Latest news with #TamathaPaul
Scoop
9 hours ago
- Business
- Scoop
Are Our Pints Too Pricey? Tamatha Paul Thinks So
The New Zealand Taxpayers' Union is backing Wellington Central MP Tamatha Paul in calling for cheaper beer, arguing a $5 pint is only possible by cutting alcohol excise taxes. Taxpayers Union spokesman Rhys Hurley said: "The price of a pint has increased by a total of 20.6 percent through excise alone in just four years, before even accounting for inflation." "Not only is this causing further inflation but it is hampering hospitality's recovery from the lows of Covid lockdowns. Many businesses are on their last legs, if they haven't fallen over already." "Instead of trying to slap more taxes and restrictions on the majority who safely consume alcohol, how about properly targeted interventions on those causing harm?" "Paul has obviously seen the damage the tax has done to her electorate and the lack of people able to afford and enjoy a night out. It's time for the government to cut the booze tax and stop punishing people for enjoying themself."
The Spinoff
18 hours ago
- Politics
- The Spinoff
One MP, One Pint: Lessons for the left and Warren G karaoke with Tamatha Paul
In a new series of one-on-one pub chats with MPs, The Spinoff sits down with Green Party and Wellington Central MP Tamatha Paul, who's been taking notes on Zohran Mamdani's rise in New York and worrying about the capital's arts and culture reputation. It's Tamatha Paul's first time in parliament's new bar, Pint of Order, the exclusive drinking hole-in-the-wall set right in the middle of the building's ground floor lobby. Beers are $8, the decor is expectedly politically themed, space is tight and the country's most powerful can be found squashed together on leather seats, all at the cost of $7m to the taxpayer – but if a lowly Spinoff reporter on a modest salary can make it here, then it really can't be so upper-crust. We catch up in a dark corner, with a glass of Parrotdog pilsner in my hand and a coke in Paul's – she isn't much of a drinker although, sure, there were two beers had over the weekend at the Phoenix v Wrexham match. But living with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis means hangovers tend to be week-long, and when you're an MP, you 'can't afford' to have a few days off your A-game. And anyway, Paul reckons she doesn't 'need alcohol to be a vibe'. 'Starting politics when I was 21, I was just super aware that if I was caught partying, smoking, anything – that wouldn't reflect well,' Paul says, remembering the alcohol-related opportunities and events she turned down as a Wellington city councillor. 'Over time I kinda got to a place where I was like, 'oh, young Māori are looking up to me, and I don't want to be representing that'.' Recently, she travelled on her first international government delegation to the US ('I may have archived two Instagram posts about Donald Trump'), to speak with officials and get a sense of life under the second Trump administration. For Paul, the trip provided an opportunity to understand how Trump secured the working-class vote ('I think I've got half the story, they might need to send me on another trip') and watch up-close the rise of Zohran Mamdani (who won the Democratic New York mayoral primary just a few days after she left the city), which gave her some lessons to bring back to Aotearoa. The first being that intellectual elitism and intolerance is tearing the left apart: 'we are the first to shit on each other, and we don't even have to wait for the right to do that.' And secondly, that the 'supremacy' of university education has made polytechnics and trades training seem like the 'poorer cousins' in comparison. 'I think we need to emphasise training and giving people those skills to build the houses and venues we need, to do tech and production for the arts, to fill up our hospitals and rest homes,' she says. Which brings Paul's mind back closer to home, to Te Auaha, Whitireia and WelTec's creative campus in the middle of Wellington city which is facing closure. She reckons there's enough wealthy creatives in the city to be able to purchase the campus and bring it back to life – sure, it'll take 'a bit of political willpower', but it could also be essential to ensuring the city's creative reputation lives on. Paul says she sometimes feels 'like a fraud' when boasting about Wellington being the 'arts and culture capital'. Te Auaha's closure just adds to her lists of cons for creatives in the city, next to the lack of venues on offer and the 'really shitty quality of housing'. As for the pros, at least there's Newtown Festival and Cubadupa, and Paul hopes the organisers behind the latter event could take up the space left by Homegrown – at least for now, we can still claim to be the local festival capital. At 28 years old, Paul is looking forward to playing the long game in parliament. All things considered, she's already had a longer political career than many others who have come through the House, but there's still more than 50 years between herself and parliament's oldest minister. '[Politics is] easier to do when you're young and you don't have heaps of commitments, but you sacrifice being normal, which is hard,' Paul says. 'It completely whacks out your personal timeline for when you want to have kids, when you want to get married … Those are just scary concepts, because I barely have time for myself, but then I'm also getting older.' I tell her I couldn't do what she does, honestly. She tells me she wouldn't mind swapping places – cracking jokes can't be much harder than this. THE SPINOFF PUB Q+A How much should a pint cost? $5 — that's how much they were at the RSA that I worked at [during] high school. Do you have a karaoke go-to? Regulate by Warren G and Nate Dogg, but you need a partner to do it. I'm Warren G, and whoever's got the beautiful Nate Dogg harmonies can join my set up. Favourite place to get a drink in Aotearoa? My all-time favourite nostalgic spot would be Hunter Lounge balcony, but also Ascot for a winter night, and Rogue and Vagabond lawn for a little summer beer. Which three MPs would be on your pub quiz team? Gerry [Brownlee], he's got enormous historic and international knowledge and can cover off sports, and I'm leaning towards Winston Peters, because he's got good political and historic knowledge, but also pop culture knowledge. And I might put Lawrence [Xu-Nan] in there, because he's super smart. Which MP from across the aisle would you most like to share a drink with? Judith Collins, because she's the mother of the House, she's the longest serving woman MP in history, and I think she would have some really constructive advice for a young woman like myself in politics. Is there an alcohol-related law you would like to change? I would like a law change that means that alcohol stores can't be concentrated in deprived areas, and on a local level, I want Wellington City Council to have a local alcohol policy, because alcohol is the biggest driver of harm in our city. I'm not saying I want everyone to be sober – I'm just saying that access plays a big role. What's a policy area we've been nursing without finishing the glass? Fast fashion. What qualities make a good drinking partner? I love having yarns with old people. I think it's because I grew up listening to my granddad and his yarns, but I just love listening to what they have to say. They've lived some lives, you know. Have you ever had a Schnapp's election moment where you regretted your political instinct? Probably. Up next on One MP, One Pint: Labour MP Peeni Henare.
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Tamatha Paul on why she is loving being an MP
Tamatha Paul, the Green MP for Wellington Central, believes she can still make a difference from Opposition. Video / Mark Mitchell
RNZ News
6 days ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Oral Questions for Thursday 24 July 2025
Questions to Ministers Hon BARBARA EDMONDS to the Minister of Finance: Does she stand by all her statements and actions? TAMATHA PAUL to the Associate Minister of Housing: Why has homelessness increased greater than the rate of population growth, while the rejection rate for emergency housing has grown to eight times what was reported a year ago? Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by his reported statement that Totara Hospice received 84 percent of its funding from the Government; if so, why does his account differ from that of the chief executive, who says the correct figure is 56 percent? RIMA NAKHLE to the Minister for Economic Growth: What recent announcements has she made? Hon KIERAN McANULTY to the Associate Minister of Housing: Does he stand by his statement, "we've been really focussed on making sure that those people with genuine need for housing are given some sort of support"? DANA KIRKPATRICK to the Minister for Tourism and Hospitality: What recent reports has she seen on tourism in New Zealand? Hon WILLOW-JEAN PRIME to the Minister of Education: Does she stand by her statement that "We want to grow, promote and support the education workforce by backing and strengthening our educators"; if so, how does offering secondary teachers the pay offer of 1 percent each year for three years back and strengthen our educators? GREG FLEMING to the Minister for Mental Health: What recent announcements has he made about Gumboot Friday? CELIA WADE-BROWN to the Minister of Local Government: Does he agree with the comments of Selwyn Mayor Sam Broughton that "There's some basic things that councils have to get involved in because central government isn't stepping up to fit the needs of local communities"; if not, why not? REUBEN DAVIDSON to the Minister for Media and Communications: Does he stand by the decision to cut funding to Radio New Zealand in Budget 2025; if so, why? MARIAMENO KAPA-KINGI to the Associate Minister of Housing: How has the Government's declining of 28 percent more emergency housing applications in March 2025 compared to the year before contributed to the Auckland, Far North, and Whangarei territorial authorities reporting the highest number of homeless whanau in Aotearoa according to the Homelessness insights report June 2025? GRANT McCALLUM to the Minister for Building and Construction: What announcements has the Government made about making building in New Zealand more affordable? To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
Scoop
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Govt Confirms Homelessness Is Rising, Fails To Take Responsibility
The Government's Homelessness Insights report has confirmed that homelessness is on the rise. 'The Government has confirmed what we have all seen on our streets, which is that homelessness is on the rise under its watch,' says Green Party spokesperson for Housing Tamatha Paul. 'Housing is a human right and something we can afford to provide to everyone, no matter how tough times get. 'The changes to emergency housing eligibility have created misery in our communities. This is how the Government has so rapidly reduced numbers in such a short time, by discarding human beings to fend for themselves on the streets.' 'This report makes it clear that the Government has no idea where 14 per cent of the people who leave emergency housing end up. We know that these people are extremely likely to end up on the street and without support. 'The Government was explicitly warned by officials that their changes to emergency housing risked increasing homelessness and rough sleeping, and they knowingly chose to take that risk. 'From the latest government data and the work my electorate office is doing to support people in serious housing desperation, we know that the big drivers on the ground are the denial of access to emergency housing, and a lack of public housing supply. 'A Green Government will reverse National's restrictions to emergency housing so those who need help get it. We will build 35,000 new public homes in five years to clear the public housing waitlist and ensure everyone can live in a warm, healthy home because we don't believe anybody should be left on the street,' says Tamatha Paul. Notes: The June 2025 Homeless Insights report states that 'the data and observations we have collated from around the country indicate this has increased' and that 'it appears to be greater than our 3 per cent population growth'. The report states that of the households exiting emergency housing 'some of the remaining 14% may be living without shelter, however, this cannot be confirmed'. The report highlights that Auckland, Tauranga, Whangārei, Taranaki, Porirua, Wellington, and Christchurch are all recording increases in homelessness and rough sleeping. Key themes that the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development are hearing from Councils include that the number of people living without shelter over summer were higher than the previous summer, and they are hearing from the homelessness sector that there are increases in people sleeping rough, living in cars or garages, or staying in overcrowded or uninhabitable housing. The report also states that Te Whatu Ora is finding increased homelessness through its quarterly accommodation check-ins with clients, including increases in homelessness amongst people receiving mental health and addiction services.
