He was an agricultural engineer in the dairy industry, surveying and designing farm buildings, land drainage and irrigation systems.

He also introduced the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill to update existing rental laws and extend them to cover tenants in boarding houses not previously having protection.

Together with then Labour Minister, Kate Wilkinson, he initiated a Ministerial Inquiry into the operation of Foreign Charter Vessels (FCVs) in New Zealand's EEZ.

In February 2012, he introduced a new 'block offer' process for awarding oil and gas exploration permit areas across New Zealand, including in its EEZ.

Blocks on offer are confirmed following consultation with iwi and local authorities and a competitive tender is undertaken to finally allocate permits.

[17][18] In 22 January 2013 Cabinet reshuffle, Heatley lost his ministerial portfolio Energy and Resources to Simon Bridges and Housing to Nick Smith.

[19] On 31 January 2013 Heatley was granted the right to retain the title of The Honourable for life in recognition of his term as a Member of the Executive Council of New Zealand.

[1] In early November 2013 he announced he would be retiring from politics at the 2014 general election to "move on to fresh challenges and opportunities in the private sector".