Paula lives in Waitakere, West Auckland, and has lived in the City of Sails since 1992. She grew up in Taupo.

Paula raised her daughter single-handedly. She worked in hospitality, secretarial and retail roles. Realising her opportunities were limited without an education, Paula went to Massey University as an adult student. Although she originally studied social work, she ended up with a degree in social policy.

Paula has worked in human resources and recruitment with a variety of clients across various industries, from banking and finance to manufacturing. Her rapid promotion saw her managing an Auckland human resources company before resigning to pursue a career in politics.

Her mantra? "Self-belief - with a dose of hard work - can make anything possible."

Paula became a National Member of Parliament in September 2005. After three years in Opposition as a list MP, the public of Waitakere - her "Westies" chose her as their electorate MP and representative in Wellington.

Paula is passionate about ensuring a brighter future for all New Zealanders. As the Minister for Social Development, she believes she's been give a great opportunity to affect positive change in people's lives, the lives of their families and their communities.

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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