The Green Party has alerted the Electoral Commission to an advertisement placed by MP Darleen Tana after finding it might not have complied with electoral laws.
Published in Verve Magazine's May 2023 edition, the ad was a profile on Tana and her bid for Parliament in last year's election. However, it does not include a promoter statement as required under the Electoral Act 1993.
Not including a promoter statement is an offence which could lead to a fine of up to $40,000.
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick told reporters she had been made aware of the ad earlier on Tuesday.
"The Greens... take very seriously compliance with electoral law, so we've had discussions with the Green Party itself and the party has referred that to the Electoral Commission," Swarbrick said.
Tana, a first-term list MP, is already on leave while the party investigates her level of knowledge regarding accusations of migrant exploitation at her husband's business.
According to the Greens, the complaints included allegations against Tana, however, she has not been a director or shareholder of the business since 2019.
The party commissioned barrister Rachel Burt to carry out an investigation to identify what Tana knew about the allegations and how that lined up with what she told party leadership.
It was expected to conclude at the end of April. However, due to further information coming to light, the probe has taken longer.
Tana's ad debacle comes hours after National MP David MacLeod was stood down from his Select Committee roles after failing to declare 19 candidate donations. It meant his total candidate donations were almost $180,000 higher than reported.
