Formidable Brooke van Velden: The End of Life Choice bill lobbyist you’ve probably never heard of – Stuff.co.nz

For a 27-year-old lobbyist, Brooke van Velden has claimedremarkableaccess to Parliament's halls of power.

She has counselled the concerns ofMPs behind closed doors. Shehas become practised at intercepting politicians en route to their next meeting. She knows thepolitical ructions which spoiledan important parliamentary committee earlier this year.

And she's been called a spy and a snake. She's suffered withering glares from across the floor of the House.One time, abuse was hurled by a cohort of well-known politicians who she won't name in a way that shows they see her "as a threat".

A threat, because van Velden has been pushing to change the way people can die.

Chris McKeen/Stuff

Bernard Willems will likely die before the End of Life Choice bill goes to referendum.

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ACT MPDavid Seymour has been the sponsor, the public face, and the driver,of the End of Life Choice bill,for four years leading a loosecollective of cross-party MPs with the backing ofsupporters from outside Parliament -an effort which culminated inthe bill passingits third reading this week. Van Velden says the victory showsSeymour has managed to gain support across the political divide.

But van Velden can claim that kudos too. Behind the scenes, Seymour'spolitical acolytehadbeen shoring up the crucial 61 votes, and this week 69MPs votedthe bill through. Whether it becomes law will be decided at apublic referendum atthe 2020 election.

On Wednesday morning, the billhours from itsfinal parliamentary hurdle,Van Velden sits in aconference room on the eighth floor of Bowen House,a tower overlooking the Beehive.

On one side of this quiet floor,National Party outcast and now-independent MP Jami-Lee Ross has an office. Around a curved corridor of empty offices, there's an open-plan room in whichthe four-strong ACT party operation lives.Van Velden's desk is cluttered.

ROBERT KITCHIN/STUFF

ACT staffer Brooke van Velden, who has been a lobbyist, press secretary, political staffer, and a parliamentary official for the End of Life Choice bill.

The bill has consumed both her professional and personal life she can't avoid a conversation about itfor two years. Yet as the final vote looms, she appearsrelaxed.

"It is hard on the last day because there's not so much that you can do now. Most people would have completely solidified their position.

"We do have a meeting with an MP in our last push to persuade them." (For the record, van Velden won't say who.)

The End of Life Choice bill was brought to Parliament bySeymour and drawn from abiscuit tin in June 2017 the typicalselectionprocess for members'bills.

If passed into law, itwould create a legal framework for assisted death, otherwise called euthanasia. After some revision, this will only apply to people who are terminally ill with fewer than six months to live. There's numerousconditions and regulations, but in essence a doctor will be able to facilitate a person's death.

ROSS GIBLIN/STUFF

ACT staffer Brooke van Velden standing behind MPs speaking on their support of the End of Life Choice bill, which passed its third reading on Wednesday night.

Van Velden describes the bill as the most scrutinised in Parliament's history and it's true theeuthanasia debatehas persisted in New Zealand for more than two decades, when the first attempt to legalise the practice came in 1995. The End of Life Choice bill is the third to reach parliament.

It has been contentious.The letters pages of newspapers around the country have been alive with fears and hopes about the bill. There's been a 16-month parliamentary hearing,accusations of misinformation, and claims of disproportionate influence from religious groups.

Throughout all of this, van Velden has been at nearly 30public meetings, read through hundreds of public submissions on the bill, helped draft law, and either corresponded or held face-to-face meetings with about half of the country's MPs.

Many who aired theirviewsin Parliament have shared personal stories, of loved ones who suffered or rescinded an earlier wish to die.

National MP Maggie Barry, who has campaigned against the bill, often speaksof the decade-long journey she shared with her mother, who had dementia.

Van Velden does not have one of these stories. The euthanasia dilemmaappealed to her for one reason:choice.

A committed social liberal from Auckland's North Shore, she switched from being a Green Party voter to an ACT supporter while studying economics and international trade at Auckland University. The ability for free markets to lift countries from hardship was a revelation for her, she says.

She met political pundit and lobbyistMatthew Hooton in a class, andheoffered her a job at his public relationsfirmExceltium,which hadworked with ACT.

Sheran for ACT in the Auckland Central electorate in 2017,losing to National'sNikkiKaye.

After a move to Wellington, Seymour told her she had one job: get the End of Life Choice bill passed.

Lobbying is often considered a dark art, practiced by shadowy power brokersseeking to influencepoliticianson behalf of wealthy clients. Van Veldenshies away from the term (and doesn't live up to the shadowy mystique in any event,herbright pinkpantsuitis an outfitshe's recognised for around Parliament).

Seymour, being an opposition MP and not a Government minister, has a severely limited number of staff to help usher the bill through Parliament.So van Velden has also beenpress secretary, political staffer, and a parliamentary official for the bill, all at the same time.

"We haven't tried to pull the wool over anyone's eyes," she says."The most successful lobbyists are the ones you don't know about."

ROBERT KITCHIN/STUFF

Brooke Van Velden, along with David Seymour, were the brains behind the End of Life Choice bill.

Van Veldensays she madeherself useful to MPs who wanted to know more,meeting them in their offices, providing evidence, and briefing groups on amendments to the bill.

A tunnel passage between Bowen House and the Beehivebecame a favourite spot for grabbing the ear of politicians passing through and assessing their stance.

Always, van Velden kept acrucial calculation in mind.How many do we have in support?

Late in 2018, the bill's passage looked troubled. The outcome of theJustice Select Committee, a group of cross-party MPs facing the mammoth task of taking in 39,000 submissions on the bill,was challenged by political factions within.

Some of the strongest opponents to the bill were around the table..

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MPs on both side of the Right to Life Bill debate say the fight will go on ahead of next years referendum

Such a committee recommends alterations to a bill so it can progress further. It was clear the deadlocked committee would offer no recommendations.

The MPs held responsiblefor the stalemate can be guessed, but van Velden, who is sworn to secrecy under parliamentary rules,won't provide names.

To combat this, Seymour and van Veldendid something unusual. They released a "sponsor's report" on the bill, making their own recommendations, includinglimiting assisted death to the terminally ill only. It was a serious compromise, and a big signal to MPs they knew were concerned: this bill will change.

It came with regret.

"There are a number of genuinely suffering people with neurodegenerative diseases that now won't ever be able to access the bill," van Veldensays.

"I've engaged with (members)of the public who have said that their only other option is to commit suicide. That breaks my heart."

ROSS GIBLIN/STUFF

ACT MP David Seymour speaking after the End of Life Choice bill passed its third reading on Wednesday night. Behind, Brooke van Velden keeps tabs on what's being said.

It was part of, as another MP closely involved with the bill's support described it, a careful threading of the needle between NZ First's desire for a public referendum and the Green's concerns over the impact ondisabled New Zealanders.

The referendum was another compromise to ensure its survival.

Van Velden spent four months preparing the changes to the bill. Sheasked for access to the parliamentary counsel office,and the legal divisionsat the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Justice. Each word of the amendments were weighed for their impact, she says, and the changes taken to on-the-fence MPs to confirm their support.

She was also granted permission to sit on the floor of the House, a role generally filled by Government policy staffers.As more than 100 proposedamendments (many submitted by the bill's opponents)were cycled through,MPs would send memos across the floor with questions, she says.

She would also be sending critiques of the various amendments across the floor to her boss, Seymour.

It was during this time a number of MPs shouted abuseat her in an adjacenthallway, she says.

"Emotions, at times, can run high, with people who have a fervent opposition to the bill."

After a night's celebration with the bill's supporters, on Thursday,van Velden hada headache from champagne and a "surreal" feeling that was yet to wear off.

Her work was earning her compliments. National MP Chris Bishop, part of the group pushing for the bill, said van Velden had done "a lot of the grunt work".Her former electorate opponent, Kaye, praised her in a Facebook post.

NZ First MP Tracey Martin commended her during the bill's third reading, saying she was surprised to find herself thanking the ACT party.

Seymour, speaking toStuff, says van Velden has displayed a"formidable set of skills" in helping past the bill.

As forher future, Seymour says the focus shifts to the next election.

"Who know what roles people might play in the aftermath of that," he says.

Van Velden, committed to seeing thedebate through to the referendum, is also thinking ahead. There may be another pitch for an even greater role in Parliament.

A seat in the House.

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Formidable Brooke van Velden: The End of Life Choice bill lobbyist you've probably never heard of - Stuff.co.nz