New Green Party MP resigns as Wellington City councillor

Monday, 30 October 2023

Wellington’s newest Member of Parliament has resigned as city councillor two weeks after her general election win – and is promising to donate the council wages she has earned while working both jobs to charity.

Green Party politician Tamatha Paul, who was voted to represent the Wellington Central electorate on October 14, formally announced her final day as a Wellington City councillor will be November 10. She has served since 2019.

After questions from The Post about why Paul was continuing to claim both salaries, the council issued a written statement on Monday saying she had decided to continue to serve as a councillor while the Government was in “caretaker mode” to “continue her strong representation for her ward”.

“Once the writ [forming the Government] has been signed, it is appropriate for me to resign to focus on my work as parliamentarian. I will be donating the wage I have earned as a councillor, whilst we’ve waited for Government to form, to charity,” Paul said in the statement.

New MP Ryan Hamilton resigned from his Hamilton City Council role the night of the election, while New Zealand First MP Jamie Arbuckle, a sitting Marlborough District councillor, has said he wants to continue doing both jobs to avoid a by-election.

Paul’s departure will trigger a by-election in the Pukehīnau Lambton Ward, after February 17 at the earliest. It is expected to cost about $120,000.

In the statement, Paul said it had been a privilege to serve Wellington for the past four years and she was excited to bring her knowledge of local government to Parliament.

When asked why she did not take leave from the council during the election campaign, Paul told The Post she was still able to exercise her duties as a councillor and attended every committee and council meeting. “I had originally planned to take leave from September 14 to October 14, but it became clear that with such a big volunteer team I could prioritise my council duties. I also was very clear with my campaign team and colleagues that council was my first priority.”

Mayor Tory Whanau said Paul had been a valued colleague and friend and her imminent departure would coincide with a review for all council committees.

“I will be making a fulsome decision about [chairperson] positions once the Code of Conduct complaint against five councillors has concluded in late November. It would not be appropriate to make decisions … whilst that investigation is under way.”

It is alleged sensitive information from a secret council meeting about Reading Cinemas was leaked to The Post and other media.

In the interim, councillor Tim Brown will chair the Environment and Infrastructure Committee.

Paul’s tenure at the capital’s council has been characterised by bold moves. The 23-year-old fought for increasing Wellington’s dwindling housing supply, arguing the capital would quickly be abandoned by young people if they could not afford to live there.

She successfully stymied the council’s planned $76 million loan for Wellington Airport’s seawall upgrade, arguing the money would most likely go towards a runway extension.

Paul also fought back against alleged bullying from other councillors and spoke openly about the obstacles she faced solely due to being a wahine Māori in local government, including racially motivated threats and conspiracy theorist rants.

She even spoke about taking aim for then Wellington mayor Andy Foster’s seat in 2020, saying it was “definitely something that [she was] thinking about”.

Instead, she announced she was seeking a Green Party endorsement following fellow councillor Iona Pannett being dumped by the party due to her strong views on protecting heritage buildings.

Paul was confirmed as the Green Party candidate for Wellington Central in February, supported by Green Party co-leader James Shaw.

She impressed at the Wellington Central’s candidates’ debate, swiping at National candidate Scott Sheeran’s defence of his party’s public transport policy.

Paul described winning the seat, long-held by Labour, as “no small feat”.

“We talked to every household in Wellington, we door-knocked every household in Wellington. So, so much hard work has gone into it.”