Paul has more than 30 years experience as a health professional. He worked as a specialist consultant both in public and private practice and was a founding director of one of New Zealand’s first high technology day stay facilities.

Paul grew up in Wellington and remained there for his primary and secondary education, attending Khandallah School and Onslow College.

Paul went to Victoria and Otago Universities to further his education and achieved a MB.ChB. He became a specialist in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and gained FRCOG, FRACOG and Dip.Com.H

Paul did postgraduate work at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, USA, as well as National Women’s Hospital, New Zealand. He became a lecturer for the University of London working at St Thomas Hospital and Addenbrooke, Cambridge, UK. He has worked professionally in Papua New Guinea, Western Samoa and the United Arab Emirates. On returning to New Zealand he became a consultant at National Women’s Hospital, North Shore Hospital, working part time in private practice.

Paul has been president of the North Shore O&G Society, and on the executive of the NZ College of O&G, and the North Shore NZ Medical Association. He is a director of a number of companies.

In the 1999 General Election, Paul was elected as Member of Parliament for Port Waikato. After boundary changes he now represents Hunua. He has held spokesmanship roles in Health, Science, ACC, Disability Issues and Tertiary Education. Currently he is Chairman of the Health Select Committee and is on the Foreign Affairs and Defence as well as the Emissions Trading System Review Committee.

In his spare time Paul enjoys spending time with his wife Antonia and 4 daughters. He enjoys reading, writing, tennis, fishing and listening to music.

Top 5 Issues

1. Building a stronger economy
   • Balance the books sooner.
   • Borrow less so we can have lower interest rates for longer.
   • Keep personal taxes lower to encourage hard work.
   • Make New Zealand more competitive so our exporters can sell more overseas and create more real jobs.
   • Encourage savings and investments.
   • Use the mixed-Ownership model to fund infrastructure to help us grow faster.
   • Invest in skills training and tertiary education that gets results.
   
2. Building world-class infrastructure
   • Ultra-fast broadband for greater innovation.
   • More, and better, roads to ease congestion.
   • Investing in more rail and public transport.
   
3. Building a safer New Zealand
   • Staying strong on crime – tougher sentencing, stronger bail laws, and a focus on victims.
   • Keep working to lower the crime rate further so our families are safer.
   • Making our roads safer, so we can keep the road toll lower.
   
4. Rebuilding Christchurch
   • $5.5 billion recovery fund
   • Re-establishing essential infrastructure
   • More construction-related training
   
5. Building better public services
   • Better Schools – identifying and helping children falling behind, school reports in plain English.
   • World-class healthcare –more doctors and nurses, more operations, shorter waiting times.
   • Effective welfare- more people back into work, more incentives to work, payment cards for teens on benefits.
   

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