Broadcaster Jack Tame says he’s “counting down the days” to becoming a father for the first time as he prepares to welcome a baby with TVNZ reporter Mava Moayyed.
The host of Newstalk ZB’s Saturday Morning programme appeared on Real Life with fellow ZB broadcaster John Cowan on Sunday night to discuss his life, career and the way he sees the world.
In a wide-ranging interview, Tame said he and Moayyed were ready for the challenges of parenthood — especially given he’s already a stepdad to Moayyed’s seven-year-old son, Rumi.
“We’re very much counting down the days and nesting,” he told Cowan.
“Over the summer I’ve been doing things like cleaning the weatherboards on the house, because I know there’s not going to be an opportunity to do that for another 18 months or so.
“I’m ready for it. Not only do I have my wonderful wife Mava, but I have Rumi, who’s a very big part of my life now. It is a bit of a shock to the system to essentially overnight go from living by yourself to living with a seven-year-old who wants to go into the backyard and kick a football around and play Lego and various things…
“But it’s part of life I’ve been really excited about and feel very, very ready for.”
Tame, who worked alone for five years as 1News’ US correspondent before returning to New Zealand, concedes the window for living life solely on his own terms is probably over for the next little while.
" I wouldn’t say the window has slammed shut, but I’m certainly not living the same kind of selfish existence that I might have been living a couple of years ago,” he told Real Life.
Jack Tame says he and wife Mava Moayyed are ready for the challenges of parenthood – especially given he’s already a stepdad to Moayyed’s 7-year-old son, Rumi.
“I think any parent, or anyone who has responsibilities and commitments, will know that when you are thinking about more than just yourself, you can’t necessarily do what you always want to do whenever you want to do it.”
As well as being stepdad to Rumi, Tame is an uncle to a flock of young nieces and nephews, so he feels better prepared than most for the joys and trials of raising young children.
“I’m the oldest of four and was fairly involved with my siblings, and am very close with my siblings still. I’m an uncle… my sister has three kids, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law have two kids as well.
“So I’ve spent a lot of time with relatively young kids. I think the eldest of those is 6 years old. So there’s plenty of wrestling and playing in the backyard.”
Television and radio journalist and presenter Jack Tame will take some time off upon the arrival of his baby. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Tame will be taking some time off upon the arrival of his baby in February, but will be right back into hosting duties on TVNZ politics show Q&A when he returns to work.
Tame says he loves the regular opportunities he gets through that show to hold some of the country’s most influential leaders to account.
“I don’t just want to pose questions when I’m speaking to powerful people, I actually want to pursue answers. And that means that, in an interview, I listen as carefully as possible to determine in the moment whether or not a politician is actually answering the question or whether they are obfuscating.
“Most politicians are very skilled communicators who have been trained very carefully to define a message as they would like to define it, rather than necessarily answer the direct question they’ve been posed. So it can be a challenging thing.
“I repeat the question many times and I will interrupt them and I will point out quite obviously that they are not answering the question… it can be quite a confrontational thing.”
Despite regularly holding politicians’ feet to the fire, Tame says he admires many of them and believes most “are in it for the right reason”.
“They have a vision that they think will make our country and our society better, and to be an effective politician, you have to work incredibly hard regardless of your party affiliation or political philosophy,” he told Cowan.
Tame said he’s grateful that New Zealand’s political realm doesn’t compare to the “theatre” of our US counterparts.
“The American system has led to a more divided and partisan society than fortunately we have. I just hope we don’t go down the same tribal route… Vanilla is not necessarily a bad thing.
“The thing to remember is that the vast majority of New Zealanders are actually somewhere in the middle when it comes to politics. We actually agree on much more than we disagree on.
“And I think the way that American politics has gone lately kind of emphasises divisions rather than things that actually unite people.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Tame spoke candidly about his childhood, his wife’s Baha’i faith, and his growing desire to one day make a career change.
Real Life is a weekly interview show where John Cowan speaks with prominent guests about their life, upbringing, and the way they see the world. Tune in Sundays from 7:30pm on Newstalk ZB or listen to the latest full interview here.
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