Act MP Todd Stephenson on redeeming himself after that Newsroom interview, his love of musicals, and whether Taylor Swift would vote for Act. 

Act MP Todd Stephenson is channeling his mum by ordering a gin and tonic from Pint of Order, and by making sure the nice young lady with him (AKA me) doesn’t have to buy her own drink. The longtime Act Party man (a rebel of Richard Prebble in the days before Act was even a party) has had a chocka first term as Act’s chief whip, a member of five select committees (including justice), and a spokesperson for eight portfolios. It’s been a pretty big term for Act in general: between finally being in cabinet, the Regulatory Standards Act, charter schools and the Medicines Act, the minor party has managed to get some massive changes across the line.

Stephenson has also recently taken to doing story-time sessions on the party’s social media accounts, a huge development for fans of his 2023 Newsroom interview. In his hands is a copy of children’s book – partially authored by a lowly Act staffer, partially by AI – titled “Laura McClure and the Very Bossy Rulebook”, a cautionary children’s tale about the uber-scary powers of the Broadcasting Standards Authority. With evidence that he has indeed consumed locally produced written material, does Stephenson feel redeemed?

“Yeah, I mean, I can read,” Stephenson informs me. “I reflect on it, and in a sense, it actually reinforces why I’m in Act: people should actually have their own opinion on what arts and culture they are interested in.” And better than books is the The Spinoff’s Juggernaut podcast, of which Stephenson is a massive fan (“I think The Spinoff should be giving me some kind of royalties because I convert basically everyone to listening to it”). And, more than Juggernaut, he loves musicals: his favourite is the Australian show Keating, he recently saw The Pirates of Penzance in New York, and he would love to produce a musical about David Seymour post-politics.

When he’s not enjoying those various bits of arts and culture, you can find Stephenson at home in Queenstown, where he and his partner Alex can soak in The Remarkables from their balcony. Don’t hold it against him, but Alex is an Aussie – the couple met during Stephenson’s 15-year stint across the ditch, where he became one of the first openly gay leader of a pharmaceuticals company. After being made redundant in 2022, Stephenson got in touch with old mate Seymour, moved back to New Zealand, and the rest is history.

We get to talking about Stephenson’s most-listened to artists of the year (he uses Apple Music, which is arguably woke) and he lets me know he’s been blasting Pearl Jam the most. But it’s his mention of listening to “a bit of Taylor Swift” that gets my heart rate up, and brings a pressing question to the front of my mind: would Taylor Swift vote for the Act Party?

Stephenson swirls his drink, and behind his eyes you can see the gears of his brain turning over as he ponders all the ways this could backfire for him politically. He thinks for a second: “Maybe.” Then he loses a bit of confidence: “I don’t know.” It’s a make or break moment – will Stephenson follow in the bold footsteps of his leader, and declare every famous person living or dead an Act voter? Will it finally hit me that Swift’s years-long fight to own her masters was actually an exercise in showing the public the importance of fighting for your property rights?

Then, Stephenson decides on his final answer: “Yes.”

THE SPINOFF PUB Q+A

How much should a pint cost?

Whatever the market can bear; probably in these times, it’s north of $10. But I’ve been telling young Dray [Mark, Act research and policy adviser] that I remember when you could get a jug at the Union Bar at Otago University for $4.

Do you have a karaoke go-to?

‘Uptown Girl’ by Billy Joel. So, you know about SingStar? When I used to flat here in Wellington, working in consulting, my flatmate loved karaoke, he was obsessed with it. Just before dinner, or while we were making dinner, he’d fire up the SingStar and make us all do a song.

Favourite place to get a drink in Aotearoa?

When you come to Queenstown, I’ll take you to the Sundeck Bar, near the waterfront. It’s a little rooftop bar – really cool – and you can sit there and just have a cocktail in the afternoon sun.

Which three MPs would be on your pub quiz team?

[Act’s] Andrew Hoggard, that guys knows a lot of stuff. And [Green MP] Lawrence Xu-Nan, because he’s a hard worker, that guy. You know, we probably don’t have the same politics, but he works hard, so I give him that. And then, probably [Labour’s] Barb Edmonds – I’ve been lucky enough to have a drink and dinner with her and her husband when we were on a speaker’s tour to the US together. I think she’d be a good time at a pub quiz.

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

[Labour’s] Vanushi Walters is someone I’d like to have a drink with, because she’s just joined the justice committee; she’s come in during the term. She’s a lawyer, and I actually find her very smart, very sensible, and a great contributor.

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

Obviously, Kieran [McAnulty’s] trading days law came through the justice select committee [recently]. We’ve done a lot of work, and we are going to try and work on an amendment, because at the moment [the bill] only applies to on-licences. Originally, it was going to apply to off-licences, but Kieran had to make some changes. In Queenstown, for example, you have a situation where a supermarket is open, but even with this amendment it couldn’t sell alcohol.  So that’s something we’d like to change.

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

I think there’s maybe just still a bit more to do in the health and medical spaces. Watch this space: I can’t say much, but I’m working on a little project. We’ll see whether it comes off or not.

What qualities make a good drinking partner?

Obviously, someone who is fun. But also, I’ve got a very good friend of mine who’s in Sydney, he’s right into his cocktails – specifically the chartreuse-based cocktails. Someone who knows his stuff on cocktails, and can ask the bar to make something a bit different.

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

I think pingate may have got a bit out of control. It’s probably one where we could have pulled back a little earlier … We were relying on previous speakers, and the speaker [we got] had a different view. It’s probably one that, you know, got more airtime than it needed, shall we say.