[1] Roche left high school early with no qualification, returning later in her life to complete her studies as an adult.

[4] 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.

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.

[12] Roche was number 13 on the Green party list for the 2017 general election, and was not re-elected as an MP.

[13] Following the general election Roche ran as the City Vision candidate for the Waitematā Local Board vacancy created by the resignation of Mark Davey.