Toni Gae Severin is a New Zealand politician who became a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

in the New Zealand parliament at the 2020 general election as a representative of the

ACT New Zealand ACT New Zealand, known simply as ACT (), is a right-wing, classical-liberal political party in New Zealand. According to former party leader Rodney Hide, ACT's values are "individual freedom, personal responsibility, doing the best for our natur ...

party.

Early life and career

Toni Severin is resident in the

Christchurch East Christchurch East, originally called Christchurch City East, is a current New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It was first created for the and was abolished for two period, from 1875–1905 and again from 1946–1996. It was last created for ...

electorate. Severin is a business owner, and previously spent 14 years as a laboratory technician for Canterbury District Health Board.

Political career

Severin unsuccessfully contested four elections for ACT before finally being elected a member of Parliament. In the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, 2011 and

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

elections, she was selected for Christchurch Central. Her party list placement in 2008 was 54th and she placed sixth of nine candidates in the electorate. In 2011, she was ranked 17th on the party list and finished last of six electorate candidates. In 2014, she was placed 11th on the party list and came sixth of eight candidates. Severin transferred to

for the 2017 general election and was placed 10th on the ACT party list. She was last out of the seven candidates. In the 2020 general election, Severin contested Christchurch East for a second time. She finished fourth of nine candidates, but ACT won 7.6% of the party vote. This entitled it to 10 MPs, including Severin. She is ACT's spokesperson for ACC and Corrections, is a member of the Regulations Review committee and is a former member of the Health committee.

Political views

Severin is a licensed gun owner and believes the gun control laws passed after the Christchurch mosque attack was rushed and would not have prevented the attack. Severin delayed receiving her

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

vaccination after seeking medical advice due to a pre-existing condition.

Personal life

Severin runs a business in Christchurch with her husband, with branches in Auckland and Wellington. The Companies Register shows her as director and shareholder of Vess 2013, a residential rental company, and Jet-X Wellington, which steam-cleans building exteriors. A third company, Unique Links NZ, a jewellery wholesaling company, is in the process of being removed from the Companies Register for failing to file an annual return.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Severin, Toni Living people ACT New Zealand MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand list MPs Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives 21st-century New Zealand politicians 21st-century New Zealand women politicians Year of birth missing (living people) Unsuccessful candidates in the 2008 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 2011 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 2014 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 2017 New Zealand general election Candidates in the 2020 New Zealand general election