Jonathan Young

Background

Jonathan Young is the son of Venn Young, a National Member of Parliament from 1966 to 1990.

Education

University of Virginia (Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, 1979). Georgetown University (Juris Doctor, 1983).

Career

He was first elected in the 2008 general election, with the country"s smallest election night majority. 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 an "itinerant" teacher of the Māori language, and a financial administrator.

In addition, he has been involved in development work in Cambodia.

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.

During his time in Parliament, Young voted against the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill in 2013, saying "marriage had always been a heterosexual institution"

Shortly after the New Zealand general election, 2008, 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. When commenting further, Young noted, "One of the things I do strongly object to in terms of the people who have made this choice is the presentation of it as a normal alternative."

In a debate on the controversially rushed-through Copyright (New Technologies) Amendment Acting 2008, which was aimed at controlling internet piracy, he described the internet as being akin to Skynet from The Terminator movies.

Jonathan Young is the brother of New Zealand Herald political editor Audrey Young.

Achievements

• Jonathan Young has been listed as a reputable lawyer by Martindale-Hubbell.