority government of Julia Gillard.
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He was chief adviser to Greens leader Bob Brown and continued as chief of staff with Christine Milne before she demanded his resignation, reportedly believing he was behind a plot to replace her with Adam Bandt.
Now Mr Oquist, to the amazement of many, appears alongside Clive Palmer at crucial moments, advising him on climate policy and political strategy.
He played a significant role in persuading former US vice-president Al Gore to appear with Mr Palmer in Parliament House recently. It is understood Mr Oquist is not paid by Mr Palmer - these days he is employed as strategy director at the Australia Institute, which describes itself as ''the country's most influential progressive think tank'' and which seeks to influence national debate on a wide range of economic, environmental, employment and other public policies.
Mr Oquist knows the Senate inside out, how to draft legislation, how to lever amendments into the centre of major political agendas, and how to ensure small parties play a large part in big debates.
And as a pragmatist, he is clearly steering Mr Palmer towards chiselling as much out of the end of the carbon tax - which he helped create - as possible.
