The Labour MP reckons a strong cheehoo should be a prerequisite for the Pacific peoples ministerial position.

It’s Labour MP Tangi Utikere’s birthday today, and when he tells you he’s only 21, you best believe him. Maybe getting a non-alcoholic drink with a journalist doesn’t really compete with his 40th – sorry, 20th – birthday when his mum made him a Thomas the Tank Engine cake (because, you see, he’s Labour’s transport spokesperson), but it could be worse. At least it’s a decent day in Wellington.

The two-term MP for Palmerston North will be pretty close to a sure thing at the November election; his electorate (which he’s running for again this year) and hometown has been a safe Labour seat since 1978. His Labour Party predecessors include former ministers Iain Lees-Galloway and Steve Maharey, and the latter’s 1999 re-election campaign was the first Utikere ever worked on. In 2026, he’ll be up against National’s Ankit Bansal again, as well as an old friend and fellow Cook Islander, Teanau Tuiono from the Greens. In his past life as a secondary school teacher, Utikere taught history to Tuiono’s daughter, and the Greenie still calls him “Mr Utikere”.

As the eldest of four siblings, Utikere’s already a born leader. Wait, maybe don’t phrase it like that, Utikere warns – “a few of them might not like it.”

Though he left the classroom 10 years ago, Utikere still sees his students now and then when he gets to moonlight as a marriage celebrant. He’s one of those real community guys, having lived in Palmerston North all his life and serving as the first non-Pākehā deputy mayor of the city between 2016 and 2020. Don’t listen to the haters: Utikere promises Palmy has “everything you need in a community”, from eateries to flat streets to a pretty young population with the highest number of PhD students.

One area in which the community could use more support from the government, Utikere says, is the understaffed and overcrowded local hospital. “I’m really trying to hold the feet of the government to the fire around that, and advocating for good health service for our community.” He had tried to raise the city’s health issues with Pacific peoples minister Paul Goldsmith in the House the morning of his birthday, but didn’t get much out of it – maybe because his words of “warm Pacific greetings” left the minister feeling melancholic. “He said it was great to receive the warm greetings, but [that] it came with a rather chilling effect,” Utikere says.

Utikere has only one other ask of Goldsmith in his position as minister for Pacific peoples: a hearty cheehoo needs to be a pre-requisite to the job, and Goldsmith still needs reveal his. “I know he’s the arts, culture and heritage minister too,” Utikere says. “It’s an important part of Pacific identity, but it’s not the be all and end all.”

THE SPINOFF PUB Q+A

How much should a pint cost?

I reckon it kind of depends where you are, you know. If you’re in sort of the viaduct in Auckland, maybe you can expect to pay a little bit more, but I would have thought [for a regular beer] maybe no more than $11. I was at the Ashhurst RSA last Friday; $7 for a pint of Tui.

Do you have a karaoke go-to?

It would be ‘Islands in the Stream’. It depends on what stage of the evening this happens, but I’m Kenny [Rogers].

Favourite place to get a drink in Aotearoa?

We’ve got a few in Palmy, but there’s a place called Brew Union where  they do their own craft beer and some gin stuff. I quite like a bit of gin, and you can get a bit of a nice feed there as well.

Which three MPs would be on your pub quiz team?

I had to think about this the last few days. Barb Edmonds, because we were elected in the same year (2020), and she is so knowledgable and real about things, not just in terms of politics but also as a mother of eight. Kieran McAnulty, because he’s a mate, he’s down to Earth, a realist, and I think he’s involved in many quiz nights. And the other one is [Green MP] Teanau Tuiono, because us Cookies have to stick together.

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

I thought of Simeon Brown, and the reason I say this is because for about a year, Simmy and I did Breakfast TV. We were tagged as the young panel – I just have to say that, they put up an Instagram post saying “our young panel” and I took a screenshot, obviously. You know, you go into the green room and have a little bit of a chat, but not really, then you go and do the panel. We did that for a year or so leading into the last election.

I don’t know what he’d drink, but I imagine the conversation wouldn’t be short of any topics. It’s not to say that we would agree with everything, but it might be good to get some insight into how that little mind of his ticks.

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

The government at the moment is looking to change the law, and I would not like them to do that. This is about communities being able to have their say on liquor licences. So there is actually a High Court decision called Utikere vs I S Dhillon and Sons; when I was with council, I took a liquor outlet to court to argue that as a local councillor, I had the right to object to a liquor licence [on behalf of my community]. And what that case did was it confirmed that people do have an opportunity to be able to, you know, feed into liquor licensing applications.

I’m not a teetotaler, but there needs to be a good balance. There’s nothing wrong with people having an opportunity to apply for a licence somewhere, but people from the community should have the right to be able to have their views considered by the decision-makers. Taking it away from people because you don’t live within 500m of the site or whatever, but your family has gone to school there the whole time or you work nearby or your church is in that community, you should be allowed to have your say in what should happen in your community.

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

Looking at the parliamentary and council terms. There’s been a lot of talk about the appropriate length of the term, and when we look at other parts of the world, we’re quite unique in that our terms are quite short. I’m not saying huge terms are needed, but when we look at all the resource that goes into councils or parliament, I think there’s an honest conversation that needs to be had about what is the appropriate length of term. My gut feeling is that four years is more appropriate.

What qualities make a good drinking partner?

Someone that’s prepared to talk, but also prepared to listen. Also, I think it’s someone who, when you’re with them, silence is not uncomfortable, or awkward or a bad thing. And someone who’s prepared to shout a round.

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

[Quite] a few years ago I tried to run for the MP for Palmerston North in the party [selection] process. I didn’t get it, and I think probably that was a good thing. It didn’t seem like a good thing at the time, but what it provided was an opportunity for me to do more teaching, get elected to the city council, spend time as a deputy mayor, do all these other sorts of things. I hope I came to parliament with a little more rounded picture [than I had the first time around].

Up next on One MP, One Pint: National MP Tom Rutherford. Read more OMPOP interviews here.