What has Tamatha Paul done, and does it matter?
Before I start, I want to be clear that my aim is to uplift her, us, and our system while being critical. I don't aim to tear any individual down, no matter what their ideas are. Ok? Enjoy the read!
In short, since election day (around 3 months as of the day I published this article), from what I could find online, she spent over a month transitioning from her Wellington City Council role to her Parliament role, then she focused in learning how Parliament works, Palestine protest in Auckland and Wellington, engaging in Titiriti based issues like what happened at Te Papa, from yesterday, started hiring her team and potentially taking a well-deserved break from 21 December 2023 to 21 January 2024. And does what she do matter? To be honest, I’m not sure.
But before getting stuck in Tam’s early track record, a caveat. In this article or any time I talk about her or any other individual politician, I aim to do this in a mana-enhancing way. This means that I will communicate in a way where we can close the space between different understandings while building trust and mutual respect. I intend to follow her three-year term in a way that helps build our social cohesion in a time where it is constantly under threat. Cool? Cool, now back to Tam.
Tam’s great!
Tamatha Paul won the 2023 election for Wellington Central for the Green Party, after being a Labour stronghold for the majority of time since the inception of the electorate in 1905. An achievement that, in itself, is impressive. I ran against her in that election and debated against her in approximately 30 debates. And in my opinion, and the opinion of the 18,439 people that voted for her, she is impressive on paper and in person. She has that rock star aura; when you are with her, you feel like you shine brighter due to her light being around you. I say this as somebody who agrees with very little of what Tamatha campaigns on; I tend to agree with some of the ideologies, just not on how they should be implemented, campaigned on, or governed by. I share this to set my analysis today and signal a small example of how we can respect, trust, and promote people we disagree with, which is a strong value of this newsletter.
Why she won and what she campaigned on
Besides running a good campaign and fundraising around $100,000, her confidence and mana are indisputable, her fashion sense is on point, and you feel like you are better just by being around her. She is a strong communicator with clear convictions and remarkable clarity. Her campaign centred on social housing, renter rights, climate change, and public transport. She is also popular; she has over 25 thousand Instagram followers; she has had a stellar career over the past years, where she has won every single race she has participated in, from becoming VUWSA President at Victoria University to Wellington City Councillor twice; and she is now the Greens MP for Wellington Central. She is 26, by the way. No matter what your views of her policies and ideas are, it is objectively an impressive and successful political career for somebody so young. As a PhD student at Victoria University, I can also attest to her strong pull within that university and the majority demographic in Wellington Central, which is 20–25-year old Pakeha-well-educated people.
Now, what has she done since being elected?
I am not using any inside information for this article; the role of electorate MPs is not my area of specialisation, and I have no further understanding than that of a keen citizen with an interest in politics. So I just used what I could find online. If I missed anything, please leave me a comment.
In a media landscape dominated by stories related to Golriz and Tory, along with the distractions of summer, it has become challenging to find substantial coverage of Tamatha Paul. Which is not a bad thing, just raising it as if somebody did want to engage with her; its unclear how to best do that in these early days.
Furthermore, the absence of a dedicated newsletter or daily information feed showcasing her political achievements, movements, and intentions adds to the challenge. Which I know would take resources from her and her team to produce, so its not something I am expecting, but it would be a good idea for her to consider so we can stay abreast of what she is doing. While I do follow her on Instagram, I question whether this platform provides the depth and type of information we need to assess her performance effectively. Moreover, if we ever require her assistance as Wellington citizens, how can we measure her effectiveness in addressing our concerns, if at all?
So let’s use what we have: online articles and her Instagram account. Taking a closer look at Tamatha Paul's Instagram, we find snapshots of her entering Parliament and participating in various events, including Palestine rallies in Wellington and Auckland and her recent visit to Turangawaewae Marae for Toitū te Tiriti with fellow Green MPs. While these photos provide a glimpse of her activities, they do not offer comprehensive insights into her accomplishments as our MP. Notably, there is a post about her spending time at Heart Cathedral School, expressing her eagerness to visit every school in Wellington Central. This demonstrates her commitment to engagement, but again, it lacks substantive detail.
The Parliament.nz website states that all elected MP’s have offices in their respective electorates. Tam shared with me on our Instagram DMs when I asked her, in preparation for this article, if she had an electorate office. She replied that she signed a lease for an electorate office last year, and it is currently being fitted out to meet the parliamentary safety standards. I think once this office is up and running, it will be easier to know what she is up to. Which I intend to keep sharing in my newsletter, so make sure you subscribe.
So how do we assess her performance, and does it matter?
To be honest, I’m not sure it matters, and I’m not sure if it's fair to criticise her this early. If we compare her with Grant Robertson, when he was the Wellington Central MP, he was also Minister for Finance, so it was easier to see what he was up to. I live in Ōhāriu, and I have never seen or known what Peter Dunne or Greg O'Connor have done for Ōhāriu. So based on that, I know more about what Tam is doing than what Greg is doing in Ōhāriu, where I have lived for the past 13 years. So, is what she has done better or worse compared to her colleagues? I can’t tell. Is this a problem? Well, its not creating a problem, but its not adding a huge amount of value yet either, I wouldn’t think.
I think the real opportunity for Tamatha is to demonstrate a way of governing that showcases how she will work with a national-led right-wing government while showing how that works with a left-leaning Wellington City Council. How will she stand up for Wellington Central issues like water, infrastructure, public transport, and the ferry port's shitshow? I would like to see content of her work with the national-led government. For example, when Chlöe Swarbrick worked with Judith Collins on AI-related matters during the last government.
Knowing how she will work with her colleagues from other parties is the content and information that will enhance our social cohesion. Even if she didn’t do anything different from Greg and Grant and just shared more content on how, that would in itself make a positive difference. She has an opportunity to show more transparency, which is a blind spot in our political landscape and one that desperately needs a light shining on it to strengthen our social cohesion.
She has the scope and mandate to be a force for change, unity, and justice. In a way that I’m not sure Greg has. Which is why this article isn’t about Greg but about Tam. To do this, she needs to think about her role differently; if she does it as it has always been done, it won’t be a force for change and good; it will be a force for the status quo, a run-of-the-mill public servant caught in the bizarre and insular environment that Parliament creates. If she is not more strategic, she will spend all her time in select committees, reading documents, talking with people within Parliament, and never seeing the light of day or us seeing her. She will also burn out because that building is notorious for tearing down brown women, and she won’t be immune to that effect.
Parliament operates in a type of twilight zone that requires a lot of energy to fight against. Tam has the opportunity to showcase how you can have progressive views and work with a right-wing government, which we need like air to breathe. My hope is that she takes this opportunity and demonstrates a new way of doing politics—a way that actually shows transparency, accountability, and accessibility of information. A topic I talk about in my post below.
Her resounding and historic victory in Wellington Central marked a notable shift to the left following a right-wing landslide in the wider country, making Wellington one of the most progressive electorates in the country. The blue wave nationwide was a healthy and normal reaction to the left-swing wave and government we have had for the past 6 years. This pendulum effect is a normal and (in my opinion) desired political trend usually seen in liberal Western democracies. A topic I will write about in future posts.
My quest to understand Tamatha Paul's impact as our representative in Wellington Central is ongoing. I invite all of you, my engaged and informed, mainly Wellington-based subscribers, to join me in this endeavour. I appreciate your support, and together, we can foster a more informed and engaged political environment.
We all need to do our bit. See you next Tuesday!