After months of drama between Darleen Tana and the Green party, the Speaker has officially removed Tana from Parliament.
“Under section 134(1) of the Electoral Act 1993, I, Gerard Anthony Brownlee, Speaker of the House of Representatives, give notice that the seat of Darleen Tana has become vacant by reason of her ceasing to be a parliamentary member of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, the parliamentary leaders of that party having delivered to me in accordance with section 55A(3)(b) of the act a written notice that complies with section 55c of the act,” the gazetted notice said.
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick wrote in a statement that her party went beyond the requirements to activate the waka jumping law it heavily opposed when introduced.
“Last week, 185 Green Party delegates, representing our thousands of members across the country, came to a unanimous consensus to put this request to the Speaker. This, of course, went well above and beyond the requirements in the law. We have always been and remain a proudly grassroots-led party.
“Throughout this process, our founding values and principles have been our guiding star, and I am proud of how we have held true to those. This gazette from the Speaker today draws a line under the issue.
“Every single day, we have continued to fight for people and planet, and hold the government to account of their cruel and destructive agenda. That mahi continues with the vigour our communities need and deserve,” she said.
Tana had been kicked out of the party over allegations involving her husband’s business and became an independent MP until today.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Swarbrick was happy it was over.
“We‘re glad to be in a position, where we can draw a line into this.”
Swarbrick was asked about any regrets in the process. She responded that she was proud of the party’s conclusions.
“I am incredibly proud of the fact that we have thoroughly pulled this issue apart and have looked at this in so many different angles and consistently come back to what we believe in and the things that we are trying to achieve as the Green Party.”
When asked again if there were any regrets, she said she felt “really comfortable” with how the process of ousting Tana from the party and the Waka Jumping was handled.
Although her party was against the Waka Jumping legislation when introduced, she said they would only use it again if similar circumstances arose.
Ngāpuhi descendant, Benjamin Doyle, will take over Tana’s seat in Parliament. Green MP Ricardo Menéndez March confirmed the party ha spoken to him earlier on Tuesday.
“I’m really excited for the contributions that Benjamin will make, particularly with their background in public education and current work around public health and so we look forward to supporting Benjamin coming into the role,” said Menéndez March.
During the 2023 election, Doyle was the Green Party representative for the Hamilton West electorate but lost to Tama Potaka. They were 18th on the Green Party list in that election.
