Carmel Sepuloni talks to Vaimoana Mase about her new role as New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister. Video / Michael Craig
When Carmel Sepuloni stepped out in public ahead of being sworn in as the country’s first deputy prime minister of Pacific descent, there was no doubt about who she was and where she comes from.
Dressed in traditional Samoan and Tongan attire, the outfit itself was seeped with symbolism - not only paying tribute to her culture and heritage, but also a subtle nod to another significant event in New Zealand history.
“I have to thank my Tongan sisters, in particular,” she says.
“I think they came with about 10 mats laid out in my office and we had a discussion over which would be the appropriate one to wear.”
They settled on a fine mat from Samoa that has been in fellow Labour MP and friend Jenny Salesa’s family for years.
“The Tongan community put a lot of value on the Samoan weaving, so we decided that would be the appropriate one to wear for the occasion.”
Former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern hugs now Deputy PM Carmel Sepuloni. Photo / Getty Images
Those watching on may have noticed that the two-piece dress Sepuloni wore, known as a puletasi, was the same uniform worn by others in Labour’s Pacific caucus that day.
“One of my colleagues made the point that Jacinda Ardern had given us the apology for the Dawn Raids and Chris [Hipkins] was now giving us our first Pacific Deputy Prime Minister.
“So I thought that if I’m going to wear this puletasi again, it’ll be on the day that I get sworn-in as Deputy Prime Minister.”
It is the day after the swearing-in ceremony with new Prime Minister Hipkins when the Herald meets Sepuloni at her home in leafy Titirangi, West Auckland.
There are family photos on the walls and a huge bookcase carrying various Pacific books - and the odd Harry Potter title - and keepsakes of Cook Islands, Fijian, Tongan and Samoan origins on the shelves.
Sepuloni is unapologetically brown - hailing from the Samoan village of Vailele and Tonga on her father Fa’atali’i Kamisi Sepuloni’s side.
“I always say that my bloodlines are equally weighted. But I do know Samoa and I guess I’ve experienced Samoa more than I have Tonga - but I’m proud of both.”
Like many Pacific families, Sepuloni’s father lives with her and husband Daren Kamali and their sons Bailey and Isaiah.
Deputy PM Carmel Sepuloni is the first person of Pacific descent to hold the job in New Zealand. Photo / Michael Craig
Put to her that it was nice to know she was taking care of her dad, a soft smile appears: “I don’t know if it’s me taking care of dad or dad taking care of me.
“I am often in Wellington and busy out and about as a politician. My husband works full-time as well, so dad holds down the fort. He’s here for when the children get home from school and provides a lot of support to us.”
Sepuloni is also fiercely proud of her European heritage on mum Beverley’s side of the aiga and speaks candidly about life as a brown kid and one with mixed heritage.
“There are so many people in New Zealand that have that mixed heritage. There’s been a little bit of racial tension in places in recent years and I think we need to be reminded of the fact that we do have mixed heritage, it is okay, we can work together well.
“There’s no reason to feel threatened by each other. I think that that’s the way forward as a country. I really want to be a unifying figure with regards to race relations, in some ways, in New Zealand.”
She speaks with a sense of pride whenever her home town comes up, Waitara in Taranaki, which she described as being very Māori/Pākehā with few Pasifika in town.
“I felt quite an affinity to Māori and from a young age, I knew and felt that connection as a Pacific person to Māori.
Deputy PM Carmel Sepuloni, Governor-General Cindy Kiro and Prime Minister Chris Hipkins at the Government House swearing-in ceremony. Photo / NZ Herald
“My palagi family are all down there - they are a big farming family and so I’m connected to that world too. It is a bit of an anomaly.
“You don’t get many Pacific Island kids who go to a farm in Stratford in the school holidays and get to have that experience.”
That part of her childhood helped to shape her into who she is now, Sepuloni said.
The only other Pacific people - bar one or two - at the time were relatives.
“I was very proud to be Samoan-Tongan. I have to say, though, that I really got a chance to reconnect when I moved to Auckland, because we didn’t have a big community down in Waitara.
“I got to immerse myself in my community for the first time.”
Sepuloni says she has not changed much over the years and has always been passionate about issues to do with social justice and the injustices people face.
“I certainly did [see injustices growing up]. I saw racism - as any brown young person does see.
“I also saw the political swings at the time and what that meant. I saw how economic conditions impacted our families.”
On her new role, she acknowledged the expectation, pride and excitement many within the Pacific community - both here and in the islands - were feeling.
She had been fielding calls from relatives calling for a sudden family reunion and even a heartfelt message from her family village church in Samoa.
“It’s lovely to have all of that support not only in Aotearoa but in the homelands.”
