The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Mike's Minute: Tamatha Paul shouldn't pick and choose

19 Oct 2023

Audio

Description

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. Now, here is the problem with that. It shows an astonishing arrogance from the Green Party that, somehow, they feel as public representatives that they can dictate who they do and don't talk to. Don't get me wrong, I am not bothered in the slightest. It is unlikely I would ever have talked to her anyway as a newbie, given this is a nationwide show and until she did something newsworthy, or got herself higher up the pecking order in terms of influence, she would not have qualified to end up here in any case. There is a bus load of Labour MP's making their way back home as we speak that I never got the chance to ask a question of because many MP's arrive, don't do a lot, and then vanish without ever having troubled the wider public. Ol' Dan Rosewarne only came to most of our attention this because he was whining about the Koru lounge. Anyway, Ms Paul may or may not like things I say, but that actually isn't the point. In choosing to represent someone i.e a whole electorate, it is your duty to defend, advocate and answer on their behalf. You are at their service. Simple question - are there people in Wellington Central that want their story, no matter what that story entails, talked about in front of the biggest radio audience in the country? Yes there are, and that's Ms Paul's job. She doesn't have the right to pick and choose based on personal, or in this case, the party's taste. We have been here before of course with the Ardern mistake, and I think time has shown without a shadow of a doubt her decision to exit her opportunity on this programme was a mistake. It proved damaging to both her party and to her reputation. That decision and the Paul decision tramples on the very basic premise that I think most people would support - that discourse is critical. If the only discourse allowed is between fellow travellers who nod heads in agreement, then it will never be robust, it will never challenge, it will never change things and you certainly won't get the chance to argue your case or defend your corner. Rounded out, human beings relish the debate, and I would hope that would be one of the basic criteria for any public representative; that you relish debate and you are rounded out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcription

This episode hasn't been transcribed yet

Help us prioritize this episode for transcription by upvoting it.

0 upvotes

🗳️ Sign in to Upvote

Popular episodes get transcribed faster

Other episodes from The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Transcribed and ready to explore now

Heather du Plessis-Allan: I've accepted the LNG Terminal as a short term fix

09 Jun 2026

The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Richard Arnold: US Correspondent on Iran, naming of the Artemis III crew

09 Jun 2026

The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Simon Gault: Celebrity Chef and health advocate on Uber Eats' revenue growth, the number of Kiwis ordering food

09 Jun 2026

The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Pollies: National's Mark Mitchell and Labour's Ginny Andersen on Rakesh Naidoo standing for Labour, Labour's policy announcement

09 Jun 2026

The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Full Show Podcast: 10 June 2026

09 Jun 2026

The Mike Hosking Breakfast

The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Mike's Minute: Tamatha Paul shouldn't pick and choose

This episode hasn't been transcribed yet

Other episodes from The Mike Hosking Breakfast

Heather du Plessis-Allan: I've accepted the LNG Terminal as a short term fix

Richard Arnold: US Correspondent on Iran, naming of the Artemis III crew

Simon Gault: Celebrity Chef and health advocate on Uber Eats' revenue growth, the number of Kiwis ordering food

Pollies: National's Mark Mitchell and Labour's Ginny Andersen on Rakesh Naidoo standing for Labour, Labour's policy announcement

Full Show Podcast: 10 June 2026

Suzannah Jessep: Asia New Zealand Foundation CEO on the Perceptions of Asia survey, the US being seen as a bigger threat than China

Sign in to Audioscrape

Share this moment