Audrey Young talks to NZ First's Jenny Marcroft in our Backbenchers series.
What has surprised you about being in Parliament?
Initially I was take quite taken aback by how collegial it was and is still, especially amongst all the newbies. There is a really good feeling amongst all of us. It is not as divisive as I thought it was going to be coming straight in with a group of new MPs. I am really thrilled about how there is an ability to work together, particularly in my select committees. I've got two where we are not sticking to party lines so much. We are very much working cross party.
What are your select committees?
I'm on the Maori affairs select committee and the environment select committee.
You've had a member's bill just drawn from the ballot. What does that do?
I'm very surprised actually. It was the first member's bill that had my name to it and I'd actually taken it on from Tracey Martin. Now that she's a minister it's got my name on it. It protects the name 'teacher.' As a profession you go through your training to become a teacher and then you stand up in front of the classroom and you're a teacher. By protecting the name teacher it enables parents and students to know you are a qualified professional standing in front of that classroom to teach those children.
Name a politician you admire - not from your own party.
Don McKinnon. That's a male politician I admire. We have a family connection to Don and he's been very encouraging of me and given me some great words of wisdom for my term. And also Helen Clark, as a female politician, I greatly admire her.
What's your family connection to Don McKinnon?
My mum grew up next to him and he's very good friends of my uncle and so the King family and the McKinnons very much grew up together in the Wellington Khandallah region.
Tell us about your upbringing and your family? Would anything surprise us?
You may be surprised to know that I got orphaned. There's five children in our family and my father died young. My mother died a few years later from breast cancer so we were literally pretty much left to the devices of ourselves. We had a grandmother come in and support us. I got fostered out. That part of our family history is not some we talk about… It's not a secret but it's certainly been something my siblings and I have referenced as to why we have always wanted to survive.
How long were you brought up in a foster home?
Probably a couple of years…I was 16 when my mum died but I was already being looked before that because she was very ill with cancer. I was 15. I actually left home because she was so ill, and at that stage I had a step father who was violent so I got on my horse and rode away [in Rotorua].
Prior to my father's death it was an idyllic childhood. We had really loving parents, we had great family fun, we were well looked after, we weren't rich by any means, but we had beach holidays, we had a beach house, we had extended family around us, our parents believed in education, we had great experiences, it was a really great upbringing and I think having that as a base has enabled all of my siblings to be successful in our lives.
Tell us about a favourite beach, river or other special family place you had holidays.
Pukehina which is on the East Coast. Not a lot of people know where that is. It's got a pretty nasty undertow and really giant crabs that bit your toes. It wasn't very popular when we were kids growing up but it was affordable for us. We had great fun fishing and getting tua tuas and all that sort of Kiwi stuff.
Would you like to see more te reo spoken in New Zealand?
…When I was in broadcasting, I took that upon myself to ensure that my pronunciation was correct and I was slammed for that. When I was reading news quite a number of years ago in the early 90s I was told not to say "kia ora" at the beginning of my bulletins. I stopped for a little while but then decided "nah, I'm going to carry on doing this."…My father was strapped for speaking te reo. I have an uncle whose name was changed from Manuwera to Bill. So we have people in our close family who were affected by the desire not to have to reo spoken so I'm very much in support of it. But I'm not fluent. I have two sisters who are fluent and I am taking a journey to learn some more te reo and I think being on the Maori affairs select committee is a really great environment for me to be in.
Who do you affiliate to?
Nga Puhi. [My father] was from a tiny little settlement called Utakura which is in the north Hokianga. He was born up there but we grew up in Rotorua.
What is your view on the euthanasia bill?
I have personal experience with watching my mother die, watching my foster mother die so it is a very emotive topic for me. I think for us to, as Parliamentarians, as MPs to vote on this I think it is bigger than we are, it is a bigger issue than we are and I really believe that we need to go to the people on this to get them to have their voice in it.
You don't have a personal view?
I do have a personal view but I'm still completely undecided. Is it the right thing or is it the wrong thing? I have unanswered questions. I have seen the pain and suffering when someone is at the end of their life. But on the other side…do we really want to interfere with the process that the soul may be undergoing at the end of their life. I haven't got to a point where I'm comfortable with knowing the answer to that so I'm still not able to make a definitive black and while answer on it.
Is there a growing urban-rural divide in New Zealand and, if so, what's the cause?
I've lived in the country and I've lived in the city so I've experienced the fabulous life in the country, but also not having the accessibility to services that you get in the big city and you miss out in the country. I think for a period of time there has been a lack of emphasis and interest placed on the regions and I think we have seen that in this last parliamentary term particularly. Looking at it from a political aspect, we know we got a very strong vote for New Zealand First from the regions because we put our focus on them and that's something we want to achieve through this next parliamentary term.
What will you be doing to unwind this summer and where?
I live in paradise so I'll be unwinding there. I live in Matakana. We are just a stone's throw from the beach. We have horses so we'll be doing horse things and we we'll be going to the beach predominantly. Omaha is our close beach but I will scoot north to Hokianga because it's just fantastic at Opononi and we'll jump off the wharf and that sort of thing. Go for a walk in the bush. Yeah.
NAME: Jenny Marcroft
PARTY: New Zealand First
AGE: 54
LIST MP based in Matakana
OCCUPATION: former broadcaster
They were paid to target a woman embroiled in an alleged international pyramid scheme.