Paul Goldsmith | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.png) Campaign portrait, 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 29thMinister for Media and Communications | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 24 April 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Christopher Luxon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Melissa Lee | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 53rdMinister of Justice | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 27 November 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Christopher Luxon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Ginny Andersen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7thMinister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 27 November 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Christopher Luxon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Andrew Little | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14thMinister for Arts, Culture and Heritage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 27 November 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Christopher Luxon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Carmel Sepuloni | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18thMinister for State Owned Enterprises | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 27 November 2023 – 24 January 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Christopher Luxon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Duncan Webb | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Simeon Brown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of theNew Zealand Parliament forNationalParty list | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 26 November 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 theNew Zealand House of Representatives for theNational Party at the2011 election.
Goldsmith isMinister for Arts, Culture and Heritage,Minister of Justice,Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, andMinister for Media and Communications in theSixth National Government.[1] He was previously anAuckland City Councillor between 2007 and 2010, and a Cabinet minister in theFifth National Government.
Goldsmith was born in 1971 in theAuckland suburb ofMount Eden to parents Lawrence, a mathematics teacher, and Margaret, apalliative 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 theEast Cape area early in New Zealand's colonial history. Charles Goldsmith had four wives—twoMāori (Ngāti Porou), and twoPākehā—fathering 16 children. However, Goldsmith has clarified that he is not himself of Māori descent.[3]
Goldsmith attendedAuckland Grammar School and received an MA in history from theUniversity of Auckland in 1996. His thesis was on the life of missionaryWilliam Colenso and DameJudith 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 intaekwondo.[7]
He began working as a historian for theWaitangi 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 forJohn Banks, then theNational Partyminister 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 the1996 election; Goldsmith moved to working for theenvironment ministerSimon Upton and, after the1999 election, the newLabourminister of foreign affairsPhil Goff.[7][9]
In 2000, Goldsmith became a public relations adviser and worked forTranz Rail and the University of Auckland.[7]
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 theFletcher 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 journalistNicky Hager revealed it was indeed commissioned by the National Party and was in fact the party's first big-budget item in the2005 election campaign.[11]
Goldsmith contested theMaungakiekie electorate in the2005 general election for theNational 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'sMark Gosche, and due to his low list placing (59 on the National Party list),[7] did not enter Parliament.[12]
Goldsmith successfully stood for theAuckland City Council Hobson Ward at the2007 local body elections as a member ofCitizens & Ratepayers.[13] He was appointed deputy finance chairman byMayor John Banks and chaired the community services committee.[7][14] During his term, Goldsmith was criticised by the Auckland City Mission and theGreen 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 theCitizens & Ratepayers candidacy in theŌrākei ward[16] of the newAuckland Council at the2010 Auckland elections, and was instead selected to contestAlbert-Eden-Roskill. He finished third, behindChristine Fletcher andCathy Casey, in the two-member ward.[14]
| 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 | |
Goldsmith stood in theEpsom electorate at the2011 general election,[17] but lost the electorate vote to John Banks, who earlier in 2011 had joinedACT New Zealand.[18] Goldsmith had been expected to lose; National leaderJohn 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 the50th Parliament.[23] During his first term in parliament, Goldsmith was deputy chairperson and, from 2013, chairperson of thefinance and expenditure select committee.[24] He was also a member of the local government and environment committee.[24]
During the2014 election, Goldsmith contested the Epsom electorate and came second to new ACT candidateDavid 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 forcommerce and consumer affairs. He was also associate minister forACC.[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, asMinister for Science and Innovation, Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment, and Minister for Regulatory Reform.[24]
During the2017 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 forstate-owned enterprises between February and May 2020 and for theEarthquake Commission between May and November 2020.[24] Between March and May 2020, Goldsmith was a member of theEpidemic Response Committee, a select committee that considered the government's response to theCOVID-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] WhenChristopher Luxon became National leader in 2021, Goldsmith became justice spokesperson.[35]
Goldsmith won a fifth term as a National list MP in October 2023. Though he failed tounseatACT leaderDavid Seymour, he was re-elected on the National Party list.[36][37]
On 27 November 2023, Goldsmith was announced as theMinister for Arts, Culture and Heritage,Minister of Justice,Minister for State Owned Enterprises andMinister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations in theSixth National Government.[1]
Goldsmith has repeatedly criticised what he describes as “undue leniency” in sentencing, including the use of short or non-custodial sentences for serious offences. He argues that short prison sentences undermine public confidence in the justice system and fail to deter crime, especially violent and repeat offences.[38] He has introduced caps for sentence discounts, prevented repeat discounts for youth and remorse, and encouraged cumulative sentencing for crimes committed on bail, in custody, or on parole. He has stated that victims’ interests must be prioritised over leniency for offenders.[39]
On 26 June 2024, 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.[40]
On 11 July 2024, Goldsmith and Associate Justice MinisterNicole 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.[41]
On 15 July 2024, Goldsmith in his capacity as Justice Minister signed an extradition order against fugitiveInternet millionaireKim 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 hisMegaupload website.[42]
On 29 June 2025, Goldsmith proposed legislation introducing higher penalties for those assaultingcorrectional officers and first responders.[43] On 30 June, Goldsmith confirmed that the Government would introduce legislation creating specific offences forcoward punching as part of the National Party's coalition agreement withNew Zealand First.[44]
On 1 July, Goldsmith and Associate Justice MinisterNicole McKee announced several proposed tougher penalties that they claim will combatshoplifting. These included introducing infringement fees for shoplifting offences above NZ$500 and NZ$100, increasing prison terms to one year for stolen goods worth NZ$2,000 and seven years for goods worth NZ $2,000 or more, and creating a new aggravated shoplifting offence. These changes were part of National's coalition agreement with NZ First.[45] On 3 July, Goldsmith and McKee announced that the Government would increase the maximum trespass period from two to three years, and raise the maximum fines for trespassing.[46]
On 13 August, Goldsmith announced that the Government would amend theCrimes Act 1961 to strengthen the country'shuman trafficking andpeople smuggling laws.[47] On 15 August, Goldsmith announced the Government would introduce legislation banning protests outside people's private homes. Labour leader Hipkins indicated his party was discussing whether to support the proposed law.[48]
On 7 February 2024, Justice Minister Goldsmith announced that government funding forcultural reports would be stopped under the newNational-led government.[49] A month later, the Government passed urgent legislation ending legal aid funding forcultural reports, claiming defendants were using them to get discounts off the length of their sentence with "no benefits to the real victims of crime."[50][51] The decision was criticized by lawyers and academics. Former district court judge, Dr David Harvey, said that judges would no longer have the kind of information they need to craft a proper sentence.[52]
On 25 February 2024, Justice Minister Goldsmith andPolice MinisterMark Mitchell announced that the Government would introduce legislation to bangang 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.[53] On 19 September 2024, the Government passed legislation banninggang patches.[54][55]
In early April 2024, Goldsmith ordered that work on the previousLabour Government's efforts to develop hate speech legislation protecting religious communities be halted, saying it undermined free speech. Goldsmith's decision drew criticism fromFederation 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.[56]
On 30 April 2025, Goldsmith confirmed that the Government would introduce legislation toreinstate a blanket ban on prisoners voting, describing it as a reversal of the previous Labour Government's "soft on crime" policy. Goldsmith said that the Cabinet had decided to disregard aHigh Court ruling and recommendations from both theElectoral Commission andWaitangi Tribunal that prisoners be allowed to vote.[57] In response, the Labour, Green parties and Te Pāti Māori described the government's plan to strip prisoners of voting rights as a violation of human rights, counterproductive to rehabilitation and discriminatory againstMāori people. By contrast, theSensible Sentencing Trust's spokesperson Louise Parsons welcomed the government's announcement, saying that prisoners had lost their rights to be a part of "functioning society" due to their crimes.[58]
On 10 November 2024, Goldsmith confirmed that the Government would introduce new anti-stalking legislation with new restraining and harmful digital communications orders, and prison terms for stalking.[59] 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.[60]
On 10 June 2025, Goldsmith released detail of the Government's proposed Crime Legislation (Stalking and Harassment) Amendment Bill. Under the proposed legislation, stalkers could be imprisoned for committing two stalking or harassment acts within 24 months instead of three acts within 12 months. In addition,doxxing would be classified as a form of stalking and people convicted of stalking or harassment could be subject to Firearms Prohibition Orders.[61]
In late June 2025, Goldsmith confirmed that the Government would not progress with aTreaty of Waitangi settlement with the Māoriiwi (tribe)Te Whānau-ā-Apanui due to a disagreement with the tribe over an "agree to disagree" clause stating that the tribe had never ceded sovereignty to theNew Zealand Crown. During a parliamentary select committee, Goldsmith stated: "The Crown's position is clear; the Crown is sovereign. The Crown is simply the representation of the democratic will of the people of New Zealand." In response, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui said that it was open to negotiating with the Crown "but it would not seek a settlement at all costs or at the price of ourrangatiratanga (chieftainship or self-determination)."[62] The previous Labour Government had included the "agree to disagree" clause in aDeed of Settlement that it had initialled with Te Whānau-ā-Apanui in 2023.[63]
In late June 2025, Goldsmith stated that the Government preferred signing one commercial settlement with the Māori tribeNgāpuhi instead of having multiple settlements. Coalition partnerNew Zealand First MPShane Jones had introduced a member's bill seeking to force Ngāpuhi to sign a single commercial settlement with the Government. Labour MPPeeni Henare, who is of Ngāpuhi descent, said that Goldsmith was motivated by financial considerations and said that Jones' bill would go against the "good faith" provisions of Treaty settlements. Labour leaderChris Hipkins said that the National-led government's "hostile" position towards Māori would make Treaty settlements in the next few years "very, very difficult to achieve."[63]
On 24 July, Goldsmith announced that the Government would introduce new electoral amendment legislation. Key provisions include closing voter enrollment 13 days before election day, setting a 12-day advance voting period, automatic enrollment updates, removing the postal requirements for enrollment. The Government also intends to ban free food, drink or entertainment within 100 metres of a voting place (subject to a NZ$10,000 fine). In addition, the Government intends to ban all prisoners from voting and will raise the donation threshold from NZ$5,000 to NZ$6,000.[64][65] In response, Labour's justice spokespersonDuncan Webb expressed disagreement with the Government's plan to eliminate voter enrollment on election day as an invalid reason for restricting the number of people able to exercise their democratic right to vote.[65]
On 24 April 2024, Luxon appointed Goldsmith asMinister for Media and Communications during acabinet reshuffle. Goldsmith replacedMelissa Lee, who had faced criticism for her response toWarner Bros. Discovery New Zealand's closure ofNewshub.[66]
On 14 November 2024, Goldsmith introduced new legislation that criminalised covert and other subversive activities on behalf of a foreign power "to intentionally or recklessly harm New Zealand."[67]
On 10 February 2025, Goldsmith appointed victims advocateRuth Money asChief Victims' Advisor.[68]
Goldsmith voted in favour oflegalising same-sex marriage in 2012 and 2013 and in favour ofprohibiting conversion therapy in 2022.[69] He opposed theEnd of Life Choice Bill in 2017 and 2019[70] and voted for theAbortion Legislation Bill in 2019 but not 2020.[71]
Goldsmith has stated that he would vote against the legalisation of cannabis at the2020 referendum.[72] He believes New Zealand should wait and observe the effects ofcannabis legalisation in Canada before making a decision.[72]
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.[73][74] 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".[73] Goldsmith refused to apologise for the comments, calling himself "a proud New Zealander."[74]
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| Preceded by | Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs 2014–2016 | Succeeded by |
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