Paul Goldsmith (politician)

The Honourable Paul Goldsmith MP
Goldsmith in 2023
29th Minister for Media and Communications
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 April 2024
Prime Minister	Christopher Luxon
Preceded by	Melissa Lee
53rd Minister of Justice
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 November 2023
Prime Minister	Christopher Luxon
Preceded by	Ginny Andersen
18th Minister for State Owned Enterprises
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 November 2023
Prime Minister	Christopher Luxon
Preceded by	Duncan Webb
7th Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 November 2023
Prime Minister	Christopher Luxon
Preceded by	Andrew Little
14th Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 November 2023
Prime Minister	Christopher Luxon
Preceded by	Carmel Sepuloni
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for National Party list
Incumbent
Assumed office 26 November 2011
Ministerial Offices 2014–2017 25th Minister for Science and Innovation In office 20 December 2016 – 26 October 2017 Prime Minister Bill English Preceded by Steven Joyce Succeeded by Megan Woods Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment In office 20 December 2016 – 26 October 2017 Prime Minister Bill English Preceded by Steven Joyce Succeeded by Portfolio Disestablished 11th Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs In office 8 October 2014 – 20 December 2016 Prime Minister John Key Bill English Preceded by Craig Foss Succeeded by Jacqui Dean Minister of Regulatory Reform In office 20 December 2016 – 26 October 2017 Prime Minister Bill English Preceded by Steven Joyce Succeeded by Portfolio Disestablished
Personal details
Born	1971 (age 53–54) Auckland
Political party	National Party
Children	4

Paul Jonathan Goldsmith (born 1971) is a New Zealand historian and politician. The biographer of several leading right-wing political and business figures, he was first elected a list member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for the National Party at the 2011 election.

Goldsmith is Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Minister of Justice, Minister for State Owned Enterprises, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, and Minister for Media and Communications in the Sixth National Government.^[1] He was previously an Auckland City Councillor between 2007 and 2010, and a Cabinet minister in the Fifth National Government.

Early life and family

Goldsmith was born in 1971 in the Auckland suburb of Mount Eden to parents Lawrence, a mathematics teacher, and Margaret, a palliative care nurse.^[2] He has an older brother and sister.^[2]

The Goldsmith family descends from Charles George Goldsmith, a migrant from Liverpool who settled in the East Cape area early in New Zealand's colonial history. Charles Goldsmith had four wives—two Māori (Ngāti Porou), and two Pākehā—fathering 16 children. However, Goldsmith has clarified that he is not himself of Māori descent.^[3]

Goldsmith attended Auckland Grammar School and received an MA in history from the University of Auckland in 1996. His thesis was on the life of missionary William Colenso and Dame Judith Binney was his master's supervisor.^[4][5]

Paul Goldsmith is married to Melissa. They have four children.^[6] He is a pianist and a second-dan black belt in taekwondo.^[7]

Career before politics

He began working as a historian for the Waitangi Tribunal in March 1995, contributing to the Tribunal's work on historic claims in Taranaki and Wairarapa.^[5][8] After a year, he moved to working for John Banks, then the National Party minister of local government, as a press secretary and speech writer. Goldsmith also began a biography of Banks during this period. Banks was not reappointed a minister after the 1996 election; Goldsmith moved to working for the environment minister Simon Upton and, after the 1999 election, the new Labour minister of foreign affairs Phil Goff.^[7][9]

In 2000, Goldsmith became a public relations adviser and worked for Tranz Rail and the University of Auckland.^[7]

Historian and biographer

See also: Paul Goldsmith bibliography

Goldsmith has written the biographies of John Banks, Don Brash, William Gallagher, Alan Gibbs and Te Hemara Tauhia as well as a history of taxes, Puketutu Island and a history of the Fletcher Building construction company.^[7] The biographies were criticised in 2021 by labour historian Ross Webb as "hagiographies" of those involved in New Zealand's economic reforms in the 1980s and 1990s.^[8]

His Don Brash biography, Brash: A Biography, was a source of controversy. When it was released in 2005 he maintained it was not commissioned by the National Party,^[10] but investigative journalist Nicky Hager revealed it was indeed commissioned by the National Party and was in fact the party's first big-budget item in the 2005 election campaign.^[11]

Early political career

Goldsmith contested the Maungakiekie electorate in the 2005 general election for the National Party.^[7] At this time, National was led by Don Brash, whose biography by Goldsmith was published the same year.^[11][10] Goldsmith was defeated by the incumbent, Labour's Mark Gosche, and due to his low list placing (59 on the National Party list),^[7] did not enter Parliament.^[12]

Goldsmith successfully stood for the Auckland City Council Hobson Ward at the 2007 local body elections as a member of Citizens & Ratepayers.^[13] He was appointed deputy finance chairman by Mayor John Banks and chaired the community services committee.^[7][14] During his term, Goldsmith was criticised by the Auckland City Mission and the Green Party for instructing council officers to investigate removing homeless people from the city centre and refusing to rule out arresting homeless people to do so.^[15]

He sought but missed out on the Citizens & Ratepayers candidacy in the Ōrākei ward^[16] of the new Auckland Council at the 2010 Auckland elections, and was instead selected to contest Albert-Eden-Roskill. He finished third, behind Christine Fletcher and Cathy Casey, in the two-member ward.^[14]

Member of Parliament

New Zealand Parliament

Years	Term	Electorate	List	Party
2011–2014	50th	List	39		National
2014–2017	51st	List	30		National
2017–2020	52nd	List	18		National
2020–2023	53rd	List	3		National
2023–present	54th	List	5		National

Fifth National Government, 2011–2017

Goldsmith stood in the Epsom electorate at the 2011 general election,^[17] but lost the electorate vote to John Banks, who earlier in 2011 had joined ACT New Zealand.^[18] Goldsmith had been expected to lose; National leader John Key encouraged National voters to elect the ACT candidate in Epsom to keep the smaller party in Parliament.^[19][20][21] Goldsmith was ranked 39th on the National Party list^[22] and was elected as a list MP sitting in the 50th Parliament.^[23] During his first term in parliament, Goldsmith was deputy chairperson and, from 2013, chairperson of the finance and expenditure select committee.^[24] He was also a member of the local government and environment committee.^[24]

During the 2014 election, Goldsmith contested the Epsom electorate and came second to new ACT candidate David Seymour.^[25] Ranked 30th, Goldsmith was re-elected as a list MP. He was appointed a minister outside Cabinet from November 2014 until December 2016, responsible for commerce and consumer affairs. He was also associate minister for ACC.^[24] At the same time, he served on the Education and Science and Social Services select committees.^[24] Goldsmith was promoted into Cabinet for the government's final year, as Minister for Science and Innovation, Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment, and Minister for Regulatory Reform.^[24]

Opposition, 2017–2023

During the 2017 election, Goldsmith was re-elected as a list MP after coming second place in the Epsom electorate.^[26] At the beginning of the parliamentary term, as an opposition MP, he was the party spokesperson for arts, culture and heritage.^[24] Following the March 2018 National Party portfolio reshuffle, Goldsmith became spokesperson for revenue and economic and regional development.^[24][27] Later in the year, he lost the revenue portfolio, but became transport spokesperson.^[24]

In 2019, Goldsmith assumed the spokesperson role for finance and infrastructure and the third-ranked member of the National caucus.^[28][24] Stuff.co.nz writer Thomas Coughlan described him as "possibly the most libertarian or right-wing person to hold the shadow finance portfolio."^[9] Political columnist Danyl McLauchlan said Goldsmith was "possibly the only remaining member of his party who could be described as 'neoliberal'."^[29] Goldsmith was additionally spokesperson for state-owned enterprises between February and May 2020 and for the Earthquake Commission between May and November 2020.^[24] Between March and May 2020, Goldsmith was a member of the Epidemic Response Committee, a select committee that considered the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[30]

Goldsmith's budget for the National Party's 2020 election campaign was found to have several errors, some of which Goldsmith accepted.^[31][32] Re-elected for a fourth term as a list MP,^[33][34] Goldsmith lost the finance role after the election and became spokesperson for education and a member of the education and workforce committee until 2021.^[24] When Christopher Luxon became National leader in 2021, Goldsmith became justice spokesperson.^[35]

Sixth National Government, 2023–present

Goldsmith won a fifth term as a National list MP in October 2023. Though he failed to unseat ACT leader David Seymour, he was re-elected on the National Party list.^[36][37]

On 27 November 2023, Goldsmith was announced as the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Minister of Justice, Minister for State Owned Enterprises and Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations in the Sixth National Government.^[1]

On 7 February 2024, Justice Minister Goldsmith announced that government funding for cultural reports would be stopped under the new National-led government.^[38] On 6 March 2024, the Government passed urgent legislation ending taxpayer funding for cultural reports.^[39][40]

On 25 February 2024, Justice Minister Goldsmith and Police Minister Mark Mitchell announced that the Government would introduce legislation to ban gang insignia in public places, enable Police to disperse gang gatherings, allow Courts to ban gang members from communicating for at least three years, and giving greater weight to gang membership during sentencing. Goldsmith argued that the Government needed to take action in response to a 51% increase in gang membership (over 3,000 individuals) over the past five years.^[41] On 19 September 2024, the Government passed legislation banning gang patches.^[42][43]

In early April 2024, Goldsmith ordered that work on the previous Labour Government's efforts to develop hate speech legislation protecting religious communities be halted, saying it undermined free speech. Goldsmith's decision drew criticism from Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ) President Abdur Razzaq, who argued that there needed to be limits to free speech when it crossed the lines into defamation and incitement of violence and hatred.^[44]

On 24 April, Luxon appointed Goldsmith as Minister for Media and Communications during a cabinet reshuffle. Goldsmith replaced Melissa Lee, who had faced criticism for her response to Warner Bros. Discovery New Zealand's closure of Newshub.^[45]

On 26 June, Goldsmith confirmed that the Government would encourage judges to hand down "cumulative" sentences for offences committed on parole, bail or in custody. Earlier, the National-led Government had announced it would require "cumulative" sentences for such offenses but backtracked due to concerns about increasing the prison population.^[46]

On 11 July, Goldsmith and Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced the formation of a new retail crime advisory group to engage with victims, workers, business owners, retail experts and advocacy groups to combat retail crime. The advisory group will be allocated NZ$1.8 million a year and expected to last two years.^[47]

On 15 July, Goldsmith in his capacity as Justice Minister signed an extradition order against fugitive Internet millionaire Kim Dotcom. Dotcom had spent the past 12 years fighting against extradition to the United States where he is facing several charges of copyright infringement, money laundering and racketeering related to his Megaupload website.^[48]

On 10 November, Goldsmith confirmed that the Government would introduce new anti-stalking legislation with new restraining and harmful digital communications orders, and prison terms for stalking.^[49] On 14 November, Goldsmith introduced new legislation that criminalised covert and other subversive activities on behalf of a foreign power "to intentionally or recklessly harm New Zealand."^[50] On 21 November, Goldsmith confirmed the Government would introduce legislation to give sexual abuse victims the power to decide whether convicted offenders should receive name suppression.^[51]

Social and political views

Goldsmith voted in favour of legalising same-sex marriage in 2012 and 2013 and in favour of prohibiting conversion therapy in 2022.^[52] He opposed the End of Life Choice Bill in 2017 and 2019^[53] and voted for the Abortion Legislation Bill in 2019 but not 2020.^[54]

Goldsmith has stated that he would vote against the legalisation of cannabis at the 2020 referendum.^[55] He believes New Zealand should wait and observe the effects of cannabis legalisation in Canada before making a decision.^[55]

In June 2021, Goldsmith attracted controversy for stating that colonisation had been "on balance" good for Māori because it had led to the creation of New Zealand.^[56][57] He believes that New Zealand's reconnection with the rest of the world following isolation for centuries was always going to be a "traumatic experience".^[56] Goldsmith refused to apologise for the comments, calling himself "a proud New Zealander."^[57]

Bibliography

• Goldsmith, Paul (2002). John Banks: A Biography. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-301819-1.
• Goldsmith, Paul (2003). The Rise and Fall of Te Hemara Tauhia. Raupo Publishing. ISBN 0-7-90009-056.
• Goldsmith, Paul (2005). Brash: a biography. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-301967-8.
• Goldsmith, Paul; Bassett, Michael (2007). The Myers. Auckland: David Ling. ISBN 9781877378133.
• Goldsmith, Paul (2008). We Won, You Lost, Eat That!: A Political History of Tax in New Zealand Since 1840. David Ling Publishing. ISBN 978-1-877378-22-5.
• Goldsmith, Paul (2008). Stress & Enterprise: the Career of Richard Izard. David Ling Publishing. ISBN 978-1-87737-821-8.
• Goldsmith, Paul; Bassett, Michael (2008). Puketutu and its People. David Ling Publishing. ISBN 978-1-87737-825-6.
• Goldsmith, Paul (2009). Fletchers: A Centennial History of Fletcher Building. David Ling Publishing. ISBN 978-1-877378-35-5.
• Goldsmith, Paul (2012). Serious Fun: The Life and Times of Alan Gibbs. Penguin Books New Zealand. ISBN 978-1-86979-930-4.
• Goldsmith, Paul (2013). Legend: From Electric Fences to Global Success: The Sir William Gallagher Story. Penguin Books New Zealand. ISBN 978-1-77553-337-5.

Notes

1. "Who's in the new Cabinet? The full list of ministers". NZ Herald. 25 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
2. "Goldsmith, Paul: Address in Reply – New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
3. Neilson, Michael (27 May 2020). "'Ngāti Epsom': National MP Paul Goldsmith's true heritage revealed". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
4. "Four generations, four different degrees – The University of Auckland". www.auckland.ac.nz. 19 March 2019. Archived from the original on 24 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
5. "Rangahaua Whanui District 11A: Wairarapa" (PDF). Waitangi Tribunal. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
6. Smellie, Pattrick. "My Net Worth: Paul Goldsmith, MP". BusinessDesk. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
7. Dickison, Michael (22 November 2011). "Election 2011: Record anything but invisible". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
8. Webb, Ross (15 February 2021). "The teachings of Paul Goldsmith". Newsroom. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
9. Coughlan, Thomas (9 August 2019). "National Portrait – Paul Goldsmith: a career of trade-offs". Stuff. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
10. Levy, Danya (15 February 2005). "National candidate says Brash bio no hagiography". New Zealand Press Association.
11. Hager 2006, pp. 192–93.
12. "Official Count Results – Maungakiekie". Chief Electoral Office. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
13. "Election results". 25 May 2008. Archived from the original on 25 May 2008. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
14. "Paul Goldsmith". Local Elections 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
15. "Auckland mayor defends councillor's stand on homeless". RNZ. 4 September 2008. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
16. "Super City: Rich and poor in merged ward". NZ Herald. 25 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
17. Trevett, Claire; Bennett, Adam (18 July 2011). "Paul Goldsmith chosen as new National candidate for Epsom". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
18. "Official Count Results – Epsom". New Zealand Electoral Commission. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
19. "ACT deal: New Plymouth seat for Epsom". Stuff. 12 September 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
20. "PM and Banks have their Epsom cup of tea". Stuff. 11 November 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
21. "Judith Collins calls for Epsom voters to back ACT's David Seymour". Stuff. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
22. "Party lists for the 2011 General Election". Elections New Zealand. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
23. "Official Count Results – Successful Candidates". New Zealand Electoral Commission. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
24. "Goldsmith, Paul – New Zealand Parliament". www.parliament.nz. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
25. "Official Count Results – Epsom". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
26. "2017 General Election – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 17 January 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
27. "National Party reshuffle sees former ministers demoted, Judith Collins up". Stuff. 11 March 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
28. "National Party's Simon Bridges announces caucus reshuffle". RNZ. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
29. "Danyl McLauchlan: The National MPs we can expect to see more of when the government is announced". NZ Herald. 25 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
30. "Epidemic response". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
31. Malpass, Luke (20 September 2020). "Election 2020: 'Fair cop' – National's Paul Goldsmith admits to accounting mistake as Labour points out $4b hole". Stuff. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
32. "National Party reshuffle: Judith Collins splits finance portfolio, demotes Todd Muller, Simon Bridges and Paul Goldsmith". Stuff. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
33. "Epsom – Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
34. "2020 General Election and Referendums – Official Result Successful Candidates". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
35. "National MP Nicola Willis named finance spokesperson after Simon Bridges announced retirement". Radio New Zealand. 16 March 2022. Archived from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
36. "Epsom – Official Result". Electoral Commission. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
37. "2023 General Election – Successful Candidates". Electoral Commission. 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 24 November 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
38. "'No evidence' cultural reports worked – Justice Minister". Radio New Zealand. 8 February 2024. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
39. Desmarais, Felix (6 March 2024). "Bill passes to remove taxpayer funding for cultural reports". 1News. Archived from the original on 6 March 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
40. "Legislation scrapping funding for Section 27 cultural sentencing reports passes under urgency". RNZ. 6 March 2024. Archived from the original on 6 July 2024. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
41. Orsman, Bernard (25 February 2024). "Gang crackdown: Government to introduce legislation to ban gang insignia in public places and gathering in groups". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 25 February 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
42. Desmarais, Felix (19 September 2024). "Gang patch legislation passed into law". 1News. Archived from the original on 8 October 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
43. "Coalition's gang legislation passes into law banning patches in public places". RNZ. 19 September 2024. Archived from the original on 2 October 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
44. Bhamidipati, Soumya (2 April 2024). "Muslim organisation questions why hate speech law reforms abandoned". RNZ. Archived from the original on 1 August 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
45. "Media Minister Melissa Lee demoted from Cabinet, Penny Simmonds stripped of portfolio". Radio New Zealand. 24 April 2024. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
46. Cheng, Derek (26 June 2024). "Government moves to harsher punishments for offences committed on bail, parole, or in custody". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 28 June 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
47. "Government sets up two-year advisory group on retail crime". RNZ. 11 July 2024. Archived from the original on 12 July 2024. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
48. Aikman, Ian (15 August 2024). "Kim Dotcom to be extradited from New Zealand to the US". BBC News. Archived from the original on 16 August 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
49. "Stalking legislation to bring in restraining orders: Justice Minister reveals new details". RNZ. 10 November 2024. Archived from the original on 11 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
50. Pennington, Phil (16 November 2024). "Bill to stop foreign interference 'undermining core New Zealand interests' introduced to Parliament". RNZ. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
51. Smith, Anneke (21 November 2024). "Government proposes law change on name suppression for sex offenders". RNZ. Archived from the original on 22 November 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
52. "Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
53. "End of Life Choice Bill". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
54. "Abortion Legislation Bill". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
55. "Cannabis referendum: National's Paul Goldsmith says let Canada experiment, not NZ". Newshub. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
56. "Colonisation a good thing for Māori 'on balance' – National MP Paul Goldsmith". Newshub. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
57. "National MPs disagree with Goldsmith on 'colonisation' comments". NZ Herald. 25 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.

References

• Hager, Nicky (2006). The Hollow Men. Nelson, New Zealand: Craig Potton Publishing. ISBN 1-877333-62-X.

External links

• Paul Goldsmith: National List MP based in Epsom
• Paul Goldsmith - Penguin Books New Zealand

Political offices
Preceded by Craig Foss	Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs 2014–2016	Succeeded by Jacqui Dean