Brooke van Velden

Brooke Olivia van Velden (born 15 October 1992) is a New Zealand politician who has served as the deputy leader of ACT New Zealand since June 2020. She has been a member of Parliament (MP) since the 2020 general election, first as a list MP and, since, the MP for Tāmaki. Van Velden currently serves in the National-led government as the 38th minister of internal affairs and 6th minister for workplace relations and safety. She is the second youngest cabinet minister in New Zealand history, being just eight days older than Phil Goff was when he became Minister of Housing after the 1984 election.

Early life and career
Van Velden was born in Auckland in 1992. She attended St Cuthbert's College in Auckland, where she joined the school choir in Year 12. She says this sparked her interest in public speaking. She later joined the Welsh Choir.

Van Velden studied economics and international trade at the University of Auckland, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Commerce in 2016. She worked for lobbying firm Exceltium.

Staffer and lobbyist
Before becoming a Member of Parliament, van Velden worked as a staffer for ACT leader David Seymour. Her sole task in this role was to get Seymour's End of Life Choice Bill passed. She spent two years lobbying Members of Parliament to support it and helped draft the legislation. Van Velden said that she "made herself useful" to MPs who wanted to know more about the bill, and also approached politicians in the tunnel between the Beehive and the Bowen Street building to discuss the bill. She said that she has been called a "snake" and a "spy", and that once several MPs had shouted abuse at her.

The Bill passed and became an Act of Parliament in 2019, but with concessions. The bill faced opposition from members of the Justice Select Committee in 2018. Seymour and van Velden developed a "sponsor's report" for the bill, giving their own recommendations before the committee, including limiting assisted death only to those who were terminally ill. This compromise restricted choice but improved support. The Act also states that it only comes into effect if supported by a referendum. This referendum was held on 17 October and it passed with 65.1% support.

2017 election candidacy
Van Velden first ran for Parliament at the 2017 general election. She contested the electorate and was placed third on ACT's party list, but was not elected.

First term, 2020–2023
Van Velden was selected as ACT's deputy leader in June 2020, at the age of 27, and was placed second on its party list for the 2020 general election. At the announcement of her role, leader David Seymour described her as the "future of the party". She ran for the electorate of. She did not win the electorate, placing fifth with 865 votes, but ACT, with 7.6% of the preliminary party vote, was entitled to ten MPs including van Velden. As Seymour was previously the party's only representative in Parliament, van Velden became one of nine new ACT Party MPs in the 53rd Parliament. In addition to being deputy leader, she is the ACT party whip and spokesperson for Health, Housing, Foreign Affairs, and Trade.

In late April 2021, van Velden submitted a motion asking the New Zealand Parliament to debate and vote on the issue of human rights abuses against the Uyghur ethnic minority community in China's Xinjiang province. In early May, the incumbent Labour Party revised the motion to raise concerns about human rights abuses in Xinjiang while deleting the term genocide, which was subsequently adopted by the New Zealand Parliament on 5 May. In response, the Chinese Embassy claimed that the motion was based on "groundless accusations" of human rights abuses against China and interfered in China's internal affairs.

On 19 May 2021, van Velden on behalf of her party opposed Green Party MP Golriz Ghahraman's motion calling for Members of Parliament to recognise the rights of Palestinians to self-determination and statehood while reaffirming the Act Party's support for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Van Velden justified ACT's opposition on the basis of another Green MP Ricardo Menéndez March's tweet that said "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!." In response, Ghahraman contended that March was defending the rights of both Arabs and Jews to having equal rights in their homeland.

Van Velden's member's bill, the Housing Infrastructure (GST-sharing) Bill, was selected for first reading in October 2022. If passed, it would require the Government to share half of the GST revenue of a new house with the territorial authority responsible for the district the house is built in.

In 2023, she said "When it came to COVID, we completely blew out what the value of a life was, completely, I’ve never seen such a high value on life."

Ahead of the 2023 New Zealand general election, van Velden was selected as the ACT party candidate for the eastern Auckland electorate of Tāmaki, which had been held by the National Party since 1960. Van Velden announced she would campaign to win the electorate, instead of campaigning for the party vote only, something the party rarely does outside of their stronghold of Epsom. An opinion poll released on 2 October showed van Velden tied with the incumbent, Simon O'Connor. The election night results showed a victory for van Velden, with a majority of 4,158 votes.

Second term, 2023–present
Following the formation of the National-led coalition government, van Velden became Minister of Internal Affairs and Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety. As Workplace Relations Minister, she introduced legislation repealing the previous Labour Government's Fair Pay Agreements Act 2022 on 19 December 2023. Van Velden claimed that fair pay agreements "were never about fairness" but forced "a minority of union worker's views on all affected workers and businesses."

On 1 February 2024, van Velden, as Workplace Relations and Safety Minister, confirmed that the Government would raise the minimum wage by two percent to NZ$23.15 an hour from 1 April 2024. On 2 February Van Velden, as Minister of Internal Affairs, confirmed that the Government would expand the scope of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons Learned to include the use of multiple lockdowns, vaccine procurement, the socio-economic of the COVID-19 pandemic on regional and national levels, the cost-effectiveness of the Government's policies, disruptions to public health, education and businesses caused by the Government's policies, and whether the Government response was consistent with the rule of law.

As Workplace Relations Minister, van Velden confirmed that the Government was planning to overhaul health and safety regulations and amend the Holiday Act 2003. She criticised the previous Labour Government's minimum wage increase, designation of Matariki as a public holiday and doubling of sick leave entitlements for creating business uncertainty and raising the costs of doing business. While Business NZ welcomed the proposed changes, First Union New Zealand described the proposed changes as an attack on workers. In nearly June 2024, van Velden confirmed that an exposure draft of the Government's proposed changes to the Holidays Act would be released in September 2024 including shifting annual leave from an entitlement system to an accrual system.

Political views
Van Velden has stated her reasons for entering politics are to reduce generational debt, improve housing affordability, and provide better mental health for all. She supported the End of Life Choice Bill based on her belief in freedom of choice. In a debate about legalising cannabis, van Velden said that she had smoked it before. She was formerly a Green Party voter but switched to supporting ACT while studying economics and international trade at the University of Auckland.

Personal life
Van Velden's parents were a nurse and mechanic. She has three older brothers. She practises Bikram Yoga and enjoys knitting and tapestry in her leisure time.