Deputy Prime Minister, Finance Minister and Sports Minister Grant Robertson in his Beehive office. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Deputy Prime Minister and Sports Minister Grant Robertson talks to Audrey Young about his love of sport, what he will be watching this summer, and where it began.
Grant Robertson's passion for sports is legendary and, while he doesn't want to single any one out, this summer it will be cricket.
"As Sports Minister it's like your children. You have to love them all equally. But when it comes to cricket, everybody knows I'm a big fan.
"I think we're living in one of the golden eras of the Black Caps - it's quite hard to know when you're in it."
Robertson said he grew up in the 1980s, at the height of the Richard Hadlee, Martin Crowe and Geoff Howarth era that everyone remembered.
"I think when you actually look at the records of the current Black Caps team, they're right up there. I think they're an incredibly impressive team.
"As Sports Minister, I've also got to know them a little bit personally. And they're a wonderful group of guys. You know, Kane Williamson is just a terrific leader, but the culture around the team which actually goes back to Brendon McCullum and Mike Hesson and what they did is something really special."
Robertson's passion for sport began as a schoolboy in Dunedin.
He played everything: Rugby, cricket, squash, volleyball, basketball and of course the ubiquitous four-square and padder-tennis at primary school.
"I was obsessed. I played absolutely everything," he told the Herald before the summer break.
"If I had to pick a sport that was I probably the best at, it would have been squash."
He added: "One of the reasons I'm not as good at tennis is because in squash you just hit it hard as you possibly can whereas in tennis, you have to have a little bit more skill and wrist movement and all of that."
He is not a strong swimmer, claiming the cold-water beaches of Dunedin were not so inviting, but he knows his limits.
He has a set of golf clubs but doesn't use them.
"I haven't found the time to do that, but I used to have a summer membership at the Miramar golf club out by the airport, which makes me very good in a high wind. Not so good in any other conditions. Probably the inverse of most golfers but I actually like golf a lot.
"A previous occupant of this office, Sir Michael Cullen, actually likes playing golf on his own, which I've always thought was an interesting way to approach it."
Robertson played a lot of indoor netball when he moved to Wellington after Otago University and also joined a rugby team where he met his partner, Alf Kaiwai.
"Admittedly, it was in a gay rugby team so my chances were pretty good to meet somebody, but yeah, I played in a team called the Krazy Knights which was established by Dr Dean Knight, who's now a professor at the law school at Victoria University, in the late 90s."
He said it had been a chance to play for a lot of gay guys who either hadn't played rugby or had not had great experiences playing rugby.
With the departure of Winston Peters from Parliament, Robertson has also picked up the Racing portfolio which usually goes to someone with an interest in it.
"It's something I enjoyed going right back to my childhood," said Robertson.
"I grew up a stone's throw from Forbury Park trotting track down in Dunedin and I used to go there with my dad actually, sort of late in the evenings. Night trots were very exciting kind of event for a young kid to go to.
"And then as I got a little bit older, I had friends who are interested in it and you know, like the country race meeting, so Westport Trotting Club and its grass track, been there a few times … as well as here in Wellington at Trentham. I enjoy going to the races. It's a great day."
He likes a bet but, like a good Finance Minister, in moderation.
"I'm very careful with my bets. It's a little bit like managing the economy. You know, I know the limits of what I've got available to me, I am pretty conservative.
"I'm more of a $5 each way, guy. But um, yeah, I do. But, you know, it's all part of the excitement. But like anything in life, you've got to manage it carefully to make sure it doesn't get out of hand."
He hopes that being Racing Minister won't diminish his enjoyment of a good day out at the races.
"One of the things I discovered being Sports Minister, is that once people get that you're genuinely there as a fan or somebody who enjoys being there, they'll tend to give you a bit more space to enjoy the event.
"If you're the Minister of Racing, and you're at an event race meeting, I'm quite sure, there'll be plenty of people wanting to talk to me. We'll just have to get the balance right."
Robertson will also be following the America's Cup on the Waitemata.
"I haven't done a lot of sailing in my life. And so it's not something I know a lot about, but I can certainly appreciate the speed at which the boats are going. It's absolutely extraordinary."
So why are sports good for people besides the physical and mental well-being they give to participants?
"In terms of being spectators and watching it, I do think there's a massive amount of inspiration and pride that we get," he said.
"Sport in general brings communities together. And I see that when I watch my grandkids playing touch rugby, or my stepdaughter playing netball, I see that the way that communities come together around sport.
"Then at the elite level, I think it just acts as an inspiration to us that, you know, it's something that we can share in both the pain and the joy of. So for me, it's a big part of building communities."
He acknowledges that many elite sportsmen and women have had a very difficult year.
"Many of them have had to spend extended periods in isolation in order to be able to compete. Others have spent a long time away from their family.
"But I'm really proud of the fact that we have been able to have sports events with crowds. I was at the Basin Reserve recently watching the West Indies play the Black Caps and just looking out at the Basin Reserve bank completely full of people with a test match being played.
"In the middle of the year, we wouldn't have even contemplated that that was possible. And many countries around the world haven't actually been able to do that even yet. So I think we can be pretty proud of what we've achieved."
It had been a "tough year for the All Blacks in transition", he said.
"But we also have to acknowledge that they won the Bledisloe Cup and the Tri Nations. So for all of the comings and goings and in [Ian] Foster taking the reins, the team actually won two trophies so I think we can be pretty harsh on our sportspeople sometimes.
"The All Blacks are going through a big shift after Steve Hansen finished and a number of players finished at the end of the year. So I think they've done pretty well."
Robertson said 2021 would be a "massive year for us", especially the hosting of the Women's Rugby World Cup.
"So that's going to be a big highlight for me."
And then there would be the big external events, the Olympics and Paralympics.
"As ever, they're a pinnacle event for a lot of New Zealand athletes. So there are going to be challenges in front of our athletes to even get there. But we'll look to support them as much as we can."
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