Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick says she will seek to succeed James Shaw as co-leader of the Green Party, alongside Marama Davidson.
The Green Party allows its members to elect co-leaders and the rules require that Maori and women are both represented in the duo. Davidson fills both these criteria.
In a statement, Swarbrick said she had been asked by some party members to put herself forward for the role.
“I will be spending the next few weeks talking to members of the Green Party about my vision for the future of our movement and to ask their trust in me,” she said.
“If I am elected to work alongside Marama Davidson, I will grow the Green movement to achieve tangible, real-world, people-powered change - as I have since I first signed up - but now, at even greater scale”.
A co-leader spot has opened up after James Shaw announced he would step down in March after nine-years running the Parliamentary wing of the party.
Some members have found Shaw to be too centrist and have wanted to replace him with a more progressive leader.
In her statement, Swarbrick said “conventional, incremental politics has failed to rise” to current challenges, including the “climate, inequality, biodiversity and housing crises”.
“What is possible in politics is only ever defined by the willingness of those in power. As Co-leader, I want to show everyone in this country the power running through their veins to choose our future. We cannot leave politics to the politicians,” she said.
Biography
Swarbrick, who is 29-years-old, rose to prominence after a longshot campaign to become Mayor of Auckland in 2016. She ultimately won 7.3% of the votes and placed third.
Despite being unsuccessful, the Green Party took note of her ability to build a grassroots campaign from nothing and recruited her for the 2017 election.
She entered parliament on the list and during the term helped to pass an election access bill and lead the unsuccessful campaign to legalize cannabis.
Swarbrick went on to win the Auckland Central electorate in 2020 and helped inspire the Green Party to successfully pursue other electorate seats in the 2023 election.
Other candidates can also run for the co-leadership, with Julie Anne Genter and Teanau Tuiono both possible options.
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