Summer off politics: Camilla Belich talks BookTok, pavlova and Taylor Swift

Saturday, 27 December 2025

Labour list MP Camilla Belich is heading to Hawkes Bay and the Kapiti Coast this summer.

The Post has talked to MPs from across Parliament about what they're looking forward to over the summer break - from Christmas meals to reading material. Today, Labour list MP Camilla Belich tells Harriet Laughton what she’s reading, watching, and listening to over the break.

What are your summer plans?

For Christmas and New Year we are staying in Auckland, which is the first time we’ve done that for a while. We’ll do a little road trip down the North Island in January to Hawke’s Bay to see some friends and the Kāpiti Coast to our family bach that my grandparents bought about 30 years ago.

Do you have a go-to dish you prepare for Christmas?

We usually have fish on Christmas Eve, so I've ordered some frozen cod from the Chatham Islands which I visited as part of a work trip this year. I’ll be hosting my family, and I’ll be the main cook on Christmas Day. My family’s Croatian so I describe our meal as a slightly Italian-style Christmas Day with fresh vegetables and produce. I try to mix it up a wee bit but I’ve just found some recipes that I pulled out of newspapers and magazines over the years and there’s a recipe for a brown sugar pavlova, so I’m going to give that a go.

What's your summer drink of choice?

I've been enjoying some low and no alcohol beers recently. They are as refreshing as a usual beer, but, obviously, a little bit healthier. I think it'll be figuring out my favourite brand. That will be a good task for the summer.

What's the best book you've read this year?

I have read quite a bit this year. It's probably a bit cliche, but I did really love Grant Robertson's book Anything Can Happen. It’s a memoir of him growing up in Dunedin and figuring out who he was, his values and his story of being part of the last Labour Government. I just had no idea Grant was such a kind of good and interesting writer. I also got a little bit into BookTok this year and read some really popular books ‒ Rebecca Yarrow’s Empyreon series Intermezzo by Sally Rooney.

What book are you looking forward to reading over the summer?

I bought The Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox when it first came out, but it’s a very large book. I usually do quite a bit of reading on planes, so I’m looking forward to being in one place so I can read it.

Is there a podcast or TV series you're looking forward to listening to or watching?

I've been listening to Juggernaut 2 by The Spinoff. I find the history of New Zealand and politics quite interesting, and this series follows on from the series they did on the 4th Labour government. Because I was older during the National Government, I have some memories of some of that. It's quite interesting as an adult to think back to some of the things that you might have remembered as a child and be able to piece that together, as well as just learning more about the National Party.

What's your ultimate summer song for any road trips around the country?

My daughters are in charge of the playlist on road trips, so usually by the end of the summer I’m up to date with most of the new music that's coming out. I imagine that it's going to have a lot of Taylor Swift in it this summer because it’s a bit of a favourite with my girls.

Where's the best swimming spot in New Zealand?

Some of the inner city tidal beaches in Auckland that you have to check the tides and can go to only at certain parts of the day. When you do go down it's super easy to just jump into the water and they've got like pohutūkawa that hang over the beach, and you just feel like you've got out of the city, but you're actually just right in the middle of it.