Virginia Ruby Andersen, born in 1975, is a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament for the Labour Party, known for her work in justice, Māori language advocacy, and social policy. A long-standing Labour member since 2004, Andersen entered Parliament in 2017 via the party list and became the MP for Hutt South in 2020. Her career spans roles in the New Zealand Police, Treaty of Waitangi negotiations, and senior political advising, reflecting a commitment to addressing social harms and advancing equity. Ginny Andersen Biography, Politician & Parliament

Born to primary school teachers

Andersen’s childhood was nomadic, shaped by her parents’ work in low-decile schools across New Zealand, including Great Barrier Island, Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa, and Christchurch. Settling in Christchurch, she attended Phillipstown School and Avonside Girls’ High School, where her principal was Marian Hobbs, later a Labour cabinet minister. Living in Linwood, Andersen witnessed the social impacts of gangs and drugs, fueling her later focus on justice issues. Her great-uncle, Bill Andersen, was a prominent activist and trade union leader. After earning an MA in Political Science from the University of Canterbury, she settled in Belmont, Lower Hutt, where she raises four children with her husband, Geoff Gwyn.

Andersen’s early career included roles as a private secretary and senior political adviser to Labour MPs Trevor Mallard, David Cunliffe, Mark Burton, and Margaret Wilson. She worked at the Office of Treaty Settlements, contributing to negotiations and policy. From 2006 to 2017, she served as a policy unit manager for the New Zealand Police, developing strategies to reduce harm from gangs, organized crime, and methamphetamine. She advised on Māori, Pacific, and ethnic services, focusing on reducing Māori reoffending. Under John Key’s National government, she was seconded to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to work on the Methamphetamine Action Plan and contributed to the Vehicle Confiscation and Seizure Bill, enabling the crushing of boy racers’ vehicles. This experience, she later noted, inspired her to run as a Labour candidate to advocate for progressive change.

Andersen’s political

Journey began as a campaign volunteer for Chris Hipkins in Remutaka in 2008, becoming his campaign manager in 2011. In 2014, she contested Ōhāriu, narrowly losing to United Future’s Peter Dunne by 710 votes, one of the closest margins nationwide. Ranked 37 on Labour’s list, she didn’t enter Parliament but served as Labour’s Vice-President from 2015 to 2017. In 2016, she was selected as Labour’s Hutt South candidate for 2017, replacing Trevor Mallard. Despite losing to National’s Chris Bishop, she entered Parliament via the party list at rank 28. In her first term, she served on the justice committee and was deputy chair of the governance and administration committee.

Andersen championed the Holidays (Bereavement Leave for Miscarriage) Amendment Bill, a private member’s bill passed unanimously in 2021, granting three days’ paid leave for miscarriage, making New Zealand a global leader in this policy. In 2020, she won Hutt South, defeating Bishop by 3,777 votes, and chaired the justice committee in her second term. A 2020 controversy arose over a sublease arrangement inherited from Mallard, where Parliamentary Services paid Labour $6,000 annually for her office, but Labour paid the landlord, the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union, $1,500, using the surplus for party expenses. Andersen canceled the arrangement when it became public.

In January 2023,

under Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, Andersen joined Cabinet as Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications, Seniors, Small Business, and Associate Minister for Immigration and Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations. Following Stuart Nash’s resignation, she became Minister of Police in March 2023 and later Minister of Justice, serving until Labour’s loss in October 2023. As an advocate for Te Reo Māori, fluent from her studies at school and university, she has taught night classes and at her local library, emphasizing accessible language learning.

Now 50, Andersen remains a list MP based in Hutt South, serving as Labour’s spokesperson for Police, Jobs and Incomes, and Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations. Her career reflects a blend of policy expertise, community advocacy, and a commitment to social justice, rooted in her diverse upbringing and professional experience.