Labour to consider expelling Dr Gaurav Sharma after Newshub interview

Labour MPs will meet on Tuesday to consider expelling Dr Gaurav Sharma from the party caucus.

According to a statement from a spokesperson for the Labour Leader, Jacinda Ardern, the caucus will "consider a motion to expel Gaurav Sharma from the caucus". 

"Gaurav has repeatedly breached his colleagues' trust, and caucus was clear that should there be further breaches such as this then further steps would be taken."

It follows a bombshell interview with Newshub in which the rogue MP continued to level allegations of bullying towards the party, accused the Prime Minister and her office of a "cover-up" and said his suspension from caucus was a "predetermined" outcome.

Dr Sharma, the Hamilton West MP, last week began accusing fellow parliamentarians within his party of bullying. Labour responded by saying there had been employment issues between Dr Sharma and staffers in his office, and that the MP had not welcomed interventions to resolve them.

He was suspended from the caucus on Tuesday afternoon. But a meeting of all Labour MPs - bar Dr Sharma - had already taken place on Monday night.

Dr Sharma is concerned MPs decided the outcome of the Tuesday caucus meeting then. He's provided a secret recording to Newshub of another MP informing him of the Monday meeting, during which the MP said the outcome was predetermined.

"It's a Kangaroo Court, it's a banana republic. The decision was already made the night before," Dr Sharma told Newshub Political Editor Jenna Lynch.

He didn't attend the meeting on Tuesday as he said he had prior engagements. The MP also hasn't spoken to Ardern since his suspension.

The Prime Minister has repeatedly said the outcome was not decided before Tuesday.

"You have my assurance and word here, it would not have been in the rules to make any pre-determination," said Ardern on Tuesday. "We wouldn't and we didn't."

In a statement to Newshub earlier on Thursday, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister said: "On Tuesday the Caucus suspended Gaurav on the basis of repeated breaches of trust. This latest example of releasing and misrepresenting conversations with his colleagues reinforces that decision and will be discussed by caucus.

"As the Prime Minister said on Tuesday we anticipated Gaurav would continue to re-litigating matters in this way. He has still not responded to our communications about entering into mediation, instead using the media to make his points."

While Labour has disputed Dr Sharma's accusations of bullying, Dr Sharma has also rejected that he is a bully. He is calling for an independent investigation into the complaints against him.

"This is the Prime Minister's Office trying to cover something, this is the Prime Minister trying to cover something. And I'm saying this is not just about bullying. There is a lot more to here."

During a press conference on Tuesday, Ardern said that Dr Sharma's suspension would be reviewed in December. If he didn't continue to breach colleagues' trust, there was an opportunity for him to return into the fold. However, that was before his interview with Newshub on Thursday.