Another resident commended how hard van Velden worked.
“I think she’s done a really good job and I know how much she cares,” he said.
“I’m pretty sad about that and I think it’s a big loss.”
However, other residents said the MP hadn’t left a lasting legacy on them.
One woman said she didn’t know who van Velden was.
“I probably should know who she is but I guess that goes to show how proactive she is in our community.”
Another man claimed it would be foolish of him to comment because “I don’t know anything about her”.
“I simply want to do more in life,” van Velden said during today’s press conference.
“It’s no secret the job is 24/7 and I think what I am going to enjoy is having a couple of weekends back.”
She wanted more time to dedicate to other ventures and was eyeing the private sector with a potential return to politics in a couple of decades.
She had few regrets, she told reporters, and stood “hand on heart” by her policy decisions, including her contentious pay equity reforms.
Act Party leader David Seymour said van Velden had enjoyed a political career as near “perfect” as possible, and while he was losing a colleague, he would keep a “lifelong friend”.
“Now she is going on her terms,” he said.
Van Velden took the usually safe Tāmaki electorate from the National Party in the 2023 election, marking the first time an MP from another party held the seat since 1957.
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