Green MP Julie Anne Genter told to return to her seat in Parliament during exchange with National's Matt Doocey. Video / Parliament TV
A new allegation has been levelled against Green MP Julie Anne Genter, with a Wellington businesswoman claiming the politician grabbed her arm during an exchange about a controversial plan to ban cars from the heart of the city.
It comes after Four Seasons Florist owner Laura Newcombe revealed Genter filmed her during a confrontation about cycleways that she felt was “like something out of Police Ten 7″.
Genter has been working from home following an incident in Parliament’s debating chamber on Wednesday night, where she crossed the floor and waved a book in the face of National minister Matt Doocey after he commented on Labour cancelling roads.
Now, Cranfields owner Nicola Cranfield has alleged she experienced her own “upsetting” experience with Genter.
Cranfield claimed she saw Genter in Wellington’s Midland Park sometime between the end of last year’s general election and Christmas.
Cranfield said she had always been curious about a letter Genter may have written in her capacity as associate transport minister to former Wellington mayor Justin Lester that led to a plan to remove private vehicles from the city’s Golden Mile.
Cranfield approached Genter and proceeded to ask about the letter.
“She bristled and got really defensive,” Cranfield said.
“She said, ‘I’m no longer in power, I’m in the Opposition’, and she really washed her hands of any responsibility.”
Nicola Cranfield describes her encounter with Green MP Julie Anne Genter as very odd.
Cranfield pushed for an answer again, saying the planned transport changes had negatively affected her retail business.
Genter repeated herself, grabbed Cranfield’s upper arm, and gave it a little shake, Cranfield alleged.
Cranfield said, in her view it, “wasn’t a friendly squeeze” and believed it was aimed to make her feel that Genter was in a “position of power”.
Cranfield pulled away and could not recall if Genter said anything else.
“I was pretty upset and didn’t know what to do or say. I was just not expecting her to lay a hand on me.
“It was just very odd to be grabbed by a politician.”
Asked about Cranfield’s claims, a Green Party spokesperson said Davidson and Swarbrick had no prior knowledge of the allegations regarding Genter which have recently come to light.
“They had already taken disciplinary action after Wednesday’s incident in Parliament, which was clearly unacceptable and fell short of the high standards the Green Party expects of its MPs.
“As part of the disciplinary action, Julie Anne will be receiving professional and personal support to ensure incidents of this nature never happen again.”
Genter herself did not respond to a separate request for comment.
Four Seasons Florist owner Laura Newcombe believes Julie Anne Genter tried to humiliate her after a confrontation in her shop about cycleways. Photo / Katrina Bennett
Cranfield said she did not take the matter further at the time as she was busy running her business.
“I just thought maybe she [Genter] had a really bad day and sort of tried to brush it aside.
“It really just came back this week when I saw her behaviour in other situations and I realised it obviously wasn’t a one-off isolated incident.”
Cranfield felt Genter’s actions came from a position of arrogance.
“A real arrogance towards people on the ground – the ones paying rates, paying GST, paying a lot of money and working hard.”
Cranfield is among some business owners who are vehemently opposed to the Golden Mile project, claiming it will do nothing to enliven the city centre and will turn the capital’s main artery into little more than a bus lane.
The project includes removing vehicles from Courtenay Place through to Lambton Quay to make space for dedicated bus lanes, bike lanes and wider footpaths to prioritise walking and cycling.
Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has said that is what transformational change looks like.
“It will create a beautiful and pedestrian-friendly CBD that will attract people, workers and shoppers. It will make our buses more reliable. It is estimated to deliver hundreds of millions of dollars to benefit our city.”
Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.
