The Green Party‘s newest MP, Benjamin Doyle, (Ngāpuhi, Te Kapotai, Te Popoto), said they didn’t necessarily want to get into politics but the vision and values of Te Pāti Kākāriki, and its centring of te Tiriti o Waitangi, drew them in.
Doyle, who will be the first openly non-binary MP in the history of Pāremata Aotearoa, sat down with Te Ao Māori News’ Whatitiri Te Wake this morning for their first media interview since the ejection of Darleen Tana from Parliament, a process which triggered Doyle’s appointment to Parliament.
Speaking of their appointment, Doyle said it “feels like a huge privilege and an honour. Obviously, I’m a little bit anxious because it’s a really new territory.”
“I’ve not done this before, clearly, but I know I feel really supported as well.”
“I have a lot of people, my whānau, my loved ones, my community’s all backing me, and I feel that and I hear that from them.”
Moving past the Tana saga
Doyle‘s appointment to the Green Party’s caucus comes off the back of a highly publicised and drawn-out saga over Darleen Tana and her alleged conduct and involvement in migrant exploitation at her husband’s bike business.
Tana was stood down from the Greens in March this year, later resigning from the party before she could be removed.
She refused to resign from Parliament, however, prompting the party to call a hui with its delegates to decide whether to invoke the waka-jumping legislation to force her out of Parliament - legislation it once tried to team up with National to repeal.
Speaking about the saga, and how the party would move past it, Doyle’s message was simple.
“Ka mua, ka muri, you know?”
“We can look to the past to learn, but we’re always moving forward also. And I think that something that the Green Party does really well is remain super focused on what’s important to us.
“So I think I’ll learn from the lessons, move forward, bring my expertise and, importantly, bring the voices of those communities that I belong to with me.”
‘Representation goes some of the way’
Doyle will be the first openly non-binary MP in Aotearoa history.
When asked what that means to them, they said, “Representation goes some of the way to ensuring that people are seen and heard in Parliament from the communities they represent but it’s just a part of me.
“We all bring our tuakiri with us, we bring our whakapapa and I will speak from my lived experience as a nonbinary person, as takatāpui.”
Policy areas
While portfolios are yet to be confirmed, Doyle, a former high school teacher of te reo Māori, Māori arts, and social studies, says a big focus for them will be rangatahi.
“I think that the vision and ideas and creativity of rangatahi are a really important kaupapa to me. I am a pāpā myself, so you know I’m always influenced by what rangatahi are telling us is important.
“Education is really important to me, te Tiriti justice. And I know that te Tiriti justice is climate justice, te Tiriti justice is social justice, and so those kōrero are really important, recognising the interconnection."
They said health and wellbeing, particularly in takatāpui and LGBTQ communities, was of particular importance to them.
“Bringing those voices along with us is really important.
In the extended interview, Doyle also discussed heir views on sexual health, the impact of colonialism on modern day Aotearoa, the impact of poverty on their home electorate of Kirikiroa, and the challenges of working in an environment like Parliament.
Whatitiri’s full interview with incoming Green Party MP Benjamin Doyle can be viewed at the top of this article.