A New Zealand politician can’t name a home grown novel but

Government arts spokesperson Todd Stephenson’s inability to name a New Zealand author for 20 minutes in an interview has rightfully raised eyebrows

Politicians are used to being asked tough questions – and voters are, by now, used to their stalling in response. Still, you might not imagine that “name a New Zealand author” could ever be one of them – especially for a New Zealand politician, holding an arts portfolio.

Yet that’s exactly how the ACT party’s arts spokesperson, Todd Stephenson, has surprised us, taking 20 minutes to name a single Kiwi author – or even a book – in an interview with Newsroom. In the quite remarkable exchange with Steve Braunias, Stephenson was blithely forthcoming about his limited experience of his portfolio: “It’s an area I’m wanting to learn more about.”

Elle Hunt is a freelance journalist and writer