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Gaurav Sharma (politician)

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Gaurav Sharma
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Hamilton West
In office
17 October 2020 – 18 October 2022
Preceded byTim Macindoe
Succeeded byTama Potaka
Personal details
Born
Gaurav Mrinal Sharma[1]

1987 (age 36–37)
Himachal Pradesh, India
Political partyMomentum (2022–present)
Independent (2022)
Labour (until 2022)
Alma materUniversity of Auckland
George Washington University
ProfessionDoctor

Gaurav Mrinal Sharma (born 1987) is a New Zealand doctor and former Member of Parliament. Elected in 2020, Sharma was a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Labour Party, representing the electorate of Hamilton West. In August 2022, he made allegations of bullying within the Labour Party, and was expelled from its caucus in the same month. He briefly served as an independent, before resigning from Parliament in October 2022. He announced the formation of the New Zealand Momentum Party, an unregistered political party, in November 2022. In December, Sharma contested and lost the 2022 Hamilton West by-election to National MP Tama Potaka.

Early life and schooling

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Sharma was born in Himachal Pradesh, India, and his family moved to New Zealand when he was 12 years old.[2] Sharma went to Auckland Grammar School where he was the proxime accessit to the dux in his final year of high school. In 2005, The New Zealand Herald named him as one of the top six students in the country as per Sir John Graham's NZ Education and Scholarship Trust.[3]

He has a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree from the University of Auckland and a Master of Business Administration from George Washington University.

Medical career

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Volunteer work as a caregiver in a rest home when he was in high school inspired Sharma to pursue a career in medicine.[4] Sharma qualified as a medical doctor from University of Auckland's School of Medicine in 2011 where he was also involved with the New Zealand Medical Students' Association.[5][6] Sharma undertook an internship with the World Health Organization in 2012, working within the Non-Communicable Diseases unit.[2]

When he returned from Geneva, Sharma practised medicine in different hospitals across Auckland until 2015.[7] Sharma has been registered with the Medical Council of New Zealand under a general scope requiring he practise under supervision in the GPEP training programme. His certificate to practise expired on 31 August 2022, and was renewed in 2023 after his political career ended.[1]

Fulbright and MBA

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In 2015, Sharma received the Fulbright Scholarship to complete a MBA at George Washington University in Washington DC, with a specific focus on business, politics and public health.[6][8] During this time, Sharma was involved on campus in Hillary Clinton's campaign for the United States Presidency in 2016.[5] He was also a Senator on the George Washington University's Student Senate during his time there as a student.[9]

Political career

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Start of career and election to parliament

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New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2020–2022 53rd Hamilton West 63 Labour
2022 Changed allegiance to: Independent

Sharma worked for Phil Goff's campaign in the 2014 election.[4] Upon returning from the United States after his MBA, Sharma stood for the Labour Party in the Hamilton West electorate in the 2017 election and was placed 70th on Labour's party list.[10][11] He did not win a seat; he received 31% of the electorate vote compared to the incumbent's 52%.[12] Following his loss, Sharma practised as a GP in Hamilton for two years.[7]

In the 2020 election Sharma again stood for the Hamilton West electorate. This time, Sharma won the seat, receiving 52% of the electorate vote.[13][14] Sharma was the first MP to take the Oath of Allegiance in Sanskrit, after first completing it in te reo Māori.[15][16] Sharma was the first MP of Indian origin to represent an electorate for the Labour Party.[16]

Roles in parliament

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As well as representing his electorate, Sharma was a member of the Health Select Committee.[17]

Allegations of bullying within Parliament

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On 11 August 2022, Sharma wrote an opinion piece for The New Zealand Herald newspaper in which he alleged widespread bullying within Parliament. The piece included specific allegations aimed at party whips, party leadership, and the Parliamentary Service.[18] The next day, he expanded on these allegations with a Facebook post detailing specific grievances against Labour Whip Duncan Webb, former Whip Kieran McAnulty, and the office of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.[19]

In the following days and weeks, Sharma continued to publish allegations, such as another Facebook post on 15 August, and a further post of 29 August, in which Sharma published a 4,700 word social media post detailing his complaints with the work performance of three former staff members and accused the Parliamentary Service of fabricating information about him.[20]

In October 2022, The Spinoff claimed Sharma had presented little in the way of evidence to back his allegations of bullying and harassment.[21]

Responses to allegations

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Government responses

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Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero disputed Sharma's allegations and defended his organisation's work on countering bullying within parliament.[22] Labour Party MPs, including Damien O'Connor, Chris Hipkins, and Anahila Kanongata'a-Suisuiki, questioned Sharma's claims.[22][23]

The Parliamentary Service rebutted one of Sharma's allegations that another Labour MP and a parliamentary staff member had misspent taxpayer money in August 2021. Gonzalez-Montero responded that the duo had travelled to the MP's electorate for the purposes of team-building, which he described as a normal procedure for MPs who were establishing a new team within their electorates.[24]

On 19 August, Newshub reported that the Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier had sent a letter to Ardern querying Sharma's allegations that Labour MPs had been trained to circumvent the Official Information Act 1982.[25]

Support

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National Party MPs Matt Doocey, Chris Bishop, and Chris Penk claimed that Sharma's allegations raised questions about alleged bullying and victimising within the Labour Party.[22] Twenty members of Sharma's Hamilton West electorate committee sent a letter to the Labour Party and Labour parliamentary caucus defending Sharma and calling for an independent investigation into his bullying allegations.

Accusations against Sharma

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Following the allegations, an employment dispute from Sharma's office became public. The employment matter centred on a former staffer who felt bullied by Sharma; that they were being isolated from other staffers by him and subsequently sought therapy after it. Sharma, however, said that their contract was not extended because of poor employment performance.[26] Gonzalez-Montero, Webb, and Ardern confirmed that their offices were working with Sharma to resolve an employment dispute in his parliamentary office.[22][27][28] The New Zealand Herald reported that three of Sharma's staff members had resigned during his first year after raising concerns about him; which allegedly prompted the Parliamentary Service to suspend the hiring of new staff for Sharma's parliamentary office.[29]

In response to Sharma's Facebook post of 29 August, a former staff member accused Sharma of breaching confidentiality rules and bringing back past trauma.[30]

Expulsion from Labour

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On 15 August, Ardern confirmed that the Labour Party parliamentary caucus would be holding a special meeting that week to discuss Sharma's bullying allegations. That same day, Sharma also claimed that he was being silenced after Labour leaders ordered him to raise his concerns with party whips and leaders and to avoid speaking with the media.

On the evening of 15 August, the Labour Party held a Zoom meeting for all its MPs except Sharma, to discuss Sharma's future within the party. Sharma found out about this meeting after "accidentally" receiving a message with a photo of fellow Labour MP Kelvin Davis on Zoom call. Prior to that, Sharma had agreed to attend a special caucus meeting on 16 August to discuss Sharma's bullying allegations. After learning about the evening meeting on 15 August, Sharma refused to attend the 16 August meeting and claimed that his fate had been "pre-determined." During the special caucus meeting held on 16 August, Labour MPs voted unanimously to suspend Sharma from the party caucus effective immediately until December 2022. While Sharma would remain the Labour MP for Hamilton West, he was excluded from caucus events.

Ardern defended Sharma's suspension, claiming it was an appropriate response to what she described as his "repeated breaches of trust." Ardern also claimed that Sharma had rejected the party's offers of coaching, mentoring and temporary staff over the past 18 months. In return, Sharma had accused the Labour leadership of ignoring his concerns, gaslighting him, and creating a cover-up culture. Sharma accused the Prime Minister of lying "every step of the way".[31][32][33][34][35]

In an interview with public broadcaster Radio New Zealand on 17 August, Sharma claimed he had recorded an hour-long phone conversation with a senior Labour MP, who called him after the 15 August meeting to warn his fate was sealed and multiple times tell him the decision made by the Labour caucus on 16 August was pre-determined. Asked if he would stay in Parliament if he was expelled from the Labour caucus, Sharma admitted "I haven't thought this through to that".

In mid August, Ardern indicated that Sharma would face a motion to expel him from the Labour Party caucus for breaching party protocol. However, she ruled out using the Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Act 2018, colloquially known as the waka-jumping act, to expel Sharma from Parliament. Ardern stated this was to avoid the "unnecessary burden" on taxpayers by triggering a by-election. Ardern also refused Sharma's appeal for an independent inquiry, claiming that his allegations were unfounded. Ardern also indicated that the Party would consider expelling him from the Labour Party.[36]

On 23 August, Ardern confirmed that the Labour caucus had voted to expel Sharma permanently from its caucus. She added that the caucus had also voted to refer the matter to the New Zealand Council of the Labour Party for them to consider any further disciplinary action.[37] Being expelled from the Labour caucus meant that Sharma was an independent MP, still representing his electorate.

On 24 August, during the election of the new Speaker of the House Adrian Rurawhe, Sharma used parliamentary privilege to accuse the outgoing Speaker Trevor Mallard of ignoring his concerns about bullying within Labour and reporting his complaint to the Labour Whips' office. Sharma was halted during his speech by Rurawhe and told to sit down for going off topic.[38][39]

On 19 October 2022, party president Claire Szabó confirmed Sharma had been expelled from the party and stated that the party had not considered invoking waka-jumping rules to remove him from Parliament. Szabó also confirmed an investigation had taken place into alleged misconduct by Sharma, which he had participated in, while also saying that Sharma had released the details of the investigation after ignoring a confidentiality requirement.[40] On 20 October 2022, the New Zealand Council, Labour's governing body, expelled Sharma from the party with immediate effect. In a statement, party president Szabó said the council "took this decision because it found Gaurav Sharma had brought the party into disrepute", a breach of the party's constitution.[41]

Resignation, by-election, and launch of the Momentum Party

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On 18 October 2022, Sharma announced on his Facebook page that he had resigned from Parliament, and that he would contest the by-election for Hamilton West that would result from this. Sharma also used the post to announce his intentions to start a new "centrist" political party.[42]

Sharma claimed that Labour planned to use the waka-jumping legislation to force him out of Parliament six months before the 2023 New Zealand general election, and that this would mean a by-election could be avoided. Sharma also used the post to announce his intentions to start a new "centrist" political party.[42] Labour leader Jacinda Ardern denied that the party was considering acting to remove Sharma from Parliament, saying she did not know on what basis Sharma believed this.[43]

The by-election was held on 10 December 2022, with writ day designated as 2 November.[44] Sharma's campaign for re-election was financially supported by Roshan Nauhria, one of New Zealand's richest Indian businessmen and who was previously the leader of the New Zealand People's Party.[45] During the campaign period Sharma launched the New Zealand Momentum Party, claiming that most of his core campaign team had left Labour for Momentum. While the party wasn't registered, Sharma said that 800 people had an intention to join it.[46]

Sharma lost the Hamilton West by-election, which was won by the National Party candidate Tama Potaka. Sharma came fourth place with 1,242 votes.[47][48]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Sharma, Gaurav Mrinal". Medical Council of New Zealand. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b "The young and the restless". Indian Weekender. 7 August 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  3. ^ "Six of the best surface in trust's scholarship testing". The New Zealand Herald. 25 March 2005. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Labour candidate looking to make a difference". The New Zealand Herald. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  5. ^ a b Lines-Macenzie, Jo (11 July 2017). "New face ready to swing Hamilton West". Stuff. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  6. ^ a b "University of Auckland welcomes 16 new Fulbright award recipients". University of Auckland. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  7. ^ a b Manch, Thomas (12 August 2022). "Gaurav Sharma, the political rookie who struck out at his own party". Stuff. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  8. ^ "Fulbright 2015 Grantees" (PDF). Fulbright Commission New Zealand. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  9. ^ "GWSB Alumnus Stands for NZ Parliament". George Washington University School of Business. 25 July 2017. Archived from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  10. ^ "Labour choose candidate for Hamilton West seat". Stuff. 6 July 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  11. ^ "Revised Labour Party List for the 2017 Election". Scoop.co.nz. 15 August 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  12. ^ "Official Count Results – Hamilton West (2017)". Electoral Commission. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  13. ^ "Hamilton West – Official result". New Zealand Electoral Commission. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  14. ^ Herald, N. Z. "Election 2020: The 40 diverse new MPs entering Parliament". ZB. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  15. ^ Desk, NH Web (28 November 2020). "New Zealand MP takes an oath in Sanskrit". National Herald. Retrieved 12 August 2022. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  16. ^ a b "Dr Gaurav Sharma- a man of conviction". The Indian News. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  17. ^ "Sharma, Gaurav – New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  18. ^ "Exclusive: Govt MP blows whistle on 'rampant' Parliament bullying, takes aim at officials, party whips". The New Zealand Herald. 11 August 2022. Archived from the original on 11 August 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  19. ^ Hope, Luke Malpass and Sharnae (12 August 2022). "Labour MP Gaurav Sharma unloads on party in excoriating social media post". Stuff. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  20. ^ "Sharma makes further allegations against staff, Parliamentary Service". Radio New Zealand. 29 August 2022. Archived from the original on 29 August 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  21. ^ Manhire, Toby (20 October 2022). "Gaurav Sharma formally expelled from Labour Party". The Spinoff. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  22. ^ a b c d Rawling, Caitlin (11 August 2022). "MPs react after Labour's Gaurav Sharma alleges rampant bullying at Parliament". Newshub. Archived from the original on 11 August 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  23. ^ Whyte, Anna; Producer, Senior Digital Political (12 August 2022). "Ardern disputes Labour MP's Parliament bullying allegations". 1News. TVNZ. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  24. ^ Malpass, Luke (15 August 2022). "Parliamentary Service says Gaurav Sharma's claim of staff 'misusing' taxpayer money was staff travel and 'normal practice'". Stuff. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  25. ^ Lynch, Jenna (19 August 2022). "Ombudsman writes to Jacinda Ardern after Gaurav Sharma's claims, secretly taped MP says minister dismissed issue of wellbeing". Newshub. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  26. ^ "'Controlling': Staffer says working in Labour MP's office left them in tears; MP responds". The New Zealand Herald. 12 August 2022. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  27. ^ "Hamilton West MP Gaurav Sharma accuses Parliamentary Service of stonewalling bullying claims". Radio New Zealand. 12 August 2022. Archived from the original on 11 August 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  28. ^ Pearse, Adam (12 August 2022). "Parliament 'bullying': Jacinda Ardern says Gaurav Sharma's claims disputed, confirms ongoing staff issues in her MP's office". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  29. ^ Trevett, Claire (15 August 2022). "PM Jacinda Ardern responds to latest claims from rogue MP Gaurav Sharma; confirms Labour Party caucus will meet on allegations this week". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  30. ^ Coughlan, Thomas (30 August 2022). "Former Gaurav Sharma staffer urges MP to move on, stop breaching confidentiality after latest 4700-word Facebook post". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 29 August 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  31. ^ Pearse, Adam; Trevett, Claire (16 August 2022). "Labour MP Gaurav Sharma suspended from party caucus 'effective immediately' – Jacinda Ardern". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  32. ^ "Labour MP Gaurav Sharma suspended after 'trust broken'". Stuff. 16 August 2022. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  33. ^ Ensor, Jamie (16 August 2022). "LABOUR Labour bullying allegations: Dr Gaurav Sharma suspended from caucus, doesn't show up for meeting". Newshub. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  34. ^ Lynch, Jenna (18 August 2022). "Labour's Dr Gaurav Sharma breaks silence, accusing Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of 'cover-up', releases secret recording of MP". Newshub. Archived from the original on 18 August 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  35. ^ Scotcher, Katie (17 August 2022). "Jacinda Ardern is 'lying' – Labour MP Gaurav Sharma questions PM's credibility". Radio New Zealand. Archived from the original on 18 August 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  36. ^ "PM unlikely to trigger law to kick Sharma out of Parliament". 1News. TVNZ. 22 August 2022. Archived from the original on 22 August 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  37. ^ Scotcher, Katie (23 August 2022). "Hamilton West MP Gaurav Sharma expelled from Labour caucus". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  38. ^ "Gaurav Sharma hijacks Speaker ceremony to accuse Trevor Mallard". Radio New Zealand. 24 August 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  39. ^ "Party leaders congratulating the Speaker-Elect – Video 6". Parliament On Demand. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  40. ^ Pearse, Adam (19 October 2022). "Labour party confirms it recommended Gaurav Sharma be expelled for misconduct". NZ Herald. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  41. ^ "Gaurav Sharma expelled from Labour Party". RNZ. 20 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  42. ^ a b McConnell, Glenn (18 October 2022). "Gaurav Sharma says he has resigned as an MP, triggering by-election". Stuff. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  43. ^ Ensor, Jamie (18 October 2022). "Gaurav Sharma resigning from Parliament to trigger by-election, Jacinda Ardern calls move 'wasteful'". Newshub. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  44. ^ "Hamilton West by-election set for 10 December". RNZ. 20 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  45. ^ Lynch, Jenna (19 October 2022). "Wealthy businessman Roshan Nauhria willing to financially back Gaurav Sharma". Newshub. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  46. ^ Pearse, Adam (4 November 2022). "Hamilton West byelection: Gaurav Sharma claims raid of Labour manpower as new party revealed". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  47. ^ "Hamilton West by-election official results". Electoral Commission. 21 December 2022. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  48. ^ "Opposition tout political change for 2023 elections after Hamilton West seat win". Radio New Zealand. 11 December 2022. Archived from the original on 1 January 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Hamilton West
2020–2022 		Succeeded by
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