The Great New Zealand Road Trip: Nine Questions with... Sir Ashley Bloomfield

Former Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield. Photo / Getty Images

What’s the one word to sum up your mood right now?

Hopeful (as befits a lifelong optimist).

What do you wish people knew about where you live?

I live in Eastbourne. There’s a regional park at one end of our road, a beach at the other, and if I turn left out of our road the next stop is a lighthouse.

What are your passions?

Live music; being in the hills or on a bike; doing good work with great people; hanging out with family and friends.

Sir Ashley Bloomfield after his investiture at Government House, Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Which New Zealander (alive or dead) do you most admire — and why?

Graham Mourie; as the incumbent captain, he made himself ‘unavailable’ for All Blacks selection during the 1981 Springbok tour as a matter of principle.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Walking in the mountains with my entire family.

What is your greatest fear?

Another pandemic in the near future (the world is not well-prepared; it’s like we’re pretending the last one didn’t happen).

What is it that you most dislike?

Negativity and catastrophising.

What is on your bucket list?

Cycling the Tour Aotearoa (Cape Reinga to Bluff).

What do you hope/think NZ will look like in 10 years?

A place where all our Tamariki know they are valued and can flourish — it’s totally in our hands.

Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor.