Meka may have have waka jumped out of Parliament for now

Stuff reports:

“This morning I have notified the Speaker I have resigned from the NZ Labour Party,” Whaitiri said, adding she would sit with Te Pāti Māori as the MP for Ikaroa Rāwhiti.

By notifying the Speaker, she may have caused her seat to become vacant. S 55(2) of the Electoral Act states:

The seat of a member of Parliament to whom this section applies becomes vacant if the member of Parliament ceases to be a parliamentary member of the political party for which the member of Parliament was elected.

And this can be triggered by a party leader or by the MP themselves. S55B(c) states such a letter from the MP must state they have resigned from the parliamentary membership of the political party for which they were elected and wishes to be recognised for parliamentary purposes as a member of another political party.

It may depend on the exact wording of the letter, but it sounds like it may trigger the Electoral Act in which case she is out of Parliament and won’t be sitting with anyone.

If so, then no by-election will be held if 75% of MPs vote not to have one.