Green Party members process Elizabeth Kerekere’s resignation

Gren MP Elizabeth Kerekere quit the Greens on Friday.

Green Party members are processing the resignation of high-profile MP Elizabeth Kerekere who left the party on Friday after falling out with the leadership over its handling of an investigation into her conduct.

Kerekere will now sit in Parliament as an independent MP until the election, when she plans to retire.

Green members, speaking anonymously to the Herald, were divided on Kerekere’s departure. Some described it as “a relief”, while others said they were “devastated”.

Without any polling or an many data points it’s impossible to get a picture for how party members as a whole and Green voters feel about Kerekere. Last month, Green members failed to reach consensus on a motion that would have supported Kerekere’s cause by delaying a crucial vote on the party’s list for the election - an indication while she had some support in the party, it was far from overwhelming.

The Herald spoke to four members who shared their views on Kerekere’s resignation.

One member who supported Kerekere said they were “gutted”.

“I think there are a lot of questions still to answer about this process and the culture inside our caucus,” they said.

Another said they were “devastated”.

“Elizabeth was the MP I trusted most to uphold our kaupapa. A great loss for Parliament, the Greens and Aotearoa,” they said.

Other members strongly disagreed, one former staffer said Kerekere’s “refusal to acknowledge any bullying was pretty surprising”.

“I started hearing stories of her bullying from both staff and MPs well over a year ago. The fact five separate staffers were also willing to go public about her behaviour makes it very hard to believe it’s not true,” they said.

“To argue this is all some politically motivated persecution honestly comes across as a bit self-absorbed and deluded. People didn’t mind her politics, they just didn’t like all the bullying,” they said.

Kerekere had been under investigation for a month after she appeared to call fellow MP Chlöe Swarbrick a “crybaby” in a group chat of Green MPs and staff.

Kerekere has always denied the “crybaby” remark was intended for Swarbrick.

On Saturday, co-leader Marama Davidson said the message “appeared to fall short of our values as a party”.

“We were concerned that these messages were not isolated but part of a pattern of behaviour towards staff and caucus colleagues. We requested that a formal caucus process be carried out to consider the matter. This process began in the days that followed Dr Kerekere’s messages... since then, a number of allegations have surfaced, including confidentially to us, about the conduct of Dr Kerekere towards other Green Party MPs, staff, and members,” she said.

The episode took place after Green Party delegates, a small group of engaged Green Party members, had published an indicative list ranking for the 2023 election that had placed Kerekere fourth - a high ranking for a first-term MP.

After the publication of the delegates’ initial list, Green Party members were given the opportunity to vote on their preferred ranking. The members’ list, barring minor adjustments, is final.

The former staffer said they hoped members would have had the final say on Kerekere by giving her a lower ranking.

“I’m glad she has resigned but had hoped party members would get a chance to reject this behaviour by voting her down on the list,” the member said.

“The initial list is voted on by a handful of very engaged activists in the party. It often doesn’t reflect the views of wider party membership,” they said.

After a bruising month, many members simply want to move on, feeling exhausted by the conflict. Some members are pondering cancelling their memberships with the party, others feel glad that with the distraction over, it can focus on the 2023 campaign.

“Friday was a relief. A relief that this drawn-out saga is finally over and a relief for the multiple complainants that came forward in the investigation. I hope we can all accept that Kerekere’s behaviour fell well short of the expectations of our MPs, and look forward to bringing in fresh wāhine Māori leadership from excellent talent in our candidate pool,” they said.