'Menacing bully' Roy's take on Hide

Heather Roy. Photo / Brett Phibbs

A leaked, confidential dossier of Heather Roy's notes for the Act MPs' meeting that dumped her as deputy leader reveals the extent of the rift between her and party leader Rodney Hide and her deep mistrust of him.

The notes say she believed Mr Hide's mission was to discredit and humiliate her. He is described as bullying and menacing.

She insisted on taking a second person to meetings with him, prompting him to refuse to meet her except at caucus and Act board meetings.

And she said Mr Hide tried to have her removed as Associate Defence Minister.

"It is very difficult for me to work when my own leader is determined to undermine me in this way," she said.

"I have received many reports of his agenda being to humiliate and discredit me so as to have grounds to place me well down the party list at the next list selection meeting."

The country would probably not be interested very much in her dumping, the notes said, but anyone who thought about it would "find confirmation of their prejudices about the nasty party, comprised of bullies".

She said Act's caucus - the party has five MPs in Parliament - had "allowed itself to be hijacked by lies and innuendo".

The notes were not distributed to Act MPs but were used for reference by Mrs Roy and her lawyer, former Act MP Stephen Franks.

They are thought to have been compiled by her ministerial adviser, Simon Ewing-Jarvie, who abruptly lost his job when she did.

There is said to have been concern in the caucus about his influence on her.

Mrs Roy was replaced as deputy by John Boscawen in a 3-2 vote on Tuesday, forcing her to resign as Minister of Consumer Affairs and associate minister in the defence and education portfolios.

But the leak yesterday galvanised her into a brief show of party unity with Mr Hide for the cameras. She also pledged to remain a "productive" Act MP.

But by the time the Herald arrived at the Act offices last night - after an invitation to talk to the two MPs - the strain had taken its toll on Mrs Roy and she had left.

Mr Hide said Mrs Roy had been "mortified" by the leak.

They had started to repair their relationship. He indicated that party founder Sir Roger Douglas was acting as an intermediary, and that Mrs Roy had been pleased Mr Hide had not been criticising her.

Last night, he praised her record, describing her as a good MP and a good minister.

He said he accepted that their relationship had been strained but he did not believe he had been intimidating.

Former Act leader Richard Prebble said he had not been following the story closely and had been "extremely busy" this week.

Mr Prebble resigned as leader of the Act Party in 2004 and was replaced by Mr Hide.

He said he had read some of the media coverage "with astonishment" but not enough to comment.

Asked if he would comment after reading Mrs Roy's leaked document, Mr Prebble said: "I don't know if I can bear to read it".

- With NZHERALD STAFF