Sir John Key: former Prime Minister pays tribute to Nikki Kaye

Former Prime Minister John Key has fondly remembered Nikki Kaye as a brave warrior.

The former National deputy leader and Auckland Central MP has died aged 44 after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Kaye served as an MP from 2008 until 2020 - the only National MP to win the electorate.

In her valedictory, Kaye recalled Prime Minister Key swearing and telling her she wasn't going anywhere, when she was diagnosed in 2016. 

Key says Kaye fought valiantly - and he recalled reminding Kaye her great motivation was helping people and told her she'd beat it.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Afternoon. Nicki Kay has been remembered as a tireless advocate
and a politician who was respected by both sides, all
sides really of Parliament. The former minister and Auckland Central
MP died over the weekend. Are just forty four years
old after quite a long battle with cancer. Now. In
her valedictory speech in twenty twenty, she talked about wanting
to quit politics when she first found out that she
had breast cancer.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
In twenty sixteen, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and
as I've said before, my world broke. I tried to
resign and the only reason that I was able to
become Minister of Education was that John Key, as I
cried my eyes out, said you're not going anywhere.

Speaker 1 (00:36):
And former Prime Minister, Sir John Key is with us.

Speaker 3 (00:38):
Now, Hey, John, hey, her?

Speaker 1 (00:40):
Is that what you actually said to her?

Speaker 3 (00:43):
I think so, yeah. I think she think she got
it right. Yeah, look when she came in. The whole
thing actually is that Nicki's been a very brave little
warrior the whole way along. Because while she had breast cancer,
actually the diagnosis was more serious. It morphed in the
other parts of her body and so the prognosis wasn't great.

(01:05):
And what I actually said to as well, I said,
lot Nikki, if you were married and you had a
couple of kids, I'd say to you, you know your
rolling the diecere go home and spend your time with them.
But I said, you don't. And your great motivation and
passion is helping people and doing things, and that's politics,
and you're going to beat this thing. So go and

(01:26):
take as much time as you need. Go and get
the treatment. I actually said to her, lot she had
a great oncologist in New Zealand. I said, you've got
to get another opinion and then look at some experimental
drugs in the United States. But you're coming back and
that's going to give you the motivation to get through
all this. So and you know, for a very long
time she you know, she fought really valiantly and did well.

Speaker 1 (01:47):
And did she actually think that she had beaten it?

Speaker 3 (01:52):
You know, I spoke to us three weeks ago. I mean,
on and off, it'd was very uncertain. I mean, you know,
it wasn't in remission and she was in stage four,
I guess, and it was just you know, taking the
treatment and the drugs and doing various different things, and
you know, we go up and down a little bit,
but you know the way these things work. I think
in anyone that's you know, listening to your show and

(02:14):
understands this sort of stuff, will know that it's it's
a battle of time. If you can last longer the
way new treatments and new drugs are coming along, then
you know you you really have real hope and you've
just got to do the distance if you can. And
so she was always on that journey, if you like.

(02:34):
But when I spoke to her three weeks ago, a
really long chat too, and she was in hospital, and
she said, look, I don't know, she said. I mean
I've said a couple of different on COOLDUS coming and say,
you know this is not going to en well, and
we're really quite negative. But she said her us on
coldis was still saying, look, you know it is one

(02:54):
of those things where miracle cures can come along and
just take every day as it goes. But as I've
sort of said to a couple of other people's day, look,
she was in a very good space. She said to me,
I'm a really spiritual person. I'm at peace with what's happening,
and as I've kind of said, you know, look, it's
the life you get out of the years, you know,

(03:14):
not the years you get out of the life. And
she packed an awful lot in forty four years.

Speaker 1 (03:19):
Yeah too, right, John, Thank you very much for talking
us through it. Really really appreciates Sean Key, former Prime Minister.
For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to
news Talks. It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.