Green MP suspended amid migration exploitation claims
Friday, 15 March 2024
The Green Party has suspended one of its MPs, Darleen Tana.
The party confirmed the action after Stuff asked questions about her links to alleged migrant exploitation at her husband’s company.
A worker claims he is owed about $25,000 in wages and holiday pay by the business.
The Green Party has suspended one of its MPs, Darleen Tana, and appointed an independent lawyer to investigate her conduct after a Stuff investigation into allegations of migrant exploitation at a business owned by her husband.
The Greens suspended Tana on Thursday afternoon after Stuff put a series of questions to her about the allegations that the company, E-Cycles NZ trading as Bikes and Beyond, employed a worker who was in New Zealand on a visitor visa, and paid him in cash until he secured a work visa.
The worker, Santiago Latour Palma, says that he completed a one-day work trial at the business under the oversight of Tana, and was paid in cash.
Palma claims he is owed about $25,000 in wages and holiday pay by the business. He has lodged an ERA claim.
Stuff understands a second worker has also lodged an ERA claim.
Tana and her husband, Christian Hoff-Nielsen, founded the chain of e-bike shops a decade ago; Tana relinquished her shareholding in the business in 2019.
Hoff-Nielsen has denied the claims, saying he does not owe Palma any money, denies that he worked there illegally or was paid in cash or had anything to do with Tana.
He said Palma was “using the position my wife is now in to make it seem somehow that something is owed, so he can create a bit of a stir and you’ve jumped on that, that’s your job”.
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Palma says he asked Tana to intercede and help him secure his lost wages and she refused. He supplied message chains showing Tana asking him to assist with her political campaign.
Tana has not returned calls and messages from Stuff.
Instead, a Green spokesperson said he would handle all inquiries on her behalf.
A statement was supplied from Green leaders Marama Davidson and Chloe Swarbrick which said Tana had told the party on February 1 and then again on February 9 of complaints laid to the Employment Relations Authority, both of which included allegations against her personally.
But they said it was not until yesterday that they learned that “Ms Tana may have had some prior knowledge of the allegations”.
“Green MPs are expected to maintain high standards of public and private behaviour. To understand fully what Ms Tana knew, and when, we are appointing an independent lawyer to conduct an investigation into the matter. Ms Tana will stand aside from all Caucus and Parliamentary responsibilities until the matter is resolved.”
“We cannot comment on the specific allegations while the matter is waiting mediation and the independent investigation is ongoing.”
Palma said he raised his concerns over pay with Tana. “I spoke to Darleen about it… she knows the whole situation. When I speak with her, she says she has nothing in common with the business… but in Waiheke, she is in the business. She knows I am not getting paid.”
After Stuff broke the story, Davidson told RNZ on Friday morning that she stood by the the fact the MP was stood down from the small business portfolio, without sharing that information with the public.
'The allegations are serious and we are taking this seriously. We are clear and have long thought anyone coming to Aotearoa needs to be treated with respect … this has absolutely no place in Aotearoa,“ she said.
The co-leader acknowledged the party had been going through tough times - the suspension of Tana comes off the back of former MP Golriz Ghahraman being suspended for alleged shoplifting.
“It's certainly been a hard time. We work through them one by one, step by step as we need to.
'I think it's fair to everyone that we are going through some times.'
The Green party has long since campaigned on fair and compassionate treatment for those who chose to move to NZ for work, so the allegations were disappointing to hear, Davidson said.
The allegations were being taken seriously, she said.
Rachel Burt, an independent barrister specialising in workplace issues, will lead the investigation.
Palma’s advocate, Nathan Santesso, welcomed the suspension of Tana.
Earlier, he said: “Even if it is true she is not involved, as a Member of Parliament, you ought to try to do something…. they should be standing up for people like this.”
The next stage is mediation. If that fails, the case will be listed for an ERA investigation meeting, at which Santesso intends to call Tana as a witness.