James Shaw has confirmed he will contest the Green Party's co-leadership after being ousted from the role.
"I'm not done," he told RNZ's Morning Report.
Shaw made the announcement after failing to get the 75 percent votes of delegates at the party's online annual meeting at the weekend to be reconfirmed in the role. Co-leader Marama Davidson was reconfirmed by delegates.
"The climate crisis is unabated and we have a lot more work to do as a country there. We have huge wealth concentrations and people who are locked out of housing ... and as long as those kinds of challenges are there, they need the Green Party more than ever," he said.
Shaw wasn't entirely sure why people voted the way they did but said the conversation of climate change came up "a whole deal".
As the Climate Change Minister, it was "not surprising that that frustration circles around on me".
"You have to understand that the Green Party comes from a very strong activist base, these are people who for decades bashed their heads against the brick wall of inertia in New Zealand calling attention to the climate crisis, and that crisis is now upon us.
"So there is a level of frustration at the slow pace of government and I share that frustration, it drives me absolutely wild. That is the pace at which government changes."
He said it takes all people everywhere to make change.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed Shaw would retain his position as Climate Change Minister regardless of the leadership decision, he said.
Shaw said he would also stay on as an MP.
"Being the co-leader of the Green Party is not the only way to make a contribution, my primary concern is that we do everything in our power to stave off the climate crisis and stop it from getting any worse and I will find any route that I can find to achieve that outcome."
He hoped people would see it as a good thing that the party held its leaders to account.
"We are the only party that elects our leaders on a one-year cycle and that's a very deliberate choice that we have made to stay as democratic an organisation as possible."
The vote means any Green Party member can now put their name forward for the role over the next week before another vote within five weeks.
Shaw spoke to his caucus last night but said he would not speak on their behalf.
"It's entirely up to them and it's their prerogative to make that choice for themselves and to make any announcement about that on their own time.
Former Green Party communications director David Cormack said the party needed to settle on a co-leader swiftly as infighting does not look good heading towards next year's election.
Political scientist Lara Greaves said although the majority of delegates backed Shaw, Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick's popularity could bring a needed change for the Greens, if she decided to seek the co-leader job. Swarbrick has not said whether she will put her name forward.
"Chlöe is an astonishing political talent and I think that anybody else can see that, but again, it's her choice, that's entirely up to her if she wants to make that announcement to do so," Shaw said.
RNZ
