Jo-Anne Marie Luxton (born 1973) is a New Zealand politician and 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 of ...

in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

for the Labour Party.

Personal life

Luxton owns and operates the Hinds Early Learning Centre, the first such business in New Zealand to be an accredited

Living Wage A living wage is defined as the minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs. This is not the same as a subsistence wage, which refers to a biological minimum, or a solidarity wage, which refers to a minimum wage tracking labor ...

Employer. She is the great-niece of former Labour Prime Minister

Norman Kirk Norman Eric Kirk (6 January 1923 – 31 August 1974) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 29th prime minister of New Zealand from 1972 until his sudden death in 1974. Born into poverty in Southern Canterbury, Kirk left school at ...

. She is of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

descent.

Political career

Luxton stood for Labour in the electorate in the and was placed 29 on Labour's party list. Luxton did not win the electorate, but entered parliament via the

Party list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can ...

. At the

2020 New Zealand general election The 2020 New Zealand general election was held on Saturday 17 October 2020 to determine the composition of the 53rd parliament. Voters elected 120 members to the House of Representatives, 72 from single-member electorates and 48 from closed ...

Luxton again ran in Rangitata for the Labour party; and in a surprise victory, defeated National's Megan Hands by a final margin of 4,408 votes. Rangitata had been traditionally regarded as a safe National seat.

Views and politics

Cannabis

In mid–September 2020, Luxton announced that she would not be voting in support of the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill referendum, citing her own personal experiences of being in relationship with a person who abused

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...

Euthanasia

Luxton has stated that she would be voting in favour of the

End of Life Choice Act 2019 The End of Life Choice Act 2019 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand that seeks to give people with a terminal illness the option of receiving assisted dying. The Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Health confirmed that, "The Bill uses “a ...

during the 2020 euthanasia referendum, citing her belief that people should be able to

die with dignity Dignified death, death with dignity, dying with dignity or dignity in dying is an ethical concept that refers to the end-of-life process avoiding suffering and maintaining control and autonomy. In general, it is usually treated as an extension of t ...

and the experiences of her terminally ill mother.

References

1973 births Living people New Zealand Labour Party MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives 21st-century New Zealand women politicians New Zealand list MPs Women members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Candidates in the 2017 New Zealand general election Candidates in the 2020 New Zealand general election {{NZLabour-politician-stub