Pull up an armchair, get your buckets of popcorn ready, the Greens’ clown show will trundle on for a few more weeks of delicious and entertaining politics after a brief court appearance.
Former Green Party MP Darleen Tana’s political career is alive – for now.
Tana yesterday sought an urgent injunction to prevent a special Green Party meeting on Sunday from deciding whether to invoke the so-called waka-jumping law and throw her out of Parliament.
That meeting will not go ahead, after lawyers for Tana and the Greens met on Wednesday evening ahead of a court hearing to agree a temporary halt – before a full judicial hearing next month.
At the High Court in Auckland on Thursday morning, Justice Simon Moore agreed to the deal between lawyers Sharyn Green (for Tana) and Tim Smith (for the Greens) and proposed a September 12 hearing to resolve the issue.
Tana, who arrived alone and sat in the public gallery, refused to comment, as did both lawyers.
Justice Moore said he had talked to court managers to ensure an urgent date for a full hearing of Tana’s claim, saying: “There is an obvious pressing need for these matters to be determined as fast as possible, and the court accepts that and has made accommodations.”
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