Controversial MP Darleen Tana has officially been ejected from Parliament after the Green Party co-leaders wrote to the Speaker late last week, making use of the waka-jumping provision.
Tana was elected as a Green list member of Parliament a year ago, but news emerged of allegations of migrant exploitation at her husband’s bicycle business.
An investigation found it was likely that she knew about the allegations, but was not upfront about them to the Green Party.
She was suspended from the Greens, then resigned from the party, but had been determined to continue as an independent MP and took legal action.
All Green party delegates voted to invoke the Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Act 2018 (waka-jumping provision).
At a news conference at Parliament early this afternoon, Swarbrick initially read from a statement.
"Last week, 185 Green Party delegates, representing our thousands of members across the country, came to unanimous consensus to put this request to the Speaker [Gerry Brownlee].
"This, of course, went well above and beyond the requirements in the law. We have always been and remain a proudly grassroots-led party. Throughout this process, our founding values and principles have been our guiding star, and I am proud of how we have held true to those. This gazette from the Speaker today draws a line under the issue.
"Every single day, we have continued to fight for people and planet, and hold the government to account on their cruel and destructive agenda. That mahi continues with the vigour our communities need and deserve."
Swarbrick told media the Greens were "glad" to finally "draw a line" under the issue and was not sure what Tana's next steps might be.
"I can't begin to tell you what her actions may or may not be from this point in time. What I can say is everything we have done, we have done so in line with our values."
Asked if she would have done anything differently, Swarbrick said she was "incredibly" proud the party had "pulled this issue apart and looked at it from so many different angles and consistently come back to what we believe in".
She said it required introspection and "maturing", but she felt "really comfortable" with how it played out.
"We have never pretended that democracy is not a messy process, and the Greens are pretty renowned for having those conversations in public, as well as in private."
'Things did not have to go this way'
Swarbrick described events as "a really sad situation".
"This is not a situation any of us would have wanted to be in. But the facts we are confronted with is that you have a member of Parliament who has come into that position of privilege by virtue of not disclosing, or not being fully forthright and honest about circumstances...
"And as a result of an independent expert investigation we had to commission because we weren't getting access to those basic facts, we now have it "crystal clear" that there was wrongdoing, at the very least in sense they were not forthright and not upfront about things. And that has put our parliamentary caucus in a position that we've never been in before - to come to the conclusion to unanimously request her resignation."
As for the Greens' past opposition to waka-jumping legislation, Swarbrick said the party had concerns about concentrating power in the hands of party leaders - but in this case the Greens went "above and beyond" what the law required.
She said they went to the wider party to seek a mandate, rather than leaving it to the leaders. The Greens also opposed the waka-jumping bill because it could lead to MPs being booted out for disagreeing with the rest of the party - but the Tana situation was "not simply a misalignment of perspectives... [but] a member of Parliament who we very strongly believe abdicated their principles."
Asked if the use of the waka-jumping provision showed the Greens valued politics over principle, Swarbrick replied the "thorough" process had resulted in the "most principled stance, weighing up all of the variables possible in an incredibly challenging situation".
They would do it again in the exact same circumstances, she said, but the party was yet to discuss whether it supported the existing waka-jumping legislation.
Swarbrick said she was left with a "sense of sadness" despite the party sticking to its values of "good faith and natural justice".
"Things did not have to go this way, but they did."
She and co-leader Marama Davidson wrote to Tana recently "one final time, imploring her to finally do the right thing" and resign.
Tana confirmed she had received it, but did not respond.
New MP
Darleen Tana will be replaced by Benjamin Doyle, the next on the Green Party's list.
He is of Ngāpuhi and Pākehā descent and stood for the party in the Hamilton West electorate at the 2023 general election.
Green MP Ricardo Menéndez March said today he had spoken to Doyle and was "really excited for the contribution that Benjamin will make, particularly with their background in education and their current work around public health."
Swarbrick said there would likely be a portfolio reshuffle "in due time" and the party's list was "democratic".
- Additional reporting ODT Online
