David Farrar: Friend of Nikki Kaye on her work in politics and passing

A friend of Nikki Kaye has described her as an incredibly determined person.  

The 44-year-old former National MP died on Saturday after battling cancer.  

Her family says a private cremation service was held on Monday.  

Kaye served as Auckland Central MP from 2008 until 2020.  

Friend David Farrar told Mike Hosking that he and others in the National party told her she wouldn't win the nomination or seat for Auckland Central.  

He says Kaye had a belief in herself and thought she could win it, she knocked on every door in the electorate, and did win. 

Farrar says she did a lot of cross-party work.  

He says she was very much a National MP, but never thought all goodness came from one party and worked across the political spectrum to achieve things.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The saddest of days, of course, as we got the
news former MP Nicky k passed away at just forty
four long battle with cancer. One of her best friends,
David Ferrer, is well, it's David, very good morning.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
To you morning, Mike.

Speaker 1 (00:11):
And I'm not sure where I saw it, but your
piece you wrote yesterday about her that was delightful and
I hope that that helped a lot of people understand
more about her and your experience with her. How did
you become best friends? As you put it, well, I.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
Kneta when she was eighteen, she was a young national
and I worked in partment and then she joined us
in parliament two three years later, so we came colleagues.
And she then died, as all Kiwis do or most
of them, went to London for five years, and I
went to London a lot and end up staying with us.
I think it was during that period there that we
became really closed. We started doing some holidays together at

(00:49):
the c and there's also the period when despite being
in her twenties, she she started talking about I might
come back to New Zealand and stand for parliament.

Speaker 1 (01:00):
Did she always ignore your advice?

Speaker 2 (01:03):
Yes, it was the one constant of our relationship. She
always wanted advice, but she generally already had a fairly
good idea in her mind what she wanted to do.
And deny for Parliament I think was probably the great example,
because we just all said, Auckland Central has been held
by Labor or their alliants for ninety years, it's never

(01:25):
been won by national and there's already a Nationalist MP there,
so we said, you won't win the nomination, you won't
win the seat, Why aren't go and look at a
nice seat like Rota Roa. And he had this belief
in herself and she was like, I think I can
win it, and she did. She door knocked on I
think every door in the electorate, and she also kept

(01:47):
her as we know, for the next four elections too.
This by it never been what you call a blue seat.
I mean Auckland Central isn't Epson. It's a very left
leaning electorate that so many people there would give Labor
or Greens the party vote, that AUSO vote for Nicky.

Speaker 1 (02:04):
It gives you an insight. She's what I would call
a very cross party sort. Everyone liked her, everyone respected her,
and you could you know even if you were in
the so called wrong party, you still got on with
her and worked with her. And that's who she was, Wasn't.

Speaker 2 (02:17):
It very much? And she did so much cross party work.
She worked with Louisa Role on same sex marriage, her
and Kivin Hagskin, I think two years writing a bill
to reform the nineteen seventy adoption laws we had, et cetera.
Nicky was very much a national MP, but never thought
that all goodness comes from one party and she was

(02:40):
always working across the course spectrum to try and achieve things.

Speaker 1 (02:46):
Where did she get a stoic nature from? Because I
thought she handled what happened to her extremely well, extraordinarily well.

Speaker 2 (02:53):
She had a bit of a tough childhood, was that
split the families, etc. And I think she grew up
really tough. In the defining thing with Nicky, we talked
before about her ignoring advice, was people underestimating her? When
I actually said, look, I don't know if he and
were not consent, shed gived us underestimating me like everyone

(03:15):
else in my life. And she told me about a
long list of people, including her pe teacher who said
she'd never be able to run. Now, if you don't
know it, Nicky did. I think Keen Marathons is five
coast to coasts. So Nicky was always just one of
those incredibly determined people in thinct. I just saw a
foe who this morning, someone sets through of her meeting

(03:37):
Margaret Fetcher, and it just revided me. There book probably
two women who both went good to say no to.

Speaker 1 (03:45):
Lovely thoughts, David. I appreciate it very much, David Farrer.
And if you didn't see his piece, I can't remember
where it was, but look it up. It's a lovely
backstory of the things they did together, the places they went,
and some beautiful stories David Farah.

Speaker 2 (03:58):
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