\u2018I do totally believe in karma, and as I kept saying last week, decency prevails.\u2019<\/p>\n
Whoever it was that accused National\u2019s Katie Nimon of being an idle MP has clearly never seen her double-parked at Pint of Order with a Coke and pinot noir. The former theatre kid and and first-term member for Napier has perfected the art of \u201cyes, and\u2026\u201d\u00a0 so well that a conversation with her feels like a tennis match, as she hits quips and insights back and forth. She\u2019s vivacious and very much a millennial, and can boast a rare feat: defeating a feared horseman of the apocalypse (otherwise known as the 2026 election).<\/p>\n
But before we unpack all of that, there\u2019s a few things you should know about Nimon. Her road to parliament was a unique one. Having grown up in Presbyterian household in the Hawke\u2019s Bay, where she was raised \u201cservice to the core,\u201d she started out in politics by working in the family bus business. While she has also worked in politics at a local level, serving as transport manager for Hawke\u2019s Bay Regional Council, she credits her time promoting public transport recruitment and tourism to the region in the bus business as her real introduction to community advocacy. She still doesn\u2019t consider herself a politics tragic, just a \u201cnormie\u201d.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s typically a low-key MP, but a week ago Nimon was thrust into the spotlight when her Napier electorate rival, New Zealand First\u2019s Stuart Nash, labelled her the \u201claziest MP\u201d after detailing (erroneously) the time she had taken off for parental leave. After Nash\u2019s criticism (he later resigned his candidacy), it felt like every working mum, National MP and their dog banded around Nimon to essentially say, \u201cwhat the hell, man?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was super validating about the experience was everyone just being like, no, we know how hard she works,’\u201d Nimon says. \u201cI\u2019m immediately gonna think poorly of myself, because it\u2019s human nature, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
Katie Nimon wants you to know she\u2019s a Slytherin (not derogatory).<\/p>\n
After becoming a new mum, Nimon spent six months away from parliament last year, though she returned to electorate work when her baby boy, Lochie (who was born on budget day), was ten weeks old. Lochie is now 14-months old, and it feels like every time Nimon goes back home, she discovers he\u2019s hit a new milestone (\u201cthe more independent he gets, the more I love him\u201d). But, Nimon admits, there were some lazy moments there; when she was \u201chardcore\u201d in the middle of early breastfeeding, she was \u201ccouch bound\u201d watching episodes of Ted Lasso and Shrinking. Unbecoming of a member of parliament? Possibly in Nash\u2019s view but the electorate may forgive her.<\/p>\n
A believer in astrology and a scorpio to boot, Nimon says, \u201cI hurt when I\u2019m hurt.\u201d She says if she\u2019s already experiencing self doubt, things can get hard when there\u2019s a \u201ctrigger\u201d but that it\u2019s important to use your \u201cbig mum words\u201d and keep in mind that some problems can solve themselves. Despite being all over the headlines, Nimon says she\u2019s stayed calm during the Nash controversy. \u201cI\u2019ve been able to sleep really well at night knowing I haven\u2019t gone down that [negative] road,\u201d she says. \u201cWe do not sink down to that level; we rise above it, and we let people make their own decisions. But I do totally believe in karma, and as I kept saying last week, decency prevails.\u201d<\/p>\n
After Nash\u2019s shot at her spectacularly backfired, Nimon says she\u2019s looking forward to a fair fight for the Napier seat come election day. If nothing else, the saga has served an important reminder about what serving as an MP actually means. \u201cLest we forget that, maybe, MPs aren\u2019t the loudest and most dramatic people,\u201d she says. \u201cWe love to consume drama in our news and socials, yet I don\u2019t think we love the drama when it comes to how we represent [our communities]. We need to disconnect those things, and take the foot off the drama pedal.\u201d<\/p>\n
THE SPINOFF PUB Q+A<\/p>\n
How much should a pint cost?<\/p>\n
My instinct is eight bucks.<\/p>\n
Do you have a karaoke go-to?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s got to be a power ballad, and I\u2019m a big fan of Celine Dion, so the song that came to me \u2013 \u00a0not sure who I\u2019d sing it with \u2013\u00a0 is \u2018The Reason\u2019 by Celine Dion and Carole King. I always say to my husband, you don\u2019t have to be a good singer to sing. If you enjoy it, do it. I\u2019ve been in choirs all through school; I don\u2019t think I\u2019m amazing and I don\u2019t think I could go and become a musician, but I love singing. I just love it.<\/p>\n
Favourite place to get a drink in Aotearoa?<\/p>\n
Oh, she loves a drink by the water. So we\u2019re gonna say The Gintrap, which is in Ahuriri in Napier. Any food or drink by the water just tastes and is better.<\/p>\n
Which three MPs would be on your pub quiz team?<\/p>\n
Tom Rutherford<\/a> every day, for his sports knowledge. Vanessa Weenink<\/a>: she\u2019s so smart, and her retention of knowledge is insane. Of course, she can cover the science stuff, but she also knows so much more. And James Meager, knower of all things \u2013 he\u2019s got sport knowledge, he\u2019s got hunting knowledge, he\u2019s got the legal stuff and the politics covered.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a team of all-rounders \u2013 they\u2019ve all got a niche, and I think that\u2019s three people that would take it very seriously. Exposing myself a little bit: I actually love a quiz. I\u2019m a general knowledge queen, but pop culture and movies and TV theme songs is also totally my vibe. We had a general knowledge test every year at school, and I always came second to my friend Natalie. Little bitter about it, but it\u2019s OK.<\/p>\n Which MP from across the aisle would you most like to share a drink with?<\/p>\nNimon in the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n