Green MP Elizabeth Kerekere to break silence following bullying allegations

"This will be an opportunity to hear from Dr Kerekere, as discussed at the recent Member Assembly."
"This will be an opportunity to hear from Dr Kerekere, as discussed at the recent Member Assembly." Photo credit: Getty Images

By RNZ

Under-fire Green MP Elizabeth Kerekere is set to break her silence to party members amid allegations of bullying.

An email sent to Green members, and seen by RNZ, says Kerekere will speak to them over Zoom on Friday evening.

"This will be an opportunity to hear from Dr Kerekere, as discussed at the recent Member Assembly," the email said.

Kerekere has not been to Parliament or spoken publicly since messages leaked to RNZ appeared to show her badmouthing her caucus colleague Chlöe Swarbrick last month.

She denied calling Swarbrick a "crybaby", but the party has launched a probe into the matter, led by chief of staff Robin Campbell and musterer Jan Logie.

Since then, a number of Green Party sources have spoken to RNZ alleging bullying behaviour from Kerekere.

Last week, Kerekere's supporters attempted to delay voting on the Greens' final list rankings until the investigation had finished. The attempt failed.

On the draft list, Kerekere, a first-term MP, was ranked fourth; one place below Swarbrick, but above some senior MPs.