Within his parliamentary cohort, Xu-Nan has also claimed the most important title of all: everyone\u2019s favourite pub quiz team member, at least in the One MP, One Pint literary universe. So, what makes him part of the perfect draft? \u201cOften people see me as the kind of person who asks a lot of questions,\u201d Xu-Nan explains. \u201cGrowing up, my favourite show was QI with Stephen Fry. I love learning, I love the random bits of knowledge, and I take a lot of joy out of watching that show and seeing how people simply love learning.\u201d<\/p>\n
But he understands the gravity of the OMPOP honour. \u201cI\u2019m very humbled to be in high demand.\u201d<\/p>\n
The face of a man who would do all of the heavy lifting in a pub quiz team.<\/p>\n
Xu-Nan was one of those kids fascinated by ancient history who grew up to be a \u00a0\u201cvery nerdy\u201d head librarian in high school, then went on to study philosophy at university before getting a PhD in Egyptology. He reckons he was a \u201creasonable tutor\u201d while working at the University of Auckland, covering Ancient Greek history and Egyptian hieroglyphics. As well as hieroglyphics, English and Mandarin, Xu-Nan has dabbled in German, French, Danish, Polish, Bahasa Indonesia and \u201ca tiny bit of Arabic\u201d.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s pretty deft at explaining linguistic theory at length, but where Xu-Nan really lights up is when he gets on to his love of gaming. He\u2019s a longtime World of Warcraft fanboy who would dedicate 35 hours a week to gaming while he was studying; his favourite Pok\u00e9mon is Ninetales and he\u2019s a member of the Greens\u2019 unofficial gamers caucus, alongside Ricardo Men\u00e9ndez March.<\/p>\n
Gaming still provides a good decompression from work life, as does watching Twitch streamers, especially the ones who do those high-speed Sims 4 builds. \u201cThings in parliament can be so hectic, and with my ADHD brain, I just want to do things that are familiar, so I\u2019ll watch the same thing over and over again,\u201d Xu-Nan says. \u201cIf I want to wind down and not think, I\u2019ll put something like that on and that\u2019ll help me fall asleep.\u201d<\/p>\n
His classical history knowledge sure is impressive, but maybe Xu-Nan\u2019s real strengths are being overlooked. Who\u2019s to say he doesn\u2019t deserve to be New Zealand\u2019s first minister for gaming?<\/p>\n
THE SPINOFF PUB Q+A<\/p>\n
How much should a pint cost?<\/p>\n
I think it depends on who produced it and then the quality of the pint. If you have something like a small family brewery that puts a lot of heart and soul into it, they should charge a price that reflects the passion and the work that goes into it. But in terms of a standard pint, I don\u2019t think it should be more than $5.<\/p>\n
Do you have a karaoke go-to?<\/p>\n
\u2018Golden\u2019 from KPop Demon Hunters; that song resonates with me a lot. And I think with everything the teaching profession is facing, that chorus \u2013 \u201cwe\u2019re going up, it\u2019s our moment, together we\u2019ll be golden\u201d \u2013 resonates with how I want teachers to be feeling.<\/p>\n
But growing up, it was Evanescence, \u2018Bring Me to Life\u2019. I used to work at a karaoke bar, and the most requested song was \u2018The Gambler\u2019, without a doubt. I think it\u2019s because the way it\u2019s used in sports.<\/p>\n
Favourite place to get a drink in Aotearoa?<\/p>\n
At the University of Auckland, there\u2019s the Old Government House which has a bar which is mainly for PhD students and staff. \u00a0I used to work at that bar as well, and it holds a lot of memories for me as a PhD student.<\/p>\n
Which three MPs would be on your pub quiz team?<\/p>\n
I\u2019m looking for people who are logical and sensible, and people who complement things I don\u2019t know much about. One of my weaknesses is sports, so I would say people like Chl\u00f6e [Swarbrick]<\/a>, Steve [Abel]<\/a> or even Chris Bishop. Duncan Webb<\/a> knows a lot of things and can speak to a lot of things. And another one with a very good and analytical mind is Chris Penk<\/a>.<\/p>\n Which MP from across the aisle would you most like to share a drink with?<\/p>\n Funny enough, I\u2019ve shared a drink with quite a few people from across the hall. There are many people I want to have a drink with, because I think once you have a drink and sit down and talk about things, you do find that you\u2019ll probably have more things in common than not. There\u2019s a level of performance that happens [on the public stage].<\/p>\n Honestly, I\u2019d love to sit down with all of the education spokespeople; let\u2019s just hash it out and talk about things. So, Erica [Stanford, education minister], David [Seymour, associate education minister], Willow-Jean [Prime, Labour spokesperson] \u2013 ideally it\u2019s just a nice group setting, no cameras, let\u2019s just chat about what we want to see in terms of education.\u00a0<\/p>\n Is there an alcohol-related law you would like to change?<\/p>\n The Greens have previously talked about alcohol advertising in sports. But I think one area that hasn\u2019t been talked about, is growing and has a worrying trend of alcohol advertising is esports<\/a>. Esports is incredibly big, and New Zealand doesn\u2019t have a lot of great regulations or legislation around esports, and that\u2019s an area where we could do a lot more.<\/p>\n Look at the League World Championships, or things like Marvel Rivals and Fortnite. You\u2019re seeing more both in terms of alcohol and product placement in certain games. That\u2019s something we should we having a good look at.<\/p>\n What\u2019s a policy area we\u2019ve been nursing without finishing the glass?<\/p>\n One of the things I find peculiar is how much our funding around learning access and support are not baselined. They are very much ad-hoc, and based on the whims of each budget, and whoever is in government. That includes how we fund support staff and teacher aides \u2026 It\u2019s something that\u2019s been troubling our education system for a long time, and I would love to see this being baselined.<\/p>\n What qualities make a good drinking partner?<\/p>\n Being not so serious and not taking yourself so seriously. Being able to have a laugh and have fun and be OK with that.<\/p>\n Have you ever had a Schnapps election moment where you regretted your political instinct?<\/p>\n There has been a couple of moments where I have to retract an amendment last minute because I realised how I interpreted the legislation and how it should be amended is different from our party policies. I\u2019m getting better at it, but there was one at the end of last year where I thought, \u201cI need to withdraw that.\u201d<\/p>\n