Elizabeth Kerekere to break silence to Green members on Friday night Zoom call

Green Party MP Elizabeth Kerekere will break her silence tomorrow night in a Zoom call to party members.

In an email, seen by the Herald, party co-convenors Aroha Lowe and Rōpata Moore said Kerekere would address Green Party members over Zoom at 8pm on Friday.

Green Party members are currently voting on how the Party’s 2023 election list will be ranked. Kerekere’s place in that ranking will determine whether she makes it back into Parliament or not.

This has been a challenge for Kerekere who is being investigated by the Party after she appeared to call Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick a “crybaby” in a message sent to the wrong group chat. Kerekere denies the message was about Swarbrick.

Kerekere’s supporters fear that voting on the list while Kerekere is under investigation will impact her list placing.

The party co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson released a statement suggesting they were less than pleased Kerekere had accepted the invitation to speak.

“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,” they said.

“We understand that Dr. Elizabeth Kerekere has accepted an invitation to address the party membership.

“We remain committed to an internal process that is fair, and provides an opportunity to hear from MPs and present and former staff in confidence on matters that may have an impact on our ability to carry out our important work on behalf of the people of Aotearoa,” they said.

They also confirmed the investigation would be broader than the immediate issue around Kerekere’s “crybaby” message and would observe whether it was “part of a pattern of behaviour that may be affecting staff wellbeing or the trust of Caucus colleagues”.

Last Thursday, an umbrella group of Green Party members tried to delay members from voting on their party list while Kerekere was under investigation.

The proposal to delay never went to a formal vote. Instead, the Zoom ended with no changes made to the rules after a series of straw polls suggested proposals would not get the 75 per cent support necessary to pass.

However, during that call members discussed giving Kerekere the opportunity to share her side of the story. She has been silent since the investigation commenced.

One concern, however, is that if Kerekere is allowed to speak while the investigation is under way, then other people who are affected by the investigation should also be allowed.

Party delegates had ranked Kerekere fourth in an indicative party list, the highest placing of any of her colleagues who entered Parliament in 2020 and higher than many senior MPs.

But members, a much wider group then party delegates, have the final say on that list. If they wished, members could drop Kerekere down to a point on the list at which she would be unlikely to make it to Parliament after the election.