Greens leadership challenger calls for 'strike'

David Hay.

Would-be Green Party leadership challenger David Hay - whose application to stand as a candidate for the party has been rejected - says he is not finished with the party and will today call on the party's volunteers and candidates to rally behind him.

At number 16 on the party list, Mr Hay was not far off a seat in Parliament with the Greens at the last election. However, following his threat to challenge Russel Norman for co-leadership last week, the party executive on Saturday said he would not be allowed to stand next year.

That prompted Mr Hay to call for both co-leaders Dr Norman and Metiria Turei to stand down.

Last night he told the Herald he planned to increase the pressure on the two co-leaders today by calling on party volunteers to "go on strike".

That would involve asking them to cease their work on behalf of the party. He would also call on other candidates to withdraw their candidate applications.

"The other candidates and volunteers should be very fearful. If they can do this to me as number 16 on the party list ... all bets are off in terms of who's going to be next."

He claimed Ms Turei was behind the party executive's move to prevent him from standing next year. Party insiders had told him "it's got her fingerprints all over it".

"If this is the way the leadership is behaving we need to put a stop to that," he said.

Party co-convener Peter Huggins dismissed Mr Hay's calls for the party leaders to stand down.

- Additional reporting APNZ