Heather Roy

Heather Roy (born 5 March 1964), is a New Zealand politician and has served as an ACT Member of Parliament since 2002. From 2006 until 17 August 2010, Roy was ACT's Deputy Leader. Following the signing of the National-ACT Supply and Confidence Agreement after the 2008 General Election she was appointed as Minister (outside Cabinet) of Consumer Affairs, as well as Associate Minister of Defence and Associate Minister of Education. On 17 August 2010, Roy was replaced as Deputy Leader by first term ACT MP John Boscawen who took over her primary Ministerial role.

Before entering politics, Roy worked as a physiotherapist, medical research co-ordinator, manager of a private kindergarten and as publicity officer for the New Zealand Portrait Gallery. She and her husband Duncan, a doctor, have five children.

Member of Parliament

In the 1999 elections ACT ranked her tenth on its party list, and she narrowly missed out on a seat in Parliament. In the 2002 elections, however, ranked ninth, she won election as a list MP. She also contested the United Future safe seat of Ohariu-Belmont, polling fifth.

In June 2005, she won promotion from ninth list position to second - even before she became the party's deputy leader. In the 2005 elections, she again campaigned for ACT party vote and accompanied Rodney Hide through much of his Epsom campaign. However, she also stood in Ohariu-Belmont, coming fifth.

In 2006, she completed basic and corps training as a Reserve Forces field engineer (Royal New Zealand Engineers) within the New Zealand Army. Whilst Associate Defence Minister, she was required to transfer to the non-active Reserve but, since leaving the Executive Council has resumed active training.

In the 2008 election, she contested the electorate of Wellington Central, a seat formerly held by former ACT leader and co-founder Richard Prebble from 1996 to 1999. Campaigning solely for party vote, she polled fourth in the electorate count^[1] but was re-elected to Parliament on the ACT party list.

In November 2008, as part of the Supply and Confidence Agreement between the ACT and National Party which allowed the formation of a Government, Heather Roy was appointed to ministerial posts outside the cabinet as Minister of Consumer Affairs, Associate Defence Minister and Associate Education Minister.^[2]

Following internal party concerns she was removed as deputy leader of the Act Party in August 2010. Her ministerial portfolios were transferred to the new deputy leader, John Boscawen, by the Governor-General following advice from the Prime Minister. Since 17 August 2010, she has assumed the roles of spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Health, Social Development and Employment, Police, Corrections, Courts, Labour, Science and Innovation, Pacific Affairs, Ethnic Affairs, Arts, Culture and Heritage, Tourism, Sports and Recreation, Youth Affairs and Tertiary Education. She also sits on the Select Committees for Education and Science; Local Government and Environment as well as the Parliamentary Service Commission; Roy has also taken charge of a bill submitted by Sir Roger Douglas, The Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill (Voluntary Student Membership), which It proposes to make membership of student associations and unions voluntary; at present this bill is in the House Committee Stage with an aim to be effective as of 2012.

Roy announced that she will retire at the 2011 general election.^[3]

References

Further reading

• Prebble, Richard et al. (2003). Liberal thinking. Wellington, [N.Z.]: ACT New Zealand Parliamentary Office  (Roy contributed a paper entitled "Health for all".)
• Roy, Heather (2003). Report by the New Zealand Delegate to the 15th Commonwealth Parliamentary Seminar Rarotonga, Cook Islands, 16–23 August 2003 [Commonwealth Parliamentary Seminar (15th: 2003: Rarotonga)]. Wellington, [N.Z.]: House of Representatives 

External links

• Heather Roy - Ministerial page
• Heather Roy's website