Ginny Andersen | |
|---|---|
 Andersen in 2023 | |
| 52ndMinister of Justice | |
| In office 24 July 2023 – 27 November 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Chris Hipkins |
| Preceded by | Kiri Allan |
| Succeeded by | Paul Goldsmith |
| 42ndMinister of Police | |
| In office 20 March 2023 – 27 November 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Chris Hipkins |
| Preceded by | Megan Woods |
| Succeeded by | Mark Mitchell |
| 2ndMinister for the Digital Economy and Communications | |
| In office 1 February 2023 – 27 November 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Chris Hipkins |
| Preceded by | David Clark |
| Succeeded by | Judith Collins |
| 14thMinister for Seniors | |
| In office 1 February 2023 – 27 November 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Chris Hipkins |
| Preceded by | Ayesha Verrall |
| Succeeded by | Casey Costello |
| Member of theNew Zealand Parliament | |
| Assumed office 23 September 2017 | |
| Constituency | List (2023–present) Hutt South (2020–23) List (2017–20) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1975 (age 49–50) |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | Geoff Gwyn |
| Relations | Bill Andersen (great-uncle) |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | University of Canterbury |
| Website | Labour Party profile |
Virginia Ruby Andersen[1][2][3] (born 1975)[4] is a New Zealand politician. She has been aMember of Parliament in theHouse of Representatives for theLabour Party since the2017 New Zealand general election.
Andersen held the offices ofMinister of Police andMinister of Justice in the final months of theSixth Labour Government.
Andersen was born in 1975.[4] Her parents were both teachers at low-decile schools around the country and her childhood was spent all over New Zealand includingGreat Barrier Island,Hawke's Bay,Wairarapa before settling inChristchurch where she attended Phillipstown School and laterAvonside Girls' High School.[5] Her high school principal wasMarian Hobbs, who later became a cabinet minister underHelen Clark.Bill Andersen, a noted activist andtrade union leader, was her great-uncle.[6]
While living in the Christchurch suburb ofLinwood, Anderson became aware of the negative social impacts of gangs and drugs which were present in the area. She "grew up with kids whose parents were on methadone" and "had friends who took their life at a really young age because the parents were ... addict[s]”.[7]
After leaving school, she studied political science and Māori at theUniversity of Canterbury, becoming fluent inte reo Māori,[8] before spending three years traveling overseas.[7] On her return to New Zealand, she continued her studies completing a master's degree in political science in 2004. Her thesis addressed indigenousself-determination based on the Crown's Treaty settlement with Ngai Tahu.[9]
Following that, she worked at theOffice of Treaty Settlements, and in 2004, became private secretary forMargaret Wilson on treaty negotiations. After that, she became a political adviser forDavid Cunliffe and thenTrevor Mallard.[7][10]
Andersen wanted a family, which she felt was incompatible with the long work hours in Parliament,[7] so in 2006, took a job with theNew Zealand Police. She was employed as a policy unit manager focussing on gang problems, and organised crime. She became a strategic adviser on Māori, Pacific and ethnic services with a focus on reducing Māori reoffending. WhenJohn Key became prime minister, she was seconded to theDepartment of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to work on the Methamphetamine Action Plan.[11] She also worked on the government'sVehicle Confiscation and Seizure Bill which enabled vehicles owned byboy racers to be crushed.[12] In a 2023 interview, Andersen stated that working under Key'sNational Party government as a public servant was her inspiration to run for election as a Labour candidate.[7]
At the2008 election Andersen was a campaign volunteer for her formerBeehive colleagueChris Hipkins, who was the Labour candidate in theRemutaka electorate.[7] Hipkins was successful and Andersen was his campaign manager for the2011 election.[12] She was selected as a Labour candidate for the2014 election, running in theŌhāriu electorate and placed 37 on the Labour Party list.[1][13] She was not elected, but her loss to the long-standing incumbent,Peter Dunne ofUnited Future, was by only 710 votes, the third lowest margin in the country.[14] She was ranked at 37 on the Labour Party list.
After the election, Andersen served as the Labour Party's vice president from 2015 to 2017, when she stood down to focus on her parliamentary candidacy for the2017 general election. In October 2016, Andersen was selected as Labour's candidate for the electorate ofHutt South for the2017 election overHutt City CouncillorCampbell Barry and list candidate Sarah Packer.[1] She replaced long-serving member of parliamentTrevor Mallard as the Labour Party candidate who had, in July of that year, said he would serve as alist-only candidate for the election with the intention of becomingSpeaker of the House.[1][2][15]
| Years | Term | Electorate | List | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–2020 | 52nd | List | 28 | Labour | |
| 2020–2023 | 53rd | Hutt South | 45 | Labour | |
| 2023–present | 54th | List | 17 | Labour | |
While Andersen lost theHutt South election toNational Party candidateChris Bishop, she entered parliament via theparty list, ranked at 28 for Labour.[16] In her first term, Andersen was a member of the justice committee and the deputy chair of the governance and administration committee.[17]
Andersen was responsible for the Holidays (Bereavement Leave for Miscarriage) Amendment Bill, aprivate member's bill that proposed allowing people who have suffered amiscarriage with three days paid bereavement leave. The bill was selected for debate in 2018 and passed unanimously in 2021.[18][19][20] The bill made New Zealand one of the first countries in the world to provide specific paid leave for miscarriage bereavements.[21][22]
In September 2020, controversy arose over the unusual arrangements for Andersen's office space rented by the Labour Party in Hutt South.[23] Rent for MPs' offices are paid by Parliamentary Services. However, a sublease arrangement, which had been in place for decades under Andersen's predecessorTrevor Mallard, meant that Parliamentary Services (using public money) were paying the Labour Party $6,000 per annum to cover the rent, but the Labour Party was only paying the landlord, the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU), $1,500 a year. The $4,500 overpayment went to the Labour Party which used it for campaigning and other expenses.[23][24] Once the arrangement became public, Andersen cancelled it.[25]
At the2020 New Zealand general election, Andersen was again Labour's candidate for Hutt South,[26] and defeated National's Chris Bishop by 3,777 votes.[27][28] In her second term, Andersen was appointed the chair of the justice committee.[17]
On 31 January 2023, in a Cabinet reshuffle marking the appointment ofChris Hipkins as prime minister, Andersen was promoted into the Cabinet. She was namedMinister for the Digital Economy and Communications,Minister for Small Business,Minister for Seniors, Associate Minister of Immigration and the Associate Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations.[29] Andersen picked up two additional appointments following scandals involving two other ministers. She becameMinister of Police on 20 March 2023 following the dismissal ofStuart Nash[30] andMinister of Justice followingKiri Allan's resignation on 23 July 2023.[31]
As minister, Andersen oversaw the progress of reforms related todigital identity,[32] legal aid,[33] and public safety.[34][35] Her ministerial tenure came after incidents ofram-raiding burglaries increased 400% over five years.[36] As small business and police minister, Andersen was involved in the rollout of fog cannons to protect small business owners and introduced new legislation that made ram-raiding an offence under theCrimes Act 1961.[34][37] As small business minister, she chaired a meeting of theOECD committee on SMEs and entrepreneurship in Paris in June 2023.[38]
During the2023 New Zealand general election on 14 October, Andersen lost her Hutt South seat to National Party candidate Chris Bishop by a margin of 1,332 votes,[39] but was re-elected to Parliament as a list MP.[40] Labour lost the election and Andersen was assigned opposition spokesperson roles in the police, prevention of family and sexual violence, social investment, and associate social development portfolios.[41]
In early November 2023, Andersen was the subject of a Labour Party investigation after a complaint that she had bullied a female teenaged Labour Party volunteer over a period of three years. Andersen yelled at the female volunteer and her brother at a Labour Party Lower Hutt election night event on 14 October. According to the complaint, Andersen was angry that the teenager had not knocked on enough doors during the 2023 election campaign. Andersen subsequently issued a statement apologising for the hurt that her comments had caused and resolved to fully engage in the process to resolve the matter.[42][43] On 13 November, Andersen apologised to the complainant and her daughter.[44] That same day, Andersen was the subject of a second complaint by a male volunteer, who alleged Andersen had bullied and"bodyshamed" him. Andersen disputed the bullying allegations.[45]
On 5 December 2023, Andersen was granted retention of the titleThe Honourable, in recognition of her term as a member of theExecutive Council.[46]
On 21 February 2024, Andersen attracted media attention for remarks she made about National MP and cabinet ministerMark Mitchell during aNewstalk ZB interview hosted byMike Hosking. When Mitchell talked about his work as a private security contractor in Iraq in 2004, Andersen questioned the nature of his work and asked if he had been "paid to kill people." In response, Mitchell accused Andersen and the left of engaging incharacter assassination. Andersen then asked Mitchell if he kept a tally on the number of people he shot and alleged that Mitchell's former employer British security companyControl Risks made $4 million a year. Mitchell described her remarks as outrageous and demanded an apology. Andersen initially refused to apologise on free speech grounds. Later, Labour Party leaderChris Hipkins expressed his disagreement with her comments. Andersen subsequently stated that her remarks "went too far" and also sent an apology text message to Mitchell.[47]
In early March 2025, Andersen became part of a new economic team following acabinet reshuffle, gaining the Jobs and Incomes portfolio. She retained the Police and Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations portfolios but lost the prevention of family and sexual violence, social investment and associate social development portfolios.[48]
Andersen lives inBelmont,Lower Hutt.[49] She enjoys practising yoga.[7] She is married to Geoff Gwyn, a former police inspector, whom she met while working for the Police prior to becoming an MP.[50][51] They have two children together, but also parent her husband's two older children from a previous relationship.[7]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of Police 2023 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Seniors 2023 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications 2023 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Small Business 2023 | Succeeded by |
| New Zealand Parliament | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Hutt South 2020–2023 | Succeeded by Chris Bishop |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Robert Gallagher | Vice-President of theNew Zealand Labour Party 2015–2017 | Succeeded by Beth Houston |
