The Herald understands he died this week, having been unwell for some time, after the death of his daughter from cancer last weekend. He was 77.
Peter Kaye spent decades in criminal law as both a Crown prosecutor with Meredith Connell in the 1980s and later a defence lawyer and was involved in many high-profile cases. He continued to appear as a lawyer in court until this year, nearly 50 years after he was admitted to the bar.
Shannon Withers, a senior Auckland criminal defence lawyer who worked alongside Kaye at Vulcan Chambers, paid tribute on Friday evening to his friend and colleague’s skills in court.
”I think one of my favourites with Pete was we were in a High Court trial and a judge was coming in and Pete turned around and he was facing the wrong way and he said, ‘Why’s everyone standing up?‘”
He was admitted to the bar in the High Court at Christchurch on September 23, 1977.
Paul Dacre, KC, told the Herald he met Peter Kaye in the 1980s and described him as “a lawyer’s lawyer” and “one of the great advocates of his generation”.
Dacre told the Herald that Kaye “had a voice which filled the courtroom” and he was “a man of drama”.
“He was a very good friend and mentor and took the law seriously – but not himself,” he said.
Kaye previously served in the Navy and Withers said he would often talk about his time on ships.
This September marked 47 years as a barrister and solicitor for Kaye, who continued to defend clients in major criminal trials until recently. He appeared for one of the accused in the 2022 trial of several Head Hunters accused of a brazen daylight shooting in downtown Auckland and the Sofitel Viaduct.
More recently he had appeared for one of the men charged with attempted murder after the attack on Auckland radio host Harnek Singh over Sikh religion differences.
Stuff reported Susan Gray, Kaye’s former wife, said: “It is with profound sadness we acknowledge the loss of two forces of nature this week, Peter and Nikki. We are trying to find solace in the knowledge that Peter is now at peace.”
“A beloved daughter, sister, family member and friend, she lived a life filled with passion, determination, and an unyielding spirit. She will be missed,” the notice read.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon called Nikki “a remarkable person and crusader for what she believed in”, with her contribution leaving “our country in a better place”.
Her former rival in the Auckland Central electorate, Dame Jacinda Ardern, said she was “deeply saddened” by Kaye’s death and would have “liked to have talked with her just one more time”.
Nikki Kaye, 44, died on Saturday after a long battle with cancer. Photo / File
Kaye’s former leader and Prime Minister Sir John Key said of her death: “New Zealand has been robbed of such an outstanding and wonderful person far too young.
“Nikki was probably one of the most passionate, intense and dedicated people I’ve ever met,” Key said.
“At the time when she publicly said she had breast cancer, she was privately saying to me it was much more significant and had morphed into other parts of her body and so the diagnosis initially was pretty dire.
“When she had her 40th, we went along and I think she got up and said they gave her quite a low probability of actually getting to 40,” he said.
Kaye served as an MP for her electorate from 2008, when she entered Parliament at age 28, until 2020. She beat Ardern in two races for the seat, considered by many to be one of the most marginal seats in the country.
