Anne Tolley is MP for East Coast, a large and diverse electorate which stretches from Gisborne, around East Cape and through to the Whakatane plains.
Anne was first elected to parliament on the National Party list in 1999, and was appointed Spokesperson on Women's Affairs and Early Childhood. In 2005 she returned to parliament and was elected Junior Whip, and given the Child, Youth and Family portfolio. Anne remains passionate about securing a healthy and secure environment for children, young people and families, and campaigns strongly against family violence and child abuse.
In 2006 Anne was elected Senior Whip, the first woman to hold the position in the National Party. In 2008 she took over the Education portfolio. She was re-elected as MP for East Coast in the 2008 General Election, with an increased majority, and was appointed Minister of Education, Minister for Tertiary Education, and Minister Responsible for ERO.
Since January 2010, she has been Minister of Education and Minister Responsible for ERO. Her main focus is on implementing the ground-breaking National Standards policy into primary and intermediate schools.
Anne lives in Gisborne with her husband, and has three adult children. Anne is a former Hawkes Bay Regional Councillor, a Napier City Councillor and was the Deputy Mayor of Napier City. Before entering parliament Anne was an active Rotarian, served on the Napier Girls' High Board of Trustees and Hawkes Bay Polytechnic Council, and was a Trustee of the Hawkes Bay Community Law Centre.
