Chlöe Swarbrick would not pre-empt what she thought the outcome of the meeting on Thursday would be. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Former Green MP Darleen Tana is appealing a High Court ruling that allowed her former party to proceed with a special meeting to decide whether to remove her from Parliament.
However, despite the eleventh-hour appeal the Green co-leadership said it would not affect the party's plans to hold the meeting.
"We're dealing with what's in front of us, and we're feeling confident about our steps on Thursday," co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said.
At the meeting, party delegates will decide whether the Greens should use the so-called 'party-hopping' legislation, which would allow the co-leaders to write to the Speaker and remove the now-independent Tana from Parliament entirely.
It would need a 75 percent threshold in favour before the co-leaders proceeded.
Darleen Tana Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER
While the caucus believes Tana is not fit to be in Parliament, and her continued presence disrupts the party's proportionality, the Greens have a fraught history with the legislation.
Tana was ousted from the Greens, and asked to quit Parliament altogether, after an independent investigation found the MP likely knew about allegations of worker exploitation at her husband's business, and did not disclose them to the party until after last year's election.
The SGM was originally set to take place on 1 September, but was cancelled after Tana brought an interim injunction against the Green Party and its co-leaders.
She then took her case to the High Court in Auckland, arguing the Green Party's disciplinary process was unlawful, unauthorised by the party's constitution, unreasonable, and unfair.
However, on 20 September, Justice David Johnstone rejected Tana's claims, leaving the party free to proceed with the party-hopping meeting.
Following the court decision, the SGM was re-scheduled to 17 October.
Swarbrick said the circumstances this time were different.
"It was a pretty novel set of affairs last time, in terms of what was put before the court. We haven't had this legislation tested, and we moved as carefully as we possibly could with legal considerations. And right now, we're feeling confident about where we're at," she said.
Swarbrick would not pre-empt what she thought the outcome of the meeting would be, but indicated she had engaged with members when out and about around the country.
"I feel incredibly confident in the wisdom of our membership," she said.
RNZ has contacted Tana for comment.
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