Trevor James Young (28 August 1925 – 13 May 2012) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Biography

Early life

Young was born in 1925 in

Turua Turua is a small village community on the banks of the Waihou River in the Hauraki Plains in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located close to the mouth of the river, 9 kilometres south of the Firth of Thames and 12 km south of Thames, ...

on the

Hauraki Plains The Hauraki Plains are a geographical area located in the northern North Island of New Zealand, at the lower (northern) end of the Thames Valley, New Zealand, Thames Valley. They are located 75 kilometres south-east of Auckland, at the foot of ...

. The son of Leslie Robert Young, he grew up in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

and Blenheim, and attended Wellington College. He married Ailsa Hazel Anderson, the daughter of John James Anderson, in 1952. They had two sons. Young and his family settled in Naenae and he gained employment with the

Public Trust The concept of public trust relates back to the origins of democratic government and its seminal idea that within the public lies the true power and future of a society; therefore, whatever ''trust'' citizens place in its officials must be respe ...

. He had other jobs with the

New Zealand Forest Service New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

and

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

before becoming the general superintendent of the New Zealand Alliance, an organisation opposed to the sale of alcoholic beverages. He studied law studies part-time at

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

, graduating in 1958 with an LLB.

Political career

Young joined the Labour Party and at the 1947 local elections, he was elected a Lower Hutt City Councillor at the age of 22. He remained a member of the city council until 1968 when he resigned upon his election to Parliament. He represented the electorate of Hutt (previously occupied by Labour Prime Minister Sir

Walter Nash Sir Walter Nash (12 February 1882 – 4 June 1968) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 27th prime minister of New Zealand in the Second Labour Government from 1957 to 1960. He is noted for his long period of political service, havi ...

) in Parliament from 1968 to 1978, and then the Eastern Hutt electorate from 1978 to

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, when he was replaced by Paul Swain. In total he gave 43 years of service in local and national politics. He was the chair of the New Zealand branch of

Parliamentarians for Global Action Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) is a non-profit, non-partisan international network of committed legislators, that informs and mobilizes parliamentarians in all regions of the world to advocate for human rights and the rule of law, de ...

. From 1974 until 1978 he was the Labour Party's junior

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

. He was Shadow Minister of Energy (1976–79), Shadow Minister of Tourism (1979–80) and Shadow Minister of Police (1983–84). From 1984 to 1990 he was the deputy Chairman of Committees. According to

Western Hutt Western Hutt was a New Zealand parliamentary electorate from 1969 to 1996. Population centres Through an amendment in the Electoral Act in 1965, the number of electorates in the South Island was fixed at 25, an increase of one since the 1962 el ...

John Terris John James Terris (born 19 June 1939) is a New Zealand politician, priest and broadcaster who represented the Labour Party in the New Zealand parliament. Biography Early life and career Terris was born in Wanganui in 1939 to Alexander Roderic ...

Young was never afraid to speak his mind and his forthright manner and Christian values probably cost him political advancement. In 1983 he faced a challenge for the Eastern Hutt nomination by electorate secretary, and former

Invercargill Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and westernmost list of cities in New Zealand, city in New Zealand, and one of the Southernmost settlements, southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland Region, Southlan ...

MP, J. B. Munro. Both men were friends but differed on social policies and local members coalesced in two groups; with liberal members behind Munro while those more conservative backed Young. Prior to the selection meeting the two had agreed to avoid ill-feeling and retain their productive working relationship. The agreement was reaffirmed after Young won the vote and was given a standing ovation by the 250 members in attendance. He was also associated with the temperance (prohibition) movement. He was likewise a member of

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and patron of the

Society for the Promotion of Community Standards The Society for Promotion of Community Standards Inc. ("SPCS") is a conservative lobby group in New Zealand. A registered charity and incorporated society, the Society has taken a strong pro-censorship stance and clashed many times with the Offi ...

from 1987 to 1995. In the 1988 Queen's Birthday Honours, Young was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The King's Service Order () established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant of Queen regnant, Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to t ...

for public services.

Later life and death

Young studied to learn Swedish and became a director of Ansvar Insurance. He remained politically active and even at the age of 80 was delivering leaflets and canvassing votes at the for Rimutaka Labour MP

Chris Hipkins Christopher John Hipkins (born 5 September 1978) is a New Zealand politician who has served as leader of the New Zealand Labour Party since January 2023 and leader of the Opposition (New Zealand), leader of the Opposition since November 2023. H ...

. On 13 May 2012, Young died at the age of 86.

Notes

References

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Trevor 1925 births 2012 deaths People educated at Wellington College, Wellington New Zealand Labour Party MPs New Zealand MPs for Hutt Valley electorates Companions of the Queen's Service Order Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Hutt City Councillors