Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson reveals ‘some untruths were told’ by Elizabeth Kerekere as she fronted media with James Shaw following Kerekere's resignation. Video / RNZ
Elizabeth Kerekere quit the Green Party shortly after 8pm this evening.
Greens co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson said in a statement Kerekere intended to sit as an independent MP until the general election, when she will retire.
The co-leaders said they will not trigger the “waka jumping” law to eject her from Parliament, sticking to a commitment the Greens made when they voted to pass the legislation that they did not intend to invoke it.
Kerekere’s resignation follows a month of speculation about her future after she appeared to call a fellow MP a “crybaby” in a group chat.
Kerekere’s resignation followed a late night Zoom call with Green Party members. Kerekere set out her version of events, having been out of the public eye since a leaked message emerged appearing to call fellow Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick a “crybaby”.
That message triggered an internal party investigation. Despite being announced nearly a month ago, Kerekere alleged the investigation had only just commenced, with her only just receiving the terms of reference. The co-leaders denied this in a statement.
The stalled investigation was allegedly evidence of an attempt to force her out of Parliament by getting the investigation to drag out while members vote on which MPs they most want back in Parliament in 2023.
The accusation that the investigation had only just begun in earnest frustrated some people on the call.
“The biggest takeaway for me is that all this talk of an investigation, of not talking publicly for the integrity of that investigation, an investigation that will uphold mana by the leadership is a lie,” said one party member.
“There is no investigation. After a whole month, there is only just now a terms of reference,” they said.
Green Party co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson put out a joint statement. Photo / Mark Mitchell
“Can you imagine if an employer took that long to stand something up - not even stood up, just drafted process - but spent the whole time telling everyone there was a process, and active investigation?
“It makes it look like the leadership is either trying to find something or hide something, and neither of those are good-faith, natural justice drivers,” they said.
Shaw and Davidson said that much of what Kerekere had told members was untrue, and that this would be addressed in the coming days.
“We have been informed that Dr Kerekere made a number of statements whilst addressing party members tonight, that we consider to be untrue. We do not intend to address these tonight but will do so over the coming days,” Shaw and Davidson said late on Friday.
According to some sources on the call, Kerekere implied she was considering leaving the Greens altogether and that the current situation was making it difficult for her to continue.
Another person on the call was unsure as to whether this was in fact implied. Kerekere also said she was Green through and through, despite the breakdown in relations with her party.
Rumours had been swirling for days that Kerekere would join fellow Ikaroa-Rāwhiti MP Meka Whaitiri and quit her party. Earlier this week, Whaitiri quit the Labour Party to join Te Pāti Māori Party.
Kerekere told members on the call the “crybaby” remark was intended to refer to herself.
However, the Herald has seen two further leaked messages from that group chat which some suggest support the theory the “crybaby” remark was intended for Swarbrick.
“Kia ora everyone. I wrote an inappropriate message on here, which was not meant for this thread and I apologise to everyone here,” she wrote.
“To clarify, I am sorry I wrote down crybaby. I am jealous Chloe [SIC] has a bill going up during list ranking because it’s great timing and I genuinely hope my bill gets pulled tomorrow,” she wrote in a subsequent message.
In a statement, the co-leaders disputed that the investigation had been stalled.
They said that the process began in “the days that followed Dr Kerekere’s messages on 5 April”.
“Since then, a number of allegations surfaced about the conduct of Dr Kerekere towards other Green Party MPs, staff and members.
“As we have stated on numerous occasions, we committed to an internal process to look into these matters that was fair to everyone involved,” they said.
The timing of the episode is pertinent because Green Party members are currently voting on their party’s list ranking for the 2023 election.
If Kerekere is given a low ranking, it would make it almost impossible to re-enter Parliament after the election.
An indicative list ranking compiled by party delegates placed Kerekere fourth, a position high enough to almost guarantee her a place in Parliament.
Supporters of Kerekere had tried to halt list ranking until the investigation had wrapped up, deeming it unfair to hold a vote while she was under investigation.
However, this attempt failed.
Instead, Kerekere was given the opportunity to address members and give her side of the story.
This appeared to go against what the co-leaders wished, which was that neither side would talk about the investigation if a statement could not be agreed between them.
“Consistent with Green Party values, we made clear that the process should be fair to everyone involved. In the absence of an agreement on what could be said, the parties involved have refrained from saying anything,” Shaw and Davidson said in a joint statement.
