Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Green Party MP Tamatha Paul both had key roles in shaping legislation that criminalises stalking. Composite image / NZME
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Green Party MP Tamatha Paul both had key roles in shaping legislation that criminalises stalking. Composite image / NZME
In the past week, the Beehive has grown quietly frustrated over the amount of credit the Green Party and MP Tamatha Paul have received for legislation that criminalises stalking.
While Paul successfully had the policy amended, the bill itself was a Government one, drawn up and introduced by Justice MinisterPaul Goldsmith, not the Greens.
The Green Party has since removed a social media post, which described the Government bill as Paul’s own, “to avoid confusion”.
The party said the post was referring to Paul’s successful bid to amend the legislation during the penultimate debate at Parliament last year to ensure police let victims know they are about to take action against a perpetrator.
A Green Party social media post about the stalking and harassment bill that has since been removed. Photo / Supplied
This amendment, the party said, “will save lives and prevent retaliatory attacks”.
Goldsmith has quietly pointed out that the Government brought the bill before Parliament and got it passed, with criminalising stalking happening under the current administration, not the previous Labour-Greens coalition.
“The Greens had many chances to make this happen [while previously in Government], and they did nothing about it,” Goldsmith told the Herald.
“All of Parliament voted in favour of the legislation. But it was National that actually got the bill passed.”
The Herald understands the idea for adding stalking to the Crimes Act came as a suggestion from Labour MP Ginny Andersen to Goldsmith. In November 2024, Goldsmith announced the Government would make stalking a crime punishable with up to five years in prison.
The bill passed through Parliament, including the select committee stage during which the Greens, Labour and Te Pāti Māori mostly supported it but said it could go further and suggested amendments.
During the Committee of the Whole House stage, the final debate where MPs can suggest changes before a third reading, Paul proposed her amendment to ensure police work with victims before they notify perpetrators.
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith (left), pictured with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Police Minister Mark Mitchell, announced in November 2024 the Government would make stalking a crime punishable with up to five years in prison. Photo / Jason Dorday
“The social media post was referring to Tamatha’s successful amendment of the Stalking and Harassment Bill,” the Greens said in a statement.
“The Green Party is grateful for the Government’s support on this amendment.”
Social media is awash with credit for Paul criminalising stalking, and she has been a high-profile representative of the horrors of stalking, particularly after featuring in mental health advocate Jazz Thornton’s new documentary, Stalked.
During speeches in the House, Paul said she had been in touch with many women who had experienced being stalked, which, until the recent law change, police could do little about until the perpetrator acted on their threats.
Green Party MP Tamatha Paul successfully called for changes to a Government bill to tackle stalking. Photo / Mark Mitchell
She said one woman she had been in contact with had blocked their stalker but was then signed up for emails by the perpetrator with threatening messages in the name field, such as “cutyourthroat”. Paul said she got the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi to change its email functions to require new recipients to confirm their email and that NZTA newsletters no longer address recipients by name.
Goldsmith first revealed stalking would be made illegal 18 months ago as part of a wider mandate to reduce the number of victims of serious violent crime by 20,000 by 2029.
Several of the Government’s crime policies have sparked kickback from the Opposition, with banning gang patches being an example, but this one was unanimously supported.
Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.
