Footage has emerged of former Green MP Golriz Ghahraman allegedly stealing a designer handbag from a Ponsonby boutique.
Video / Supplied
Police have today visited the home of embattled former Green MP Golriz Ghahraman as part of their investigation into three shoplifting allegations.
Two detectives briefly visited the home and after receiving no response from a doorknock they left shortly after.
The police officers did not speak to media during their brief visit to her Grey Lynn home at about 4.30pm.
It is unclear if the former List MP is at the home, which she bought in 2022. Before detectives arrived a delivery driver dropped off a bottle of wine but it has not been collected from the door step.
Police arrive at the house of ex-Green MP Golriz Ghahraman
New Zealand Herald photograph by George Block 16 January 2024
Police have said they are investigating the three alleged shoplifting incidents - two at Ponsonby boutique Scotties and one from high-end Wellington store Cre8iveworx dating from October.
Ghahraman today resigned as an MP and said in a statement: “It is clear to me that my mental health is being badly affected by the stresses relating to my work. This has led me to act in ways that are completely out of character. I am not trying to excuse my actions, but I do want to explain them.
“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.
“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.”
Police arrive at the house of ex-Green MP Golriz Ghahraman. Photo / George Block
Ghahraman continued: “With that in mind, I don’t want to hide behind my mental health problems, and I take full responsibility for my actions which I deeply regret.
“I have let down a lot of people and I am very sorry. The best thing for my mental health is to resign as a Member of Parliament and to focus on my recovery and to find other ways to work for positive change in the world.”
Cre8iveworx emailed other businesses in the capital on Monday with an allegation it believed Ghahraman was in the premises in October last year. A Green Party spokesman told the Herald: “This is a matter for the police to investigate.”
Last week, Newstalk ZB Plus revealed Ghahraman had stepped aside from her shadow political portfolios after the shoplifting allegations.
Her portfolios for the Green Party included justice, foreign affairs, defence, ethnic communities, and trade.
Kiwi-Iranian Greens MP Golriz Ghahraman wants New Zealand's Parliament to stand together in denouncing Iran's treatment of women. Photo / NZME
The Green Party said it was aware of the allegations and said the MP “will stand aside from all portfolio responsibilities until the matter is resolved”.
Before Iran-born Ghahraman became New Zealand’s first MP who was previously a refugee, she was a human rights lawyer.
In 2017, Ghahraman became embroiled in controversy amid allegations she and her party misrepresented her work on war crimes tribunals. Commentators said she and leader James Shaw played down her defence role while inaccurately stating she worked as a prosecutor.
In the 2023 election, Ghahraman was ranked at number seven on the Green Party’s list.
Early in 2020, Ghahraman opened up about her multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis. She told TV3′s The Project she had learned of her condition two years earlier when she began to lose sight in one eye.
She said she was on “hardcore medication” and had to visit a hospital every six months.
