Barry Soper: Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent on more politicians criticising Tamatha Paul

Green MP Tamatha Paul has copped more criticism from her political peers.

The Wellington Central MP's been under fire over comments she made last week criticising police beat patrols - and suggesting all they do is throw away homeless people's possessions.

Tamatha Paul reiterated those claims in further interviews.

She also claimed a woman was imprisoned for stealing $12 worth of items - and when questioned, could not verify whether what she was told was true or not.

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says this isn't a good look.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Barry Soaper is here right now, Good afternoon, afternoon, right
you like the sound of a hydrogen truck. Hard to
drive a truck period.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
It sounds like a bomb to me.

Speaker 1 (00:09):
You know that's a good point actually, now Tamitha Paul
speaking of bombs, this has gone down like a lead balloon.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
She's a bomb shell in Parliament at the moment. Honestly,
well she should be his shell because there's not a
lot of substance there. I've got to say. It's interesting though.
Today in Parliament the Green sat silent as the Police
Minister was being questioned on the move that Tamatha Paul
said she would like is to see beat cops removed.

(00:40):
You remember the parties, she's a party spokeswoman on police.
She talked about the abolition of police, saying a heavier
presence of them on the beat makes people feel less safe.
God only knows where she got that from. The Wellington
Central mp also talked about police moving in on the homeless,
putting their belongings in the rubbish. While all this was

(01:03):
news to the Minister, Mark Mitchell, who told Parliament today
the voter should be aware of the statement being made
at the moment by the Green.

Speaker 3 (01:11):
They should be very worried about the prospect of any government,
including a party that entertains the abolition of the police peters.

Speaker 4 (01:20):
The Weather's had any submissions from the people in the
leafy suburbs of Candada, Kelbourne and Kori now in Wellington
Central and the latter's boundary change as to their opposition
to having police on the beat and properly policing their suburbs.

Speaker 3 (01:35):
I have not personally received one submission from anyone in
the country to say that they're not happy were seeing
our police officers highly visible.

Speaker 2 (01:43):
See and that proves my point that I was talking
about yesterday, how the boundary changes could affect tamitha Pool
because she's taking in an area where people probably love
seeing police on the beat. Kandala, Yeah, they're not dead
beats like they are in so parts of central Wellington.

Speaker 1 (02:01):
Clearly right now, the Green's scoring something of an say
what you really think which you're going to name the
submitt the particular areas The Green scored something of an
own goal again in the debating game.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
They were on their feet later, which is rather surprising.
Our role mate Ricardo Mendez March he was railing against
the sanctions being imposed on beneficiaries. That's the traffic light
system that sees their benefits reduced if they refuse to
look for work. Well, Mende's march, dressed in a leather jacket,
was firing questions at the Employment Minister Louise Upston, who

(02:38):
gave better than she got? Haven't listened?

Speaker 5 (02:40):
Forty one percent of benefit entitlements are not even assessed correctly. Well,
I'm not sure that that figure is correct, but what
I will say is that some are overpaid and that
is equally a problem as if they are underpaid.

Speaker 4 (02:52):
Right, Honorable Onston Peters on the principle that you don't
get a second chance to make a first impression, what
chance would a job tee can have they turned for
the job wearing a leather jacket.

Speaker 6 (03:03):
I'm not sure unless it had a patch.

Speaker 3 (03:06):
I'm not sure that there's an answer to that unless
the Minister is aware of something that I'm not.

Speaker 5 (03:10):
What they wear is entirely needs to be appropriate for
the job they're applying for or in this case, the
job they've got.

Speaker 2 (03:19):
She was roudly applauded for that from the government benches.

Speaker 1 (03:22):
On my dad, that's funny now, Elon Musk, the well,
the Elon Musk of the beehive.

Speaker 2 (03:29):
She is, isn't she, Judith Corlins, I mean she's incredible.
She came out today with the figures and which is
quite extraordinary because you.

Speaker 4 (03:37):
Know the.

Speaker 2 (03:39):
Basically consultants and contractors. She said that they would save
four hundred million in the first year on them. While
they're bettering that target they've saved she says eight hundred
million will be by the end of June. So those
poor sods who are involved in pr and the capital
will be doing it hard at the moment. But the

(04:01):
Public Service Commission, they came out with data today today
showing that the workforce decreased by four percent. So big
numbers you're looking at the public service are now at
almost sixty three thousand. There were a couple of thousand
more than that before this government took offers, and that

(04:22):
doesn't include police, teachers and the like. Well, Judith Collins,
she gave a pretty clear impression. I thought in Parliament
that the public service has in some areas been politicized.
Here she is defending the cuts to the public service. Number.

Speaker 6 (04:37):
I expect the public service to get back to basics
sticking to its core functions and delivering outcomes for the
taxpayers that we all serve. I also want to see
core principles of the public service maintained, like political neutrality,
like appointment on merits to all positions, and professional competence.

Speaker 2 (04:58):
See that political neutrality thing. It is quite interesting, isn't it,
Because clearly this government felt under siege. I think the
first year that it took offers that they were being
undermined by the public service, and I think to a
large extent they were. That public servants were leaking like
sieves to the media and anything negative about the government

(05:18):
was being picked up and really used in a way
to try and discredit the government. But you know, the
public service was bloated, there's no doubt about that. But
then normally when you cut back, you take on more consultants.
Well that's not going to be the case.

Speaker 7 (05:34):
No, And it's not the numbers fear that out do
colins to be on the shaft five and ask her
about that. But just on the public service neutrality, I
was talking to a public servant the other day who said,
when the treaty protests were happening down in Wellington, of
course a lot of these public servants went and took
part during the during worktime and then went back to
the office and they were still wearing their getting shirts

(05:55):
with the T shirts and the branding and everything.

Speaker 1 (05:57):
So you can't do that, No, you can't, No, you can't.
And it doesn't matter whether you're supporting a COVID nineteen
anti VAXX thing or a treaty thing. You can't do that.

Speaker 3 (06:08):
No.

Speaker 2 (06:08):
Well, you meant you meant to be impartial, You meant
to be a servant of the public and the public
without political persuasion. But you know, I think we've seen
that line being crossed quite a bit lately.

Speaker 1 (06:19):
Barry Soper, Senior political correspondent. News talksb for more from
Heather Duplessy Allen Drive.

Speaker 4 (06:25):
Listen live to News Talks it'd be from four pm weekdays,
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