Changing life and times of a former parliamentary perkbuster

Act leader Rodney Hide is a creature of continual re-invention who courts publicity and power.

Born in Canterbury, he spent most of his 20s working on oil rigs in the North Sea and married Jiuan Jiuan soon after returning to New Zealand in 1983.

Hide entered politics when Roger Douglas founded Act and served as the party's first chairman and president. He entered Parliament in 1996 and earned a reputation in the House as a perkbuster.

In 2004 he won the Act leadership battle after Richard Prebble retired, and at the following year's general election became the MP for Epsom.

In the next few years Hide underwent profound change. He lost a lot of weight performing on Dancing With the Stars in 2006, and the next year split from Jiuan Jiuan.

In 2008 he moved from the Opposition benches to Cabinet, where he has successfully championed the merger of Auckland local authorities as the Minister of Local Government.

Although he is now a key driver of Government policy, his position has been precarious after scandals involving his own use of parliamentary perks and friction within Act.

He was lambasted last year for taking girlfriend Louise Crome, 20 years his junior, on a taxpayer-funded trip to London, Hawaii and Los Angeles. Hide later apologised for this use of perks and repaid Crome's fare.

Within Act, disquiet over Hide led to an aborted coup last November when caucus colleagues Heather Roy and Sir Roger Douglas failed in their effort to replace him.