I wasn’t always sold on Efeso Collins. As he began to emerge on the political scene, I’d heard he was a devout Christian who held some views more conservative than my own on social issues like LGBT and abortion rights - a worldview I am hard-wired to resist.
Butthat resistance could not withstand getting to know the man. On a personal level, Efeso Collins was gracious to a fault, lacking any trace of the kind of guile or vanity I can spot in a politician from across a crowded cafe. It didn’t take much time in his company before coming to see everything I’d been told about this new leader coming up the ranks in South Auckland was true. “That Efeso Collins,” I’d hear over and over again from Labour and community circles, “he’s the real deal” - and that he was. By the time he threw his hat into the ring for the Auckland Mayoralty, I was backing Collins with the zeal of a convert.
We got to chat about those social views that had concerned me over coffee in late January 2022, and he dealt with it in such refreshingly honest terms, I wrote this about our conversation:
“Coming from a strictly religious household, [Collins] is first to admit he’s been on a journey.
“In my church, I’m considered way too liberal,” he tells me, explaining how, as a youth leader, he regularly works with young people wrestling with sexual identity.
When I hear him talk on the subject, it occurs to me that what’s seen as a weakness in progressive circles could well become an unexpected strength, and one that allows him to reach far beyond his South Auckland base.
A hearse carrying the coffin of Efeso Collins drives around south Auckland passing Tangaroa College, Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate Junior School and the Otara Rugby Football Club. Photo / Hayden Woodward
“This journey he describes towards accepting new social norms, the evolution in his thinking, is something many people of all colours and creeds, including me, can relate to.”
Through this and other interactions, I came to see Efeso’s Christian faith as something other than an impediment to his career advancement or electoral appeal. This wasn’t an awkward juxtaposition with otherwise conventionally progressive views that he needed to navigate around or explain away to get ahead. His faith was integral to his politics, inseparably so, but in a way radically at odds with the theocrats of the Christian right. His was a faith of love, humility, openness and grace - far closer in spirit, it seems to me, to the Jesus Christ of the gospels than the fire and brimstone preachers or “Prosperity Gospel” charlatans who dominate much of the Christian stage.
I was fortunate to attend Efeso’s memorial service last week along with more than 2000 others. His loss was such a gut-wrenching blow, so inexplicably sudden, so many decades too soon, we arrived at the Due Drop Events Centre under a heavy cloud of sadness and grief. But, then, one beautiful and brilliant tribute after another reminded us that, while the life of Efeso Collins was cut way too short, it was nonetheless a gift and a blessing. It was profoundly life-affirming. For me and I’m sure many others walking away from the service, it felt like we could breathe for the first time since we heard news of his death.
In a wonderful tribute, Vasa Fia Collins said of her husband, “Fes was born to lead. If you knew him, you’d know he’d always try to discretely enter spaces, and sit at the back. But how can you miss a man who’s 6′4″ with a booming voice and a beautiful big smile?”.
We could not miss him, not on that day at least. His faith and love for family and community, his warmth and humour, his impatience for a better world, radiated everywhere and got us back on our feet. Another reason to be grateful for the life of Efeso Collins. Rest well, my brother.
E manatua pea le Afioga ia Fa’anànà Efeso Collins, o le auauna ofoofogia, fa’atuatuaina, ma le loto maualalo, I lana auaunaga iloga ma le lè fa’atuaoia mo so’o se tagata, lenei ua fa’aosofia ma fa’agae’etia ai tatou uma. Fa’atuatuaina, ma le loto maualalo, I lana auaunaga iloga ma le lè fa’atuaoia mo so’o se tagata, lenei ua fa’aosofia ma fa’agae’etia ai tatou uma.
Efeso Collins' wife, Vasa Fia Collins, is greeted by Labour party leader Chris Hipkins at the funeral for Fa’anana Efeso Collins at the Due Drop Events Centre in Manukau. Photo / Michael Craig
E tatau lava ona tatou manatua ma fa’aauau ana galuega alofa, ina ia fa’alauteleina le lagolago, mo I latou o lo’o mo’omia se fesoasoani.
We will never forget le Afioga Fa’anānā Efso Collins, a remarkable, trusted, and humble servant, who’s unwavering dedication to helping anyone inspires us all.
We should remember his memory and his legacy of compassion, and extending a helping hand to those in need.
