The former Auckland Central National MP Nikki Kaye, 43, who died on Saturday was a critical figure in the recent history of her party.
An outpouring of tributes to her from both present and past MPs and leaders of her party and from her political opponents testified to her crucial role in New Zealand politics overall.
Her legacy will most notably be the way she led the way for a new generation of smart, liberal urban women in the party now exemplified by Nicola Willis and Erica Stanford.
She underlined her commitment to those values with her commitment displayed when she crossed the floor to oppose a Key Government Bill that would have allowed mining on her beloved Great Barrier Island.
And as her close friend, political mentor, and former party President Michelle Boag told POLITIK yesterday, it was she who encouraged John Key to be the first National Party leader to attend the Big Gay Out in Auckland.
She and Key were close, as she was with his successor Bill English, who simply said yesterday that “John” was commenting for both of them.
Key said Kaye wore her heart on her sleeve and wasn’t afraid to make her position on matters clear.
“I think with Nikki, she did what she believed in.
“She didn’t try and dance to anybody else’s tune.
“I think her legacy will live on way beyond what she did in her portfolios or the things she achieved in Parliament.
“It will be very much about, you know, her willingness to be brave actually.”
That bravery was reflected in the way that she refused to let the breast cancer that killed her and she was first diagnosed with eight years ago limit her career.
From the other side of the political divide came a particularly heartfelt tribute from Greens co-leader Marama Davidson, who is currently also battling breast cancer.
Davidson confided in Kaye over lunch about her diagnosis back in June. Kaye immediately hugged her, and the pair stayed in close touch.
“Our sharing, even if just for the last part of your time, will stay in my heart and impact me forever,” Davidson said.
“Lover of life, I wish I had been well enough to take up the offer of hiding out on your beloved island with you.”
That referenced Kaye’s love for the Great Barrier, where she had a house.
She had protested the Key Government’s proposal in 2010 to allow mining on the island and was given dispensation by Key to vote against the legislation in Parliament.
That reflected her passion for environmental issues, which she continued until her death with her founding of BlueNature NZ, an organization that combined her love of the environment with her passion for education.
Its mission statement is to : “Restore ecosystems and create new biomass in oceans and coastal waterways through education, supporting and scaling social enterprises, new industries, and blue technology solutions.”
The volume of tributes to her yesterday suggested that despite only holding a senior Ministerial portfolio (Education) for a little over a year her commitment to values-based politics has struck a real chord, particularly within the National Party.
Michelle Boag, whose son was a school classmate of Kaye’s younger brother, had known her for some time and, in 2008, encouraged her to stand for Auckland Central, a seat National had never won.
Labour put up Jacinda Ardern, but to their surprise, Kaye defeated her and went on to do it again at the 2011 election.
She was a new kind of National candidate.
Though she had been head prefect at the Remuera private girls’ school Corrin, her politics were driven by ideas rather than background.
“She was very determined. She knew what she wanted. She was very principled,” Boag said yesterday.
“She was loyal; incredibly loyal and very courageous.”
She was also the consummate local MP.
“She loved the area. Loved living there, loved being there, loved the community and was a great part of the community.”
But she was also a politician and the one time she played a political game, it led to her resigning from Parliament.
She was a longtime supporter of Todd Muller and actively campaigned for him to take the leadership from Simon Bridges.
She underestimated Bridges, partly because she felt excluded from Bridges’ inner circle, particularly Jami Lee Ross, and partly because she and Bridges’ deputy, Paula Bennett, were never close.
She made no secret of her support for Muller.
When he took the leadership role, she became deputy leader.
But within 48 hours, his leadership was falling apart.
Stressed, he returned to his Bay of Plenty home, leaving Amy Adams and Kaye to appoint the party’s front bench and staff.
Many in the caucus resented having their position in the pecking order determined not by the leader but by his lieutenants.
Kaye, who was addicted to plans and order, ignored the rumbles until seven and half weeks after he had been appointed, Muller resigned for mental health reasons.
Two days later, Kaye resigned from Parliament with many in the caucus blaming her for what had happened.
“She wasn’t to know that Todd would later say he couldn’t do it,” said Boag.
“But she would have done it (the leadership challenge) very reluctantly from a personal perspective.
“She’d been sick. She knew she had cancer.
“I think most people just would have said, no, I’m worried about me.
“Nikki was never worried about herself. She was always worried about other people.”
Yet the impulse that persuaded her to back Muller will be her most important legacy.
She did so because she wanted her party to move on and understand the new issues driving the younger inner-city urban voters she represented.
Boag believes that a part of her importance lies in her thorough understanding of National’s core values and her support for them.
At a party regional conference in 2019, when she was the education spokesperson, Kaye defined her goals.
“From my perspective, I think the vision is quite clear,” she said.
“We want all young New Zealanders – and National believes in equality of opportunity – regardless of background, regardless of what family they grow up in, regardless of what town or city they live in to have the ability to have access to basic knowledge in reading, writing, maths and science.
“But also to have core competencies; to be able to problem solve; critical thinking and people in the profession all say to me that great teachers have always enabled young people to know how to think.”
Kaye was careful in her deconstruction of Labour’s education policies to leave room for some areas where a bipartisan approach with Labour could work.
“A number of people ask me—and some are National Party voters, and some are left-wing voters— if I can identify areas where there can be cross-party agreement.
“I sense that more than ever, we need to do that.”
Maybe the extraordinary outpouring of praise for her yesterday reflected a feeling within many in the National Party that part of what she stood for, particularly tolerance, has been pushed into the background in favour of political point scoring.
Typically, she had planned her death in precise detail, even setting out a communications plan, and she had asked for no funeral.
But some of her friends last night wondered whether there should be a memorial service.
Meanwhile, the Blue Greens, of which she was a passionate member, pointed to her opposition to the 2010 mining bill.
“One of the crowning blue-green achievements was the creation of the conservation park on Great Barrier Island, which she strongly advocated for,” co-chairs Chris Severne and Grant McCallum said.
“It will be a fitting memorial to her love of the Bay Area and the environment.”
Perhaps it could be named after her.
