Q&A - Sue Moroney, MP (Labour)

I've met Sue Moroney several times in official community functions.  She's very friendly and unassuming.  You often find her with the rest of the crowd intently listening to their concerns while calmly voicing her thoughts and opinions. I saw her accompanying her son when the NZ Skycity Breakers played against China's Dongguan Leopards at the Claudelands Events Centre last year.

Whenever I get to watch the proceedings in the Beehive on Parliament TV, I find her to be the voice of reason and calmness when things heat up.  In person, you can feel she means business but with a golden heart.

Q: What's your proudest achievement up to this moment?
A: Apart from the birth of my own two boys, my proudest achievement has been getting parliamentary and public support for 6 months paid parental leave.  My proposal has already forced the Government to agree to increase it to 18 weeks, but they won't do this for another 2 years.  In the meantime, my proposal could be passed into law by July this year.

Q: What were the challenges you encountered as a public servant and how did you manage it?
A: As a Member of Parliament, my role is to represent the views of people whose lives I have not lived and so I am constantly out of my comfort zone.  This is both a challenge and a great honour that I relish.  I have discovered that people are very forgiving that you don't know it all and are willing to share their knowledge with you.

Q: Name 3 people, dead or alive, you'll like to have dinner with, and why?
A: I would love to get Lorde, Helen Clark and Kate Sheppard together in a room.  They are pioneering Kiwi women and I would enjoy the conversation.  It would be interesting to see the similarities and differences between the woman who fought for the right for women to vote and the 17-year-old modern day self-proclaimed feminist.

Q: Are you a cat or dog person, and why?
A: I am one of those rare people who love both cats and dogs.  I was brought up with both and Rusty, Mooshey, Tilly, Monty and Scully have been loyal companions to me throughout my life.

Q: Where in NZ is the place you can call as your sanctuary, and why?
A: Waihi Beach is my sanctuary.  It is where we spend our Summer break and is a place where I get time to be with my husband and kids, walk and cook, generally slow down and chill out.

Q: Something not many people know about you?
A: I was Community Newspaper Association Young Journalist of the Year in 1983 or thereabouts.

Q: If you could travel back in time, where and when would it be, and why?
A: I prefer living in the here and now.  But if I had to time travel, it would be back to NZ in 1893 to be part of the women's suffrage movement and also to meet my ancestors.

Q: What are your plans for the future?
A: I hope to be a Cabinet Minister in the nest Labour Government later this year, so I can pursue policy changes that improve people's lives.