More dissension in the Green Party ranks, rebels claim
Green MPs Kennedy Graham and David Clendon have spoken to media less than an hour after their co-leader said they would not be fronting.
Green MPs Kennedy Graham and David Clendon have spoken to media less than an hour after their co-leader said they would not be fronting.
Green Party MPs Kennedy Graham and David Clendon have spoken to media less than an hour after co-leader James Shaw said the pair would be making no further comments.
They have indicated there could be more dissension in the Green Party ranks.
Messrs Graham and Clendon arrived at Parliament’s black and white tile vestibule (the area of Parliament where MPs go to answer media questions) together just before 2 pm to “make their position clear.”
Just before 1 pm today, Mr Shaw revealed the pair had withdrawn from the Green Party caucus, following their decision to opt out of the party list yesterday.
They will stay on as Green MPs for the remainder of this parliamentary term but will not participate in caucus and strategy meetings, or campaigning.
At a media standup at 1 pm today, Mr Shaw said the MPs had agreed not to speak to media and that the co-leaders, he and Meteria Turei, would be the primary spokespeople for the party.
Despite this, Messrs Graham and Clendon answered at least half a dozen questions.
Asked why they were talking to media when their leader had said they had agreed not to, Dr Graham said “we agreed that we would not say anything that was not in the press release that went out a little before 1 pm. We’re simply confirming [our] decision.”
However, in answering questions, the pair revealed more information that was not in the press release.
Dr Graham said he and Mr Clendon had been thinking about their future with the party ever since Ms Turei’s admission of benefit fraud at the party’s AGM some weeks ago.
“After her first speech, a few others and I sought an exemption on personal conscience to be able to say that we as a candidate do not condone lying and benefit fraud,” Dr Graham says.
When asked who the “few others” were, Mr Graham was cagey, saying he and Mr Clendon we're “the only ones who have taken the stance” they did.
Mr Clendon chimed in, saying they were “not about to go into detail about who said what” and that they had “made [their] statement.”
None of this was in the party’s 1 pm press statement.
Mr Shaw had insisted the caucus was united, at which the group of Green MPs standing behind him all nodded energetically.
Greens general manager caught out
Comments Mr Clendon made about Green Party general manager Sarah Helm were not in the party’s press release either.
Last night, she told media the pair had previously been asked to stand down at the general election but both had refused and as a result, they were demoted on the list.
She also said they pair had done little in the way of campaigning and had been disgruntled for some time.
Mr Clendon says this was simply not true.
“It was unfortunate that the general manager of the party saw fit to make [those] remarks.
“She has been spoken to by the party leadership. She has withdrawn those remarks.”
All content copyright NBR. Do not reproduce in any form without permission, even if you have a paid subscription.