The National backbencher and Southland MP on tragedy, triumph and whether he wants to be the new space minister.

National backbencher Joseph Mooney is the kind of bloke who talks with his hands, gives a generous laugh at every joke and orders what the locals are having (we’re in Wellington, so it’s Parrotdog). As the MP for Southland for the last two terms, Mooney embodies the place pretty well; he’s got a farming background, is an outdoors man with a paragliding licence, and shares an enthusiasm for space with fellow Southlander Peter Beck, the founder of Rocket Lab. And in calling the area home and himself the local MP, Mooney is also the definition of a full-circle moment.

He was only 11 when he and his nine-year-old brother up and left their home in the Hawke’s Bay, by themselves, with dreams of panning the goldfields in Otago. His stepfather had lost farming work in the wake of the Rogernomic reforms of the 1980s – “a tough part of New Zealand history which impacted our family quite significantly” – leading to days without food at home.

“The idea we had was that we were going to mine gold and live in an old miner’s hut and make our own way in the world,” Mooney remembers. “We were trying to take control of our own destiny.” But when Mooney and his brother tried to cross Cook Strait they were stymied, and spent just over a week living on the cold and rainy streets of Wellington.

What followed were “traumatic” teenage years. At 17 Mooney worked in forestry and sold his car to be able to pay his way through private school for a single term, but “basically, long story short, I didn’t get my university entrance”. Among other tragedies, Mooney was dealing with the loss of two brothers in separate car crashes, and “I sort of thought that was the end of my academic journey.” He went to music school in Nelson for a year after teaching himself piano, later travelled to Tauranga to study marine science (“I averaged over 90% through the year and thought, ‘I’ve actually got a brain'”). While in his late 20s with children, he thought he’d give law school a crack, and ended up with an LLB with honours.

Now, he’s a proud “adopted Southland boy” representing an electorate bigger than Belgium, which stretches from Fiordland to Queenstown to Gore to the bottom of the Otago region. It can be difficult to balance the interests of every constituent, but there’s one thing Mooney has been particularly proud to progress: a regional deal between central government and the councils of Otago Central Lakes, an area with one of the fastest growing populations in the country.

As he recounts his tragedies and triumphs, Mooney has a light way about him. The easy laughter, the talking hands, the ever-present broad grin – his charm is a trademark of being a Libra. And that Libran nature is on display as he walks down memory lane, back through the farms he used to work in hay baling as a boy, wistfully remembering nights spent on the back of a truck, “looking north and visualising my mind’s eye launching rockets”. Decades later, he’d go on to draft parliament’s first space legislation and push for a minister for space.

Hang on – with current space minister Judith Collins leaving parliament soon, has Mooney put his hand up to take over her portfolio? He grins: “That’s entirely up to the boss.”

THE SPINOFF PUB Q+A

How much should a pint cost?

In a perfect world it would cost $5-7, but with cost of living and inflation, you have to make room for margins.

Do you have a karaoke go-to?

I reckon that good old 500 Miles song [The Proclaimers’ ‘I’m Gonna Be’].

Favourite place to get a drink in Aotearoa?

There’s a lot of awesome places around Southland, I think the Mossburn pubs are pretty good. There’s classic Southland pubs where people go and hang out on a Friday night and all the local farmers come and have a yarn and a chat. It’s very good value.

Which three MPs would be on your pub quiz team?

I’m going for a broad range of general knowledge: I think Chris Bishop, and [National MP] Cameron Brewer’s got quite deep background knowledge and a whole range of fascinating political knowledge. I think my neighbour [National’s] Miles Anderson because a) he’d be a good guy to hang out with in a pub and b) I think he’s actually got deep knowledge about a whole raft of different topics.

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

Peeni Henare. He’s a real good guy, and it’s sad to see him go.

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

It’s a random little one that’s come up to me through a constituency issue. A local festival in my area has run into an issue with what is an “and/or” replacement in the [Sale and Supply of Alcohol] amendment act, which is normally just non-contentious simple stuff. But the way it’s being interpreted on one of the local licensing committees means they have to put individual Eftpos machines to each stall holder who’s selling a glass of wine at this festival. Then they have to funnel it through a consolidated system and pay it out to them. It’s the way this local licensing committee has interpreted the law – and it’s open to be interpreted that way – that’s created quite a big issue.

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

I know it’s being worked on, but conservation reform is big for my area. I’ve got the second-biggest area of conservation in the country – it’s getting close to 60% [of all conservation areas in Aotearoa]. The work is well under way, but I’m definitely looking forward to it progressing because I think it would help a lot. 

It’s also a really important balance in terms of protecting the incredible environment that we’ve got, but also enabling the use of it in an appropriate way. We’ve got a national park programme, for example, that’s over a decade out of date and over multiple governments, it’s been put in the too-hard basket. The drinks are full, the work is under way, but I’m definitely looking forward to that progressing.

What qualities make a good drinking partner?

Someone who can have a good yarn. You know, I’ve been doing a lot of talking, but I actually like listening to people and hearing their stories.On the weekend, for example, I spent half a day with one of the local farmers who owns a station that is third generation, and the sheep date back to 1858 – basically as old as the Otago province. It’s fascinating spending time with someone like that and listening to their experience of life and what they’ve seen, stories that they’ve heard and passed on.

I think it’s definitely one of the privileges of this job. You actually get a chance to meet people, hear their stories, and get an insight into the lives of people that you otherwise wouldn’t. And at quite a deep level, a lot of times people can be really generous with both their time and sharing their knowledge.

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

I don’t think I’d ever do a Muldoon. I can’t point to anything [in particular], but you know, there’s always things you look back on and think you could have done better.

Up next on One MP, One Pint: courts minister Nicole McKee. Read more OMPOP interviews here.