He did not say it was disappointing the incident happened on the night of his valedictory speech: “It’s disappointing that it occurred at all,” Shaw said.
He said it was hard to know what more the party could do to support MPs.
“It’s hard to know what else we can do. It is a really really tough job and I think it is a much harder job on women than it is on men just because of the misogyny,” he said.
In 2022, Shaw was briefly ousted from the co-leadership of his party. Shaw said he picked up the phone to Turei, who had left the co-leadership under difficult circumstances.
“I gave her a call to get her advice as someone who I had been very close to and who had been a co-leader. I just needed someone who was a bit out, and apart from it and who understood it in the way only a co-leader can understand it.
“She was great. She’s very straight with me without any judgement [and said] ‘you’ve done a great job as Climate Minister but you’ve lost the party,” he said.
Shaw is taking a job with Morrison, an investment firm. He will be ditching his Green Party membership, but only because he thinks it is appropriate in the new job.
“It’s more because what I’m doing professionally I think really requires me to be not [a Green],” Shaw said.
Listen to the full episode of the On the Tiles podcast for more from James Shaw on his career, working with Labour and NZ First, and the challenges facing climate change legislation.
On the Tiles is available on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes are available on Fridays. The podcast is hosted by NZ Herald deputy politics editor Thomas Coughlan.
