Audrey Young
Senior Political Correspondent
Audrey Young, Senior Political Correspondent at the New Zealand Herald based at Parliament, specialises in writing about politics and power.
I’m Audrey Young – Senior Political Correspondent at the New Zealand Herald. I was the NZ Herald’s political editor for 18 years, through some of the most tumultuous political times. In 2021 I moved into a new role as Senior Political Correspondent, where I now have more time to produce in depth stories, which are not necessarily part of the daily news cycle. I love getting my teeth into a complex issue or helping bring some clarity to a misunderstood issue. And I have a special interest in foreign affairs and Treaty of Waitangi issues. In 2018 and 2020 I was Voyager Political Journalist of the Year. Occasionally I also dish out my own awards and rankings to politicians, which includes rating the performance of Cabinet Ministers or the opposition’s Shadow Cabinet. I’ve been working at the Herald for so long that my 30th anniversary was mentioned in Parliament. However, I never tire of seeing what people do to try to gain power and what they do when they get there. I was pleased to be the union representative on the Press Council for six years. In a previous life, I worked as a sub-editor at the ill-fated Auckland Sun, was a tutor for a Pacific Island journalism course at Manukau Polytechnic in Otara, and was a teacher in Wellington.
Check out Audrey’s latest content
Audrey Young: Buckle in – money is tight, you’d better believe it
OPINION: Cuts to Government agencies will become business as usual.
Crown makes urgent move to halt 501 decision, Govt says it will change law
Government says it will urgently pass retrospective legislation when Parliament returns.
Audrey Young: Ranking Labour's Māori caucus
OPINION: Who's up, who's down and who is standing still in the Labour Māori caucus.
'There is no one like you': Jacinda Ardern fights back tears in memorial service to Michael Cullen
Tūhoe and Tūwharetoa hosted Michael Cullen's memorial service in Taneatua.
Audrey Young: Robertson's Goldilocks Budget - not too little, not too much
But managing expectations around health, will be a challenge, writes Audrey Young.
Audrey Young: Why politics will be more boring without Simon Bridges
OPINION: Simon Bridges became a much better politician after losing the leadership.
'I was incredibly scared': Kiri Allan on how cancer changed her life
Kiritapu Allan: Find your joy, whatever that is.
Audrey Young: If not now, then when for beneficiaries?
OPINION: After spending $57b on the Covid fund, the time was right to lift benefits.
Landmark foreshore and seabed decision: what it means
The Māori Party urges the Crown to resist any temptation to appeal the decision.
Audrey Young: Little's Cabinet paper shows how Heather Simpson was rolled
Opinion: Transparency will be the most important part of the health reforms.
Coalition calls for repeal of drugs law, scrapping penalties
Coalition calls for Government to put emphasis on health, not penalties for drug use.
Audrey Young: Labour kept plans on divisive Māori wards under wraps
Opinion: The current law has made matters worse and there is justification for change.
Local veto on Māori wards will be abolished
The process is fundamentally unfair to Māori, says Nanaia Mahuta.
NZ's Covid vaccine rollout: The 10,000 workers first in line
Australia has decided to bring forward vaccination timelines, but what about NZ?
Watch: Maiden speeches - Rawiri Waititi's promise to be unapologetic voice for Maori
Simon Court, Camilla Belich, Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer are speaking today.
Audrey Young: Muller's breakdown a catastrophe for Nats
COMMENT: Stepping down was necessary for his Todd Muller's well-being.
PM on Clark v Bloomfield video - I know the full story
What Ardern thought of crestfallen Bloomfield's face: 'We do have to give some respite'
Audrey Young: Muller's howler of a day
COMMENT: Labour memo cited Todd Muller as a threat. Today, not so much.
Todd Muller backtracks on 'Make America Great Again' hat - won't display it in office
Todd Muller says it is his job to "check and adjust."
Audrey Young: For Simon Bridges, self-belief and rat-cunning weren't enough
Simon Bridges did not appear to have a jot of self-doubt, writes Audrey Young.
Audrey Young: Why Judith Collins could be kingmaker
Todd Muller is no Jacinda Ardern, writes political editor Audrey Young.
'Political hari kari': Bridges 'brought leadership challenge upon himself by going public'; Bennett 'feeling confident'
Todd Muller told the caucus yesterday that the party could not win under Simon Bridges.
Audrey Young: The challengers to Simon Bridges - Todd Muller and Nikki Kaye
Comment: The pair who plan to take on Simon Bridges complement each other on paper.
Audrey Young: Bridges now facing the fight of his political life
Simon Bridges has lasted for just over 26 months. He may have only a week left.
Audrey Young: Budget Covid recovery fund has political advantages
Political editor Audrey Young assesses how Budget 2020 measures up.
Lockdown tensions: Winston Peters - health an imperative 'but not at all costs... we'll be broke'
Winston Peters says there are "huge tensions" balancing health and economic issues.
How PM responded to this Washington Post headline: 'NZ isn't just flattening the curve. It's squashing it'.
Washington Post on early lockdown success: 'Triumph of science and leadership'.
Will some regions be given freedom before others?
PM Ardern is set to address the plight of overseas visitors stranded in New Zealand.
Coronavirus: NZ's first death - victim named as hospitals clear decks
The Prime Minister will chair a full Cabinet meeting today but most will join remotely.
NZ's eerie calm; Spain deaths pass China, global toll 20,000
Things will get worse before they get better says the Prime Minister.
Audrey Young: National MPs' report card - those with a lowly 4 out of 10
Political editor Audrey Young marks the best and worst of National's First XV
Audrey Young: Reshuffle gives Bridges a chance to right a wrong
COMMENT: Many saw move from climate change to agriculture as a demotion. They were wrong.
Audrey Young: Meet the power behind Simon Bridges
Every leader needs a small group of people they rely on for cut-through advice.
Is this the Government's most 'dangerous' minister?
Eugenie Sage's decision over Waihī mining is causing widespread anxiety.
Audrey Young: Govt dicing with Maori power
COMMENT: Govt is taking a more controlling approach to engagement with the treaty partner.
The petrol pinch: Kiwis now paying extra $200 a year in taxes, say Nats
Petrol price hikes are mounting up on Kiwi families, says Simon Bridges.
National still seething over dumped inquiry
The anonymous text was not conclusive proof of anything, says National's Gerry Brownlee.
The mystery texter and leaker: Simon Bridges turns on Parliament's Speaker
Simon Bridges to leaker: We will be understanding. I promise them that.
Audrey Young: Bridges has lost control of leak inquiry
COMMENT: The risks for damage now are far greater than they were at the outset.
Bridges called 'chauvinistic pig' during Question Time
Grant Robertson's tendency to answer others' questions leads to fiery Parliament exchange.
Police too scared to give evidence says MP
Advances in police culture is at risk of going backwards says National's Paula Bennett.
Audrey Young: Bridges needs to handle his legacy with care
COMMENT: Simon Bridges employed some imaginative politics ahead of the party conference.
Match-fit and ready to serve a few aces down party line
On the eve of the National Party conference, Simon Bridges sits down for a chat.
Bridges wants probe into top cop's role broadened
Peters must answer serious questions to ensure public confidence in police, says Bridges.
Budget Live: What's in it for you and your family
Simon Bridges goes on the attack after Grant Robertson's first Budget.
Robertson has given himself more options
COMMENT: Robertson resisted calls to blow the windfall in this Budget.
Robertson promises more inclusive Budget
Winston Peters says his party will add the "heart and conscience" to the Budget.
Bridges denies any Nats involvement in false Gayford slurs
Bridges has told his MPs of a zero tolerance for peddling rumours or innuendo.
Comment | Low-life gossipers a distraction for PM's office
COMMENT: Low-lifes peddling rumours are trying to inflict maximum damage on the PM.
Ardern: TPP not a perfect deal but good enough
Green MP Golriz Ghahraman accuses her coalition government of "spin" about revised TPP.
Watch: Ardern and Turnbull front up
Ardern and Turnbull reiterated the two nations' "partnership" at Sydney press conference.
Game on: Bridges brings out mongrel in Ardern
Comment: He may be Oxford educated but it was pure Te Atatu.
Audrey Young: Joyce, Collins win campaign but not contest
Comment: Conditions of secrecy helped Joyce's campaign to get off the starting block.
Bridges closest but not close enough yet
Steven Joyce and Amy Adams have been talking over the weekend but no deals done.
Who's backing who in National's big race
Four challengers are in the race to be National's next leader. Who's backing them?
Nats 'at a crossroads' as leadership race heats up
Rival National Party leadership candidates are stepping up meetings with undecided MPs.
Peters drops legal case against journalists
Deputy PM to pursue National MPs in legal action over the story of his over-paid pension.
'Discontent in National equals disunity'
The Newshub poll may be National's high-water mark this term.
Joyce warns Ardern: 'Stay away from another country's business'
Barnaby Joyce has sent a less than veiled message to our PM about Manus Island.
Audrey Young: Minister resorts to bluster
Willie Jackson was not the only minister who learned a hard lesson today.
Ardern set to meet President Rodrigo Duterte
Duterte last week revealed he killed a person when he was 16.
Audrey Young: Radical change or modified status quo?
Will the new grand political coalition bring radical change or a modified status quo?
Revealed: Winston Peters set to be Deputy PM, Foreign Minister
Winston Peters is set to become Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.
English tipped to remain National leader
Bill English is tipped to be strongly endorsed to remain National leader.
Audrey Young: Legendary tale of new leader just grows
Comment: More wanted change than not and the numbers don't lie.
Young on Peters: One offer good, two offers can get complicated
COMMENT: Which ever party takes power, NZ First could expect a deal to help it survive.
Live: MPs twiddling their thumbs as they wait
Peters said the process had been far more complex than he had originally thought.
Tauranga's Clayton Mitchell - Minister for sport and recreation?
The next government lies in the hands of nine NZ First MPs, including Clayton Mitchell.
Wooing Winston: The stumbling blocks
Choosing teams for coalition talks with NZ First sets in train the jockeying for power.
English patient as Peters pans idea of Deputy PM
Winston Peters appears in no hurry to get coalition negotiations underway.
New poll: Labour out in front, NZ First falls
The latest 1 News poll again differs from the Newshub Reid Research survey.
Ardern on Labour's 'full tax plan'
"There will be no new taxes or levies introduced in our first term of government."
Who is most capable to run the country?
More Aucklanders rate English but more Wellingtonians rate Ardern.
Bill or Jacinda? New poll on who you trust most
Opportunities Party leader Gareth Morgan rates higher than many current politicians.
Big pay rise for thousands of NZ women
EXCLUSIVE: State-funded care workers win big increase as a result of historic equity deal.
PM announces hundreds more cops
Keeping young people from a life of crime involves education and housing as well as police, Bill English tells Auckland crowd.
Former PM sets out proposal for assisted dying
The Family Court would have a major role in Sir Geoffrey Palmer's proposal to legalise assisted dying in limited circumstances.
Govt confirms NZ war commemoration day
Bill English says the commemoration day for land wars will be a locally driven event, not pushed from above by the Government.