Paul Young is a New Zealand politician who was an Auckland Councillor and a board member of the Counties Manukau District Health Board.

Early life and education

Then aged 25, Young immigrated from Taiwan in 1989.[1] The councillor operates his own business "Paul Young International", which operates events around New Zealand.[1] He studied marketing at the University of Auckland and is married with two children.[2]

Political career

Auckland Council
Years Ward Affiliation
2018–2019 Howick Independent
2019–2022 Howick Independent

Young contested the 2011 Botany by-election under the New Citizen Party and came third.[3] He later contested the Botany seat in the 2011 general election and 2014 general election, while affiliated to the Conservative Party. Young was unsuccessful in his attempts. He then ran again unsuccessfully to be Howick ward councillor in the 2016 Auckland local elections.

He was elected to Auckland Council in a 2018 by-election,[4] replacing the late Dick Quax in the Howick ward. Young was Auckland's first Chinese councillor.[1]

The politician was then re-elected to the council in the 2019 Auckland local elections. In 2019, Young's promotional material was subject to graffiti, which accused him of being associated with the Chinese Communist Party,[5] with the attacks being described as "racist" in nature.[6] During the campaign, he had been a keen advocate of "trackless trams".[7][8]

In his tenure, Young opposed the regional fuel tax[9] and the sale of council-owned parks in his ward.[10] Meanwhile, he advocated to speed up delivery of the Eastern Busway project,[11][12] voted to support climate change action through improving public transport,[13] and supported cycleway construction in the city.[14] He has also advocated to increase the speed of Covid-19 vaccination uptake in Asian communities.[15][16]

He was unsuccessful in re-election in the 2022 Auckland local elections.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Auckland's first Chinese councillor". Stuff. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  2. ↑ "Howick ward by-election candidate profiles" (PDF). Auckland Council.
  3. ↑ Tan, Lincoln (14 April 2011). "A new political force to be reckoned with". The New Zealand Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  4. ↑ Staff (13 September 2018). "Paul Young wins by-election". Times. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  5. ↑ "'Unacceptable and childish': Auckland councillor Paul Young on billboard vandalism". Newshub. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  6. ↑ "Auckland councillor Paul Young subject of racist flyers claiming Chinese communist links". Stuff. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  7. ↑ "A Race To The Council: Paul Young". The Collegian. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  8. ↑ Staff (4 September 2019). "Get East Auckland going". Times. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  9. ↑ "Minutes of Planning Committee - Thursday, 3 March 2022". infocouncil.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  10. ↑ Harrowell, Chris (16 June 2022). "Vote moves public reserves closer to sale". Times. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  11. ↑ "Auckland's $1.4b Eastern Busway falls victim to budget cuts". NZ Herald. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  12. ↑ Nixon, Jane; Reporter, 1News Digital. "Auckland councillors blindsided by delay to $1.4 billion Eastern Busway". 1 News. Retrieved 17 June 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ↑ "Simon Wilson: Climate change and the councillors who pretend to care". NZ Herald. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  14. ↑ Niall, Todd (5 May 2022). "Auckland councillors endorse $306m cycling spend in bid to combat climate change". Stuff. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  15. ↑ Xia, Lucy (8 September 2021). "Covid-19: Chinese migrants struggle to get jabs due to language barrier". Stuff. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  16. ↑ "Misinformation has hurt Asian booster uptake, says Auckland councillor". tewahanui.nz. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
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