Turei battles on as pair leave caucus
The two Green MPs who announced they would quit at the election, in protest at co-leader Metiria Turei’s confession of benefit fraud, are out of the party’s caucus.
Kennedy Graham and David Clendon would remain Green MPs for the remaining two weeks of the parliamentary term. They would be excluded from internal party business, such as campaign planning and caucus meetings.
The Greens’ hierarchy could still be considering procedures to expel them from the party, but in a change of heart co-leader James Shaw said he would advise the party not to. Late Monday night, Shaw said he would be leading that charge himself, but since then he had ‘‘gotten some sleep’’.
‘‘David and Kennedy withdrew from caucus today. That decision was supported by the other 12 Green Party MPs.
‘‘They have made the right decision today. We wish David and Kennedy the best,’’ he said.
‘‘The remainder of the Green Party caucus is 100 per cent behind our co-leader, Metiria.’’
Turei said there was no polling situation that would make her stand down as leader.
‘‘I’m committed to stay at least until the election, because we have a really important job to do. I"m really sad they’ve undertaken this action. They believed it was necessary for them – I believe it is necessary for my party and the people I represent, for me to stay on as the co-leader.’’
She rejected assertions her admission had split the party.
‘‘I’ve never asked people to accept what I did was right. But that’s not the same thing as saying the Green Party doesn’t support me. Because actually, we have asked the party; yes the party does support me.
‘‘There will be many people who disagree with what I did but they support me as leader, and the Green Party and our campaign.’’
Graham and Clendon stood by their position.
‘‘Under the current leadership we couldn’t feel ourselves committing to participating in a campaign and while Metiria remained as coleader, we will not stand as candidates,’’ Clendon said.
Both said they would like to remain Green Party members. Graham said after Turei’s first admission, they had sought an exemption to be able to say they did not condone benefit fraud, which was eventually granted.
But the revelations that followed, were a bridge too far and had ‘‘moved it into a broader issue of leadership’’.
The party spent most of yesterday morning in crisis talks.