Ani O'Brien: Sewage, scrutiny, and the politics of accountability

Is it racist to be angry at elected representatives? Moa Point as a case study

When a city pumps tens of millions of litres of raw sewage into the sea day after day, the public is entitled to anger. There is human waste in the sea and on the shore, beaches are closed in peak season, businesses hammered, and ratepayers are wondering how their rates keep going up but the capital city can’t keep its basic infrastructure functioning. They are allowed to be proper mad.

And, when sh*t goes down, so to speak, people want answers and accountability. The equation becomes brutally simple. Something has gone wrong, someone must be responsible, and we want a solution.

Sean Rush: In defence of Tamatha Paul

Recent coverage of Wellington’s wastewater issues has revived debate about decisions made during the city’s 2021-2031 Long‑Term Plan (LTP). At the time I was the portfolio lead for water and worked constructively with all Councillors to secure a record $678 million capital investment in the network over the ten-year plan, with more for a new sewage plant at Moa Point to minimise sludge. Public discussion has recently focused on two elements of that process:

David Farrar: The pro shoplifting party

Paul Goldsmith released:

Green MP Tamatha Paul is giving shoplifting the green light as she opposes the Government’s plan to strengthen penalties, National Party Spokesperson for Justice Paul Goldsmith says.

“The Greens are singing from the same old song sheet, making excuses for anyone who attacks or steals from hard working New Zealanders.”

Ele Ludemann: Is shoplifting ever okay?

What happened to law makers being on the side of the law? A Green Party MP thinks it’s okay to shoplift:

Green MP Tamatha Paul is giving shoplifting the green light as she opposes the Government’s plan to strengthen penalties, National Party Spokesperson for Justice Paul Goldsmith says.

“The Greens are singing from the same old song sheet, making excuses for anyone who attacks or steals from hard working New Zealanders.”

Bob Edlin: Sure, he was known as Tricky Dicky.............

Sure, he was known as Tricky Dicky – but there are only two statues of him in the world, and one of them is in NZ

What does Edward Gibbon Wakefield, an Englishman, have in common with Richard Milhaus Nixon, an American?

Wakefield, a key figure in the establishment of the colonies of South Australia and New Zealand, is particularly associated with the English settlement of Wellington in the 19th century.

David Farrar: Greens now campaigning against prisons as well as police

Stuff reports:

Green MP Tamatha Paul has launched a fundraising campaign for a group wanting to “defund the police” and close the court system.

Paul has been attracting attention over recent weeks for her comments about policing and support of groups that call for the abolition of police, jails, and courts. While she and the Green Party have denied wanting to “defund the police”, Paul’s continued support for those pursuing that goal has led to further questions for her party.

Matua Kahurangi: Tamatha Paul’s radical alliance

Why New Zealanders should be alarmed

Green MP Tamatha Paul has just given New Zealand a clear view into the dystopian underbelly of the far-left. In a move that would make even the most hardened radical blush, Paul has chosen to use her public platform, not to support her constituents, not to advocate for safety in our streets, but to fundraise for People Against Prisons Aotearoa (PAPA), an extremist group openly calling for the abolition of both police and prisons.

Sean Rush: Acknowledging Tamatha Paul’s Concerns...

Acknowledging Tamatha Paul’s Concerns: A Balanced Perspective on Police Visibility

Tamatha Paul and I served together as Wellington city councillors from 2019 to 2022. Despite our differing political affiliations, we found common ground on several issues and developed a warm relationship that continues to this day. Recently, Tamatha, now a Green MP, expressed concerns about the heightened police visibility on Wellington streets, suggesting it causes more anxiety than security for some community members. As someone who worked as a criminal defence lawyer in Hawkes Bay back in the early 1990s, I can acknowledge Tamatha’s concerns.

Chris Lynch: Labour distances itself from Green MP’s police comments as National warns of ‘radicalisation’

Labour MP Megan Woods has rejected comments by Green MP Tamatha Paul suggesting a move towards “radical police abolition,” but said it would be a stretch to claim the remarks would damage public confidence in the justice system.

The Green Party has come under heavy criticism in recent days following Paul’s remarks questioning the value of police patrols and calling for a rethink on the role of police in social issues.

Centrist: Tamatha Paul pivots to race after backlash over police comments

Green MP Tamatha Paul is under pressure from across the political spectrum after a recent series of controversial remarks about police presence, public safety, and incarceration—then suggesting criticism of her was racially motivated.

She is quoted in an RNZ article stating: “I’m not surprised that people are upset that a young brown woman is being critical of an institution that has let her and her communities down for a very long time.”

Ele Ludemann: Don’t let these people into government

Law and order is always an election issue.

Next year the difference between a National-led government and a Labour-Green one will be stark if the Greens’ Police and Justice spokesperson has anything to do with their policy:

David Farrar: There seems to be a pattern

1. Claimed that James Shaw asked her to run for Wellington Central (He didn’t)

2. Claimed that she was paying over half her Councillor salary in rent for one out of five bedrooms in Aro Valley (She wasn’t)

David Farrar: So out of touch

Radio NZ reports:

Green MP Tamatha Paul is doubling down on her comments that a “visible police presence” makes people feel “more on edge.” …

The Wellington Central MP said she’d received “nothing but complaints” about police beat patrols.

Mike Hosking: Tamatha Paul shouldn't pick and choose

Not that I was aware of it on the night, but we asked Tamatha Paul to have a chat with us about her victory in the Wellington Central electorate.

She said no, based on some thinking within the Green Party that I say stuff they don't like.

Karl du Fresne: If we're going to talk about decolonisation, let's go the whole hog

Some of New Zealand’s most divisive mischief-makers are embedded in local government, where they appear free to pursue their ideological agendas unencumbered by any checks or restraints, generously subsidised by ratepayers who are given no chance to say whether or not they approve of their money being spent on extremist causes.

A perfect example is a forthcoming 3-day wananga (forum) organised by the Wellington City Council-funded Toi Poneke arts centre and entitled “Imagining Decolonisation”, for which the capital’s long-suffering ratepayers will pick up a big part – if not all – of the tab.

To convey the tone of this event, I can do no better than quote from an official council press statement: