Hayley Browne's new chapter: Motherhood and local politics

Friday, 25 January 2019

Hayley Browne, the former naval officer who alleges she was raped while on deployment and has taken on the New Zealand and British governments via the court system, is taking on two more challenges - motherhood and running as a city councillor.

For years, Browne,nee Young, has been battling the governments, claiming they didn't provide a safe work environment after she was allegedly raped and suffered months of sexual harassment in 2009 while working for the British Navy.

Hayley is standing for Napier City Council - and is expecting her first child.

In August the Court of Appeal ruled her case could be heard here, but allegations levelled at the British government could not be dealt with in New Zealand. Young is appealing that decision.

* Navy rape victim loses appeal to have case heard

* Abused naval officer entitled to compensation

* Navy victim asks PM to consider compensation**

Hayley Browne pictured during her time in the Navy.

Browne, a project engineer, intends to stand as a city councillor in local elections in Napier later this year. She also announced to Stuff she's pregnant with her first child with husband Dan. She's due at the end of May.

'This is my first foray into politics. I love engineering, and I love the way engineers think and solve problems. The older I get, the more I want to use my engineering approach to problem solving to solve social issues,' she said.

'When I was younger, I wasn't very engaged politically, but now I am, and I hear a lot about what's going on with the community … The plan is [to] crank it up, start door-knocking and raising my public profile and getting out there.'

Browne is excited about motherhood and her campaign for city council, and she's never been more prepared for the latter, with her high-profile court case teaching her an 'incredible amount' about the law and political systems, and her role in the Navy teaching effective communication.

'A big part of my job was taking the complex engineering problems that my team were having and explaining that to a command, basically … explaining it to non-engineers in a way they could understand. I feel like that skill will be really beneficial in terms of helping other councillors come to their decision.'

While appealing through the Supreme Court Browne is hopeful for a settlement. 'I'm in talks with the Navy at the moment … but I won't hold my breath.'