She was the Auckland City Councillor for the Hauraki Gulf Islands from 2007 to 2010. She won in the 2007 Auckland local body election by a very narrow margin over long-standing incumbent, Faye Storer, by only eleven votes with a high-profile campaign. In the
2010 Auckland local election for the Waiheke Local Board, she received the highest number of votes. Placed in eleventh place on the Green Party list for the , Roche was elected to Parliament, with the Greens gaining 14 positions based on the final results. As a member of parliament, Roche openly admitted to being a survivor of sexual abuse. Following
John Key's statement that Labour was supporting "rapists" detained on
Christmas Island, Roche, as a participant along with several other women MPs who were similarly victims, staged a walkout of Parliament in protest. Roche stated in parliament that she had "endured years of sexual assault as a child", stating she was personally offended that the Prime Minister implied that she would personally support rapists. Roche was number 13 on the Green party list for the
2017 general election, and was not re-elected as an MP. Following the general election Roche ran as the
City Vision candidate for the
Waitematā Local Board vacancy created by the resignation of Mark Davey. She was successful, winning the seat by 249 votes. ==References==