Not that I was aware of it on the night, but we asked Tamatha Paul to have a chat with us about her victory in the Wellington Central electorate.

She said no, based on some thinking within the Green Party that I say stuff they don't like.

Now, here is the problem with that. It shows an astonishing arrogance from the Green Party that, somehow, they feel as public representatives that they can dictate who they do and don't talk to.

Don't get me wrong, I am not bothered in the slightest. It is unlikely I would ever have talked to her anyway as a newbie, given this is a nationwide show and until she did something newsworthy, or got herself higher up the pecking order in terms of influence, she would not have qualified to end up here in any case.

There is a bus load of Labour MP's making their way back home as we speak that I never got the chance to ask a question of because many MP's arrive, don't do a lot, and then vanish without ever having troubled the wider public.

Ol' Dan Rosewarne only came to most of our attention this because he was whining about the Koru lounge.

Anyway, Ms Paul may or may not like things I say, but that actually isn't the point. In choosing to represent someone i.e a whole electorate, it is your duty to defend, advocate and answer on their behalf.

You are at their service.

Simple question - are there people in Wellington Central that want their story, no matter what that story entails, talked about in front of the biggest radio audience in the country? Yes there are, and that's Ms Paul's job.

She doesn't have the right to pick and choose based on personal, or in this case, the party's taste.

We have been here before of course with the Ardern mistake, and I think time has shown without a shadow of a doubt her decision to exit her opportunity on this programme was a mistake. It proved damaging to both her party and to her reputation.

That decision and the Paul decision tramples on the very basic premise that I think most people would support - that discourse is critical.

If the only discourse allowed is between fellow travellers who nod heads in agreement, then it will never be robust, it will never challenge, it will never change things and you certainly won't get the chance to argue your case or defend your corner.

Rounded out, human beings relish the debate, and I would hope that would be one of the basic criteria for any public representative; that you relish debate and you are rounded out.