How the Green Party responded to claims Golriz Ghahraman had been shoplifting

Wednesday, 17 January 2024

One of the Green Party’s greatest talents, and a history-making MP, Golriz Ghahraman’s political career ended after almost inexplicable allegations of theft emerged. Glenn McConnell looks at what happened.

“It’s obviously really sad how it’s gotten to this point,” said Green co-leader James Shaw, explaining to reporters on Tuesday how one of the party’s top MPs had become embroiled in allegations of shoplifting before eventually resigning.

There was no defending the MP, former Green Party foreign affairs and justice spokesperson Golriz Ghahraman​. But Shaw and co-leader Marama Davidson did talk often about how her ailing mental health could help to explain some of the actions.

While Ghahraman has not spoken to reporters since the allegations emerged last week, she did issue a written statement on Tuesday, confirming her resignation. She said she acted “ completely out of character” due to mental health issues. But she said she took “full responsibility” for her actions, although she did not comment on specific allegations.

Police investigations are ongoing into two of the claims, one from Wellington store Cre8iveworx, the other from Auckland boutique Scotties – from which it’s alleged she shoplifted twice.

“People should, rightly, expect the highest standards of behaviour from their elected representatives. I fell short,” Ghahraman said in the statement.

“I’m sorry. It’s not a behaviour I can explain because it’s not rational in any way, and after medical evaluation, I understand I’m not well.”

How the allegations emerged

The co-leaders’ press conference also revealed that Ghahraman had been back in New Zealand since Saturday, not Monday as it was initially understood.

Shaw said he, Davidson and Ghahraman had “a number of conversations” during the new year.

According to the co-leaders, they first heard a shoplifting allegation on Wednesday, December 27. At that point, Davidson said the details were unclear. The following day, Ghahraman departed New Zealand for a pre-planned holiday abroad. She arrived back on Saturday, after a second allegation emerged about the same Auckland boutique, Scotties.

“The facts remained kind of unclear for some time, on the 5th we learnt about a second allegation,” Shaw said.

Facing two allegations from the same store, Ghahraman agreed to stand aside from her justice role, and other portfolios, on January 5 – five days before the public heard about shoplifting issues.

What the party knew

Apart from one other “Green representative”, the co-leaders said they were the only people in the party who knew about the allegations against Ghahraman.

Davidson said she wanted to speak to Ghahraman in-person about this issue, rather than make other decisions over the phone while the MP was on holiday.

“That's the only way you can gather the whole vibe and wairua of the nature of what’s being discussed,” Davidson said, when asked why it had taken so long for the party to work out its response to these claims.

The leaders also confirmed they had seen security camera footage from Scotties Boutique, appearing to show Ghahraman in the store. Stuff has also seen this footage, which appears to show Ghahraman checking her surroundings before discreetly removing an item from a clothing rack and placing it into a bag she was wearing.

“We've seen some footage. We don't know the extent of the footage that's out there. But ultimately, that is a matter for the police,” Shaw said.

The co-leaders also said they only learnt about the Wellington allegation after questions from Stuff on Monday, days after Ghahraman had returned home. They would not say they were “disappointed” that Ghahraman hadn’t raised this issue, as Davidson said that would indicate if they thought the allegation was valid – a judgement they said they were unqualified to make.

“Nobody can say whether she has or hasn’t been upfront about any other instances or allegations. That is for the police to answer, certainly not James and I,” Davidson said.

The co-leaders have faced criticism, including from supporters, about whether they acted fast enough after learning of the first allegation. They faced particular criticism about why Ghahraman had remained an MP for weeks, when she and the party were not willing to publicly defend or explain the allegations.

“Everyone will have criticisms of how we've handled them. I think that we made the decisions that we have based on the best information we had available at the time. And it doesn't change the outcome. You know, ultimately, Golriz is taking accountability,” Shaw said.

The role of mental health

The co-leaders said mental health support had been available to Ghahraman, but they noted she had faced particularly brutal and disgusting abuse from the public.

“I mean, obviously Parliament is a stressful place for anybody. However, Golriz herself has been subjected to pretty much continuous threats of sexual violence, physical violence, and death threats since the day she was elected to Parliament,” Shaw said.

He described her condition as, “a state of extreme mental distress”.

Ghahraman said she sought professional medical help after returning to New Zealand. She said they had helped her identify “previously unrecognised trauma”, for which she would receive treatment.

Her supporters have pointed to international examples where depression and mental illness have led people to make otherwise inexplicable and damaging decisions to shoplift.

The end of a political career

Dealing with the fallout of Ghahraman’s shoplifting allegations, the Green co-leaders spoke about “legacy”. They said they did not want to dwell purely on her exit.

“We will continue to uphold her legacy,” Davidson said.

Elected to Parliament in 2017, Ghahraman was the first ever refugee to become an MP in New Zealand. With the exit of Labour’s Ibrahim Omer at the election, there were no longer any refugees in Parliament.

In Parliament, she continued advocacy on refugee issues, international human and democratic rights. Before politics, she had been an international human rights lawyer.

Davidson said her expertise and advocacy had been especially important for the Green Party during the Israel-Gaza War, where the Greens had often been outspoken in their condemnation of Israel’s alleged human rights abuses and war crimes.

Timeline:

October 26 – The date Wellington store Cre8iveworx says Ghahraman visited. Police confirmed they are investigating a shoplifting complaint.

December 23 – Police confirmed they were investigating a shoplifting incident at Scotties Boutique, Auckland.

December 27 – Green co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson are informed about a shoplifting allegation made against Ghahraman, in relation to Scotties Boutique.

December 28 – Ghahraman departs New Zealand, for a holiday abroad.

January 5 – The Green Party co-leaders learn of a second shoplifting complaint, also from Scotties Boutique, and Ghahraman agrees to stand down as justice and foreign affairs spokesperson.

January 10 – News breaks about a shoplifting allegation, related to Ghahraman and Scotties Boutique.

January 12 – The Green Party confirms it is aware of two shoplifting allegations against Ghahraman. The second alleged incident was said to have happened earlier in December.

January 13 – Ghahraman returns to New Zealand.

January 15 – Stuff reports on the October allegation, as police confirm they are making enquiries into the allegation. The Green Party said it was not previously aware of this allegation.

January 16 – Ghahraman resigns as an MP.