Fame in the family: Lyn Brash, sister of National Party leader Don Brash

Behind most famous faces there are brothers and sisters. They talk about what it's like living with fame. By RENEE KIRIONA


Lyn Brash admits to being the total opposite to her older brother when it comes to economics.

"Don was the saver and I was the spender," she says. "When we were kids our mother used to give us chocolate. I used to eat mine straight away, but Don would save his - and as much as I tried to get his piece, he would never give in."

Having a high-profile sibling whose decisions affect the lives of New Zealanders has not always been easy for Lyn, who at 61 is 22 months younger than Don.

"There's been some decisions that Don has made where I've had to ask myself: why did he come to that conclusion? But I know Don and he only makes decisions that he believes are right. Don and I see the same problems, but we don't necessarily see the same solutions.

"I've been approached by those who approve and disapprove of Don's decisions and ideologies. I suppose they think that because I'm his sister, I should be able to make sense of or justify his decisions. It can get really annoying sometimes."

She felt "terribly uncomfortable" during her brother's coup over former National Party leader Bill English.

"I was worried about Don's children but also Bill English's family because I know some of them as well. These types of processes are awful but that's the way the system works. I got no grief about it from anyone."

But Lyn, a former teacher and head of Christchurch Polytechnic and now an education consultant for the Government, says criticism of her brother can hurt her.

"It's quite scary having a family member who is so high-profile because when they are getting a hard time you can't help but feel it."

Lyn, who is married with two children, admits to being protective of her brother when they were children, and sometimes even now.

The Brash children were raised in Wanganui and then in Christchurch, where Lyn and her second husband, Alex Familton, live.

When Don was a baby their father, the Rev Alan Brash, and mother, Eljean Brash, adopted a 10-year-old boy, Ian. He died last year aged 73.

"While our parents had little money, they gave us the best upbringing parents could," says Lyn. "They were humanitarians. He did a lot of work for the church and in the community, and she was a social worker."

Given that their parents were centre-left, it was a surprise to Lyn when Don became right-wing.

"He has always been his own person. I don't think I've inspired him - our late parents did that for him."

The siblings email each other weekly. "I miss the two- or three-page letters he used to send me each week before starting at the Reserve Bank, but I understand he has so many more responsibilities today. And I know that if I was in any need, Don would give the bottom brick of his chimney to me."

But he is discreet: "He would never tell me about anything that is confidential."