New Green MP Mike Davidson says he would juggle role with community board duties

Sunday, 7 September 2025

Former Christchurch city councillor Mike Davidson says he will take up the position for list MP for the Green Party following the resignation of Benjamin Doyle. (File photo)

Newly confirmed Green Party list MP Mike Davidson may end up juggling a community board role with his Parliamentary duties if he wins the Innes Ward election.

Davidson will become the eleventh MP based in Christchurch and Banks Peninsula of this Parliament, joining the Green’s Kahurangi Carter and Lan Pham as a list MP.

The move follows the resignation of Greens MP Benjamin Doyle on Friday. Their last day is October 3.

Davidson on Sunday said he was heading to Parliament next month “to represent Ōtautahi and support our Green movement for people and planet”.

“It’s too late for me to withdraw from the community board election, but I will no longer be actively campaigning for the seat. I plan to advocate for my community in Parliament.”

He said that if the people of Innes elect him he would balance both commitments, rather than trigger a by-election, and would donate his community board salary to the mayor’s welfare fund.

Mike Davidson, right, attended a Christchurch mayoral debate at the Workers Educational Association on Friday evening.

“I am committed as ever to my community, and I intend to represent and serve Ōtautahi as best as I can in Parliament,” he said.

At a mayoralty election debate on Friday Davidson said was weighing the news of Doyle’s resignation, which had come hours earlier.

“I am obviously sad for Benjamin and really hope they and their family find some peace.”

Benjamin Doyle, pictured in April, addressing the hate and death threats directed at them.

Doyle, who uses they/them pronouns, resigned less than a year after being sworn into Parliament after receiving abuse over several months and being subjected to a toxic online campaign of attack.

The campaign was sparked by an initially-anonymous social media account — The Post later revealed this to have been run by businessman and former NZ First member Rhys Williams— which relentlessly targeted political opponents with slurs, smears and thinly veiled allegations.

Mike Davidson is set to become Christchurch’s eleventh MP of this Parliament.

In a statement on Friday, Doyle said they were resigning because of the “baseless and violent accusations”, which included threats of real-world violence against them and their whānau.

“Whānau is the most precious thing in the world. From the start, I have always said my child is my priority. My tamati asked me to leave Parliament, and I am leaving for them and for my own wellbeing.”

Doyle, New Zealand’s first openly non-binary member of Parliament, said they expected to face prejudice and homophobia but they could not have imagined or been prepared for such attacks.

However, they said they were leaving Parliament with pride and a commitment to keep fighting for people and the planet.

“Our politics, our democracy and our Parliament should be a place for everyone. My time here has shown that we clearly still have work to do. I hope this experience is something that we can all learn and grow from.”