Ask Me Anything: Is Paula Bennett going to run for the Auckland mayoralty?

Paula Bennett has addressed the rumours that she is considering a run for Auckland mayoralty, refusing to confirm if she will or not - but she definitely has “one more big thing” in her.

Bennett left Parliament in 2020, after rising to Deputy Prime Minister under Sir Bill English and continuing as National’s deputy leader under Simon Bridges.

She has since left the world of politics behind, going to work for real estate company Bayleys and diving into the world of media, hosting TVNZ’s Give Us a Clue and the NZ Herald podcast, Ask Me Anything.

However, earlier this month the Herald reported that Bennett has been talking to people about running for Auckland mayor in 2025, regardless of whether or not current mayor Wayne Brown runs for re-election.

Asked about the rumours on her podcast this week by her guest, Dame Julie Christie, Bennett said she loves the variety of work that she has been able to do since leaving politics behind.

“But like everyone, I spent my summer going, so what does the next five or 10 years look like for me, and what is that? And for me, I went, I have got something else big in me, and I don’t know what that is, but I feel it and I feel excited about it. And so then I suppose what the next 12 months is for me is working out where that is and what that is.”

Pushed by Christie further, Bennett said that part of her “would like to run my own show”.

“I have been second to wonderful men, and I mean that genuinely. They have been instrumental in my career. I get kind of excited about the fact that actually it would be up to me.”

While the mayor only has one vote, Bennett said she thinks her different leadership style means she’d be able to bring more councillors along with her.

She insisted that this isn’t an admission she is going to run, though. “I reserve the right to change my mind at any particular time!”

Christie, whose brother, restaurateur Leo Molloy, ran for the mayoralty last election before dropping out, told Bennett she thinks she’d be “insane” if she did run, “because I think what’s going on now is showing that democracy is a lot harder to work than dictatorships”.

Ask Me Anything is a NZ Herald podcast, hosted by Paula Bennett. New episodes are out every Sunday.

You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.