Roy buries feelings for party's sake

Heather Roy. Photo / APN

Act MP Heather Roy has strong feelings about being dumped as deputy leader, but is burying them for the good of the party.

Mrs Roy was rolled two weeks ago when the caucus voted in John Boscawen as the new deputy leader. She also lost her ministerial portfolios of consumer affairs, associate education and associate defence.

After the sackings, her former ministerial adviser leaked to the media Mrs Roy's caucus notes, which attacked leader Rodney Hide as a bully trying to undermine her.

In the following days, Mr Hide questioned her performance as Associate Defence Minister despite Defence Minister Wayne Mapp saying he had no problems with her.

The day after Mr Hide said she would struggle to come back to caucus, Mrs Roy made an unexpected return to Parliament.

The next day they appeared together to say they were putting the disruptions of the past two weeks behind them and moving forward.

On Friday on her "Royters" blog, Mrs Roy said she was prepared to put a personally painful experience behind her for the sake of the party.

"I might (okay, I do!) have strong feelings about what happened, but in the real world what I personally feel about the changes is a relatively minor concern," she wrote. "What's of real importance is how the changes will affect the Act Party, and Act's role in this current Government Administration."

The day she was ousted was a "bad day".

"Tuesday was a bad day for me, as it was for my staff. But in the greater scheme of things what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. On Wednesday I was feeling bruised. By Thursday I was feeling better and was getting over it. On Wednesday [last] week I went back to work."

Her commitment to the values of Act is what made her decide to stay.

"Without principles we have nothing. And I guess that's what's really helped me through the past couple of weeks - my deep understanding and belief that, while my position may have changed, my principles have not ... The Act Party is bigger than any individual or personality and it's time to get back to work."