Q&A: Denise Roche, MP - Green Party

Photo c/o of Denise's Facebook account

First time I met Denise Roche was in the Lingaw-Duwa event in Auckland, a Filipino gathering focused on indigenous games.  I was impressed with her humility and simplicity and as I did my research later on, was doubly elated by what she has advocated in Parliament: increasing the refugee quota, banishing zero hour contracts, spearheaded a campaign for single-use plastic bags which paved the way for a recycling collection for soft plastics.  

Denise has been a Green Party MP since 2011. Her portfolios included immigration, waste, workplace relations and safety.  She has spent her life campaigning fro peace, decent wages, for the protection of our planet and the wise stewardship of our natural resources.

Not many people know that Denise loves to sing, a trait that many Filipinos are also fond of.  We'll have to invite her to our Karaoke or Magic Sing sessions then.  Thank you Denise, knowing that you have a very busy schedule, you still got time for this Q&A.

Q: What motivates you?
A: I have a very strong sense of fairness so most of my adult life has been spent fighting for social justice - I think this is a trait that a Catholic upbringing fosters. I think it's only fair that our children, and our children's children, should have enough to live a decent life; have access to health services and education and a warm healthy secure home to live in. I think it's only fair that these generations can swim in clean rivers, like my generation did, and gather food from our seas and rivers without fear that they will cause us harm.

Q: What is your proudest achievement up to this moment?
A: Aside from raising two fine young adults the thing I'm most proud of is ensuring that my community kept local representation in the Auckland local government reforms when I was the Auckland City Councillor for the Hauraki Gulf. In 2008 as the Royal Commission for Auckland Governance started their proceedings and during the subsequent forced amalgamation of the 8 councils in the Auckland region I lead the fight for Waiheke to keep our local democracy. Our organising resulted in nearly a quarter of all the submissions received by the Royal Commission from the eligible 1.8 million people in Auckland coming from the communities I represented - about .8 percent of the population. Both the Royal Commission and subsequent Local Government Select Committee hearings were held in our community. And in the end Waiheke and Great Barrier Island, the smallest communities in the entire region, won the right to have local political representation with the creation of our own local boards.

Q: What attracts you to politics?
A: In 2006 I was fortunate to do one of my papers for my Graduate Diploma in Not For Profit Management in the highlands of Papua New Guinea with local community activists. Many of these people faced terrible risks while fighting to protect their communities interests - some had been beaten and raped. I considered my own life and when I got back to my comfortable life on Waiheke realised there was nothing stopping me from stepping up and becoming a decision maker. I have been an activist most of my life. Having now stepped 'inside the tent' (as opposed to fighting from the outside) I see my role as being responsive to the needs of our communities and making the change that they want to see happen.

Q: How will you spend the first 100 days if elected?
A: If elected, in the first 100 hundred days I'd like to see some quick solutions to our waste problems. We could immediately introduce a charge on single-use plastic bags which would radically reduce our consumption of the 1.6 billion we use in NZ every year. And then we could introduce refunds on drink containers which would reduce littering, improve recycling rates and be a community fundraising avenue. Both these waste minimisation actions are cost-neutral. It might take a bit longer than 100 days but I would like to see our lowest paid members of the workforce given some protections, so I would explore the possibility of introducing minimum industry standards, especially for workers where they are frequently contracted out when their employers change due top open tendering processes. (For example cleaners, hospital laundry services, bus drivers etc.).

Q: Name 3 people, dead or alive, you'll like to have dinner with, why?
A: Nelson Mandela - because I am in awe of his ability to be steadfast in his convictions despite being unfairly imprisoned for so long and then going on to try to heal the divisions in his country once he became his country's leader. Helen Kelly - because she died too soon. She had a truly remarkable mind - with enormous creativity and optimism and an incisiveness that sometimes astounded me. Te Rauparaha. I am a direct descendant of this fearsome warrior and while I espouse peace, his strategic mind would be interesting to explore.

Q: Are you a dog or cat person, why?
A: Dog person. My partner is allergic to cat hair.

Q: Where in NZ is the place you can call as your sanctuary, why?
A: Waiheke Island is my sanctuary. Sometimes after a really hard week I'll come home and, just throwing myself into the tide, or walking along the beach will restore my equilibrium. My other place of sanctuary is Kaikoura - my brother lives there and I think its the combination of having a sibling that loves me unconditionally, of Kaikoura being an amazing community and being surrounded by the finest scenery ever that can lift my spirits in minutes.

Q: Something not many people know about you?
A: I play guitar and really enjoy singing - particularly with my 5 sisters.

Q: If you could travel back in time, where and when would it be, why?
A: I'd be really interested to see first hand the campaign that ensured that women got the vote in New Zealand. So I'd travel back in time to the late 1880's so I could be there when the law was passed in 1893.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
A: In the immediate future I will be campaigning hard to change the government. I really want an Aotearoa New Zealand where all our people have a good life and where we are careful stewards of our natural resources so that they're there for future generations. I'm pretty sure that fighting for these things, whether in parliament or not, is going to keep me busy for the rest of my life.