VALE NIKKI KAYE: 1981 - 2024
Nikki Kaye at the Pinnacles Seat, Aotea | Great Barrier Island
““Why is it that through the toughest moments of our lives we learn the most, we feel the most, we have the greatest power to contribute and experience beauty?” ”
That was how Nikki, then 37, began her valedictory speech to parliament when she left office in 2017. She had held multiple portfolios, been a cabinet minister, deputy leader of the National Party, and member for Auckland Central and this island for 12 years.
In late November 2024 news of her death broke she was 44 and had achieved more than most people ever do in a too-short life, largely spent in the service of others. I last saw her in the spring, happily settled in her home in the trees in Mulberry Grove, where she eventually moved after retiring from politics, but definitely not from work. As usual she was full of ideas for her place and working on a string of projects. But anyone with a loved one with early onset breast cancer knows the road may fall out from under your feet at any time, and so it did for Nikki a few weeks later.
She believed our environment is the greatest asset that we have as a country. Her focus on the environment, education and collaborative but relentless problem solving, often across political divides was unique. Leaving the Beehive she said: “We must continue to value our environment more, save our species, reduce emissions, improve our water. There is so much to do. I hope that one day we have an environmental party that will rust on with the left and the right in this Parliament.”
A tireless advocate for the island, Nikki 's first trip to the Barrier was at 17 in a Survivor-style reality TV show, left on Rakitū with five other teenagers and not much food. Twenty years later she was a minister and hosted the Blue Green faction of the National Party conference at the Barrier Social Club in 2014. When mining of Ahumata was proposed soon after she crossed the floor to vote against it. This and the protests that followed helped create the Aotea Conservation Park to increase the level of protection of DOC stewardship land on Aotea. This increase in profile and Nikki’s drive contributed to Rakitū being secured as an island sanctuary. She was an advocate for marine protection and opposed marine dumping. More recently Nikki had launched Blue Nature, combining her passion for education and the environment. Blue Nature supports schools to design conservation projects in their local area with backup from specialists in relevant fields. Mulberry Grove School is a Blue Nature pilot project alongside a clutch of much bigger mainland schools.
Nikki admitted in an interview in 2022 that her main problem is that she wanted to save the world. "There are always people who need help and if you're someone who cares a lot, like I do, then you can never shut off." Yet she chose to spend her time here, amongst the trees and amongst like-minded people.
"There's a calmness that comes… Rather than trying to analyse (it), I just accept it. If I'm walking through the bush at a particular time on the island and the light hits the trees, I feel a sense of calm. I don't know what that is, but I can tell you that there's something in that and I'm happy to just sit with that."
Her parting advice to Parliament rings true today:
““I believe there are two types of parliamentarians in this place: those that are in it for themselves and those that are in it for the country. Be the latter… Don’t be arrogant or entitled. This is public service. I have been proud to have been a public servant of New Zealand. I love our country and I hope to continue to contribute more in the future. Haere rā.”