[4][5] In 2006 Leary received the New Zealand Special Service Medal for her broadcasting work in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in Aceh.

[1][6] In 2009, as a producer for Campbell Live, Leary was summonsed by the New Zealand Police to appear before a depositions hearing about the theft of 96 medals from the National Army Museum in Waiouru.

Campbell Live had broadcast an interview with a man who claimed to have participated in the burglary; the police sought the identity of the programme's informant.

[12][13] Leary was selected as the Labour candidate for the Dunedin South electorate, later renamed Taieri, ahead of Rachel Brooking and Simon McCallum.

[1] During the campaign, New Zealand First list MP Mark Patterson publicly queried her commitment to the electorate, as she had spent lockdown on Waiheke island.

[19] In early July 2023, Leary attracted media attention after she attended an election meeting organised by criminal gang Mongrel Mob member Harry Tam.

On 23 July, New Zealand First filed a complaint against Leary with Speaker Gerry Brownlee, expressing concern that it could be a breach of parliamentary privilege.