Toxic sacking leaves ACT in a mess

BY MARTIN KAY

'It's not very tidy," an ACT staffer conceded sheepishly as the meltdown in relations between Rodney Hide and Heather Roy was laid bare. Talk about understatement.

The chaotic and at times bizarre handling of Mrs Roy's dumping as ACT deputy this week was "not very tidy" in the same way the disintegration of the Alliance in 2002 could be described as "a bit messy".

Even as the fallout over her sacking reached its most toxic, with the leaking on Wednesday of her claims of Mr Hide's shouted abuse and stormy corridor rows, he was still painting her downfall as nothing more than a straightforward result of first-term MP John Boscawen deciding to have a crack at her job.

"I never wanted to get into the ins and outs of who said what, who did what, who thought what," Mr Hide said. "What we had was a situation where John Boscawen put his hand up. He did discuss it with me, but I didn't tell him I'd support him. He said, `I want to put my hand up and be deputy.' I said, `Well, John, I always like a person that's prepared to step up to the plate."'

The comments came after Mr Hide and Mrs Roy attempted a bizarre show of unity when an 82-page dossier was leaked hours after she pledged to stay on as an ACT MP and support Mr Hide as leader, the day after her sacking.

The attempt was called off when Mrs Roy became upset during what was to have been a round of interviews with Mr Hide after she saw coverage of the leaked document. She has since stayed away from Parliament and refused requests for comment, but still appears intent on returning.

"Tough things are said in caucus," she said. "These are behind us now. Caucus has made a decision and I am looking forward to getting back to work as a productive member of the ACT team."

Mr Hide has refused to say what led to Mr Boscawen deciding to challenge Mrs Roy's position as deputy – and therefore as a minister – and why he backed Mr Boscawen instead of her.

But the leaked dossier of notes prepared for her defence ahead of Tuesday's caucus showdown reveals claims of a breakdown in the relationship with Mr Hide, with her describing him as a bully and saying she would no longer meet him alone.

Mr Hide dismissed the notes as unfair and untrue, and said he was not a bully. Mrs Roy also said she never described him as a bully, but had sometimes felt a bit intimidated in meetings and had raised concerns about his tone.

The notes are thought to have been compiled, at least partly, by Mrs Roy's ministerial adviser, Simon Ewing-Jarvie, whose job went when she lost her executive posts on Tuesday. Repeated attempts to contact him have failed.

The notes suggest tensions between Mrs Roy and Mr Hide simmered for several years and the relationship began to break down irretrievably in November 2009 after rumblings about his use of nearly $22,000 of taxpayer-funded travel perks to take his partner overseas.

The notes say Mr Hide – who made his political name as a perkbuster, particularly scathing about MPs' travel perks – was forced to publicly apologise for the spending after the caucus insisted.

A coup against him is said to have been brewing, with moves to replace him as leader with Mrs Roy and install ACT founder Sir Roger Douglas as her deputy. It is said to have petered out before a caucus vote after Prime Minister John Key told Mrs Roy the Government deal with National would be off if Mr Hide were rolled.

Mr Hide has denied there was a serious bid to oust him, though he has confirmed issues about his "performance" were raised at a caucus meeting that month.

The notes say Mr Hide visited Mrs Roy at home on November 21, when she accused him of trying to damage her. He demanded her unequivocal support, but she refused to give an outright commitment.

The relationship continued to deteriorate, exacerbated by rows over defence documents generated from Mrs Roy's office and penned by Dr Ewing-Jarvie, a former regular and territorial army officer and the author of ACT's 2008 national security policy.

Mr Hide was concerned that papers coming from Mrs Roy's office were effectively setting ACT party defence policy without reference to him as leader.

In an unspoken power struggle, Mrs Roy was making no secret of her view that ACT should focus on getting above the 5 per cent threshold needed for list-only seats, reducing the reliance on Mr Hide holding Epsom. The notes refer to polling that showed Mr Hide's grasp on the seat – ACT's lifeline back to Parliament – was "tenuous", and warn that ousting Mrs Roy as deputy would be likely to be perceived as "the bullying actions of white middle-aged men against women in leadership".

Mrs Roy was also worried Mr Hide would drop her down the list at the next election, threatening her return to Parliament.

The trigger point appears to have come on July 27, when Mr Hide demanded to see a paper on reserve forces. Mrs Roy insisted he read it in her office, but he refused, and took it to his office, returning it two hours later.

Mrs Roy said she did not want the paper taken away because she believed it was classified. She suspected Mr Hide would copy and leak it to discredit her. She asked her ministerial secretary to eavesdrop when Mr Hide came to her office. Mr Hide has said he never copied the document or distributed it to anyone and that, in any case, it was not sensitive.

Mrs Roy asked Ministerial Services for advice – she says clarification of the rules. Mr Hide insists it was a formal complaint. She was told there was no reason he could not have the paper as he was a minister and therefore cleared to see it.

The involvement of Ministerial Services – reported to Prime Minister John Key – appears to have been the last straw for the Hide camp, leading to Mr Boscawen's challenge, supported by Mr Hide and ACT whip David Garrett. Sir Roger voted for Mrs Roy, but has pledged allegiance to Mr Hide.

The question now is whether ACT can clean up the mess.

KEY PLAYERS

Rodney Hide: An MP since 1996, when ACT made it into Parliament for the first time. Made his name as a perkbuster, but badly tarnished his image and was forced to apologise last year after using nearly $22,000 of the taxpayer-funded allowances for MPs' travel to take his partner overseas. Took over as leader in 2004 when Richard Prebble stood down, and his hold on the Epsom seat has ensured ACT's return after the last two elections.

Heather Roy: An MP since 2002 and, with Mr Hide, one of the only two ACT MPs to survive the 2005 election. Became deputy leader and boosted her profile after joining the Territorials in 2006. Impressed as a steady minister, but has been dogged by reports she has been plotting against Mr Hide. Has made no secret of her belief the party is too reliant on his holding on to Epsom and should concentrate on getting above the 5 per cent threshold.

Simon Ewing-Jarvie: A former army officer, retiring with the rank of lieutenant colonel, and later a territorial forces officer. Was 12th on ACT's list in 2005 and wrote the party's national security policy at the last election. Was Mrs Roy's ministerial adviser, penning many of the defence papers that came from her office. Is also thought to have compiled most of the leaked dossier. Left his job at Parliament when she lost her ministerial posts on Tuesday.

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