Competitive battleground

Wellington Central

General electorate

—

days to election day

What it takes to flip this seat

Tamatha Paul won by 6,066 votes in 2023. 3,033 voters switching to a challenger would have flipped Wellington Central.

In the news

Coverage naming Wellington Central or Tamatha, from our tracked feeds.

The roster

The defender's record, and who's confirmed to challenge them in 2026.

Won Wellington Central by a majority of 6,066 in 2023, making it a competitive seat.

Tamatha-Kaye Erin Paul is a New Zealand activist and politician who is a Member of Parliament for Wellington Central. In 2018 she was the first Māori woman to be elected President of the Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association. Running as an independent Paul was elected to the Wellington City Council in 2019. She joined the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand ahead of the 2022 local elections.

Full MP profile

What Tamatha has prioritised this term

Official roles, sourced from parliament.nz.

Spokesperson roles

Corrections
Housing
Police
Youth

Legislative activity this term

From Parliament's official bills record, as at 28 August 2026.

Members' bill in the ballot (1)

Residential Tenancies (Renters' Rights) Amendment

Written questions to Ministers this term

What is this, and why does it matter to you?

Any MP can put a written question to a Minister, demanding information on the record. The Minister must reply, usually within days. It costs nothing and needs no debate, which makes it the main day-to-day tool MPs use to hold the government to account between bills. It matters most for opposition MPs, who can't pass laws but can still force information into the open. Which Ministers an MP questions most, below, is a numbers-based picture of what they watch on your behalf, and it's worth comparing against what they say they prioritise.

1,040written questions asked since the 2023 election

Where it's gone, by Minister

Minister of Housing

272

Associate Minister of Housing

181

Minister for Children

Battlegrounds map 2026 election

2023 result and margin: Electoral Commission. 2026 candidates are added only once officially confirmed — never assumed.

Read 5 recent questions & replies, in Tamatha’s and the Minister’s own words

To the Minister of Local Government · 2026-07-22

"Further to his reply to Written Question 32122, is it not possible to provide the requested information because it does not exist?"

Reply: The total change costs to councils of amalgamating, broken down by council, region, and total does not exist for the reasons stated in Written Question 32122.

To the Minister of Local Government · 2026-07-22

"Further to his reply to Written Question 32122, why has the government proceeded with requiring councils to amalgamate despite no estimates of the potential costs to councils?"

Reply: Because the government's voluntary Headstart process allows councils to decide the shape of their proposals, including which councils they comprise, representation, and how they manage services such as transport. The cost of any proposal depends on what they choose.

To the Minister of Local Government · 2026-07-16

"What, if any, does the government estimate to be the change costs to councils of amalgamating, broken down by council, region, and total if available?"

Reply: It is not possible to provide the information the member has requested, as the change cost would ultimately depend on the scope of any amalgamation, the individual councils, the number of councils in any particular amalgamation, and several other factors that would vary from one amalgamation proposal to another.

To the Minister of Housing · 2026-07-15

"How many, if any, private rental homes are currently available in the lower quartile of the rental market, and is it greater or less than the 29% of social housing households that he claims currently have sufficient income to manage private rental costs in the lower quartile of the rental market?"

Reply: As of 20 July 2026, there were 2,569 rentals listed on TradeMe that were below the lower quartile rent MBIE published for May 2026 (latest available). This will not include any rentals listed on other sites or those available but not on any listing site. This figure is a point in time view of the number of rentals available. Tenancy services data shows that around 13-14,000 new tenancies are started each month nationally with roughly 3,500 being lower quartile rentals. The analysis which showed …

To the Minister of Housing · 2026-07-09

"Does he accept the findings published by the Ministry of Social Development that the 1992 reforms to remove the rent subsidy and introduce the Accommodation Supplement failed to improve horizontal equity and instead worsened vertical equity, and if so, how did that factor into the government’s decision to reduce the Income-Related Rent Subsidy and increase the Accommodation Supplement?"

Reply: I am aware of the findings about the 1992 reforms which have informed the Review of Social Housing. There are no plans to remove the rent subsidy for social housing tenants and to extend the Accommodation Supplement (AS) to social housing tenants. The gap between the income-related rent subsidy (IRRS) and AS has grown over time, since the re-introduction of IRRS in 2000. Budget 2026 changes will retain income-related rent (IRR) at a more generous level than the AS, with tenants in comparable fin…