Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Former Green MP Darleen Tana has returned to Parliament as an independent MP, but her former party says it hasn't heard from her.
Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick says the party will likely discuss whether to eject Tana from Parliament at its annual meeting this weekend, by using the so-called 'waka-jumping' legislation.
Tana was ousted by the Greens and asked to quit politics altogether this month after an independent investigation found she likely knew about allegations of worker exploitation at her husband's business, and did not disclose them to the party until after last year's election.
Tana last week spoke to 1News saying she was considering whether to stay on as an independent MP. She returned to Parliament today, sitting alone behind the Green Party's caucus in the debating chamber.
She emerged from the debating chamber after question time, and told reporters she was pleased to be back.
"I'm really pleased to be back, it's been a long time out and I've been very keen to do the mahi. So I'm pleased to be back and I'm determined to continue serving the people.
"I came in to work on coastal protection and restoring inner coast marine environment, so those are the areas in particular that I'd love to focus on, and working across Parliament to acheive some movement in those areas."
She said she had not been in touch with her former party, and had not heard from them since her return to Parliament. Asked about the accusations of migrant exploitation, she said referred back to the Greens' investigation.
"The report that came out was pretty clear, there was no migrant exploitation in that report let alone that I was involved in it. I'm drawing a line underneath that, thank you."
The investigation had not been tasked with finding whether she had exploited migrants, and instead explored whether she had deceived the party.
Asked to categorically rule out having been involved in any migrant exploitation at her husband's business, she said: "what I can categorically say is that we've spent so much money wasting taxpayers' hard-earned money to find out that I am married to my husband, for better or for worse".
Swarbrick said Tana had not responded to the party's requests she resign as an MP.
"We sought to reach out to her a number of times, Teanau [Tuiono] and Huhana [Lyndon] have as well and as yet we've not had any meaningful engagement back to us," Swarbrick said.
"What we have here is a Member of Parliament that has betrayed the principles and the trust of the green party and has engaged in behaviour that is completely unbefitting, as we believe it, as a Member of Parliament."
Lyndon said the ball was in Tana's court and they were waiting to hear from her about her future in Parliament.
The party could choose to have Tana removed from Parliament by invoking the waka-jumping rule.
Swarbrick said the party would likely consider that possibility at its annual general meeting this weekend.
"We have to see what happens today and throughout this week. But, are we in a situation where we have to explore other options then we will have those sensitive conversations at our AGM this coming weekend.
"When it comes to sensitive discussions with our party about what potential other avenues may be available to us, those will happen with our party at the AGM."
She said the party had "some pretty interesting internal democratic processes," and she did not have exact details of the exact process that would be followed.
"But yes, as I've just said, that will be a sensitive conversation with our party and this is something that if our caucus were to potentially entertain using, we would not do so without the backing of our party.
"What I am focused on is our party staying together and continuing to put the pressure on this government where it is abundantly clear that they are operating against the interests of people and planet."
Darleen Tana has not spoken to RNZ since her suspension despite repeated requests for interviews.
She was suspended as an MP on full pay in March when the Greens launched the investigation into claims of migrant exploitation at her husband's e-bike company. She continues to take the MP's salary of about $168,600, paid for by the taxpayer.
