Green Party chief of staff resigns, citing ‘health, wellbeing and whānau’

The Green Party’s chief of staff, Eliza Prestidge-Oldfield, has resigned in the latest shake-up for the party in what has been a term of turmoil.

In a statement, Greens co-leader Marama Davidson said Prestidge-Oldfield had “decided to step away from the chief of staff position to focus on her health, wellbeing and her whānau”.

“This has not been an easy decision for her to make, given the huge contribution that Eliza has made to the Green Party over many years,” Davidson said.

“However, the party fully supports her decision to prioritise her health and whānau.”

Davidson said selecting a new chief of staff would “take shape in due course”.

Party policy and research director Tom Haig would be the acting chief of staff until the position is permanently filled.

Davidson’s statement also acknowledged Prestidge-Oldfield’s “incredible work” for the Greens, which she said put the party in “good stead going forward”.

Green Party co-leaders Chlöe Swarbrick (left) and Marama Davidson. Davidson said she recognised her former chief of staff's work for the party. Photo / Mark Mitchell

It’s the latest shake-up within the party after what has been a tumultuous parliamentary term for the Greens, considered one of the party’s toughest periods.

In January last year, it was revealed MP Golriz Ghahraman had been caught shoplifting. She later resigned.

The following month, tragedy struck with the sudden death of Fa’anānā Efeso Collins, triggering a flood of tributes from across the political spectrum.

Then in March, MP Darleen Tana was suspended amid an investigation into claims of migrant exploitation at her husband’s bike business – the same month Chlöe Swarbrick ascended to party co-leader alongside Davidson, replacing James Shaw.

While her ties to the alleged exploitation remained murky, it prompted Tana to split from the party before being kicked out of Parliament after the Greens used the waka-jumping legislation it had previously opposed.

The party lost a wealth of experience when Shaw announced his retirement from politics in May last year, but the Greens’ celebrations of his career were cut short after MP Julie Anne Genter was referred to Parliament’s Privileges Committee for displaying intimidatory behaviour towards Government minister Matt Doocey in the House that same week.

In June last year, Davidson revealed she was beginning treatment for breast cancer and would be stepping back from politics to focus on her recovery. She has since returned to normal duties.

Green Party MP Benjamin Doyle resigned from Parliament this month. Photo / Mark Mitchell

More recently, MP Benjamin Doyle resigned suddenly this month after a social media firestorm earlier this year over controversial old Instagram posts and resulting death threats.

Doyle, who was New Zealand’s first non-binary MP, last week gave their valedictory speech, describing Parliament as being “the colonisers’ house”, built on “exclusion and control, on taking, hoarding, and guarding power”.

“This place is hostile and toxic, especially if you are not a cis straight white man with a blue suit and a briefcase, but most of all, it is not fit for purpose,” Doyle said.

Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.