What’s a creative thing you like to do in your spare time?

In a time when social media and cell phones are so readily available, I always try to find the time to be creative. Personally, I enjoy reading, particularly biographies and autobiographies, and doing logic puzzles when away on a break.

What’s your favourite creative thing to do with your whānau or friends?

One thing that always brings my family together is playing cards with one another, particularly the game of 500, which we have been playing for many years and is a staple of any family holiday.

Why is it important for young people to have creativity in their lives?

Allowing young people to have creativity in their lives is vitally important as it helps foster their emotional intelligence. This can be seen firsthand in our education system when schools incorporate activities which enhance student’s creativity. Young people, especially children, are naturally curious and like to have the ability to explore and figure things out for themselves. When these opportunities are discouraged, young people’s emotional and artistic growth can be stunted and can often be difficult to regrow.

Why does creativity and culture matter to Aotearoa New Zealand?

The arts are hugely important to our Kiwi way of life, from music to visual arts, to film and TV. Creativity and culture have a special way of bringing New Zealanders together to celebrate talent.

If you were Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage, what’s the first thing you would do?

While my focus is on earning as many party votes as I can to elect a National Government and local votes so I can be Bay of Plenty’s next MP, I’ll always be a strong advocate for our arts sector here. We’ve got incredible local events here in the Bay of Plenty that should be supported and celebrated.

If you were made Minister, would the government’s investment for creativity go up or down?

We’ll be announcing our full arts policy in the lead-up to the election.

What will your party do to ensure that artists have the opportunity to access fair pay and fees for their work?

Our key priority is rebuilding the economy so we can reduce the cost of living. That means people are better able to support the arts, and the artists have access to more opportunities. We recently supported the Resale Right for Visual Artists Bill through Parliament to give artists the ability to earn on the resale of their art.