‘Treated like crap’: Ex-Green Party member on the mistreatment of Pacific volunteers

The Greens have “a lot of work to do” if it wants more Pacific members, according to three women who resigned from the party last week.

Alofa Aiono, Green-endorsed Dunedin City Councillor Marie Laufiso, and Vasemaca Tavola quit the party at its Christchurch AGM.

Their resignations were in response to what they saw as mistreatment of wāhine Māori MPs and young Pacific volunteers as well as how Pasifika members were treated during the former Green MP, Fa’anānā Efeso Collins’ funeral.

This week, the trio spoke out for the first time since their resignation to Hana Schmidt on the Breaking Waves podcast.

Among her complaints, Aiono, married to former Green MP Dr Elizabeth Kerekere accused the party’s leadership of not letting members speak out freely during AGMs.

“When you know more, do better as opposed to just trying to hide things and spin things and lies. I’ll say it, I’ll call it out. Just manufacturing lies for people … that’s what they rely on.”

Alofa Aiono (left) and wife/former Green MP Dr Elizabeth Kerekere (right) Photo/ Dr Elizabeth Kerekere Facebook

Laufiso also expressed concerns about how Pacific members were treated, particularly those who were new to the party.

“Our young Pasifika volunteers who come, they’re just treated like crap. They’re not looked after, they’re not thanked, they’re not accommodated … the party’s got a lot of work to do in terms of actually really walking its talk about caring for your people.”

Aiono spoke about her wife’s treatment once becoming an elected member.

“I remember what she said was that she knew going into that place, there was a level of toxicity … she didn’t go in blindly.

“One of her reflections was that she didn’t realise that the biggest challenge she would have to face was within her party.

“Me being so naive when she got ranked number four, we were so excited. When she came back I asked, ‘Were your mates in the party, other MPs, were they happy?’ And she said it was like tumbleweed. No one spoke of it.”

Laufiso also spoke about the mistreatment towards Dr Kerekere.

“We’re not attacking the grassroots and flax roots or the membership. We’re actually challenging the co-leaders and the caucus.

“Elizabeth was fourth-ranked in the candidate selection list. The powers immediately saw the mistake of sending that message to the wrong chat and immediately took advantage of it to get rid of her.”

Green endorsed, Dunedin City Councillor, Marie Laufiso Photo/ Marie Laufiso Facebook

Despite allegations that she knew about her husband’s alleged exploitation of migrants, the trio praised former Green MP Darleen Tana for the work she did for the party in South Auckland and her career as an environmental scientist.

Tavola said during the fallout, she witnessed Tana being bullied within the party.

“We were watching Darlene being singled out, being isolated, that she had no one, she was silenced and the language that they were using around her felt so violent.

“It was such a form of just slashing her mana, slashing her integrity when in fact what we have known about the alleged behaviours that have happened, none of us had seen evidence. We’re just taking what was coming from leadership as fact.”

Former Pasfika Greens member, Vasemaca Tavola Photo/Qiane Matata-Sipu NUKU

In response to Laufiso’s comments about the alleged mistreatment towards young Pacific volunteers, Green Party co-leader Chloe Swarbrick acknowledged the serious accusations.

“All of us have work to do so I want to take the time to sit with that. It’s important to listen to people and acknowledge that people are coming from an incredible place of hurt.

“In terms of the cultural competency part, we do everything that we can do and we do the best that we can do with what we have available.”

Swarbrick also responded to the allegations about the party’s mistreatment towards the Pasifika Greens during former MP, Fa’anānā Efeso Collins’ funeral.

Greens at former MP Fa'anānā Efeso Collins' funeral Photo/Joseph Safiti

“When Efeso passed away, our immediate priority was his family and we have taken guidance from them ever since. As Te Mātāwaka chair Teanau Tuiono has made clear, he and Marama Davidson did the best they could in navigating some incredibly difficult circumstances. They were supported by Green Party members of Samoan descent, including a Samoan reverend, in navigating the cultural terrain. We will continue to work on improving our cultural competency.

“Our party AGMs provide a platform for our members to engage in robust discussion across a wide range of issues. During the recent AGM, members who had something to say were given the chance to do so, including a representative of the three members who resigned from the party.

“Natural justice was prioritised throughout the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. The findings of the report made it clear to myself and Marama Davidson that Darleen had failed to meet the standards we expect of not just MPs in our party but across the House. This resulted in Caucus unanimously requesting Darleen’s resignation from Parliament entirely.”