Former Green MP Elizabeth Kerekere has spoken to TVNZ’s Breakfast about the aftermath of the “crybaby” saga and her decision to split from her party.
Kerekere opted to resign from the Greens earlier in the month, staying on as an independent until the election when she will retire.
It followed claims of bulling, sparked by a leaked text message purportedly about her colleague Chlöe Swarbrick in which she called her a crybaby. Kerekere has maintained that text was meant to be about herself and self-deprecating.
“I take responsibility that I was whining and moaning about somebody else getting their member’s bill drawn and mine hasn’t,” she told Breakfast. “It was the end of a long day, I was tired, I admit I was grumpy, and I wrote the first message thinking I was talking to my wife, and then I read it and go ‘ugh, suck it up Elizabeth, life is hard, this is not an easy job, get on with it.
“And I wrote myself, ‘oh my god, what a crybaby’… it was self-deprecating, it was a throwaway comment.”
She said there was no natural justice following the publication of those text messages and she felt her reputation was being damaged. “I watched accusations being made with having no recourse to defend myself, there was no natural justice,” she said.
Yesterday’s 1News poll showed the Greens had dropped by four points, with National and Act therefore able to form a government. Kerekere said the result was “disappointing” but polling trends had to be looked at. “The next poll will be the one to look at,” she said.
Despite her fallout from the party, Kerekere said: “I’m completely committed to the Greens getting back into parliament. And I will be party voting Green.” She said it was hard to “let go” as she repeatedly referred to the Greens as “our party”, despite no longer being a member.
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