The Prime Minister is unlikely to use legislation that could kick Hamilton West MP Gaurav Sharma out of Parliament, saying she is unwilling to place "undue expense" on taxpayers by triggering a by-election.
Sharma is set to face a motion to expel him from caucus on Tuesday after breaking party protocol.
The PM said she did not want to cause undue expense to the taxpayer. (Source: 1News)
When asked why the party would not launch an independent investigation, that Sharma has been calling for, Ardern said there was "no basis for the claims that have been made".
"And I do think we need to have thresholds before we launch into things like inquiries that come at considerable expense, and stress and anxiety to the staff that would be drawn in.
"We had an MP that work was done to performance manage because there was complaints about their behaviour within their office. We seem to have lost, very quickly, the focus on that core reason."
Ardern said cancelling Labour membership would be a separate process.
"Caucus would need to make a decision to refer the matter to the party, and that referral doesn't just, or couldn't just come from caucus, it can come from members as well.
When asked if the electoral integrity act would be considered, Ardern said it was "not something at this stage that we are intending to discuss or indeed to trigger".
"Top of mind for us is not to cause undue expense to the taxpayer."
He was put on notice last week after the caucus unanimously suspended.
READ: MP launches another broadside against Labour, PM
Sharma told 1News' Jessica Mutch McKay he is not sure if he’ll attend tomorrow's meeting, because until Monday afternoon he didn’t think he was allowed to as a suspended MP.
Usually suspended members are not allowed to take part in caucus discussions, but rules within the Labour Party state he is entitled to be there if the party is considering expelling him.
He only has a few hours to decide because the meeting is set to happen at 10am Tuesday morning and he’s not in Wellington.
He maintains his calls for an independent inquiry into bullying and says he’s put his "career on the line" to highlight the issue. The Hamilton West MP claims it’s not just him who has been bullied in the party.
In response to one of the claims by Sharma, which he said MPs were told not to make a paper trail so it could not be OIA'd (requesting official information), Ardern said that "what has occurred in this professional development training session has been completely misrepresented".
Ardern said a response to the Ombudsman would be released and it would provide more context.
READ: Ombudsman seeking assurance after Sharma's OIA training claim
"For instance it acknowledged that a question was asked where an MP raised a situation where a constituent's personal information was released in an OIA and concern about that.
"You can image in responding to that, we would talk about where the law takes effect and where it does not. This is information that MPs need to know."
Timeline
August 11: The first-term MP for Hamilton West released an opinion piece published in NZ Herald, and wrote that the constituents who elected MPs "would be appalled if they saw even half of what their elected representatives have to bear in terms of harassment from inside the Parliament".
August 12: The MP published a 2600-word Facebook post detailing more grievances and other allegations about his time in Parliament.
August 15: Sharma posted new allegations and images on Facebook at the time Ardern was holding her weekly media conference.
August 16: Minutes after the caucus meeting over Sharma began, he text media saying Labour met without him. The Prime Minister announced Sharma's suspension from caucus.
August 17: The Prime Minister said she and Sharma had not spoken since his suspension. When asked if she or anyone in the party knew his whereabouts, Ardern said that "without disclosing details that will be private to members of the team.. we certainly have made every effort to make sure there is support there and of course we're available".
A few days later, Sharma sat down for numerous interviews, reiterating his claims. The Prime Minister then announced he would face a motion to expel him on August 23.
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