Paul supports housing density and ensuring housing is available to all.[29][30] During her time as councillor, Paul chaired the Kōrau Tūāpapa Environment and Infrastructure Committee, where she led the IRRS 4 All campaign, which helped thousands of low-income tenants access rent subsidies.[31] As chair, Paul also campaigned for an ambitious spatial plan for Wellington which aims to address the housing crisis by increasing housing capacity and encouraging density in the inner-city.[29] Additionally, Paul assisted the Mayoral taskforce for social housing as tenant liaison, a programme aimed to help people in Wellington access social housing,[32] and led a housing pilot which provided tenants with an official check on the quality of their accommodation - a service in partnership with central government with the aim to uphold and enforce the Healthy Homes Standards.[33] Paul led the WCC Housing Action Plan, a plan which prioritised: Planning for Growth, Consenting Improvements, Mana whenua and Māori housing, Homelessness, Social and public housing, Affordable housing and Private rental housing.[34] The plan included targets for social, public and private housing development as well as initiatives to reduce homelessness in Wellington. On 10 November 2020, Paul voted in favour to sell 0.3 hectares of land and lease a further 0.6 hectares in Shelly Bay to The Wellington Company for housing development along with Wellington City councillors Day, Diane Calvert, Jenny Condie, Fleur Fitzsimons, Laurie Foon, Rebecca Matthews, Teri O’Neill, and Nicola Young.[35]
As Wellington Central MP, and the Greens' Housing spokesperson, Paul has continued advocating for affordable and healthy housing for New Zealanders. In April 2024, Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced that his National-led government would be reversing amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act which were made by the Labour government in 2021. Paul challenged these changes, specifically the re-introduction of 90-day no cause evictions of tenants and the reduction of landlords' notice periods for tenants,[36] stating that "Housing is a human right, and every person deserves a warm, safe and affordable home, whether they own that home or not [...] The playing field is uneven and these changes to tenancy rules further tip the balance in favour of landlords."[36] Paul has also been outspoken about the government's recent policy changes in relation to Aotearoa's public housing provider, Kāinga Ora, making it easier for the provider to evict 'unruly' public housing tenants. Paul stated that these changes show that the government are "Ignorant to the consequences of poverty [...] [and these changes will] result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities".[37]
Paul supports accessible public transport for all, and especially supports public transport as a form of climate action. In 2022, as councillor and Let's Get Wellington Moving Governance member, Paul secured an additional $100m over the next ten years for Wellington's bike network. This network prioritised dedicated cycle lanes on roads, a protection for cyclists which aims to promote the use of cycling and reduce our reliability on cars.[38] Paul stated that this plan would make cycling safer and encourage non-traditional cyclists such as children, women, and gender diverse people to bike around the city. Cyclists were "not just dudes in lycra", she said.[38]
Paul also advocates for pedestrianisation. As councillor, Paul passed an amendment for Wellington City Council to investigate a low-traffic/pedestrianised future for Dixon and Upper Cuba Street, two popular streets in Wellington.[39] Paul also supports projects such as the LGWM golden mile project that plans to pedestrianise the Parliament end of Lambton Quay, along Willis and Manners Streets, to the entertainment hub of Courtenay Place in Wellington. Paul states that pedestrianism will increase the life and vibrancy of Wellington.[39]
During her councillor tenure, Paul - alongside fellow Green councillor Thomas Nash, campaigned for better pay and working conditions for bus drivers. They stated that 'there is no climate action without justice for bus drivers',[40] The pair were supported by unions across the country and by Bus NZ. However, the private Australian equity firm who manages New Zealand's bus drivers eventually declined the pay increase Paul and Nash achieved, a result the pair claimed 'dismayed [Wellingtonians due to] the terrible treatment of our local bus drivers'.[40]
As MP, Paul has come out opposing the government's plan to introduce new highways and tunnels, stating "We know that tunnels and extra lanes do nothing to provide the step change our transport system needs [...] but we will not give up on the sustainable transport that we all dream for that will allow us to move around confidently and safely."[41]
Paul supports greater public investment in sustainable transport and renewable energy.[42] As councillor, Paul held the climate change portfolio for three years where she succeeded in achieving historic investment into the Climate Implementation Plan, Te Atakura — First to Zero, an initiative which seeks and shows how Aotearoa can reduce emissions by 43 per cent by 2030, and then become carbon-neutral by 2050.[43] During her time as councillor, Paul also led investigations into how we can achieve a carbon-free future for Wellington, plans which looked at how the city can use more public transport and reduce our reliability on cars.[44]
Paul incorporates the Treaty of Waitangi - New Zealand's treaty between Crown and Iwi, and its principles into her politics regularly and advocates for a Treaty-based model of governance. Paul states that this model, which should be introduced a local and central level "would be great", and that she would "for local government bodies to have mana whenua around the table, leading not only in the kāwanatanga sphere, or sphere of partnership, but also in the tino rangatiratanga sphere."[45]
In December 2023, a display panel of the English version of the treaty, located at Te Papa Museum, was vandalised. This vandalism was a protest against the crown, with the protestors claiming it in response to Te Papa displaying the translation opposite the Maori version, which they claimed misled visitors to believe it is an accurate translation.[46] Following this protest, discussion arose as to whether or not the museums should keep the damaged panel up, a symbol they could show visitors that displays the continued issues between Crown and Iwi in New Zealand. Paul came out in support of the museum keeping the panel up, and stated that the defacing is more than art and deeper than protest, and she wholeheartedly supports the actions of the group.[47]
In February 2021, Paul opposed the timing of a 21-gun salute in honour of the Queen of New Zealand, Elizabeth II, due to it taking place on the same day as Waitangi Day, stating that the salute was “centring colonisation on a day that is supposed to reflect on the foundations of our country, which is built on Te Tiriti o Waitangi”.[48] Paul was in favour of getting rid of gun salutes entirely and asked people to think about “the mass carnage that occurred when guns came onto this whenua”, “Let's have a conversation on the purpose of what they will be serving.” and that “The whole salute itself is really aggressive; it shows the dominance of the Crown when it's meant to be a day of partnership,”.[49]
Paul is an outspoken advocate for the prevention of sexual violence and mental health issues. Paul has done a range of work in this area including supporting the Thursdays in Black campaign at Victoria University of Wellington as VUWSA president in 2019, a campaign that raises awareness of sexually harmful behaviour within the university community. During her time as VUWSA president, Paul successfully achieved extra mental health support for students. In 2020, Paul showed support for survivors who came out with sexual assault allegations against a group of musicians in Wellington. There were sixty survivors, some as young as 13.[50] In 2021, Paul supported the #LetUsLive: Rally for a City Free From Sexual Violence campaign, which was organised in response to the increasing safety worries for women in Wellington, stating that “Nobody should feel afraid to walk around in their own city. This shows how fed up people are with the harassment, the assault, the inaction and being objectified despite doing nothing except trying to exist.”.[51]
As councillor, Paul held the city safety portfolio. During this time, Paul led several initiatives which aimed to increase safety for people in Wellington, including The Pōneke Promise. The Pōneke Promise is a 'community-driven partnership working to make central Wellington safe, vibrant, and welcoming.', in collaboration with several different organisations including the Ministry of Social Development, NZ Police, Victoria University of Wellington and more[52] This project initiated many changes to Wellington, including increased lighting in areas, after-midnight bus services, specific alcohol bans and more.
In early March 2025, Paul made remarks in a TikTok video claiming that the "vast majority" of prisoners in New Zealand prisons were imprisoned for "non violent offences that they've had to do as a response to poverty." She also stated that many prisoners had disabilities, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and undiagnosed autism or ADHD. Paul also said that Māori were disproportionately imprisoned at a higher rate compared with other ethnic groups in New Zealand.[53]
On 26 March 2025, Paul defended remarks that she made at an event at the University of Canterbury, stating "police beat patrols" made ethnic minority communities feel uncomfortable. Her remarks were criticised by both Labour leader Chris Hipkins and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, with the former saying they were "ill-informed, were unwise, in fact were stupid" while the latter said the police were doing an "incredible job." In response, Paul defended her statements, citing constituency feedback about police in Wellington dumping homeless peoples' belongings in the rubbish and police in Hamilton detaining an autistic girl at a mental institution following a case of mistaken identity. She argued that police were not trained to deal with people in distress and drug psychosis, arguing that specialist help was needed in those situations.[54]
Paul continued to defend her comments about beat police, saying that "Wellington people do not want to see police officers everywhere, for a lot of people it makes them feel less safe..."[55] and stated that "they’ve been put in place and all they do is walk around all day waiting for homeless people to leave their spot, packing their stuff up and throwing it in the bin."[55]
Paul received further media attention after sharing a video of her DJ set performed at 2025's CubaDupa, which included "Sound of da Police" by KRS-One, a song criticising police brutality and systemic racism.[56]
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