Summer off politics: Francisco Hernandez on ‘southern men’ and fruity drinks

Thursday, 1 January 2026

“I’m a big rail guy,” Green MP Francisco Hernandez says as he tells The Post about his summer plans.

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, the Green Party’s Francisco Hernandez tells Anna Whyte what he's reading, watching, and listening to over the break.

What are your summer plans?

My parents live in Brisbane so I’m looking forward to (temporarily) joining the exodus of young New Zealanders (34 still counts as young, right?) to Australia for the summer.

I’m a big rail guy so I’m hoping to do some long distance rail journeys – I did the Spirit of Queensland from Brisbane to the Great Barrier Reef a few years ago so I might do a similar thing – maybe the Brisbane to Melbourne Great Southern this time.

I’ll also spend some time in Dunedin and do some tourist stuff I’ve never actually done yet despite coming to Dunedin in 2009, like checking out Larnach Castle.

What's your go-to summer dish?

Halo-halo is an all-year-rounder but I understand why people who are not ‘southern men’ wouldn’t want to be having it in the middle of a cold Dunedin winter. It is the perfect dessert dish for summer though – nothing beats shaved ice and condensed milk with assorted sweet toppings to cool off.

What's your summer drink of choice?

I suppose I should probably say Speight’s to help with the student vote in Dunedin, but to be honest I love fruity and sweet drinks ‒ the fruitier and sweeter the better. Mango margaritas are my go to but I love a tequila sunset as well.

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

I’ve been on a political biography reading spree this year. I read the ones that Jacinda Ardern and Grant Robertson wrote, prompting me to read the ones by Golriz Ghahraman, Steven Joyce, Judith Collins and Chris Finlayson. I have to say that while I think Ardern’s is the best autobiography because of how human and reflective it is, Grant Robertson’s is the best political autobiography because of how deeply he gets into the politics.

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

Apart from reading The Post’s usual excellent and accurate dispatches, I’ve been looking forward to getting around to Volker Ullrich’s Fateful Hours: The Collapse of the Weimar Republic. I got the book a few weeks ago but it’s been too depressing to read and I’ve also been quite busy so I’m hoping that the lightness of summer will help me get through it.

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

Newsroom used to have a podcast called Raw Politics but they stopped doing it for some reason, but I’m listing it just in case it comes back.

In case it doesn’t, I’m looking forward to Juggernaut 2 from the Spinoff – the original series was a really interesting look back into the first phase of the economic turmoil that New Zealand was subjected to due to our neoliberal revolution so it’ll be interesting to see how they cover the second phase and also the birth of MMP in New Zealand.

What's your ultimate summer song for road trips?

The haters will say that Not Given Lightly by Chris Knox is far too intense to be a good summer song but it captures the feeling that I most closely associate with summer ‒ the feeling of yearning and desire. Also it’s really simple and easy to sing along to in a car.

Where's the best swimming spot in New Zealand?

I really enjoyed Kāpiti Island. We did a staff planning day there a few years ago and I still remember how much stuff there was to do during the day – a combination of tramping and beach vibes.