The Green Party has asked its MP Darleen Tana to leave Parliament, saying her conduct has “fallen far short” of Green Party values.
It follows allegations of migrant worker exploitation at Tana’s husband’s business, and a Green Party-instigated independent investigation into what Tana knew and when.
The party called a press conference for 1pm today, to provide an update on the investigation. The report hasn’t been made public yet.
Tana has resigned from the Green Party.
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said, “Darleen’s conduct has fallen far short of the expectations Marama and I have of our caucus, and of the values the Green Party upholds.”
At a press conference Swarbrick said it was clear Tana’s behaviour fell short of that expected of an MP, and it was their “very strong view” she had misled her and co-leader Marama Davidson.
Her comments follow the Green Party caucus’ review and discussion of the report from the independent investigation which was received on Friday.
“Following a careful reading of the report it is clear to us that Darleen’s actions are completely at odds with our party’s values, policies and kaupapa,” Swarbrick said.
“In keeping with the Party’s commitment to natural justice and collective decision-making, Darleen was invited to an urgent caucus meeting on Saturday 6th of July to present her perspective alongside her lawyer and an additional support person.
“Darleen spoke to the Caucus and was given the opportunity to answer questions from MPs. She then left the meeting to allow her colleagues to consider the report’s findings.”
After being told of her resignation from the party, the Green caucus was unanimous in agreeing to ask for her resignation from Parliament, Swarbrick said.
Swarbrick said the co-leaders’ preference was “for full transparency and the release of the report, but we also recognise the need to follow good practice around privacy law”.
“The Party has contacted all parties named in the Executive Summary of the report in relation to their privacy interests with the intention of releasing that as soon as practicably possible.”
At a press conference Chloe Swarbrick said it was clear Tana’s behaviour fell short of that expected of an MP, and it was their “very strong view” she had misled her and co-leader Marama Davidson.
Davidson, who is on sick leave while fighting cancer, said the party was “deeply disappointed that Darleen Tana has not been forthcoming about very serious breaches of Green Party kaupapa, and has not acknowledged nor taken accountability for the impact of her behaviour on others”.
“We have a responsibility to uphold the integrity of the Green Party kaupapa. All our MPs agree to our collective values and standards and Darleen has clearly fallen short of them.”
Tana has not responded to requests for comment.
Response from workers’ advocate
The complainants were happy with the findings of the report and the response of the Green Party, said migrant worker advocate Nathan Santesso.
“We feel that the party has been fair to all parties, and they have done a good job with a difficult situation,” he said in a statement.
“We can now focus on getting these workers’ wages and entitlements paid and we are confident that that will happen.”
What happened?
According to a March 15 statement from Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick, on February 1 this year Tana notified the party of an Employment Relations Authority (ERA) complaint.
The complaint came from a person alleging exploitation while working for E Cycles NZ Ltd. It’s alleged the exploitation took place in 2022 and 2023. The company is owned by Tana’s husband Christian Hoff-Nielsen and trades as Bikes and Beyond.
The Greens co-leaders said on February 9 it was notified of a second ERA complaint, noting the complaints included allegations against Tana, and that she had not been a director or shareholder of the company since 2019.
The matters had been referred to mediation, they said, which was “necessarily confidential”.
Stuff reported on the same day a worker claimed he was owed around $25,000 in wages and holiday pay from E Cycles NZ. He also alleges being paid in cash until he secured a work visa following a one-day trial overseen by Tana.
He said he’d made a complaint to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA). It is also understood a second worker had also complained.
The Green co-leaders said that on March 14 they had learned Tana “may have had some prior knowledge of the allegations”.
That prompted the Greens to commence an independent investigation, led by barrister Rachel Burt, and stand Tana down from all caucus and parliamentary responsibilities “until the matter is resolved”.
They added they could not comment on the specific allegations while it was under an ERA process and the independent investigation process.
Tana said she welcomed the investigation, intended to “cooperate fully” and did not intend to comment further.
A month later, asked for an update, a Green Party spokesperson said there was none other than that after the independent investigation began “further information came to light, which has led tot he investigation taking longer”.
Tana has been on a $168,600 salary for much of the time she’s been suspended, earning tens of thousands of dollars while away from Parliament.
On May 20, the Green Party confirmed the independent investigation had so far cost $43,000. That had been paid for out of the party’s bulk allowance, which is taxpayer funded.
The party has been repeatedly asked why the investigation has taken – to date – 116 days, all while Tana is on full pay. The party’s leaders had repeatedly said it is to allow natural justice to take its course.
Tana election ad referred to police
On top of the migrant exploitation allegations surrounding Tana and her husband’s business, Tana and the publishers of an Auckland magazine were referred to police in June over an advertisement published before last year’s election.
The complaint centres on a failure to include a promoter statement in an election advertisement, published in May 2023, which promoted Tana as a candidate. The ad masqueraded as a profile piece in the magazine.
An election advertisement must contain a promoter statement under electoral laws.
The Electoral Commission made the referral to police based on the complaints sent to it.
On May 21 a Green Party spokesperson said it had been made aware of the issue and it had made clear to candidates they were required to follow electoral rules. The statement said the Green Party had brought it to the attention of the Electoral Commission to “ensure full transparency and accountability”.
Who is Darleen Tana?
Born in Northland, Tana is an environmental scientist. She was first elected to Parliament at the last election as number 13 on the Green Party list. Based in the Tāmaki Makaurau Māori electorate, she previously stood in the Northland general electorate in 2020. In 2023 she attracted 2925 votes in Tāmaki Makaurau, a seat now held by Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp.
Tana was given the Oceans and Fisheries, Media and Communications, Science, Innovation and Technology, Digitising Government, Internal Affairs, Overseas New Zealanders and Small Business and Manufacturing spokesperson roles in the Green Party. The latter was stripped off her when the investigation was triggered.
