Mayor Tory Whanau returns to the Green Party

Wellington mayor Tory Whanau has joined the Green Party again, after leaving at the start of her term to focus on uniting the Wellington City Council. A spokesperson for the mayor confirmed she had rejoined the party. Whanau said in a statement: “I put my party membership on hold temporarily while I built relationships with councillors, but I have always [been] open about my support for the party and my alignment on issues.” At the start of her term as mayor, Whanau announced she had resigned from the party to give her more flexibility to work across the council table. In an interview with The Post at the end of last year, after hiring several former Green Party staff members, Whanau said she had left the party because “having to negotiate with people like John Apanowicz, Tim Brown, that would be conflicting with Green policies”. “I’ve always worn my political colours on my sleeve, I’ve been very open, I support the Green Party. “I still think they have the best policies for New Zealanders and the environment, but I’m not a Green member, so that I have more freedom to be able to push certain policies over the line, like [the sale of] airport shares,” Whanau said at that time. Before her mayoral campaign Whanau had worked as the chief of staff for the Green Party in Parliament.