Greens under pressure to kick Darleen Tana out of Parliament

Tuesday, 9 July 2024

MP Darleen Tana is under pressure to resign.

Tana was suspended from the Green Party in March after links were revealed between herself and alleged migrant worker exploitation.

She hasn’t been at Parliament for months.

Pressure is building for the Green Party and its shunned MP, Darleen Tana, over whether she should remain in Parliament.

Tana hasn’t been at Parliament for months. She was suspended from the Greens in March, when Stuff revealed links between herself and alleged migrant worker exploitation. And now that the results of a Green Party investigation have been returned to her and the caucus, Tana has been kicked out of the party.

But she remains an MP.

While the political process plays out, a former worker at Bikes and Beyond - a bike shop owned by Tana’s husband, Christian Hoff Nielsen - is still waiting for thousands of dollars he says he’s owed.

Santiago Palma, the first worker to speak out publicly, is still waiting for the wages he says he’s owed. As Tana considers her role as an MP, he told Stuff that becoming involved with Bikes and Beyond had turned his New Zealand dream into a nightmare.

“I only want for an apology. And I don't know why they deny and deny and deny,” he said.

Tana, in a statement, said she had not been heavily involved in the business. But Palma said she had been, and they last discussed his role in November.

Read this story in te reo Māori and English here. / Pānuitia tēnei i te reo Māori me te reo Pākehā ki konei.

“She gave me my trial. And she appears often, and also she managed the payments,” he said.

Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters said the Greens have an obligation to use the Waka jumping legislation to force Tana out of Parliament. He accused of facing allegations “verging on slavery when it comes to workers”.

The Greens rallied against the waka jumping bill, calling it an anti-democratic dead rat.

But the Green caucus will, if Tana dosen’t resign, meet to vote on whether to ask the Speaker to remove her. Two thirds of the caucus would need to support that motion.

In a statement, Tana didn’t say if she was planning to stay or go. But she hit out against the investigation.

'The report does not say that migrant exploitation has occurred, let alone that I am responsible for it in any capacity,“ she said.

'This was an investigation into what I knew and should have disclosed to my party leadership. I am therefore deeply concerned by the party’s summary of the findings.'

Tana declined to be interviewed or answer questions on Monday and Tuesday.