MP pays tribute to lost son

New National MP Denise Lee has spoken of the death of her 2-year-old son Riley as the trigger that got her into Parliament, saying the way the family were treated made it feel as if she was on trial for his death.

In a deeply personal maiden speech, Lee, the MP for Maungakiekie, said she had woken one night and gone to check on her son to find he had died in his sleep.

She described the days that followed and interactions with police, coroners and pathologists as “a coldhearted, function-driven system”.

She said the difficulty of getting information and failure to explain what was happening sensitively and with compassion mystified her.

“Trying to keep up with where Riley’s body has gone, what they were doing to it, what they were retaining from it, receiving an abruptly worded police letter informing us of our Coroner’s court hearing date, it was all too much.

“No explanations, no ‘frequently asked questions’ brochure, just a summons. You’ll understand I thought we were being put on trial for the death of our son.”

Lee, the daughter of former National and Christian Democrats MP Graeme Lee, said she’d been around politics all her life but that experience was what led her to politics herself.

She said the system had since improved after the 2006 Coroner’s Act and review of the system so other families did not have to go through the same experience — and that had taught her the different politics could make to people’s lives.

Lee also spoke of life as a politician’s child.

Lee has been an Auckland City councillor and United Future deputy leader but stood for National in 2014.