Jonathan Young (politician)

Jonathan Edgar Joseph Young (born 1958) is a former National Party Member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for the New Plymouth electorate. He was first elected in the 2008 general election and served until 2020.[1]

Jonathan Young
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for New Plymouth
In office
8 November 2008 – 17 October 2020
Preceded byHarry Duynhoven
Succeeded byGlen Bennett
Personal details
Born1958 (age 62–63)
NationalityNew Zealand
Political partyNational Party
RelationsVenn Young (father)
OccupationFormerly Christian minister, teacher

Early years

Jonathan Young is the son of Venn Young, a National MP from 1966 to 1990.[2] He attended New Plymouth Boys High School but later finished his education at Hawera High School. Before entering politics, Young was the Senior Minister at CityChurch Waitakere in West Auckland for 18 years. He has also been a primary school teacher, and a financial administrator. In addition, he has been involved in development work in Cambodia.[3]

Member of Parliament
New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate List Party
2008–2011 49th New Plymouth 66 National
2011–2014 50th New Plymouth 45 National
2014–2017 51st New Plymouth 38 National
2017–2020 52nd New Plymouth 35 National

In the 2008 election, Young was narrowly victorious in the New Plymouth seat against long-standing Labour incumbent Harry Duynhoven. Young's final majority was 105 votes – a margin of 0.3% of the total vote count in that electorate.[4] New Plymouth had been one of the seats that the party had focused on as they had won the party vote in the 2005 election and campaign head Steven Joyce felt that "it had swung further our way".[5]

During a debate on the controversially rushed-through Copyright (New Technologies) Amendment Act 2008 in April 2011, which was aimed at controlling internet piracy, he described the internet as being akin to Skynet from The Terminator movies.[6]

Young voted against the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill in 2013 which would legalise same-sex marriage, saying "marriage had always been a heterosexual institution".[7][8]

In August 2019, Young also voted against the Abortion Legislation Bill in its first reading, which would liberalise abortion law in New Zealand.[9]

At the 2020 election, Young was defeated in New Plymouth by Labour candidate Glen Bennett by a final margin of 2,555 votes.[10][11] Ranked 22nd on the National list, he was placed too low to return to Parliament via the list.

Homophobia controversy

Shortly after the 2008 New Zealand general election, Young was criticised by the GayNZ.com website for his statement that 'one of my associates was an ex-lesbian' and for his involvement with Teen Challenge, a Christian youth organisation with links to the ex-gay movement.[12] When commenting further, Young noted, "One of the things I do strongly object to in terms of the people [homosexuals] who have made this choice is the presentation of it as a normal alternative."[13]

References
  1. Llewellyn, Ian (21 November 2008). "Final election results could see minor changes". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  2. Trevett, Claire (12 January 2009). "New Voices: Jacinda Ardern, Chris Hipkins and Jonathan Young". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  3. National Party website: Jonathan Young biography.
  4. Chief Electoral Office - Official Count Results - New Plymouth.
  5. Eames, David (10 November 2008). "How the West was won - by National". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  6. Rilkoff, Matt (15 April 2011). "MP's Skynet talk attracts attention". Stuff. Archived from the original on 28 August 2020.
  7. Singh, Harkanwal; Ball, Andy (22 April 2013). "How MPs voted". Stuff. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  8. Watkins, Tracey; Chapman, Kate (17 April 2013). "Opponents unlikely to stop history". Dominion Post. Stuff. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  9. Walls, Jason (8 August 2019). "How Members of Parliament voted in the first reading of the Abortion Legislation Bill". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  10. "New Plymouth - Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  11. "Election 2020: Labour supporters dance the conga after dramatic takeover of New Plymouth seat". Stuff. 18 October 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  12. Jonathan Young is a cause for concern GayNZ.com, 1 December 2008
  13. Taylor, Cliff (16 November 2008). "New MPs under fire for gay remarks". The New Zealand Herald.
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by
Harry Duynhoven		 Member of Parliament for New Plymouth
2008–2020		 Succeeded by
Glen Bennett
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