Wishful thinking: What celebs want

Over the past year, we asked 50 well known Kiwis to tell us their biggest wishes. Here are the highlights.

As part of our regular series in Sunday magazine, we ask well known New Zealanders from all walks of life to tell us about their wishes – the big ones, the small, the hypothetical and the real.

Their answers reveal a lot. Many wished that 10 years ago we had known about the pandemic and to invest in bitcoin. Others wished they could swap lives with their dogs – a shared yearning for a simpler, sleepier life with no responsibilities.

Often, the answer to ‘‘I wish New Zealand was more…’’ includes themes of ‘‘more confident’’ and ‘‘more tolerant’’ suggesting that we could probably back ourselves more, and be kinder towards each other.

Out of the 50 people we spoke to in 2022, these were the wishes that stood out, made us laugh or made us think.

‘‘I wish, 10 years ago, I knew that everything we took for granted could just change overnight. The uncertain times during the pandemic made us consider what was really important in life, which was relationships, really, with family and friends, and in our case, also diners, who we really missed during lockdowns. I wish New Zealand was more inclusive. It feels like this place is a lot more divided along racial, political or religious lines than it used to be, which is sad. But food brings people together, right? I hope we can find ways to be more tolerant and kind to one another, and sit around the table together again.’’

– Sid Sahrawat, chef and restaurateur.

‘‘I wish, 10 years ago, I knew I was going to have five babies. Because man, right now… oh heck! It can be very challenging sometimes. I wish every day I could eat oysters and fish heads! Mmm. I

‘‘I wish 10 years ago I knew to invest in Bitcoin so I could happily retire at the age of 31 and just… relax. I wish New Zealand was a bit more confident. I think the whole tall poppy thing really comes from us being a colony of Britain and being like, well, hang on, we’re at the little kids table, let’s see what everyone else thinks. You know, that’s why we only kind of lift someone up when they do amazing things overseas, a lot of the time, but there’s so much good stuff going on here. And I wish that people were more comfortable singing it from the rooftops.’’

– Rhys Mathewson, comedian.

wish they were that accessible to me, you know, just to have something fresh that you could just grab and eat – not like paying $7 or $8 for one oyster!’’

– Kaiora Tipene, funeral director.

‘‘I wish I could swap lives with my dog. He has a great life. He has no worries about anything. He gets fed, he sleeps whenever he likes, I take

him for walks. He gets all the love and affection in the world, and life is so simple for him. He’s content.

‘‘The person I wish was on a banknote is Ta¯ me Iti. He’s an icon, and a personal hero of mine. I like his aesthetic. He’s got strong principles and a playful nature in everything he does, but he’s also a bad-ass. I loved that video where he went into that hotel in Wellington and changed his misspelled name on a painting, and they had Snoop Dogg playing in the background. We need a few more people like him.’’

– Teeks, musician. ‘‘I wish I could swap lives with Joni Mitchell during the 70s.

‘‘It was a really fruitful time for music, when a lot of people were unleashing their creativity in new ways.

‘‘Joni was someone who really harnessed her art during that period. She’s the key inspirational artist of my life, really. Her, and Lucinda Williams.’’

– Nadia Reid, musician. ‘‘I wish I could swap lives with our dog Colin. He’s a cavoodle, which is a cross between a poodle and a cavalier king charles spaniel. He has a great life. He’s always just chilling and snacking. Everybody adores him, he has no work to do.’’

– Lisa Carrington, Olympic canoeist.

‘‘I wish I could spend a Sunday with Muhammad Ali. I was a kid in the 70s when he inspired every man on the planet. I was a Yorkshire dandy, but even I wanted to be a boxer when I was young. My dad took me to the local garden fete and there was this kid being pummelled. Fortunately I decided to stick to making sticky buns.’’

– Sean Connolly, chef and restaurateur.

‘‘I wish more people could make stuff – any stuff. I think it’s a shame we’ve become too passive.

People need to get off their phones and turn Netflix off and sew things and knit things and build things and grow things… I myself have started crafting and it’s something I find incredibly positive and rewarding.

To make your own things is so great.’’

– Kate Sylvester, fashion designer.

‘‘I wish New Zealand was less defensive when people say or write anything bad about New Zealand.

I would love to see us be a little bit better at taking criticism… I think sometimes a bit of self reflection might not be a bad thing.’’

– Melissa Chan-Green, journalist and TV host.