Anne Fraser
Anne Collins | |
|---|---|
| Spouse of the Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand | |
| In role 15 August 2002 – 19 November 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Carole Anderton |
| Succeeded by | Mary English |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for East Cape | |
| In office 14 July 1984 – 27 October 1990 | |
| Preceded by | Duncan MacIntyre |
| Succeeded by | Tony Ryall |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lowson Anne Collins 20 July 1951 Napier, New Zealand |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse(s) | Bruce Fraser (div. 1989) |
| Children | 2[1] |
| Profession | Teacher |
Lowson Anne Collins, Lady Cullen (formerly Fraser; born 20 July 1951) is a New Zealand former politician of the Labour Party.
Early life and family
Collins was born in Napier on 20 July 1951, the daughter of Lowson and Brian Collins.[1] She was educated at Napier Girls' High School, and went on to study at Massey University, graduating BEd in 1982.[1] Before entering politics she was a teacher.[2]
Parliamentary career
| Years | Term | Electorate | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984–1987 | 41st | East Cape | Labour | ||
| 1987–1990 | 42nd | East Cape | Labour | ||
In the early 1980s Fraser joined the Labour Party and became a branch secretary in the East Cape electorate. At the snap 1984 election she was selected as Labour's candidate for the seat. Her selection, according to the then Whakatane branch chair Margery Rennie, was because "...she's got plenty of guts and was prepared to take on an unpopular candidacy no one else was interested in."[2] She was successful and won the seat from the National Party.[3] She held the seat at the subsequent 1987 election by just 246 votes.[4] In 1989 she launched New Zealand's rape awareness week, spending a considerable amount of time researching and writing her speech for the launch event only for the media to completely ignore the event.[2]
When two important local events happened in her electorate she was outside on the electorate. They were an industrial dispute at the Tasman Works in Kawerau in 1987 and Cyclone Bola in 1988. This led to her being given the unflattering epithet "Absent Annie" by National Party MPs. This was despite locals (including National Party members) thinking she was a hard worker for the electorate particularly in the aftermath of both Cyclone Bola and the 1987 Edgecumbe earthquake.[2] She announced in July 1989 she would retire from Parliament at the next election after two terms. She stated parliament was not a pleasant place and generally not enjoying the role. She also cited public scrutiny, her recent divorce and a desire to return to teaching as reasons for her retirement.[2]
Before leaving parliament she enrolled at Massey University to study for a Masters degree in education, intending to return to teaching.[2] In 1990 she was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal,[1] and in 1993 she received the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal.[5]
Personal life
Following her first marriage to Bruce Fraser she was known as Anne Fraser. In 1989, her name officially reverted to her maiden name Anne Collins after she had divorced her husband.[2]
She was married to former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Michael Cullen until his death in 2021.[6][7]
Notes
- ^ a b c d Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 103. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.
- ^ a b c d e f g Swain, Pauline (6 July 1989). "Why Anne Fraser is giving Parliament away". Auckland Star. p. A5.
- ^ Wilson 1985, pp. 198, 215.
- ^ Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946–1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. p. 217. ISBN 0-475-11200-8.
- ^ "New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 – register of recipients". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 26 July 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- ^ Young, Audrey (8 April 2009). "A parliamentarian without parallel". The New Zealand Herald.
- ^ "Labour's Sir Michael Cullen dies at 76 after battle with lung cancer". The New Zealand Herald. 20 August 2021.
References
- Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.