Maybe I’m just too close to it, but my sense is that a big slab of the New Zealand public is thoroughly sick of the election campaign already. 

People are done. They’re fed up. They’re spent. And for the days of the week in between significant sporting fixtures, they’re dead keen for a different kind of contest that doesn’t seem so negative and bleak.  

And this morning, I’ve got the answer. Before I share it though, you’ve got to understand, I’m not usually one to gush about reality TV. It’s not that I’m too cerebral or hoity-toity. It’s not that I spend my evenings annotating James Joyce and listening to Baroque compositions in a leather armchair, it’s certainly not that I don’t own a TV. It’s just that sometimes I find some of the shows a bit formulaic. 

This one will be different. On Monday night, a new season of Celebrity Treasure Island begins, and as much as I’m excited about the comedians, and the middle-aged sporting stars, one celebrity contestant in particular marks what I think is an extraordinary new high in reality TV casting. 

Competing in the Papura team and raising money for I Am Hope, is none other than Tame Iti. 

Yes, that Tame Iti. Tame Iti of the discharging-a-shotgun-at-Waitangi Tame Iti. He of Te Urewera raids. Tame Iti, former member of the NZ Communist Party. Former champion wrestler. Tame Iti, actor, artist. Tame Iti, lifelong Māori rights activist. 

This is what makes New Zealand great. Only in New Zealand could a person like Tame Iti, with his extraordinary life and history, be happily cast in a survival reality show alongside the former captain of the Warriors. 

To be fair, Celebrity Treasure Island has consistently set the standard for entertaining New Zealand telly. I know there will be some people rolling their eyes but trust me - that’s only because you haven’t seen it. The thing that makes the show so genius is how it has become such a glorious reflection of our culture. The cast is always diverse. They’re always characters. And as much as they each want to compete to win, the programme as a whole never takes itself very seriously. It’s incredible self-aware and self-deprecating. It’s moving. It’s emotional. 

If you do decide to do it, to get yourself in the mood, watch Tame Iti’s Ted talk on Youtube. It’s a simple speech called Mana: The Power in Knowing Who You Are. It’s the most moving and affecting Ted talk I’ve ever seen. 

So that’s my recommendation for you this week. If you feel like the election campaign has turned into a daily exercise in talking down New Zealand, give Celebrity Treasure Island a crack. 

Tame Iti, artist. Tame Iti, activist. Could he soon be Tame Iti, Celebrity Treasure Island champion?