Embattled MP Darleen Tana fronts media on return to House, says she will remain in Parliament
Embattled MP Darleen Tana has fronted media after returning to the House today, saying she will remain in Parliament “as long as this place allows me”.
She returned to the House today for the first time since resigning from the Green Party.
Asked when she would decide her future in Parliament, she said: “I’m here now and doing the mahi ... as long as this place allows me”.
Tana said she has not had any conversations with her former party since returning to Parliament.
Asked if she was involved in migrant exploitation, she said: “The report that came out was pretty clear, there was no migrant exploitation in that report, let alone that I was involved in it.
“What I can categorically say is we’ve spent so much money wasting taxpayers’ hard-earned money to find out that I am married to my husband for better or for worse.”
As she finished speaking to reporters, Tana said she needed to get back to the House because she was the “only person there and I don’t have anybody backing me up”.
Parliament has resumed after a long recess that included just one week of sitting since the Budget was delivered on May 30.
The question many had been asking was whether today’s session would see the return of Tana, who was suspended in March after allegations of migrant exploitation at her husband’s bike business.
She had not been seen in Parliament since. During that time, her conduct was reviewed by an independent lawyer and was found to be wanting. She resigned from the Green Party caucus before she would have been pushed.
Tana has been exiled to the part of the debating chamber colloquially known as “Siberia”. Situated in the far corner, “Siberia” was home to the likes of Jami-Lee Ross, Gaurav Sharma and Elizabeth Kerekere after they too fell out with their parties.
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Chlöe Swarbrick responds to Tana's decision
Scott Palmer
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick responds to Tana's decision to stay in Parliament as an independent MP.
“We have only just heard through the media that Darleen Tana intends to stay on. Our caucus and party will be taking next steps with this in mind and will have more to say in due course.”
Te Pāti Māori attacks Peters over 'retard comment'
Scott Palmer
It was a sometimes unedifying Question Time during which NZ First leader Winston Peters had to withdraw the use of the phrase “retard comment” and Te Pāti Māori interjecting with the phrase “what blood quantum are you?” in response.
After Question Time, Te Pati Maori co–leader Rawiri Waititi said both Peters and NZ First MP Shane Jones had accused Te Pāti Māori of talking about “blood quantum” in the past.
“What we were doing was throwing it back at the person who actually uses blood quantum–ing tactics in the House, which is Winston Peters," he said.
“But in actual fact we never talk about percentage of blood quantum. But he uses it all the time. So to have NZ First accuse Te Pāti Māori, the only indigenous and tangata whenua party in this Parliament, of using blood quantum–ing is a bloody farce.”
Peters said his dismissal of a comment about “ongoing colonisation” by Ngarewa-Packer as “a retard comment” was warranted because it had been a “a stupid racist comment.”
Asked if he knew what “retard” meant, he said it had many meanings.
“When you do it on a vehicle, you just slow the vehicle down. It’s got many meanings and you’ve got the wrong one here.”
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa–Packer said they had decided to start calling out Peters for using derogatory words.
“Every time we stand up to do something, he stands up and abuses. I think we’ve had the words ‘idiotic’ and then ‘disgusting’ – another word we have seen used to demonise and abuse people. So we had to take the Deputy Prime Minister to task. We’ve watched it go on for months and months.”
Ngarewa–Packer defended their own use of the word “racist” about the government.
“We won’t stand back on the fact they are part of a coalition that is repealing every transformational policy and legislation that has been put in to address inequities.”
Te Pāti Māori ’never leave Māori behind’
Scott Palmer
Te Pāti Māori co–leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa–Packer said they had not had any discussions with Tana about joining their party.
Asked if they would take Tana if she asked, Ngarewa–Packer said that was “a discussion that needs to still happen”.
“We never leave Māori behind. We’ve always been open about that. It’s a treacherous place.”
Ngarewa–Packer said they had seen Tana for the first time today “and mihi to her because there was a camera in her face the whole time. We know what it’s like to be unwanted in that place so we acknowledged her in that place”.
Darleen Tana: 'I'm here ... as long as this place allows me’
Julia Gabel
Former Greens MP Darleen Tana says she will remain working at Parliament as " as long as this place allows me.”
Asked when she would decide her future in Parliament, she said: “I’m here now and doing the mahi ... as long as this place allows me."
Tana says she has not had any conversations with her former party since she’s been back.
Asked if she was involved in migrant exploitation, she said: “The report that came out was pretty clear, there was no migrant exploitation in that report, let alone that I was involved in it."
“What I can categorically say is we’ve spent so much money wasting tax-payers hard-earned money to find out that I am married to my husband for better or for worse."
Oskar Alley
Oskar Alley
'Betrayed the principles, trust of the Green Party'
Oskar Alley
Asked if she thought the issue would dominate at the Green Party's AGM, Swarbrick said there was "a pretty clear consensus" in frustration.
"And everybody would like to just kind of put it behind us and move forward because we all know the challenges we are facing."
Asked about previous suggestions that the party banned the use of the waka jumping law, Swarbrick said it would only be used if the wider party approved it.
"What we have here is a member of Parliament who has betrayed the principles and the trust of the Green Party and has engaged in behaviour that is completely unbefitting, as we believe it, as a member of Parliament."
Verrall and Costello on tobacco products
Julia Gabel
Labour's Ayesha Verrall is grilling Associate Health Minister Casey Costello about tobacco company Philip Morris.
Costello says the opposition were "fixated on tobacco products", to which the House broke out in interjection.
Oskar Alley
Greens 'incredibly frustrated' with Tana
Oskar Alley
On the way into Parliament, Greens co-leader Chloe Swarbrick said she had sent a further email to Darleen Tana asking her to respond to the Green Party’s call for her to resign but still did not know whether Tana would resign or stay on as an MP.
Swarbrick said a number of party members had expressed frustration about the situation.
Asked if the party was considering using the waka jumping legislation, she said they would wait to see what happened this week.
If they did use the waka jumping law, Swarbrick said it would not be without the sign-off of the wider party.
“I’ve always said nothing is off the table here. But the best case scenario for everyone involved in this situation is for Darleen to take accountability and responsibility and to resign.
”But we are in a situation where we have to explore other options, then we will have those sensitive conversations at our AGM this coming weekend.
“I can be pretty clear with you that there are a number of members across the country who have reached out to me, incredibly frustrated about the situation and about Darleen Tana’s unwillingness to take responsibility for what’s happened here.”
Swarbrick said the party had “some pretty interesting democratic processes”.
Chlöe Swarbrick quizzes PM over climate change
Julia Gabel
Swarbrick, Luxon and Act leader David Seymour are debating over the term "least-cost" used in the Emissions Trading Scheme.
The topic is eliciting strong responses from all sides of the house.
Edmonds, Willis debate Health sector
Julia Gabel
Labour's Barbara Edmonds is facing off with Finance Minister Nicola Willis over the state of the health sector, particularly staffing levels. Willis says there are "record" levels of nurses employed in the sector" while Edmonds is seeking reassurance cost cuts won't impact frontline services. Willis says that is the expectation.
Edmonds says the coalition Government's Budget was barely enough to keep the "lights on" in health.
Willis says Edmonds should "depart from her high horse".
Oskar Alley
Willis celebrates lower inflation
Julia Gabel
Finance Minister Nicola Willis is talking about the cost-of-living crisis, saying annual inflation at 3.3 per cent is the lowest it has been for three years. Her comments are prompting several interjections from the Leader of the Opposition Chris Hipkins and cheers for her own side, the National Party.
Question time kicks off
Julia Gabel
Former Green MP Darleen Tana is in the House. She’s sitting at the very back of the chamber, directly behind the Green Party.
As Te Pati Māori MPs entered the chamber, they came and greeted her.
Oskar Alley
Parliament resumes at 2pm today.
STORY CONTINUES
Her seat was at the very back of the chamber, directly behind the Green Party.
As Te Pāti Māori MPs entered, they came and greeted her.
The Greens have called on Tana to quit Parliament – a call echoed today by Labour leader Chris Hipkins. So far, she has shown no signs of doing so.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is back in the country after his trip to the Nato summit earlier this month, where he rubbed shoulders with world leaders. Luxon stayed out of the country last week, taking a holiday before returning at the weekend.
The focus in Question Time appears to be on finance and health, with the Government asking itself questions about the state of the Government’s books and healthcare, and the Opposition appearing to probe those issues too.
Labour’s finance spokeswoman Barbara Edmonds will ask Finance Minister Nicola Willis whether she refused “any requests of funding for additional frontline services” at Health New Zealand/Te Whatu Ora. The question comes amid reports the Government is trimming funding for frontline health services by imposing a de facto hiring freeze.
On Monday, Health Minister Shane Reti denied that funding constraints had resulted in a hiring freeze.
“There hasn’t been a hiring freeze,” Reti said.
“Hundreds of nurses and doctors as well have been employed or taken up offers of employment in the past few months.”
But Labour health spokeswoman Ayesha Verrall said this was “completely at odds” with what she had heard from the frontline.
“They are saying that they see vacant roles in the department that were approved for funding being cut, [job] ads that were on the website disappearing, they’re hearing about maternity leave cover for their colleagues not being filled.”