Brigitte Morton: Political Commentator on the Darleen Tana investigation and the Green's response

Darlene Tana doesn't think natural justice has been followed.  

The Green Party's requested the MP resign from Parliament after receiving the investigation into alleged migrant exploitation at her husband's business.  

Tana's been suspended on full pay for 115-days, earning over $40 thousand in that time. 

The former Green MP doesn't accept the findings and claims it substantially misrepresents her level of involvement in her husband's business. 

Former National ministerial advisor Brigitte Morton told Ryan Bridge that Tana has all the cards in her hands.  

She says unless the Green's backflip on the waka jumping legislation and invoke it, she can sit there as long as she wants. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Party review in to Darlne Tana has been released and
not publicly. So that was a little teas for you,
wasn't it. Here? You all worth thinking that I was
going to give you all the dirty details, but I
don't have any because the report is still behind closed doors.
Tana has resigned as a member of the party and

(00:20):
the Greens leaders have asked her to resign as an MP.
But what are the chances of that actually happening? Johnny
men Now's political commentator and former ministerial advisor for the
National Party Morton Bridget Good.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Morning, Good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:33):
What happens here? So she's quit the party, that's okay.
The Greens are done with her, but she's not planning
to stick around.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
Yeah, Ultimately she has all the cards in her hands.
Unless you know, the Greens aside to do a backflip
on the walker jumping legislation and actually invoke that legislation,
she can just sit there basically as long as she wants.

Speaker 1 (00:55):
And this is because the Greens, I mean, they spent
about the good part of twenty years opposing walker jumping,
so for them to go and walk a jump her
would be it would be pretty it would be pretty rough. Politically,
wouldn't it.

Speaker 2 (01:07):
Yeah, I mean they did ultimately vote to get it
in term for it to become legislation under the Labor
Greens New Zealand First government because it was a bottom
line for New Zealand First, so they are responsible for
it being on the books at least in part. But
ultimately they've had chances to use it previously obviously last
year was Elizabeth Kitty Kitty, and they chose not to
because their Green membership is very anti using the walker

(01:31):
jumping legislation.

Speaker 1 (01:32):
Which is weird because they don't why they do now
have constituency MPs, but it seems an obvious one to
use on a list MP, doesn't it.

Speaker 2 (01:41):
Yeah, absolutely, Particularly a list MP who hasn't been in
Parliament for half of the time that they've been elected
for doesn't represent a constituency and there's no evidence that
she is undertaking any constituency work. So ultimately, what is
she being paid for, Particularly when the Greens could have
someone in there that is advocating on Green's issues.

Speaker 1 (01:59):
Why are the Green so obsessed with that, with that
particular rocker jumping bill, Why do they not, like I mean,
I know you mentioned that that they had to swallow
the dead rat as James Shaw put it, and pass it.
But what exactly don't they like about it?

Speaker 2 (02:13):
They believe it's undemocratic and then allows for parties to
have a hold over the MP. So it wouldn't allow
an MP perhaps to cross the floor. It would maybe
make the parties much more of a dictatorship. You know,
you think about how the Greens operate operates. They've got
co leadership. They're very much and taking votes and feedback
from their membership, as opposed to say, more hierarchical parties

(02:34):
like Labor National or you see at first.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
It's almost a vote against or against the faith and
their leadership, the leadership with their party, because if their
party was you know, was following a good process and
adjust process, et cetera, then you wouldn't really care what
they did because you know, at least natural some form
of natural justice would have happened or occurred.

Speaker 2 (02:58):
Yeah, but in the seventh Darling Tanna has said absolutely
natural justice hasn't occurred. She doesn't agree with the findings
of the report all the way. That's Wallbrook characterized them,
as she says in the press conference yesterday. So she
would say that natural justice hasn't been followed. Therefore she
has been pushed out.

Speaker 1 (03:15):
Just before we go, what is natural justice? It's one
of those Is it just one of those buzzwords now
that we all say, you know, I haven't had my
natural justice? What is that like? Does that going to
court and sitting in front of a jury or what
do they mean?

Speaker 2 (03:29):
I think it's often used as a bit of a buzzword,
but it does mean that people have the ability to
be have their views represented, have the belief, have their say,
have that play out, have the rules known to everyone,
have a clear set of rules so that everyone knows
what they're playing by. So you can see in the circumstance,
Darlinge may argue that she hasn't had natural justice because

(03:49):
perhaps she hadn't any control over that investigation or understanding
what was happening in that investigation.

Speaker 1 (03:55):
Ridget, thanks very much for your time this morning. Really
appreciate it. Bridget Morton with US political commentator and former
ministerial advisor for the national parties. For more from news
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