Tamatha-Kaye Erin Paul (born 1997) is a New Zealand activist and politician who currently serves in the

Wellington City Council Wellington City Council is a territorial authority in New Zealand, governing the country's capital city Wellington, and ''de facto'' second-largest city (if the commonly considered parts of Wellington, the Upper Hutt, Porirua, Lower Hutt and ...

for the Pukehīnau Lambton Ward. In 2018 she was the first female Māori to be elected President of the Victoria University of Wellington Students Association. Running as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Paul was elected to the city council in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

. She joined the

Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand ( mi, Rōpū Kākāriki o Aotearoa, Niu Tireni), commonly known as the Greens, is a green and left-wing political party in New Zealand. Like many green parties around the world, it has four organisational ...

ahead of the 2022 elections.

Early life and education

Paul was born in

South Auckland South Auckland is an imprecisely defined urban area of Auckland, New Zealand, with a young population, a relatively large Polynesian and Māori demographic, and lower incomes than other parts of Auckland. The name ''South Auckland'', though not ...

in 1997 and lived in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

until moving at age eight with her family to the agricultural town of

Tokoroa Tokoroa ( mi, Te Kaokaoroa o Pātetere) is the fifth-largest town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand and largest settlement in the South Waikato District. Located 30 km southwest of Rotorua, close to the foot of the M ...

. She is of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an descent, with her father of

Waikato Tainui Waikato Tainui, Waikato or Tainui is a group of Māori ''iwi'' based in Waikato Region, in the western central region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the larger Tainui confederation of Polynesian settlers who arrived to New Zealand o ...

and

Ngāti Awa Ngāti Awa is a Māori iwi (tribe) centred in the eastern Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand. It is made of 22 hapū (subtribes), with 15,258 people claiming affiliation to the iwi in 2006. The Ngāti Awa people are primarily located in towns ...

origin, while her mother is of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, Scottish and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...

. Paul attended school in Tokoroa and achieved dux of Tokoroa High School in 2015. At age 12, Paul was diagnosed as the youngest person in the

Waikato Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...

region with the auto-disease

lupus Lupus, technically known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Comm ...

. Paul received a $30,000 ‘First in Family’ scholarship from

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

, and in 2018, she graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

. Paul also received the Andrea Brander Accommodation Scholarship, the James MacIntosh Scholarship for achievement, and was on the Dean’s List for Academic Excellence. Paul is currently studying a Master of Resource and Environmental Planning at

Massey University Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...

, and resides in

Aro Valley The Aro Valley forms a small inner-city suburb of Wellington in New Zealand. It takes its name from the stream which originally flowed where modern Epuni Street is. The stream's Māori name was originally Wai-Mapihi, but it was commonly called Te ...

, Wellington.

Political career

Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association

In 2016, Paul was elected as Equity Officer of the

Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association The Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association (VUWSA) is the official student association at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. VUWSA was established in 1899 as the Victoria University College Students' Society. Follo ...

(VUWSA), and in 2017, she was elected Engagement Vice-President. In 2018, Paul was elected to the position of President of VUWSA. Paul was the second Māori and first female Māori to be elected to the role. During her time as president, Paul worked on the issues of climate change, sexual violence and mental health, and achieved extra mental health and counselling services for students at Victoria University of Wellington.

Wellington City Council

In the

2019 Wellington local elections The 2019 Wellington Region local elections were part of the wider 2019 New Zealand local elections, to elect members to sub-national councils and boards. These elections covered one regional council (the Greater Wellington Regional Council), ei ...

, Paul was elected to the Wellington City Council in the Pukehīnau/Lambton Ward. Paul campaigned on issues such as environmental policy, representation for minority and youth communities, and an aspiration for a

living wage A living wage is defined as the minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs. This is not the same as a subsistence wage, which refers to a biological minimum, or a solidarity wage, which refers to a minimum wage tracking labor ...

policy. Paul says she was inspired by

Chlöe Swarbrick Chlöe Charlotte Swarbrick (born 26 June 1994) is a New Zealand politician. Following a high-profile but unsuccessful run for the 2016 Auckland mayoral election, she became a parliamentary candidate for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand ...

and her Auckland mayoral campaign in 2016. Paul was considered part of a 'youthquake', a movement of young people in New Zealand running for local government, in

. This included six Wellingtonians under 25 running campaigns for local councils. Swarbrick expressed support for these campaigns. In 2020, Paul told

Stuff Stuff, stuffed, and stuffing may refer to: *Physical matter *General, unspecific things, or entities Arts, media, and entertainment Books *''Stuff'' (1997), a novel by Joseph Connolly (author), Joseph Connolly *''Stuff'' (2005), a book by Jere ...

that a run for the

mayoralty In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

was “definitely something that I’m thinking about”. Though she said she had been frustrated during at realising the lack of power the council had to make significant changes, so was unsure if a run for mayor would make any difference. “It frustrates me how little resource and decision-making power we have to deliver for Wellingtonians in areas like climate change, housing and transport ... There are more ambitious and aspirational things I wanted to be able to do on the council.” She ultimately declined to run for the 2022 mayoral election. In April 2022, ahead of the 2022 Wellington local elections, incumbent

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...

councillor Iona Pannett was not reselected for the party's candidacy for the Pukehīnau/Lambton Ward election. In May, Paul announced that she had joined the Green Party and was seeking selection as the party's candidate for the ward, which she received in June. Paul was re-elected as city councillor for Pukehīnau/Lambton Ward in 2022.

Political positions

Paul cites activist

Tame Iti Tame may refer to: *Taming, the act of training wild animals *River Tame, Greater Manchester *River Tame, West Midlands and the Tame Valley *Tame, Arauca, a Colombian town and municipality * "Tame" (song), a song by the Pixies from their 1989 alb ...

and activist and musician

Tigilau Ness Tigilau Ness (born c. 1954) is a Niuean New Zealand activist and reggae artist, and performs as Unity Pacific. Ness is a political activist and first generation Pacific Island New Zealander. Lifetime achievement award In May 2009, Ness was presen ...

as childhood inspirations, and

Pania Newton Pania Newton (born 1990 or 1991) is a New Zealand lawyer and activist for Māori people, Māori land rights. In 2016, Newton was a co-founder and spokesperson of the group Save Our Unique Landscape (SOUL), which protested against the developmen ...

as a contemporary influence.

Housing

Paul supports

housing density Urban density is a term used in urban planning and urban design to refer to the number of people inhabiting a given urbanized area. As such it is to be distinguished from other measures of population density. Urban density is considered an importan ...

and making housing available to all. She opposed the proposed protections of

neighbourhood character Neighbourhood character refers to the 'look and feel of an area', in particular a residential area. It also includes the activities that occur there. In everyday usage, it can often be synonymous with local character, residential character, urban ch ...

in the 2021 Wellington spatial plan debate. In November 2020, Paul caused some degree of controversy due to a reply to a video response by a group of Mount Victoria residents regarding the Wellington City Council's draft spatial plan.

Environmental issues

Paul supports greater public investment in

sustainable transport Sustainable transport refers to ways of transportation that are sustainable in terms of their social and environmental impacts. Components for evaluating sustainability include the particular vehicles used for road, water or air transport; th ...

and

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

. She opposes the proposed runway extension at

Wellington Airport Wellington International Airport (formerly known as Rongotai Airport) is an international airport located in the suburb of Rongotai in Wellington. It lies 3 NM or 5.5 km south-east from the city centre. It is a hub for Air New Zealand an ...

Royal gun salute and Waitangi Day

In February 2021, Paul opposed the timing of a

21-gun salute A 21-gun salute is the most commonly recognized of the customary gun salutes that are performed by the firing of cannons or artillery as a military honor. As naval customs evolved, 21 guns came to be fired for heads of state, or in exceptiona ...

in honour of the

Queen of New Zealand The monarchy of New Zealand is the Constitution of New Zealand, constitutional system of government in which a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of New Zealand. The current monarch, King Charles III, as ...

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, due to it taking place on the same day as

Waitangi Day Waitangi Day ( mi, Te Rā o Waitangi), the national day of New Zealand, marks the anniversary of the initial signing – on 6 February 1840 – of the Treaty of Waitangi, which is regarded as the founding document of the nation. The first Wait ...

References

External links

*
Wellington City Council
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Paul, Tamatha 1997 births Living people Victoria University of Wellington alumni Wellington City Councillors 21st-century New Zealand women politicians Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand politicians Politicians from Wellington City Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association presidents New Zealand Māori women People educated at Tokoroa High School Ngāti Awa people Waikato Tainui people