‘Incompetent': Peters grills Greens' handling of Darleen Tana

“Stop trying to mislead people,” is the Deputy Prime Minister’s message to Greens' co-leader Chloe Swarbrick over party MP Darleen Tana's situation.

NZ First leader and Foreign Affairs Minister Vaovasamanaia Winston Peters told 531pi Pacific Mornings' host, William Terite, the situation is a “repeat of an incompetent saga”.

“You had the same thing with Kerekere last year when nothing was done about it. You had very appalling circumstances of badly handling the Golriz case … that poses the question, their sense of judgment and their sense of sincerity.

“You've got this case here where the taxpayer's money has been used massively because you've had a person over 115 days now on taxpayer income for an MP with no doubt ever having been to Parliament. And then you've got $42,000 spent on a court case which the Greens brought against her.”

Watch the Vaosamanaia Winston Peters' full interview on 531pi Pacific Mornings below.

Vaovasamanaia's comments followed the Green’s request for Tana’s resignation from Parliament.

The request was made after an independent investigation into allegations of migrant exploitation at Tana’s husband’s business which she did not accept the report's findings.

Vaovasamanaia said the current situation was a pity, considering the party’s initial values since being established in 1972.

“Do you expect anyone in this country to believe that you could run a country if that’s the best you can do running a political party? You’ve got mess after mess which shows incompetence and inexperience.”

Former Green MP Darleen Tana. Photo/greens.org.nz

Waka-jumping rule

He explained why the Greens were against the waka-jumping rule, sharing his experience when he resigned as a National MP from Parliament in 1993.

The rule, passed in September 2019 as part of Labour’s coalition agreement with NZ First, stops MPs from leaving their party in the middle of a parliamentary term by making sure they leave Parliament if they do.

“They were part of the Alliance and got into Parliament, they then jumped from the alliance without having resigned from Parliament to get their mandate in the first place. They used the alliance to get into Parliament.”

The Green Party has refused to respond to Vaovasamanaia’s comments.