- Nikki Kaye, former MP for Auckland Central, died after a long battle with cancer.
- Kaye, 44, was a former deputy leader of the National Party and served as a minister in John Key’s Government.
- She revealed in September 2016 that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and returned to work the following year.
- Kaye announced in July 2020 that she was leaving politics at that year’s general election.
- Opinion: Remembering Nikki Kaye - a best friend and the most determined person I knew
Former National Party Minister Nikki Kaye has died at age 44.
It’s understood she died at the weekend after a long battle with cancer. She was diagnosed with cancer in 2016.
Friends told NZME she was in great health up until a few months ago, when her health went downhill very suddenly.
A funeral notice would be shared by family tomorrow.
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Former National Party leader Todd Muller said he will miss her dearly.
“A beautiful soul with a deeply caring heart fueled by a ferocious energy to serve her party, community and country often at the expense of her own health.
“I will miss her dearly. Rest in peace Nikki”
Former Prime Minister Sir John Key spoke to Kaye just a few weeks ago.
“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.
“Right until the end, she was incredibly positive about her life, the things she had achieved. Very much at peace with what was happening.
“She described herself as quite a spiritual person. She felt very comfortable with the way life had worked out. Obviously, like anyone she would have wanted a lot more time.”
Key said when Kaye shared her cancer diagnosis publicly in 2016, she privately told him it was a much more significant diagnosis.
“It 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 [doctors] gave her quite a low probability of actually getting to 40.”
Key said Kaye did everything “at full noise” and was a force to be reckoned with.
“The thing with Nikki is that she is one of those people, it’s the life you get out of the years, not the years you get out of life. And we’ve lost her so early, but she packed an awful lot into those years.”
Another colleague, Judith Collins, a Government Minister, said Kaye died “far too young and far too early”.
Kaye served as an MP for the Auckland Central electorate from 2008, when she entered Parliament at age 28, until 2020.
In two races for the Auckland Central seat, she beat Jacinda Ardern.
She had to fight for her seat in every election. Auckland Central is seen as one of the most marginal seats in the country, courtesy of the ever-changing population of students and apartment dwellers.
The National Party said while Auckland Central MP she handled over 50,000 constituency cases.
She was also a strong advocate for environmental issues, youth, women and the LGBTQ community where she made many strong connections and friends.
In January 2013, she was appointed to Cabinet by Prime Minister John Key with the portfolios of Food Safety, Civil Defence, and Youth Affairs, and Associate Minister of Education and Immigration.
In September 2016 she took sick leave from the House for breast cancer treatment. She returned to Parliament in early 2017, resuming full duties.
She served as Deputy Leader of the National Party and Deputy Leader of the Opposition from May 2020 to July 2020.
After retiring from Parliament in 2020, Kaye spent time at former Prime Minister John Key’s holiday home in Maui.
She told the Herald’s senior political correspondent Audrey Young a year later she had travelled to San Francisco and London and spent time on Great Barrier Island.
She had joined the board of AUT Ventures, the commercial arm of the Auckland University of Technology.
She did some work for the OECD and the Government of Bahrain, presenting to a virtual conference around 21st century education systems.
She visited technology companies in California and friends in Britain before getting a ballot spot to return to MIQ.
All up she spent five months overseas, before setting up her base on Great Barrier Island.
She was also committed to helping breast cancer charities.
Kaye was also a keen sportswoman. In 2020, she completed the Coast to Coast – a 243km running, cycling and kayaking race from Kumara’s Serpentine Beach to Christchurch’s New Brighton Beach.
In the Women’s Weekly in 2022, Kaye spoke candidly about her desire to find balance and time to look after herself.
”There’s this thing burning in me that loves to help people. There are always people who need help and if you’re someone who cares a lot, like I do, then you can never shut off,” she said at the time.
‘One of the bravest parliamentarians NZ has seen’
The Prime Minister and Finance Minister have paid tribute to Kaye, described as a “cherished colleague, friend, and former Minister, Deputy Leader and Member of Parliament for Auckland Central”.
Christopher Luxon, Prime Minister and National Party leader, said her contribution “to our party, her community, and New Zealand has left an indelible mark”.
“Her tireless dedication, sharp intellect, and tenacity earned her the respect of people across the political spectrum,” Luxon said.
”Nikki was a remarkable person and a crusader for what she believed in, and her contribution has left our country in a better place.”
Nicola Willis, the Finance Minister and deputy leader of the National Party, said Kaye had “fiercely” advanced the “liberal values and causes she believed in”.
”She loved the National Party and contributed so much of her soul to it. I will be forever grateful for the contribution she made to my own career and personal development.”
Willis said Kaye’s battle with cancer had “never subsided” but “she has remained fearless throughout”.
She said Kaye “in recent years had found spiritual peace with the idea of death”.
”Nikki lived vibrantly and well. Her impact on others was immense and the memories great. We’ve lost one of the special ones. Let us be grateful for her incredible life.”
Tributes from Hipkins and Ardern
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the news of Kaye’s death was incredibly sad.
“Nikki Kaye and I were opposite numbers at Parliament in the education portfolio, and I would describe us very fondly as frenemies.
“She poured her heart and soul into the electorate and she always pushed for better for children and young people.
”I had a lot of respect for her and how she went about her work.”
Former Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern says she is “deeply saddened” to hear of Kaye’s death.
Kaye was victorious over Ardern in the Auckland Central electorate in both 2011 and 2014.
”Nikki was someone I got to know fairly well over the years that we ran against each other in Auckland Central. We may have been opponents, but there were so many things I admired about Nikki,” Ardern said in a social media post.
”She worked incredibly hard, cared passionately about her electorate, and she was always willing to agree an idea was good, or bad, based on her values rather than just politics. We laughed a lot over the years, and while we may have had some decent debates, nothing ever felt genuinely personal.”
Ardern said she was sorry she wasn’t aware Kaye was unwell again.
”If I had, I’d liked to have talked with her just one more time. Rest in peace, Nikki. Politics was better for having you in it.”
