Nicola's family strength 'WELL SURVIVE ANYTHIN'G!

Nationl's deputy leader give us a peek at her 'chaos' at home and why she'd never change it

-  Cloe Willetts

When Nicola Willis arrives at Parliament in the mornings, she's usually the politician wearing a dash of bright red lipstick with a messy ponytail pulled back in haste.

As a busy mum-of-four, the deputy leader of the opposition has little time to spend getting her look just right. Instead, what time she does have in the morning is spent sipping strong black coffee and perhaps snatching a moment to read a book with her youngest daughter as her consultant husband Duncan Small rallies the clan to get ready for school.

Then, after giving quick goodbye kisses to her brood, Nicola darts out the door and drives 10 minutes from the family's Wellington home to Parliament, where at times she works until midnight.

"Sometimes I think if only I could clone myself and have the person who does the full-on parliamentary thing and then the person who gets to do the full-on motherhood thing," laughs Nicola, who stepped into the role of the National Party's deputy leader just four years after becoming an MP. 

Says the Karori-based mum of James, 12, Harriet, 11, Reuben, nine, and Gloria, six, "I definitely have moments where I wonder if I'm doing what's right for my kids, or if I'm giving too much to politics, and it can be really confronting and difficult.

"That's where it's important for me to know that what I'm doing is purposeful and making a difference. If I'm sacrificing time with my children, it has to be worth it."

On the morning of our photoshoot, the Wellingtonraised politico has made sure their house is spotless. Reuben greets everyone at the front door with a polite handshake and introduction, while a homemade lemon cake sits on the kitchen bench. But Nicola admits the idyllic scene is a far cry from the usual chaos of their busy home.