‘ It’s nothing short of remarkable’
One of Ardern’s first acts as leader was to rule Turei out of Cabinet, and a bomb went off under the Greens’ campaign when MPs David Clendon and Kennedy Graham revealed they would step down in protest at Turei remaining co- leader.
Shaw called a late- night media conference at Parliament, saying he felt betrayed and the MPs had violated the Greens’ culture.
This week he stood on the same black and white tiles in Parliament, flanked by Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter, Conservation and Land Information Minister Eugenie Sage and Parliamentary Under- Secretary to the Minister of Justice Jan Logie.
Clendon and Graham were but an
The challenge for the Greens is to show they are the pioneering force. Keith Locke Former Green MP
unpleasant memory. Shaw talked of presenting a bottle of Glenmorangie whiskey to Winston Peters the night before, and there were groans when he answered a question about why he wanted Statistics: “It’s the only portfolio that counts.”
Special votes brought in Golriz Ghahraman as a Green MP. She and Chloe Swarbrick are the young stars of the party, already organising a public picnic on Parliament’s front lawn next week. More than 200 people have accepted a Facebook invite and a further 1700 shown interest in attending.
In Ardern, Labour has a Prime Minister able to pull off similar efforts — she hosts frequent Facebook Live