After working in the education sector for twenty years, she entered the business world with Michael Hill International, eventually becoming the deputy general manager of the New Zealand operation before being elected to Parliament.
She is married to Frank Newman, an accountant and former member of the Whangarei District Council.
[1] Newman was a founding member of the ACT New Zealand party.
[2][3] In 2004, when Richard Prebble stepped down as ACT's leader, Newman stood as a candidate to succeed him;[4] she lost to Rodney Hide, but emerged with the role of deputy leader.
After leaving Parliament in 2005, Newman established the New Zealand Centre for Political Debate (since renamed the New Zealand Centre for Political Research), an independent public policy think tank.