Former Green MP Elizabeth Kerekere spoke with TVNZ breakfast about the consequences of the “crying” saga and her decision to leave her party.
Kerekere decided to resign from the Green Party earlier this month, remaining independent until the election when she retires.
It comes after claims of bullying sparked by a leaked text message allegedly about her co-star Chloe Swarbrick in which she called her a crybaby. Kerekere claimed that the lyrics were meant to be about herself and self-deprecation.
“I take responsibility for whining and moaning about someone else getting their members account and not mine,” she told Breakfast. “It was the end of a long day, I was tired, I’ll admit I was grumpy and I wrote the first message thinking I was talking to my wife and then I read it and went, ‘ugh, pull it Elizabeth, life’ is hard , it’s not easy work, keep it up.
“And I wrote to myself, ‘Oh my god, what a crybaby’ … it was a self-deprecating comment.”
She said there was no natural justice after the text messages were published and she felt her reputation had been damaged. “I watched the accusations being made without being able to defend myself, there was no natural justice,” she said.
Yesterday’s 1News poll showed the Greens down by four points, allowing National and Act to form government. Kerekere said the result was “disappointing” but that poll trends should be noted. “The next poll will be something to watch out for,” she said.
Despite quitting the party, Kerekere said: “I am fully committed to getting the Greens back into parliament. And I will vote for the Greens.” She said it was hard to “let go” as she repeatedly referred to the Greens as “our party” despite no longer being a member.