Annabel Young

Annabel Young (born 1956) is a former New Zealand politician. She was an MP (Member of Parliament) from 1997 to 2002, representing the National Party. She entered Parliament on 22 April 1997, having been the next candidate on National's party list when list MP Jim Gerard resigned. She remained a list MP after the 1999 elections.

Young's father, Bill Young, was also a National MP, representing the Miramar electorate from 1966 to 1981. Young's sister, Nicola, stood as a candidate in the Rongotai electorate in the 2005 general election, however lost to the incumbent, Annette King.^[1]

Member of Parliament

In 2000, during the reading of the Employment Contracts Act,^[2] Young was photographed yawning, and the photograph was subsequently published in The Evening Post. This prompted Speaker of the House Jonathan Hunt to ban television cameras and newspaper photographers from the House of Representatives.^[3]

In the 2002 elections Young was ranked too lowly to escape the collapse of National's vote that year.

Young served as National's tax spokesperson.^[4]

Life after parliament

After leaving Parliament, Young was Tax Director of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of New Zealand. In 2005, she became chief executive of Federated Farmers, and in 2008 moved to the Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand as Chief Executive. She resigned from the Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand in April 2012. She has also written a book, The Good Lobbyist's Guide, about the most effective ways for citizens to become involved in the political process.^[4] Before entering politics, Young worked as a tax specialist, being a lawyer and chartered accountant.

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