Heather Roy's Leaked ACT Party Memo

Thursday, 19 August 2010, 1:32 pm
Article: The Scoop Team

A confidential document revealing strained relationships in the parliamentary ACT Party has been leaked to the Herald.

The 82-page document were prepared by Heather Roy, in defense against allegations which resulted in her being replaced as ACT's deputy leader.

It includes her responses to specific charges and supporting internal party correspondence.

Scoop's copy of the document is at http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1008/HEATHER_ROY.pdf

Part 1

Deputy Leader’s Summary

I am determined that Caucus deal with the real issue that has brought us to this point, where we are wasting time on internal bloodletting once again. We are being left room by the National Party to establish ourselves as the party of high principle, yet this Caucus has allowed itself to be hijacked by lies and innuendo. Meanwhile, we are distracted from the policies and causes we are here to advance and we are losing the political authority that comes only to parties that patently live their principles.

Clearly it is open to the Caucus to change its office holders by majority vote, with the Board’s approval. But if that is done in a way calculated to leave maximum damage to people involved, without concern about the damage to the Party, there comes a point where the Party is so compromised that it cannot convey its values to the public. They sense the lie in a big gap between promise and performance. They know it as hypocrisy. That is why the caucus insisted on Rodney’s apology last November instead of just “moving forward”. That is why I now ask you my colleagues, entrusted with the hopes of those who worked to put us here, to look at what has happened over the last few days to learn lessons for a fresh start.

I have been the target of false or misleading allegations during a meeting I was not at. The Leader set out, some time ago, to undermine my authority and my effectiveness as a Minister. He told Wayne Mapp I was going before ever talking to me about alleged unhappiness with my performance. He went hunting for things to trump up into complaint.

By the end of today’s caucus meeting you will have the detail. But more importantly you will have a choice. On the one hand, a principled approach that says the means we are prepared to use can be as important to where we get as the ends we share. On the other hand, a view that I am not sure can even be dignified as “the end justifies the means”. Instead, ACT risks being abandoned to a culture distinguished by a fascination with black political means. If that was accompanied by a mastery of them, shown by outstanding organisational talent and growth in membership and support and an ability to forge an ever-widening support base and understanding of our policies and principles, I could let this go.

But it is not, so I will use the hearing I am due under natural justice, and by your promise. I will propose ways to develop new protocols to turn this around. That may or may not affect the outcome of the motion for a change in the Deputy Leadership. But that motion is less important to what we become than how we deal with the ugliness revealed over the last few days.

I’ll ask you to step outside the little hothouse that is our Caucus to see how this will be seen from outside.

I am a competent Minister. I have not embarrassed ACT. The ‘Free to Learn’ Education paper is widely known to be well done. I believe we have had an influence in the Defence portfolio that is respected, even if it has at times been uncomfortable for the establishment. What else would you expect from ACT?

I ensured in 2005 that ACT focus on Epsom. I persuaded John Boscawen to overcome his reservations. I called in the dues my fellow MPs owed me and got them to door-knock in Epsom. A board member and I organised, off our own bats, the Roy-Morgan poll showing Rodney would win Epsom and that a party vote for ACT would not be wasted.

In the 2005 -2008 Parliament, I maintained what I could of respectability for the Party through Rodney’s journey of reinvention. I bit my tongue many times. I have maintained that in this term. Despite our deep embarrassment as the perks fiasco blossomed I was not part of any move to replace Rodney, indeed I was not aware of it, so far as it went, until it was largely over.

So I faced Rodney’s vendetta, starting with a visit to my home on 21 Nov 09 when he refused to answer my queries about his attempts to damage me, and demanded an undertaking from me to support him unequivocally. I do not make promises to be broken and it was up to him, at that stage, to show that he was worthy of revived Caucus support. I did not do the easy thing and just say yes. Ever since he has been determined to discredit me, irrespective of the effect on the Party and our contribution to government.

If it had been the view of my colleagues, conveyed supportively but frankly by a Leader I could trust, or by my colleagues telling me directly, that the party’s interests would be best served by replacing me, what complaint could I make? Instead, the conduct of this matter has established the opposite – that ACT sees team leadership as primitive combat, with a need to destroy a colleague’s reputation to justify an otherwise inexplicable decision.

The country will probably be not much interested. Those bothering to think about it will see that Rodney has lost another woman from leadership. They’ll find confirmation of their prejudices about the nasty party, comprised of bullies.

Be very sure that I have put so much into this Party and this effort that I will not allow that to happen without ensuring that the Party knows what is at stake. I will ensure that the Board is properly briefed, by myself if necessary, before they vote to ratify any decision made today.

I believe that the right thing to do is to maintain the status quo by retraction of the deputy leadership vote. This should be followed by a constructive, well managed process of continuous improvement, facilitated by experts as necessary, so that we can all re-discover our collegial spirit and improve individually as a team. I have the guts to do what’s right. I hope that you can each find that within yourself also.

Read the whole document [PDF] >>

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