Goodbye Gaurav — a timeline for the rebel MP from whoa to go:
Rebel MP Gaurav Sharma threw the Labour Party into a tailspin this year with explosive allegations of bullying. Sharma, ultimately, failed to deliver a smoking gun and was instead shown the door. He now leaves Parliament altogether, after coming fourth in yesterday’s Hamilton West byelection sparked by his resignation. June 15, 2020
Labour publishes its list for the 2020 election. Sharma, a Hamilton doctor, is ranked at number 65.
October, 17 2020
Sharma rides into Parliament on Labour’s red wave, seizing Hamilton West from National’s Tim Macindoe with a margin of 6267. Sharma took 53 per cent of the vote, to Macindoe’s 37 per cent. Sharma is the first KiwiIndian to win an electorate in NZ. February 9, 2021
Sharma delivers his maiden speech to Parliament and speaks of experiencing racial harassment and bullying in New Zealand. “When I was at university, a prominent paediatric surgeon bullied me for months and said: ‘You people come to our country, I will kill you and ruin your career’.” August 11, 2022
In a column for the Herald, the Labour backbencher claims MP-on-MP bullying is rampant and facilitated by those supposed to prevent it. Among his accusations are that the Parliamentary Service stonewalled serious concerns about colleagues’ behaviour and redirected them to the party’s whip, whom — he claimed — would gaslight and victimise the complainant with the intention of threatening them about their longterm political future.
August , 12 2022
Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero denies the allegations. “The Parliamentary Service works alongside whips from all parties. This has included working closely with the Labour Whip’s office over the past year to address employment matters with Dr Sharma.” Labour chief whip Duncan Webb says his office became aware of issues between Sharma and his staff a year ago and tried to address them. Sharma responds with a 2600-word statement on Facebook, providing a timeline of his interactions with Parliamentary Services and the Labour Party whips. He claims to have been gaslit, shouted at and degraded in front of caucus members and directly accuses Webb of bullying. Webb tells RNZ that the Sharma allegations are “unfounded and not accepted”.
August 15, 2022
Jacinda Ardern tells RNZ Morning Report bullying is not a widespread issue in the Labour Party. She says his allegations do not warrant an independent investigation. Sharma shares screenshots on social media of messages he claims are from fellow MPs also alleging bullying by former whip Kieran McAnulty. Ardern announces Labour will hold a caucus meeting to address Sharma’s status because his public actions are out of step with the rules of dealing with disputes within the party. Labour MPs meet — without Sharma present — to discuss the matter.
August, 16 2022
The Labour caucus meets a second time. Sharma is invited but does not attend. After it, Ardern reveals the caucus has unanimously decided to suspend Sharma immediately. “This means Gaurav will continue as the MP for Hamilton West . . . however, he will no longer participate in any caucus events or activities unless caucus’ permission is granted,” Ardern says. She says Sharma could rejoin in December upon review, but that if he breaches the rules again, could be expelled. Sharma accuses the leadership of predetermining the meeting’s outcome.
August 18, 2022
Sharma continues to level fresh accusations against the Labour Party in his first public interview since his suspension. He tells Newshub he has a secret recording of a phone conversation with a senior Labour MP who warns him his fate was sealed. He claims new Labour MPs were taught how to avoid leaving a paper trail in order to evade the Official Information Act. A spokesperson for Ardern says Sharma is misrepresenting conversations with colleagues and that the Labour caucus would consider a motion to expel him.
August 22, 2022
Speaking on RNZ Morning Report, Ardern rejects Sharma’s “repeated unsubstantiated claims”.
August 23, 2022
Sharma is expelled from the Labour Party caucus after a vote. One MP abstains and one, presumably Sharma, votes against. In a separate vote — which Sharma is not present for — the caucus unanimously agrees to refer the matter to the wider Labour Party. Sharma promises to keep pushing for an independent investigation and reiterates his claims that bullying was commonplace. August 24, 2022
Sharma, newly independent, accuses the outgoing Speaker Trevor Mallard of ignoring concerns he raised about bullying within Labour. Mallard denies the allegations.
August 29, 2022
Sharma publishes a new 4700-word post on social media, in which he complains about three former staff members, also revealing he raised “66 specific issues” about one staffer with Parliamentary Service.
October 18, 2022
In a Facebook post, Sharma he says he will resign from Parliament and run in the consequent byelection. He says he will start a new centrist party. He claims he is pre-empting Labour’s plans to use the waka-jumping legislation to remove him from Parliament. Ardern denies the claim and says he is unnecessarily costing the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of dollars with a byelection. November 3, 2022
Sharma announces his new New Zealand Momentum Party in a post on Facebook: “We need a change”. December 5, 2022
A poll commissioned by the Taxpayers’ Union and conducted by Curia puts Sharma in a distant fourth place on 4 per cent. National’s Tama Potaka is on 46 per cent, Labour’s Georgie Dansey on 33 per cent and Act’s James McDowall on 12 per cent. December 10, 2022
Sharma finishes fourth in the t byelection with 1156 votes. Potaka wins with 6629 votes.