Greens move to discipline Genter
Party leader says MP’s confrontation in House ‘cannot happen again’
The Green Party has begun a disciplinary process into the behaviour of MP Julie Anne Genter after a confrontation in Parliament on Wednesday night, which has now triggered a privileges complaint.
“This cannot happen again,” Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson told media yesterday afternoon.
“It completely fell below our standards of behaviour,” Davidson said.
Speaker Gerry Brownlee has received privileges complaints from party whips relating to the incident. He did not specify which parties had lodged the complaints.
Speaking in Parliament yesterday, he said the process of natural justice meant he would give the MP facing the complaint (Genter) until midday on Monday to make a representation on it before he makes a decision on it. He reminded MPs that once a point of privilege had been raised, they were not to raise the incident in Parliament until his ruling was made.
Genter crossed the floor of the debating chamber on Wednesday night and waved a book in the face of National Party minister Matt Doocey. She has since apologised.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Genter’s behaviour was “quite unbelievable”. He had checked in with Doocey on Wednesday night.
New Zealand First’s Winston Peters and Labour’s Chris Hipkins have also said Genter’s actions were unacceptable.
Davidson wouldn’t answer whether Genter had displayed similar behaviour or had breached the party’s expectations of behaviour in the past. She was limiting herself to commenting on this week’s actions.
“[Her actions] were not good and they were wrong,” she said.
The Greens had an internal MP code of conduct and Genter had breached that.
Davidson said she had contacted Doocey as well as Luxon, but hadn’t heard back. Doocey didn’t comment on the matter when journalists asked.
Davidson believed the party didn’t need to conduct an investigation into any role the party could have played in Genter’s actions.
Asked how they might respond to public concern about the state of the party, Davidson said she understood
if some members of the public would have concerns in light of Genter’s actions, which followed the launch of an investigation into MP Darleen Tana and the resignations of former MPs Golriz Ghahraman and Elizabeth Kerekere.
Davidson said she had thought it best Genter was not in Parliament yesterday.
Co-leader Chlo¨e Swarbrick said they had made it clear to Genter that her actions were not acceptable. “It crossed a threshold.” Swarbrick did acknowledge Genter had been talked to about a previous incident of poor behaviour during a media interview.
Deputy Prime Minister Peters yesterday said Genter had “lost the plot” and should face consequences, while Hipkins said such behaviour was not acceptable.
A Green Party spokesman had earlier said Genter’s actions were “clearly unacceptable and do not meet the standards of what we expect of Green Party MPs”.
“The co-leaders have talked to Julie Anne and made clear their expectations. Julie Anne has apologised to the Speaker and to the House.”
Act leader David Seymour tweeted about the incident, saying “there’s a culture in the Greens where they think they know it all, and the rules don’t apply to them. Now there’s a Green Party scandal almost every month with one of their MPs acting out on that culture”.
The incident happened about 8pm on Wednesday, while Labour’s Nelson MP, Rachel Boyack, was speaking.
It followed some heckling between Doocey and Genter over transport funding for roading.
It was visible in the background of the footage on Parliament TV.
“Miss Genter. Miss Genter, please resume your seat,” demanded the chair at the time, Barbara Kuriger.
“It’s not appropriate to get out of one’s seat to go and have an argument with somebody on the other side.”
Speaker Brownlee was recalled to the debating chamber to deal with the issue after National’s whip Scott Simpson asked Kuriger to do so.
After some other MPs spoke, Genter stood and said she would like to apologise, saying she had been trying to show Doocey some information in a booklet.
“It was the last thing I wanted to do was to intimidate anyone in this House. What has absolutely motivated me was a desire to share information that I believed would be of benefit to everyone in this House.
“I’m very sorry if in my passion to do so, I was intimidating. That was not my intention.”