ACT Party deputy and minister Brooke van Velden retires from politics

ACT deputy leader and Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden is retiring from politics at the November election.

The 33-year-old MP for Tamaki won the seat off National at the 2023 election, and says the easy thing would have been to stay in politics.

Van Velden will have been in Parliament for nine years by the election – three years working with leader David Seymour on his successful End of Life Choice bill, and six years as ACT’s deputy leader.

“I simply want to do more with life, I’d like to try my hand at the private sector, and potentially at some point in the future coming back to public service.”

Van Velden said she told Seymour and the party general secretary before Christmas that she was considering leaving, and confirmed her decision with them earlier this year.

She will remain a minister for now, and the party will confirm a new deputy leader at its general meeting in June.

“I’ve been serving the people of Tamaki 100 percent until this point and that is what I’ll continue to do until the election,” van Velden said.

She said the catalyst was whether she could commit to the next four years, and she realised she only had one more year in her.

“Now it’s a question for me as to what comes next, and that question has been answered by looking for opportunities in the private sector.”

Asked if there was any other reason for her sudden retirement, she said, “ultimately you’ve got to just take a woman at her word”.

“I do believe there’s more that I can give in the public sector but ultimately I also want to try other opportunities as well, which is why I want to try the private sector.

“I don’t think it’s any secret that being a politician and public figure isn’t an easy life… you can’t have external careers and also build a public life,” she said.

Van Velden said even if she came back to Parliament in 20 years she would still only be in her fifties, “which is when a lot of people enter Parliament for the first time”.

On the decisions she’s made in government, van Velden said she’s proud of all of them, including the highly controversial changes to the pay equity regime.

“I hand on heart believe that the decisions I made and the actions I took were in the best interests of the country, and ultimately I saved the Budget.”

She doesn’t have any ambitions “at this point” to be the leader of ACT.

“David has built ACT into a party that I’m very proud to be part of.”

Seymour said the party will select a new candidate in the next month to contest the Tāmaki seat and paid tribute to van Valden.

Seymour paid tribute to his colleague.

“I’m losing a colleague, but hopefully not a lifelong friend,” he said.

“I think she’s had a political career as near to perfect as humanly possible,” Seymour said.

Now she’s going on her own terms, he said.

Van Velden retirement draws mixed response

Today in Meadowbank, at a shopping centre where van Velden’s electorate office is based, the news is being greeted with a mixed response.

Among those popping in to the local supermarket, Sheryl Mungall said she is surprised van Velden will be stepping down.

“I’m very sorry, I think she was a breath of fresh air. I’m in the Tāmaki electorate and I think she was doing a good job. It’s quite surprising that this has happened, something’s obviously behind it.”

Julie also said it’s come out of the blue.

“She must have something else better in mind. I think she’s been very capable. I think she has quite a good reputation.”

As the workplace relations minister, van Velden’s decision to tighten pay equity law under urgency last May sparked protests.

The controversial call was widely criticised, and led to the MP dropping the C-bomb in Parliament, protesting the slur being directed at her and other female ministers in a newspaper column.

“I do not agree with the clearly gendered and patronising language that (national affairs editor for the Sunday Star-Times) Andrea Vance used to reduce senior Cabinet ministers to girl bosses, hype squads, references to girl math and c****,” van Velden said last May.

“The women of this government are hard-working, dedicated and strong. No woman in this Parliament, nor in this country, should be subjected to sex-based discrimination.”

Meadowbank local Calvin Smithfield believed the response to her pay equity policy could be a factor in her decision to step down.

“I think she annoyed a lot of people with her policies and I think she feels she won’t get re-elected.”

Mahesh Pandian said he would like to know more about van Velden’s departure.

“I would like to know the reason behind it, what happened there because I was thinking she’d be the next leader of the ACT Party.

Looking ahead, unions concerned about the balance of power shifting from workers to employers would like to see pay equity reforms repealed.

PSA’s national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said there would be long term damage to workers in van Velden’s legacy, supported by ACT, National and NZ First.

“They should overturn her pay equity changes, her changes to personal grievances, and come out with a proper policy before the election.”

The minister is confident her electorate will remain with ACT when voters go to the polls this November.

“Given the long lead up to the election that I am giving the next candidate, I expect the next candidate to hit the ground running and run a very successful campaign and keep that seat pink.”

Seymour said the party will select a new candidate in the next month to contest the Tāmaki seat.

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