As a high-achieving mother of four who’s worked for Bill English and Erica Stanford, it’s no surprise Judith Collins’ successor to the safe Papakura seat is destined for parliament.
For National’s Papakura candidate Emma Chatterton, losing has made her a winner. Three years ago, the then Remutaka candidate came agonisingly close to becoming an MP via the party list. This time around, it’s safe to say a miracle will be needed to stop Chatterton from taking this seat.
Over coffee at Karaka’s Urban Soul cafe, there’s no sign of any lasting bruises from the “brutal” experience of 2023. The preliminary count had her in parliament, but when the special votes came in, Chatterton was sent out, but a lunch date with former National MP Katherine Rich helped her set her sights straight again. “She said, ‘it’s OK to be sad,'” Chatterton remembers. “You should go away and spend a few days feeling a bit sad about this, and then you’re going to get up and do something bigger and better.” The self-described “go-getter” and “positive, forward-looking person” did the next best thing to being an MP; working in the office of education minister Erica Stanford.
The successor to Judith Collins’ safe seat was still in intermediate school when the former MP first secured Papakura, and inherits a strong supporter base (Collins’ 2023 win came with a margin of 13,519 votes). Papakura is a growing part of South Auckland, a once prominent farming area now dotted with multi-unit retail blocks and housing developments. Chatterton sees the key concerns of locals as being about “investing for the future”; the seat captures Drury, a town centre-in-the-making which is set to support to up 62,000 residents – more than the entire population of New Plymouth. Health NZ is currently searching for land to build a new major hospital in Drury, but Chatterton says locals are still worried about the “pressures” a new township will put on schooling networks and GPs. So, “at the risk of, you know, using a tagline; they want to build a future here, and we’ve got to fix the basics”.
Chatterton is fluent in the National Party vernacular, but politics was never dinner table conversation while growing up. Her grandparents migrated from Scotland in the 1950s and Chatterton grew up as the youngest of four in a Pukekohe house built by her police officer father and her grandfather. She was in her final year of high school in 2008 when she won the Girdlers’ Scholarship, which took her overseas for the first time. It allowed her to study music at Corpus Christi College, part of the prestigious Cambridge University, and there she met her husband Tom. She briefly taught English in the Middle East, completed her secondary teaching training in the UK and returned home to teach in Auckland and Wellington. Chatterton also has a degree in English literature, which she completed while on maternity leave with her third child, and a business certificate from Harvard Business School. “It’s a blessing to be in a space where you’re always learning,” she says.
Chatterton became politically minded after working under Bill English (whom she dutifully refers to as “Sir Bill”) at his social investment agency, ImpactLab. Social investment is Chatterton’s favourite topic of conversation; no point can be properly made without coming back to the importance of “evidence-based policy and data-driven decisions”. She points to efforts made in the education space, such as structured literacy and school property upgrades, as examples of social investment at work.
It’s the sort of polished CV that makes you wonder where the National Party candidate factory is based, and whether Chatterton was the template. But there are also bigger questions to be asked here: between Paul Goldsmith and his piano, Stanford and her bassoon and Chatterton’s musical qualifications, what’s the connection between being a classical music lover and a politician? Well, there’s plenty of transferable skills: “Music is about discipline, mastering the details, seeing the bigger picture, and be able to get out there and perform,” Chatterton explains. Though she’s not willing to claim one over her elders just yet, conceding that Goldie may be the better pianist if not the better parent: “Minister Goldsmith is extremely talented… And after four kids, I haven’t had a lot of time for music.”
THE SPINOFF PUB Q+A
How much should a pint cost?
I’ve never been much of a pint drinker.
Do you have a karaoke go-to?
Karaoke isn’t my go-to vibe, but in the right circumstances, I think I would probably pick ‘Summertime’ from Porgy and Bess. I love jazz music in that style. I’d probably [also] pick ‘Let It Go’ from Frozen with my daughters.
Favourite place to get a drink in Aotearoa?
My grandparents have been out at Clarks Beach for over 30 years [in retirement], and before that, my great-grandparents had a little bach there. [Nothing compares to] sitting out with my family looking over the Manukau Harbour, and being surrounded by all of those special memories.
Which three MPs would be on your pub quiz team?
I think I would have to pick Chris Bishop; he’s got extensive sporting knowledge, and I think that would be good for a pub quiz. He’s actually got some good music knowledge as well, you know; he’s been a backer of Rockquest. I would have to pick Erica; she is an exceptional member of parliament and worked across two massive portfolio areas. She’s got extensive knowledge, she’s a detailed person and she’s got some pretty good popular culture knowledge too as well. That, I am lacking in. I think Candace Kinser is doing an excellent job in Auckland Central [as National’s candidate], and her background covers 20 years in business and science and technology.
Which MP from across the aisle would you most like to share a drink with?
I’d really like to have a drink with [Labour’s Manurewa candidate] Arena Williams. I bumped into her at the airport the other day, and we had a nice chat. She’s a mum, she’s from South Auckland and I think we’re two people who both want to champion good outcomes for this community, even if it’s from different sides of the aisle.
Is there an alcohol-related law you would like to change?
One of the things I saw growing up in a policing household is the harms that can be caused through drink driving. We moved around a bit with Dad’s job and had some time in small communities, where everyone knows each other. The impact of alcohol-related car crashes and fatalities can be really significant. There’s a proposal coming through at the moment around zero tolerance of alcohol when you’re on your learner’s or restricted licence. I think that is an excellent change, and I want to see it introduced as soon as practicality possible.
What’s a policy area we’ve been nursing without finishing the glass?
I could talk about social investment over a degustation-level dinner. With social investment, people get really focused on the fact that it’s [centred on] early intervention and preventative services. But you can have social investment which works with people with the highest and most complex needs, and social investment that’s working with people that have just had something happen, like a moment of crisis, getting tipped into debt, getting a first offence. It’s a system of thinking about right person, right time at every stage. And often, families might have things going on in all of those stages.
What qualities make a good drinking partner?
Knowing your limits, a good bit of humour and appreciating a lovely meal with a drink.
Have you ever had a Schnapps election moment where you regretted your political instinct?
One of the hardest things I had to go through in the 2023 election; we needed seven list seats for me to go into parliament. On election day, I thought maybe I was going in there; I did parliamentary induction and I stood in the House, rehearsed the taking of the oath, rehearsed question time. When the special votes came in, I went home.
That is a brutal experience, but it sharpens your resolve and ultimately, it teaches you so many things about why you want to do this and the level of commitment that’s required. I could have never predicted [missing out on a seat] would enable me to go into a minister’s office and spend three years learning how governments make decisions. If I hadn’t had that day where I found out I was going home, none of these opportunities would have existed.
Up next on One Candidate, One Pint: Te Pūoho Katene, Labour candidate for Te Tai Hauāuru. Read more One Candidate, One Pint interviews here.
