Paul Goldsmith, National party, Maungakiekie

Paul Goldsmith

Paul Goldsmith, 34, is standing for National in the Maungakiekie electorate. His opponents include the sitting Labour MP Mark Gosche

Current job: Author (most notably Don Brash: A Biography and John Banks: A Biography) and occasional PR consultant.

Identifies as: An Aucklander

You've worked as a press secretary for Phil Goff, Simon Upton and John Banks and you're a first-time candidate; what pushed you into the political arena?

I was getting irritated with what the Labour Government was doing and felt, as a country, we could be doing so much better. I decided there was no point moaning, so offered myself.

What are your areas of expertise?

As a biographer/historian/communications professional I'm a generalist, I'm always asking questions, I've learnt to see things from other people's point of view, and to speak plainly. Over the years, I've written about Treaty issues and have some considered opinions there.

How did you get into your first home?

Like anyone else, I guess. My wife, Melissa, and I saved a deposit and bought a little paper-thin box on a windswept hill in Wellington, which we thought was pretty good. It was a bit nerve-racking, though. I was working for Banksie at the time, and a few weeks after we bought the house he left Cabinet and I was out of a job.

What's the National Party suggesting to wannabe Auckland homeowners?

If you work hard and want to save hard, you won't be taxed to death.

Who is having the toughest time in New Zealand?

People who are sick, poor and lonely. But a large group badly overlooked at the moment are the people out on the mortgage belt in suburbs like Ellerslie and Mount Wellington, who are working hard, paying lots of tax and seeing stuff-all for it.

Quick fire: Where do you stand on ...

a) Paid parental leave?

I got a couple of weeks for my first child and loved it; but as a rule I always prefer free choice over compulsion.

b) A widows' benefit, but no widowers' benefit?

Seems like a relic from a paternalistic age.

c) Revamping the NZ flag?

Can't muster any enthusiasm for a change. I love our flag and am comfortable with our British heritage.

d) More or fewer immigrants?

Most immigrants contribute greatly. But shouldn't we be concentrating on the other side of the issue - why are we losing so many New Zealanders every week?

e) Should parents have the legal defence of "reasonable force"?

Yes. If the government takes every decision out of the hands of grown men and women we'll be a miserable, cowed bunch.

What's the most pressing problem in your electorate?

It's more a mood than a single issue that I'm detecting. People are tired of being told what to do by the Government, and having their choices made for them.

Sling some mud: What's the biggest mistake the Government is making?

They seem to have stopped thinking in the 1970s. After thirty years they still act as though every problem can be solved by more welfare, more government money, more family conferences with criminals, more deals with special interest groups, more preaching at the United Nations.

And what are they doing right?

The PM keeps sacking her ministers with monotonous regularity - can't fault her on that.