The former Christchurch city councillor who is next on the Green Party's list is still deciding whether he wants to join Parliament, after Benjamin Doyle resigned yesterday.
Mike Davidson, who was running for the community board in the Innes ward in this year’s local body elections, is next on the Green Party list.
Davidson is currently the Operations Manager at Whitiora, a skills and employment centre. He represented the Papanui ward as a councillor between 2016 and 2022.
At a mayoral debate in Christchurch, Davidson told 1News that the "opportunity" to go to Parliament is "something that I need to consider quite strongly, and I’m going to do that over the weekend".
He said he had a lot of people to talk to, but that his thoughts were with Doyle.
"At the moment, I think the focus shouldn’t be on me.
"Obviously, I’m feeling quite sad for Benjamin, what he’s been through, so my thoughts are with him and his whānau."
Doyle came under intense scrutiny earlier this year for their social media history after New Zealand First leader Winston Peters drew attention to "language and innuendo" on a private Instagram account operated by Doyle.
The list MP cited personal wellbeing and whānau as key reasons for stepping away from politics. (Source: 1News)
Screenshots from the account, with the handle Biblebeltbussy, showed they had used the phrase "bussy galore" to caption a slideshow of at least 10 photos, one of which included their child sitting on their lap.
The word "bussy" was a slang term used by some members of the rainbow community, commonly understood to refer to a male anus. The post had been made in October 2023 — a year before Doyle became an MP.
Peters raised the prospect of a police investigation into Doyle regarding their posts, saying "there is enough in those posts for the police to make an inquiry as to whether they breach the law or not".
Speaking to media in April after spending a week away from Parliament, Doyle said the posts never had a sexual meaning and that they did not believe they had done anything wrong, describing the allegations as "baseless and cruel".
Davidson said Doyle was treated "appallingly" but did not want to elaborate further.
"Benjamin's made his statement and I hope them and their whānau can actually be in peace," said Davidson.
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