Staffer angry at former Green MP

A Green Party staffer says Kennedy Graham’s presence at a National Party event proves the former Green MP was never a good fit for the party.

Graham and fellow MP David Clendon resigned from the party’s list at the 2017 election over the rest of the Greens caucus’ continued support for Metiria Turei, who was under fire over her admission of benefit fraud.

Graham, a former diplomat and academic, sought to rejoin the party list after Turei eventually resigned but was rebuffed by the party’s executive.

Jack McDonald, a former candidate, campaigner for party co-leader Marama Davidson, and current parliamentary staffer, wrote a post on an internal Green Party Facebook group saying Graham’s planned attendance at a BlueGreens conference on Saturday proved his exclusion from the list was the right decision.

‘‘Kennedy Graham is speaking at the BlueGreens forum in Canterbury this weekend ... No wonder he sabotaged us and Metiria [Turei] when it mattered most,’’

‘‘No wonder he sabotaged us and Metiria [Turei] when it mattered most.’’

Former Green Party candidate Jack McDonald on Kennedy Graham

McDonald wrote online.

‘‘In the context of Kennedy still apparently having many supporters in the party who were upset he wasn’t allowed back on the list, we need to make sure there isn’t the ability for this to happen in the future and prevent the election of Green MPs whose politics are incompatible with fundamental Green kaupapa.’’

‘‘We all need to work on bringing together the party and reaching out to those who disagree, but there also needs to be a line in the sand, and for me, Kennedy represents it.’’

Green MP Golriz Ghahraman ‘‘liked’’ the post.

Graham is appearing at the BlueGreens Forum alongside National MP Todd Muller and Motu’s Catherine Leining for a talk titled Climate Change – By Degrees. When Graham was in Parliament, he led a cross-party group on climate change.

Graham declined to respond to the comments in detail, other than to point out that he was no longer a member of any political party, and that Green MPs had attended BlueGreen events in the past.

The Green Party’s Left-wing members have been celebrating after their preferred candidate, Davidson, won the co-leadership election.

McDonald told Stuff that ‘‘what Kennedy did in the election campaign was fundamentally contrary to the interests of the party and I still think he’s acting that way’’.

He said Graham had certainly had many supporters within the party but he was not sure if they were still there following his resignation over Turei.

National’s Muller, the party’s climate change spokesman, said he was thrilled to have Graham speak at the event.

‘‘The Greens say they want to remove the politics from climate change and treat it as a non-partisan issue. If that’s true, they need to rein in the rhetoric and be true to that statement,’’ Muller said.