Photography: Babiche Martens.
For almost a decade, Act deputy leader Brooke van Velden has lived her life by the clock. Parliamentary calendars, packed schedules, flights between Auckland and Wellington, election cycles – every week mapped out months in advance.
But now pregnant with her first child, Brooke is entering unfamiliar territory and experiencing plenty of firsts along the way. One happened recently in Parliament when she looked down and saw her tummy move for the first time. She very nearly leaned over to show her coalition colleague MP Simeon Brown, who sits beside her.
“I had to stop myself turning to Simeon and saying, ‘Oh, my goodness, I want to show you what’s going on here,’” she says with a laugh.
Now as she prepares to leave Parliament, Brooke, 33, is looking forward to a very different kind of challenge. But for someone who likes to have a plan, surrendering to the unknown is proving to be an adjustment.
“I think I’m just going to have to get used to the uncontrollable aspects of life,” she says.
“From what people have told me, it sounds like a bit of a lucky dip. So I’m just going to have to roll with whatever this baby gives me.”
Making room for motherhood
Brooke insists that becoming a mother was never the reason she decided to leave politics. But after nine years in a career that has demanded almost everything from her, she didn’t want to risk putting her personal life permanently on hold. She wanted to make sure there was room for her personal life, too.
“Politics completely absorbs your whole life,” she says.
“It is 24/7. I just didn’t want to look up one day and think, ‘Oh, God, I’ve given everything to public service, but I forgot to give something to myself.’”
She remembers taking the pregnancy test early one morning before heading to a business chamber event in the Waikato.
“It was very early, but I thought, ‘I’ll do a test, just in case.’ And within a minute or so, the line popped up and I quickly went out to the lounge where my partner was and we were both so thrilled.”
And the timing now feels almost too perfect. Brooke’s baby is due within days of this year’s election. It neatly marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.
At 30, she froze her eggs, partly as an insurance policy. But then, she met her partner, whose identity she wants to keep private, and the frozen eggs weren’t needed after all.
“I feel very lucky.”
Proud of what she delivered
Brooke will continue working from Auckland until her baby arrives. Moving straight from politics into motherhood feels right. The reality of pregnancy, however, has surprised her a little. Friends and colleagues have suggested she try to slow down a little, but Brooke has found “that’s easier said than done”.
She shares, “I’m not getting a huge amount of sleep at the moment, but I suspect this is a trial run for what the next 18 years of my life will be like!”
Brooke will miss representing the people of Tāmaki, the electorate she won in 2023.
“I’ve always been motivated to leave the world a better place and I think I have,” she says, reflecting on her time in politics.
She began as a volunteer and parliamentary staffer before becoming Act’s deputy leader at 27. She was elected to Parliament in 2020 and became a Cabinet minister in 2023, making her the youngest Cabinet minister in around 40 years. She serves as Minister of Internal Affairs, Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety, and says one of the things she is proudest of is delivering on the commitments she was given.
A new chapter as a mum
“It really has been a wonderful time in Parliament. It’s public service, it’s giving a voice to people who don’t know where else to turn.”
She has no new job lined up and is happily allowing herself a break between careers.
“I can focus solely on being a mum for a bit because I’ve always envisaged that I’d be a working mum rather than a stay-at-home mum. But I guess never rule anything out.”
Brooke has taken antenatal classes, the nursery is almost ready, and as she enjoys the final weeks of both politics and pregnancy, she simply can’t wait to
meet her baby, whose gender she is keeping under wraps for now.
“I just feel really grateful that it’s happening at all. I can’t wait to see the baby progress through milestones of speaking, walking and talking… It’s going to
be amazing.”
