Green MP Julie Anne Genter doesn’t mind if you call her JAG.

It’s not a sitting week in parliament, but because I’m always standing on business, there’s no reason not to find a member of parliament to have a pint with. During parliamentary recess, you’re more likely to find MPs in their electorates than in the halls of power – which is why Julie Anne Genter and I are catching up over a hazy IPA (for me) and a zero-alcohol Parrotdog (for her) at Newtown’s Bebemos bar in the electorate soon to be known as Wellington Bays, but officially still “Rongotai” until next year’s election.

From a name change that only one person wanted, to speed limit increases that essentially no one wants, there’s plenty happening in Wellington Bays (the mention of which almost sends a shudder down Genter’s spine) to keep the local MP busy. As well as local matters, there are the party duties, with Genter having just arrived back in Pōneke from a caucus away meeting in the Wairarapa. Naturally, most of the Green Party got there by taking the train to Greytown and cycling the rest of the way, which took them over the bridge Genter had secured shovel-ready funding for in 2020. “It was the first time I’d seen it – full-circle moment,” Genter grins. “Greens deliver in government!”

Genter arrives at Bebemos on her jacked-up bicycle that resembles a small car – I’ve christened it the “JAG-mobile” – just as the rain starts to pack in, a low end to a week of wintertime “Wellington-on-a-good day” weather. But we’ve got a plate of stuffed jalapeños, and as soon as you get her talking about roads and cycleways and all of that transport business, Genter’s natural warmth turns firecracker. So even with the rain lashing against the window, it’s a good day to be in Wellington.

There’s no sign of the shouty, allegedly florist-intimidating Genter, which makes me wonder if maybe she’s just American. “You don’t always have to speak up, and I know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em. I definitely think that there’s a culture of being less direct [in Aotearoa], and I prefer more direct, personally,”  Genter tells me. “I don’t blame people for hearing an American accent and assuming the worst. I mean, it’s unfair stereotyping, but I understand where they’re coming from.”

But there are far more pressing matters to discuss. Little does Genter know I’ve brought her here under false pretences – I’m about to become the proud owner of a secondhand road bicycle, and I just really need advice on how to be a confident cyclist in Wellington, because everyone here kinda scares me. Firstly, you’ll want to invest in a “stylish-looking quality raincoat” with a hood big enough to fit over your helmet, then stick a basket on the front if the bike allows and get some sturdy pannier bags, she tells me. Then, when you pull into the advance stop box on the road, make some eye contact and smile at the driver behind you – the most effective method of bridging that gap of misunderstanding between these two proud cultures.

Do all this and brush up on the cyclist code, and you’ll be sweet. And one day, if you’re someone with the appropriate organs to get pregnant, you could cycle yourself to the hospital when you’re ready to give birth, as Genter herself has done in the past. For now, I’m OK with just being the proud mother of a bicycle.

THE SPINOFF PUB Q+A

How much should a pint cost?

Enough that the workers behind the bar and the people making the beer are earning a living wage.

Do you have a karaoke go-to?

I have a few: ‘Baby, Baby’ by Britney Spears, ‘Sweet Child o’ Mine’ … I aspire to have [some variety]. I might go for an Adele song or something, but I don’t have the range, and it’s quite embarrassing.

Favourite place to get a drink in Aotearoa?

That would be very hard to narrow down [in Wellington Bays], there’s so many good places: Parrotdog, Moon Bar, Double Vision – they’ve just opened up a new place in Island Bay – and Waitoa in Hataitai.

Which three MPs would be on your pub quiz team?

I’d go with Celia Wade Brown, because she’s been around a long time, and when you get people who are around a long time, they know a lot, right? And then I’d probably say Lawrence Xu-Nan, because he’s got a PhD in Egyptology and knows a lot about ancient history and geography. And [Act’s] Cameron Luxton – he’s on my select committee, and he’s a farmer and a builder, so I feel like he’ll have complementary knowledge.

Which MP from across the aisle would you most like to share a drink with?

Probably Cameron, but if I had to choose somebody else, probably Chris Bishop. We’d probably be talking about Pearl Jam, and I’d be debating transport economics.

Which current policy would you like to call last rounds on?

I’ll stick with something in my portfolio area, even though there’s many things the government is doing at the moment that I really disagree with and that I think is bad news. In transportation, the new speed rule has been really problematic, and lots of local communities want really reasonable things like safe speeds outside schools, safe crossings…

The city council was forced to put up the speed limit to 50 [in Berhampore], and when we went door knocking, the vast majority of people, no matter their political background or preferences, supported safe and appropriate speeds. The whole rule proposed by the government was premised on the idea that the Labour government was going around and randomly forcing everyone [to slow down], but it was all targeted and driven by the local community. So what we now have are blanket speed limit increases, predominantly around schools and places that make no sense, and it’s just not going to fix productivity.

Is there an alcohol-related law you would like to change?

My colleague Chlöe Swarbrick had a member’s bill about reducing alcohol harm, and I would love to see that fully implemented. It feels like we’re going backwards.

What’s a policy area we’ve been nursing without finishing the glass?

Cannabis law reform. Especially medicinal cannabis, because lots of people can get a prescription now for cannabis, [but] it’s all pharmaceutical products that are imported. So, you can buy plants and flowers that were grown overseas, but we’re not benefitting from that here in New Zealand. If you wanted true economic development for the north, make it possible to grow hemp for commercial purposes, make it possible to grow medicinal cannabis – that’s something that David Seymour as minister for regulation should be looking at [for] economic development. And it’ll probably reduce alcohol harm as well.

What qualities make a good drinking partner?

I just like someone who likes to have an interesting conversation about policy, or about the deeper aspects of life and what’s happening in the world.

Have you ever had a Schnapps election moment where you regretted your political instinct?

Yeah, probably.

Up next on One MP, One Pint: Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick.