Fourth shoplifting charge against ex-Green MP Golriz Ghahraman involves Standard Issue shop in Newmarket

Police have laid a fourth shoplifting charge against former Green MP Golriz Ghahraman related to a Newmarket shop.

Charging documents obtained by the Herald show Ghahraman is now further alleged to have stolen a navy cardigan from Standard Issue in Newmarket valued at $389.

Police say the fourth shoplifting charge occurred on December 22.

Previous charges related to Scotties Boutique in Ponsonby and Cre8iveworx in Wellington.

The fourth charge brings the total value of the goods she is alleged to have stolen to just over $10,000.

If convicted she faces a maximum of three months in jail.

Police said the complainant in the fourth charge came forward in late January. That is after the initial three charges were laid.

Standard Issue, in Newmarket, offers “premium knitwear designed & made sustainably in New Zealand from the finest natural fibre,” its website says.

Her first appearance was scheduled for Wednesday but has now been pushed back for a second time after police told her lawyer Annabel Cresswell they were laying the fourth charge.

Cresswell said it was a standard adjournment for when a new charge is laid.

Police are considering diversion and other issues that are considered at this early stage in the court process, she explained.

Details from court documents for the first three charges show the 43-year-old is accused of stealing $2060 of clothing from Scotties Boutique in Auckland’s Ponsonby on December 21, and $7223 worth of clothing from the same store two days later last year.

Both of the Auckland charges carry a maximum penalty of seven years in prison.

Scotties Boutique in Ponsonby, where Golriz Ghahraman is alleged to have shoplifted. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Ghahraman is also charged with stealing $695 worth of clothing from Wellington’s Cre8iveworx store on October 22 last year. That charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison.

The total value of items she is alleged to have shoplifted is $9978.

In an earlier statement, Ghahraman, who resigned from Parliament in January, apologised for her behaviour and said she did not excuse her actions.

She cited “extreme stress” and linked it to previously unrecognised trauma. She said she was seeking help from mental health professionals.

Green MP Golriz Ghahraman is accused of stealing from Wellington store Cre8iveworx before taking items from Scottie's Boutique in Ponsonby several months later. Photos / Mark Mitchell, Melissa Nightingale

In her statement, Ghahraman said the stress had led her to act in ways that were “completely out of character”.

“I am not trying to excuse my actions, but I do want to explain them.

“The mental health professional I see says my recent behaviour is consistent with recent events giving rise to extreme stress response, and relating to previously unrecognised trauma.

“People should, rightly, expect the highest standards of behaviour from their elected representatives. I fell short. I’m sorry. It’s not a behaviour I can explain because it’s not rational in any way, and after medical evaluation, I understand I’m not well.

“It is a great honour to serve as a Member of Parliament. I am proud of my advocacy work on human rights and foreign affairs, and particularly proud of campaigns that resulted in practical improvements to the electoral laws governing donations and overseas voting.”

George Block is an Auckland-based reporter with a focus on police, the courts, prisons and defence. He joined the Herald in 2022 and has previously worked at Stuff in Auckland and the Otago Daily Times in Dunedin.