By RUTH BERRY political reporter

Donna Awatere Huata was yesterday declared an independent MP, relegating Act to fifth largest party in Parliament.

Act will be forced to swap seats with the Green Party in the House today and is set to lose $77,000 in funding and a host of other privileges associated with becoming a party with eight members, not nine.

The Greens have nine MPs but got fewer votes at the last election, causing them to lose their initial bid for the better seats they will now inhabit as they become Parliament's fourth biggest party.

But what is now occupying the minds of most MPs in Parliament is whether Act could now succeed in pushing Mrs Awatere Huata out of Parliament.

In declaring Mrs Awatere Huata an independent MP, Speaker Jonathan Hunt told the House that "at this point at least" no question had arisen of the list MP's seat becoming vacant in Parliament.

Act has written to Mrs Awatere Huata telling her it intends to invoke the Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Act to expel her from Parliament.

The MP now has three weeks to try to change Act's mind, before it can write to the Speaker asking him to invoke the act. Act deputy leader Ken Shirley said yesterday that he would definitely invoke the law after that period.

It is the first time a party has tried to use the law, intended to prevent MPs from swapping parties, and considerable confusion exists about how it was intended to operate.

Some MPs and constitutional experts believe Act may have already shot itself it the foot, possibly on several grounds.

Just what sort of case the party has appears likely to be determined by the courts.

Mrs Awatere Huata, who said she still considered herself an Act MP, said she would fight the party's plan in court.

The Herald understands that if she does not take that action within the next three weeks, the Speaker may have no option - because of the way the law is drafted - but to rubber stamp Act's advice that the MP's actions have caused the proportionality of Parliament to be skewed.

This would see her seat declared vacant and Kenneth Wang, the next person on Act's list, brought into Parliament.

Sources said yesterday that there were several possible avenues Mrs Awatere Huata may be able to pursue.

Mr Shirley meanwhile said the Act caucus had yesterday been satisfied with MP Deborah Coddington's explanations around the New South Wales court action pending against her de facto husband, Alister Taylor.

The office of the NSW Commissioner for Fair Trading said last week that an application had been filed in the Supreme Court against Mr Taylor for injunctions and other orders in relation to his failure to supply Australian Roll of Honour vanity books ordered there.