Political perspective - Tamatha Paul 

Kia ora Mātairangi Mount Vic! Ko Tamatha Paul toku ingoa, he uri ahau nō Ngāti Awa, Waikato Tainui hoki. He mema pāremata ahau mō tēnei takiwā kei Te Whanganui a Tara. Tēnā koutou.

It has been a massive first eight months of being your local MP here in Wellington Central. It has been a big learning experience making the steep jump from serving you as a city councillor over the last four years, to representing you in Parliament.

The most important piece of mahi I’ve done in my first year is setting up our electorate community office here at 72 Adelaide Road, Mount Cook. We officially opened and blessed our office alongside mana whenua Te Āti Awa/Taranaki Whānui on 3 April 2024. We’ve got an amazing team who are keen to serve our community, led by the amazing Steven Petris. We see our role as advocating for people who need someone to walk alongside them while they navigate the different systems and face challenges head on; organising towards the city and world that we want to live in by mobilising our communities to be activated despite a Government that would prefer us to become apathetic and resigned to our fate; and finally being in complete service to our communities and their needs. Every person who walks through our community office doors is welcomed and treated with dignity, respect and without judgment. We exercise these values in the way that we collect and protect people’s personal information that they disclose to us and the way that we listen to each person, sitting with them through the darkness they’re experiencing in order for us to find a solution together. We are looking forward to popping up at local markets and holding events to give our communities opportunities to get active and involved on the issues that they care about the most.

It has been a hectic start to the term, including the tragic loss of my dear colleague Fa’anānā Efeso Collins. Despite the curveballs that have been thrown our way, the Greens continue to go hard for people and planet. Holding the Greens portfolios for Housing, Justice, Police, Courts, Corrections, Youth and Wellington Issues keeps me very busy but I am well supported to ensure I can do my job as MP for Wellington Central to the best of my abilities. I miss being your city councillor in terms of the real life, tangible work that we can do to fundamentally transform the city that we live in. However, I am extremely thankful to be in Parliament to put up staunch opposition to the reckless and cruel decisions made by this government to concentrate wealth in the hands of the few, completely disregard the environment and our climate change obligations, trample on the mana of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and to enter into an era of mass incarceration. 

If there is anything that I can support you with or you’d like to share your thoughts, don’t hesitate to get in touch: Wellington.Central@parliament.govt.nz or 04 389 1290