Heather Roy's Diary; I am retiring
act-new-zealand
Sat Jun 25 2011 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Heather Roy's Diary; I am retiring
Saturday, 25 June 2011, 1:26 pm
Press Release: ACT New Zealand
Heather Roy's Diary
An Idealistic Struggle but well worth the Effort
This year is my ninth as a Member of the New Zealand Parliament. It has been a fast-paced journey comprising excitement, disappointment, enjoyment and angst. In this regard, my tenure as an MP is little different to that of others who have taken up the challenge of national politics. It isn’t a life that all are suited to. However, for our country to thrive, it is vital that we attract a wide cross-section of people who are willing to serve at every level of governance.
When I first stood for ACT in 1999, I didn’t think I would actually become an MP but was ‘doing my bit’ for the party effort. Three years later, I became the 80th woman to enter the House of Representatives. The Speaker of the day told our 2002 cohort, during our orientation, that the average tenure of an MP was 6 years. Encouraged by early mentors Sir Roger Douglas and Richard Prebble to develop a personal plan, I wrote some goals – actually, back then, they were more like ‘notes to self’. One of those was to remain an MP for 3 terms – 9 years.
That time has now come. The ACT Party has embarked on a fresh start under new leader Don Brash and a strong Epsom candidate in John Banks. To achieve electoral success in November, it’s essential that Don has plenty of time to build the remainder of the team that he will need in order to pursue the principles and policies on which ACT was founded. It’s also important for me that I leave politics at an age where I still have plenty of time to undertake new challenges – too much gardening is not a good thing! For all these reasons, I intend to retire at this year’s election.
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ACT’s role in the political landscape is arguably one of the toughest ideological struggles that any NZ political party could undertake. We have never promised handouts, only a ‘hand-up’. We are consistently vocal in our call for Government to live within its means and we believe that personal freedoms, hard-won over many centuries, should not be surrendered lightly. In my maiden speech in 2002, I quoted Machiavelli’s warning that "There is nothing more difficult to accomplish, nor more dubious in its outcome, nor more perilous in its execution, than to take the initiative introducing change." ACT’s message is not an easy one to ‘sell’ to voters but I think that its positive impact for future generations makes it well worth the effort.
I closed that same speech by saying that ACT is a party that seeks to change the way people think and that if I could contribute to the move in attitude needed to make this change a reality I would consider my time at parliament a success. It is difficult to measure the sum of one’s influence and is something that is best left to others.
However, there are a number of achievements that I am pleased to have contributed to. These include successful amendments to a Justice bill that enabled victims of crime to retain the right to speak at the parole hearings of their perpetrators (Labour wanted to abolish this right), highlighting the huge increase in numbers of people dying on hospital waiting lists under the previous government’s health policy and other health issues. As a Minister for almost 2 years I put in place the Aspire Scholarships and instigated reviews of special education and consumer law. More laterally I have shepherded through the parliament (with the help of Sir Roger Douglas) a bill to make Student Union Membership voluntary and hope this will pass before the election.
It’s hard to believe that it is five years since I joined the Army Reserve and I have thoroughly enjoyed the people and challenges that my connections with our Defence Force have brought me in contact with – both as a sapper and as Associate Minister.
There’s much more that I could write about but a friend reminded me that this is not a valedictory speech. I will continue to publish the Diary. Everyone, so they say, should have a baby, write a book and build a house before they die. Having over-achieved somewhat on the first point, it might well be time to upgrade my tool set and get a dictaphone! I’ll keep you posted on progress.
Lest We Forget – Bannockburn Day.
24 June is Bannockburn Day. It commemorates the decisive 1314 victory of Scottish forces under Robert Bruce over the English army of Edward II. However, the First War of Scottish Independence spread across four periods between 1296 and 1328. The war began after multiple claimants to the Scottish throne could not agree on succession and the Guardians of Scotland asked King Edward I to come north and arbitrate. He arrived in force and without army or leader; the Scots reluctantly accepted his claim to be Lord Paramount of Scotland.
It is estimated that the English Army at Bannockburn was 2-3 times the size of the Scots. After the two day battle, only about a third of the original force made it back to England. Bannockburn was a classic example of how a determined, smaller but agile force can rout a larger, more powerful but unwieldy opponent. Scotland, then - as it still does today - prevailed by taking the long view of the road to freedom from oppression.
ENDS
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