Green MP Marama Davidson announces co-leadership bid

February 4, 2018

Welcomed with cheers and a haka, Ms Davidson puts herself in the running for the Green Party co-leader role.

Green Party MP Marama Davidson has announced she has put her name forward for co-leadership this afternoon at an event in South Auckland.  

Speaking at Otara Pool and Leisure Centre, Ms Davidson said "Since the election I have been thinking a lot about how I can best contribute to growing the green party to grow our shared vision."

"I've decided to stand for Co-leader of the Green party because I am the best placed to build a strong, cohesive and diverse movement to bring about transformative social, environmental and economic change.

"Our Green Party message needs to be taken into our many diverse communities, places where we haven't had a strong presence before, and in some places where we haven't been present at all.

"I have the drive, skills and lived experience that are needed to pull together communities and to lead the Green Party into being a genuine voice for modern Aotearoa."

Dr Bryce Edwards says Green Party backbencher Davidson balances leader James Shaw, with her activist ties.

Nominations for co-leadership were opened on Friday and is set to close on Feburary 9, with all Green Party list members-whether MPs or not- eligible as long as they are female and have been a member for six months or more. 

The full list of nominations will be announced of February 12 and campaigns will continue inside the party until March 26. 

Ballots will then be cast until April 7, with the new co-leader announced on April 7. 

Leader James Shaw said on Friday the election process would usually coincide with the party's Annual General Meeting, but after Metiria Turei stepped down last year, leaving it until the AGM would mean the position would have been vacant too long - almost a year.

"Now that we're in government we've got to focus on the business at hand and we want to get this out of the way," Mr Shaw said.

"By the time Easter is done we'll have a new co-leader in place."

Any candidates who received more than $500 in donations to their campaign would be required to declare it.

Top ten female Green list MPs (list position):
Marama Davidson (2)
Julie Anne Genter (3)
Eugenie Sage (4)
Jane Logie (6)
Chloe Swarbrick (7)
Golriz Ghahraman (8)
Mojo Mather (9)
Denise Roche (13)
Teall Crossen (15)
Leilani Tamu (17)

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