Denise Maree Roche (born 9 July 1963) is a New Zealand politician. She was a member of the Waiheke Local Board and the
New Zealand House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is the sole chamber of the New Zealand Parliament. The House passes Law of New Zealand, laws, provides Ministers of the New Zealand Government, ministers to form Cabinet of New Zealand, Cabinet, and supervises the ...
, where she represented the
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand ( mi, Rōpū Kākāriki o Aotearoa, Niu Tireni), commonly known as the Greens, is a green and left-wing political party in New Zealand. Like many green parties around the world, it has four organisational ...
from 2011 to 2017.
Early life
Roche was born in 1963 in
Helensville
Helensville is a town in the North Island of New Zealand. It is sited northwest of Auckland, close to the southern extremity of the Kaipara Harbour. New Zealand State Highway 16, State Highway 16 passes through the town, connecting it to Waimauk ...
, the eighth child of nine and the youngest daughter in her family.
Roche is of
Ngāti Huri and Scottish descent.
Roche left high school early with no qualification, returning later in her life to complete her studies as an adult.
She has an extensive background in union-related work and in 2000 completed a diploma in labour studies. In 2007 she completed a graduate diploma in not-for-profit management.
Roche and her partner John Stansfield moved to Waiheke in 1997, partners in Orapiu Grove Farm. From 2004 to 2010, she was on the board of trustees for Te Huruhi School.
She had previously worked for the Waste Resource Trust, promoting responsible waste disposal and recycling on
Waiheke Island
Waiheke Island (; Māori: ) is the second-largest island (after Great Barrier Island) in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. Its ferry terminal in Matiatia Bay at the western end is from the central-city terminal in Auckland.
It is the most pop ...
.
Political career
She was the Auckland City Councillor for the Hauraki Gulf Islands from 2007 to 2010.
She won in the 2007 Auckland local body election by a very narrow margin over long-standing incumbent, Faye Storer, by only eleven votes with a high-profile campaign.
In the
2010 Auckland local election for the Waiheke Local Board, she received the highest number of votes.
She was the candidate of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand for Auckland Central in the
2008 general election. The Auckland Central electorate includes the whole of Waiheke Island. She received 13% of votes cast in the electorate and was not elected.
Placed in eleventh place on the Green Party list for the ,
Roche was elected to Parliament, with the Greens gaining 14 positions based on the final results.
As a member of parliament, Roche openly admitted to being a survivor of sexual abuse. Following
John Key
Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as Leader of the New Zealand National Party from 2006 to 2016. After resigning from bo ...
's statement that Labour was supporting "rapists" detained on
Christmas Island
Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. It is located in the Indian Ocean, around south of Java and Sumatra and around north-west of the ...
, Roche, as a participant along with several other women MPs who were similarly victims, staged a walkout of Parliament in protest. Roche stated in parliament that she had "endured years of sexual assault as a child", stating she was personally offended that the Prime Minister implied that she would personally support rapists. Roche was number 13 on the Green party list for the
2017 general election, and was not re-elected as an MP.
Following the general election Roche ran as the
City Vision
City Vision is a centre-left coalition of two political parties, the New Zealand Labour Party and the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, and community independents who contest Auckland Council (and previously Auckland City and Auckland Regi ...
candidate for the
Waitematā Local Board
The Waitematā Local Board is one of the 21 local boards of the Auckland Council, and is one of the three boards overseen by the council's Waitematā and Gulf Ward councillor.
The Waitematā board, named after the Waitematā Harbour which for ...
vacancy created by the resignation of Mark Davey. She was successful, winning the seat by 249 votes.
References
External links
Profile at Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand websiteProfile at New Zealand Parliament website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roche, Denise
1963 births
Living people
Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand MPs
New Zealand list MPs
Auckland City Councillors
People from Waiheke Island
Unsuccessful candidates in the 2008 New Zealand general election
Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
21st-century New Zealand politicians
21st-century New Zealand women politicians
Unsuccessful candidates in the 2017 New Zealand general election
People from Helensville
Māori MPs
Ngāti Raukawa people