Chlöe Swarbrick: Green Party co-leader on the party rescheduling their Special General Meeting for Darleen Tana

The Green Party has set a new date for a special meeting to decide whether to boot now-independent MP Darleen Tana from Parliament.

The meeting was postponed for a hearing of Tana's legal claim she was pressured to resign, after an investigation found she likely knew of alleged migrant exploitation at her husband's business.

Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick says notice has been sent to branches of a meeting to be held on October 17.

"I am incredibly confident in the wisdom of our party - and that's part of the reason that we've also set this date with the opportunity for our members to properly deliberate."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now in the never ending Darlene saga, the Greens have
now set a new date for party members to decide
whether they're going to Booter out of Parliament or not.
Get to hold a meet in October seventeen. Chloe Swarbrick
is the Greens co leader. Hey, Chloe Childer, how are
you very well? Thank you? Do you reckon you've got
the numbers if you've got the seventy five percent support
amongst the delegates to kick her out.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
I am incredibly confident in the wisdom of our party
and that's part of the reason that we've also set
the stage with the opportunity for our members to properly
deliberate on a number of pieces of information, notably what's
transpired in the last month or so, and to come
to a well considered opinion.

Speaker 1 (00:34):
Yes, so you've got confidence in the wisdom of the party,
but does that mean that you've got confidence you've got
seventy five percent?

Speaker 2 (00:41):
Look again, I don't want to get ahead of ourselves here.
We are very proud. I'm sure you have had many
Green Partty co leaders on your show over the last
few years saying that we're very proud of our internal democracy.
And look, I would to be completely straight up and
say that as at the best of times, we've demonstrated
democracy can be messy, but ultimately that heering from everyone
in the room and making sure that we move forward together.

Speaker 1 (01:03):
As you know what they say, you never call you
never call for a vote unless you know you're going
to win a day. So you might be making a
mistake here.

Speaker 2 (01:09):
Are You're looking at Sunsu out of war, aren't you.
Look what we've said is that we very clearly as
a caucus and we haven't come to the position lightly
is based on that independent expert investigation into the facts
and the behavior of d'arlan Tana that we very clearly
have come to the conclusion that she is not fit
to be a member of parliament and we have moved

(01:30):
forward to put that recommendation to our party to reconcile.
Actually with an unprecedented situation, we have never been in
a situation before where we have had somebody who has
been elected on the Green Party list who we have
come to the conclusion is unfit to be a member
of parliament, yet is intent on sticking around.

Speaker 1 (01:47):
If your delegates do say yes, how fast can you
remove her?

Speaker 2 (01:51):
So as I understand the legislation as it presently sits,
is that subsequence to that SGM and our delegates giving
that endorsement. If that worship the case, then we would
write a letter to the speaker. And actually the legislation
is relatively silent on how quickly the Speaker would then
need to move, but that would sit within his discretion,
and as I understand it, things could move relatively quickly,

(02:13):
especially given that Darlene has already resigned herself as a
member of the Green Party.

Speaker 1 (02:16):
And then what do you think she's going to do.
Is she's just going to take this one lying down
or she challenged you again.

Speaker 2 (02:21):
Look, I've kind of given up on guestimating what Darlene
Tana will do. What we've been focused on is consistently
continuing to perch our values at the forefront of ear
with integrity.

Speaker 1 (02:32):
You should be thinking about this because this is her,
because it's this is I mean, this is making this
makes you guys look like idiots in public, Well I
you are. I'm just saying she is making fools of.

Speaker 2 (02:45):
You, and you're entitled to your freedom of speech. But look,
what I will say is that we have control over
what we have control over. And look, as I have
found in the last several years that I have been
doing this job and the public arena, everyone is always
going to have an opinion on free thing that you do.
The best that you can do is step with your
values at the forefront and act accordingly, and we have

(03:07):
consistently done that, demonstrating and I think that it makes
it pretty clear on that independent investigation, our executive summary
that we put out there publicly as to why we
have come to that conclusion that Darlian Tanna is not
fit to be a member of Parliament, and we've simply
been asking for that accountability and that responsibility. And again
make the point here that if we were looking for
the best possible result, it would be for her to

(03:29):
take that accountability and responsibility and to resign herself. But
in lieu of doing that, we are stepping through the
motions and operating consistently and in line with our values.

Speaker 1 (03:38):
Are you sure that you shouldn't just let this one go,
just leave her up there in siber area, because it
just you know, because this could just keep on dragging
on and making fools of you.

Speaker 2 (03:49):
Again, we have control over what we have ConTroll over,
and what we have control over is going back to
our party membership and saying, let's reconcile with this deeply
unusual and for the first time that we've ever been
confronted with this situation. A member of Parliament that was
elected on our list, noting three hundred and thirty thousand
New zealanderss across the country vote of the month's recent

(04:09):
election to give the Greens fifteen seats in Parliament to
fight for people on planet. We're now down one of
those seats and the vote that comes with that seat.
But also obviously the kind of proportionality of questions that
are afforded in the House, and also the likes of
the resources that we have to go out there to.

Speaker 1 (04:26):
Way money to engagatually. Want your money back, Chloe had, Well,
how do you feel about the fact that there is
a wealthy Green Party donor backing her?

Speaker 2 (04:35):
I am not interested in really speculating on her. If
it's backing her.

Speaker 1 (04:40):
Doesn't that show you that the party's divided on this.

Speaker 2 (04:43):
I think that you'll find in any given political party
that there'll be a difference of opinion, and you could
probably find one person on any given issue who will
disagree with whatever their leadership's up to, so I'm pretty
comfortable with that.

Speaker 1 (04:54):
Thank you, Chloe, appreciate time. As always, it's Cloe Swarbrick,
Green Party co leader hear the why does Chloe think
an interview has a minimum wood count? Nineteen away from
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