National MP Jacqui Dean at Parliament, 8 June 2023 Photo: Johnny Blades
After being in Parliament for 18 years, Jacqui Dean has a knack for straight talk, and doesn’t mince her words about the work of an MP.
So when I asked the National Party MP what advice she might have for new MPs or those colleagues who stay on after she retires at this year’s election, her response cut to the chase: “Work hard, do your job properly, turn up to select committee well prepared, get off your phones.”
There was a touch of Dean’s style as Assistant Speaker in that response. As a presiding officer these past few years, she has often been in the big seat when the House is sitting in the evenings, maintaining order when the speeches of tired MPs wander or nerves fray. She joins in the spirit of things easily and is ready to have a laugh, but won’t tolerate nonsense.
“I guess it comes down to a matter of style, what I'm trying to do is have the trust of the house so that when I do need to rule, I only have to do it once.”
After entering parliament in 2005 to reclaim the Otago seat for National, Dean then held the Waitaki seat since it was re-established in 2008 as one of the country’s biggest electorates. Dean has also been a commerce and consumer affairs minister and has chaired select committees, with spells in opposition and government.
“I had a bob each way,” she said. “I really enjoyed our time in government. I was the minister for the last year of that, which was a huge, huge honour. And I relished it completely. I've never read so much material in my whole life.
“I was really beginning to find my feet until the 2017 election, when of course we went out of power again.”
Rolling with the punches
“You win some you lose some, right,” explained Dean, sitting on a couch in her parliamentary office, opposite a wall completely covered in her own OIA artwork installation: dozens of white A4 sheets invariably fully redacted in black.
A lot of these roadblocks were encountered as part of Dean's role as opposition spokesperson for conservation, an area she is passionate about.
“The highs and lows are part of the deal. You come into Parliament, representing your community, you're not really here to better your own achievements, you're here to represent your community.”
What was it like coming into Parliament in 2005 as part of a male-heavy crew like the Nationals under Don Brash?
“I never ever felt as if I was in a lesser position for being a woman, even though I was representing crusty old farmers - a very male dominated environment it was back then - I never felt that, I didn't feel it in Parliament.
“I think I felt it not so much along the male-female line, but there is a certain confidence that comes with being an MP over time, as you learn the craft, and all this is all about being confident, for goodness sake. Everybody's a type-A, everybody's aggressive and stands their ground, and all of those things.”
Assistant Speaker Jacqui Dean Photo: ©VNP / Phil Smith
“You learn as an MP, as you go, that is the pattern, which seems to develop because of the adversarial system. And that can be a bit overwhelming when you first get in there. Because you think, ‘oh, my goodness, what the heck is going on here?’ and then seven or eight years later, you go, okay, yep, I too can stand up in the Parliament and belt out a decent general debate speech or really speak my mind on a bill forcefully.”
“You’ve got to be thick-skinned, you’ve got to roll with the punches. You've got to be able to give it and take it. But in my view, it's got to be above that line, there is a line. But you've got to be able to give as good as you get sometimes. We’re set up this way, the system is set up this way. At the moment, we are His Majesty's loyal opposition. We are there to oppose the government of the day and that's the way we set up,” she noted.
“Having said that, what I find really difficult to sit through as a Speaker is when members descend into a personal attack on other members. It just stresses me. And I think as Members of Parliament, we should work to be better than that, so that we address the issues and not just indulge in personal attacks."
Dean has been involved in the review of Parliamentary culture over the last couple of years.
“And I've come to the conclusion that we can change as many rules as we like, but I think we as Members of Parliament have to remember why we're here and act honourably and respectfully towards each other. And I think that might be helpful.”
National MP Jacqui Dean in her office at Parliament, 8 June 2023 Photo: Johnny Blades
Time poor
She said it was fortunate as an MP to be able to decide the time to retire. However one of the challenges of being an MP who represents such a large electorate as Waitaki is being “time poor”, and bear in mind she has been at it for six terms of Parliament.
“Being a member of parliament is the hugest commitment you can make in your life. I've got a family. And I know every single Member of Parliament who retires says exactly the same thing: I need to reconnect with my family. I need to go back with my family. And that is the absolute truth. Because being a member means that you commit yourself 100 percent to the role.”
Asked what she will be doing after the 53rd Parliament concludes in late August, Dean said she didn’t really have anything place.
“Because what I know I'm going to need to do is give myself a bit of time to unlearn what I have learnt … maybe not unlearn, maybe that's the wrong expression.”
It was the first hint of an equivocal utterance from the MP in the whole interview. But she soon got back on track and clarified her position.
“I need to be able to get over it. So I'm going to give myself until probably Christmas, I would think, to do that. And then I've got a few things going on, of course I have, everybody does as they leave. But first I think I need to get over the hangover of leaving.”
