The Labour Party\u2019s T\u0101maki candidate on mortality, Radiohead and being Glen Innes hard.<\/p>\n
He wears the stress of the job in his hair, silver curls that are backlit by the sunset over Mission Bay. During an evening at Good George Brewing, everything glows \u2013 except for the dark pool of stout in his glass. Nearly a decade ago, his best-selling book, The New Zealand Project, made Max Harris one of New Zealand\u2019s most recognisable young lawyers. Now, after spending most of his adult life in the political orbit, it looks likely the 38-year-old will be adding \u201cMP\u201d to his ever-growing CV at the November election.<\/p>\n
When we met for a drink in late June, Harris carried with him a cautious optimism over his campaign to win T\u0101maki for the red team. It\u2019s been 69 years since a Labour candidate bagged the east Auckland seat, but recent murmurings suggest Harris could be close to bucking the trend. An apparently leaked electorate poll (no party claimed it as theirs) published by The Daily Blog put Harris at 24%, just a few steps behind leading Act candidate James Christmas at 26%. National\u2019s Mahesh Muralidhar, meanwhile, was at 23% in his self-described \u201cheartland\u201d \u2013 a far tighter race than any commentator could have predicted.<\/p>\n
He is no stranger to the art of the campaign, having tried to \u201cshape the political debate\u201d without becoming a politician. But after absorbing \u201ca lot of pain from the last couple of years\u201d through working with communities feeling \u201cutterly devalued\u201d by the current coalition, Harris decided the pros of saying yes to running outweighed the cons. He remembers, in the thick of the Treaty Principles Bill debate, while working with claimants in the Waitangi Tribunal, one turned to his peers and remarked, \u201cthis process has made everyone older\u201d. \u201cWe all just have to find a strategic way to throw ourselves into stopping this,\u201d Harris says. Labour was a natural fit for a man who had joined the party\u2019s University of Auckland branch as a student, has worked as an advisor to the UK Labour Party and led the late Efeso Collins\u2019 campaign (endorsed by Labour and the Greens) for the Auckland mayoralty.<\/p>\n
For Harris, running has also provided \u201ca chance to fight for Glen Innes\u201d and \u201creclaim\u201d T\u0101maki, better known for its affluent suburbs such as Mission Bay and St Heliers. \u201cIt\u2019s also Takaparawhau [Bastion Point], it\u2019s the Michael Joseph Savage Memorial, it\u2019s state housing in \u014cr\u0101kei,\u201d Harris says. Under new boundary changes, T\u0101maki now also holds Point England, an area with a high level of socio-economic deprivation. Despite the vast differences in quality of life experienced across voters, Harris believes \u201cthe one thing that ties this whole electorate together is having communities under threat or under strain in different ways in each suburb.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Photo: Supplied)<\/p>\n
In Glen Innes, where Harris\u2019s campaign office is based, locals are struggling with the cost of getting to the closest Work and Income office in Ellerslie. In \u014cr\u0101kei, the power bills are biting. At a recent visit to a retirement village, elderly locals were \u201canxious\u201d over the \u201closs of care\u201d in the community. \u201cI think people are concerned about cohesion and community,\u201d Harris says. \u201cIn Glen Innes, the cost of living is pulling us apart and putting strain on families in a slightly different way to the board experience [of the electorate].\u201d<\/p>\n
Locals took a chance at the last election, ousting longtime local MP Simon O\u2019Connor for Act MP Brooke Van Velden, and Harris hopes the seat could again swing in a new direction. \u201cPeople have been open to the thought of, \u2018we\u2019ve tried the Act Party, could we try something different? Could we try a fresh-faced, sensible alternative?\u201d Even if he loses the race, a comfy list ranking of 29 may still see Harris enter parliament.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been hard yakka juggling community concerns, corner meetings and venue visits, but in general \u201cmy life partner says I\u2019m coming home seeming quite happy compared to legal work,\u201d Harris says. In his younger years, the native Wellingtonian (but don\u2019t hold it against him) had pictured a different life for himself. He knows it sounds typical \u201ctry-hard\u201d politician talk, but Harris once had a childhood dream of playing cricket for New Zealand. By age 14, that morphed into a desire to be a screenwriter, which came alongside a few bad short films made with his twin brother. Hours spent scrolling Radiohead forums online and a love for writing made him flirt with the idea of music journalism, and somewhere online there still exists an essay penned by Harris on the reflections on the failures of New Labour through Kid A. In many ways, he\u2019s your typical child of the 90s.<\/p>\n
Which leads to the next pressing question. If Harris could compare the current government to a Radiohead album, what would it be? \u201cMaybe The Bends, maybe because it feels like everything\u2019s coming up fast,\u201d Harris says. \u201cOr King of Limbs, because it\u2019s droney and uninspiring, and not for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris is hopeful voters will open their hearts to another seat swing. (Photo: Supplied)<\/p>\n
At 26, while on an internship in Helen Clark\u2019s office at the United Nations, Harris underwent open heart surgery. Being diagnosed with a mild form of Loeys-Dietz syndrome in his mid-20s forced Harris to confront his own mortality, and maybe it\u2019s why he feels the pressure to do as much as he can with his life. Harris still keeps \u201cscraps of writing\u201d from his time in hospital, and \u201cat some point in the future\u201d, he hopes to compile those bits together to form another book.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been nearly two hours since Harris and I first found each other in the corner of this bar. It seems time to call it \u2013 at this point we\u2019ve spent more time comparing favourite Radiohead tracks and writers than talking policy. My final question of \u201canything else the public would be surprised to know about you?\u201d gets a simple answer: having flat feet. Stout downed, he folds his lanky frame to fit through the front door and we wave goodbye as he crosses the road to catch the bus home, silver curls disappearing into the night.<\/p>\n
THE SPINOFF PUB Q+A<\/p>\n
How much should a pint cost?<\/p>\n
I guess it\u2019s about $10-15, but I think it\u2019s too expensive everywhere. We\u2019ve seen in Auckland with Flying Out and Neck of the Woods closing in the last week [great news: Neck of the Woods has since been saved<\/a>], that the cost of going out directly affects the quality of our social lives as well.<\/p>\n Do you have a karaoke go-to?<\/p>\n \u2018Torn\u2019 by Natalie Imbruglia. It\u2019s got a great music video as well. Also, Savage Garden\u2019s \u2018To The Moon and Back\u2019. That was my first tape. I\u2019m not suggesting it\u2019s high-quality music; I\u2019m a millennial, I\u2019ll own it. I\u2019ve also sometimes sung \u2018Bullet with Butterfly Wings\u2019 by Smashing Pumpkins. It\u2019s surprisingly fun.<\/p>\n Favourite place to get a drink in Aotearoa?<\/p>\n I really like Ascot in Wellington. I go down for a lot of court cases, and most of my family are still there. I just like the vibes, I like the outdoor area, I like a little wine, and I\u2019ve had a lot of good nights with friends there.<\/p>\n Which three candidates would be on your pub quiz team?<\/p>\n Vanushi Walters, Tamatha Paul and Winston Peters. I think it would be a good combination of a good shot at winning and a good time. And, you know, it would be an interesting conversation.<\/p>\n Which candidate from across the aisle would you most like to share a drink with?<\/p>\n I thought about two people with this: Chris Penk and Chris Bishop. I know them both a little bit. Chris Penk, I studied law with in some of my smaller classes. He\u2019s always been courteous, respectful and inquisitive, and it would be nice to catch up with him [since this interview, Penk has announced he\u2019ll retire from politics<\/a>].<\/p>\n I\u2019m embarrassed to admit this, but I did university debating and Chris Bishop was around then. I think he was just finishing uni as I was starting, and he was very senior in the debating community. I think I remember running into him at the cricket when he first got in [to parliament], but I haven\u2019t really talked to him since.<\/p>\n Is there an alcohol-related law you would like to change?<\/p>\n In my legal work, I\u2019ve worked with quite a few people affected by foetal alcohol spectrum disorder. I really think it\u2019s important that we continue to understand that more as a society. I\u2019ve seen a lot of people affected by it \u2013 things like gaps in their memory in ways that come across as dishonest. They struggle in courtrooms and there are questions about whether people with FSD, in some circumstances, are fit to stand for trial. I think it\u2019s something that people who work in law and justice are understanding better, and I would be keen to progress a collective understanding of it.<\/p>\n What\u2019s a policy area we\u2019ve been nursing without finishing the glass?<\/p>\n I\u2019m passionate about universalism in policy, and one thing that I think is great about Labour policy that\u2019s been announced so far is its reclaiming of universalism as an ideal. I think that sometimes gets queried by people when we talk about targeting, but I think it\u2019s important to have universal healthcare. If we have all of us \u2013 including the middle-class \u2013 benefitting from free doctor\u2019s visits, maternity scans or cervical cancer screening, then we\u2019re more willing to defend those [policies].<\/p>\n What qualities make a good drinking partner?<\/p>\n Someone who can talk about life as well as politics and sports.<\/p>\n Have you ever had a Schnapps election moment that made you rethink your political instinct?<\/p>\n I wrote this book in 2017 called The New Zealand Project that I would write differently today. I don\u2019t know if you feel this way, but it\u2019s scary when you put things in print \u2013 it\u2019s hard to change them. I can\u2019t think of anything [I would change] off the top of my head and I\u2019m not saying anything in The New Zealand Project was a bad take, but I wrote that book in 2015-16 when I was 26 \u2013 you\u2019d hope you\u2019d have a more rounded view [as you get older].<\/p>\n