L-R: Pacific MPs Fa'anana Efeso Collins (Green Party) Angee Nicholas (National Party) and Lemauga Lydia Sosene (Labour Party).
L-R: Pacific MPs Fa'anana Efeso Collins (Green Party) Angee Nicholas (National Party) and Lemauga Lydia Sosene (Labour Party).
Two new Pasifika members of Parliament - and a new electorate MP - say they are set to represent their communities strong and hard, with one saying he is going to “bring the hood” to Parliament.
National’s newest MP Angee Nicholas and the Green Party’s Fa’anana Efeso Collins are among the new names who will enter Parliament, after the election results over the weekend.
They join Lemauga Lydia Sosene, who is now the MP for Māngere after entering as a Labour list MP last year.
Nicholas’ win in West Auckland’s Te Atatū electorate, against long-time Labour MP Phil Twyford, came as a shock to many due to the area traditionally known for its support for Labour.
However, her win - by 30 votes - means her position is still very much in the air and will only be completely known after the special votes are counted.
“Even though it’s provisional, the fact that we flipped it - we’re over the moon. But we do know we’ve got to hang tight still for those special votes to see how much of an impact that will have on the outcome of the election results.”
Born in the Cook Islands, the young MP hails from the Wichman and Samuel families in the district of Arorangi, Rarotonga.
Like many Pacific Island migrants, Nicholas’ parents moved to New Zealand to raise their young family and to give better opportunities to their children.
She acknowledged the traditionally strong support Pasifika peoples in New Zealand have for Labour.
Asked about post-election comments and worries about how Pacific communities would fare under a National-led government, Nicholas was firm in her response.
“We want to try and reassure obviously all New Zealanders - Pacific communities, we’ve got your back too. We’ve put our hand up to make sure that we advocate, that we represent all communities - including Pacific,” she said.
If Nicholas remains after special votes, she will be the sole National MP of Pasifika descent - a vast difference from the Labour Party, which had 11 MPs of Pacific Island heritage at one point.
National leader Christopher Luxon and deputy leader Nicola Willis during a photo opportunity with their 23 new MPs at Parliament, Wellington, 16 October, 2023. NZ Herald photo by Mark Mitchell
“It’s great that we have representation, but the other factor that we’re missing and that we really want to push as a party is to make sure that we get some outcomes.
“You don’t have to be Pacific to understand Pacific issues if you talk to the community, you get engaged - you’ll be able to understand...obviously not fully, but you will be able to understand some of the key issues.”
Fa’anana Efeso Collins, List MP, Green Party
Efeso Collins. Photo / Greg Bowker
Fa’anana Efeso Collins intends to make his presence known in Parliament and will be bringing some South Auckland swag with him.
“My intention is to bring the hood. And when I say that, I’m going to continue to be me. I’ll always speak my voice, I’ll always challenge people.
“I also want to bring a level of swagger that means people can look into politics and see themselves. I want to come and do everything I can. But I see my function as opening the door to the next generation - who I’m told are only one or two election cycles away.
“There is major talent here in South Auckland and my job is to facilitate them coming into this space.”
Fa’anana enters Parliament as a List MP for the Green Party. He stood as a candidate for the Panmure-Ōtāhuhu electorate, which was easily won by Labour’s Jenny Salesa.
Fa’anana’s new role comes about a year after his failed bid for the Auckland mayoralty - which he now sees as a blessing in disguise.
After the mayoralty campaign, he started to look at other prospects as he was still keen to serve the community. Then the Greens reached out to him.
Greens co-leaders Marama Davidson and James Shaw, with their caucus, from left, Lan Pham, Fa'anana Efeso Collins, Hūhana Lyndon, Scott Willis, Chloe Swarbrick, Darleen Tana, Julie Anne Genter, Ricardo Melendez March, Tamatha Paul, Kahurangi Carter, Teanau Tuiono, Goriz Ghahraman, and Steve Abel, on Parliament Steps, Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Asked about talk in the Pasifika community that the Pacific voice will be lost now that Labour will be the Opposition Party, he chuckled.
“Just because Labour had a huge Pacific caucus, did we have a voice then? It can’t be performative. You can walk around saying: ‘Oh look, we’ve got 10 [Pacific] MPs or whatever the heck it was’. And that’s nice.
“But doing what? Did we see the kind of major reform that we wanted? I don’t think we did.”
The important thing was to make sure there was a genuine change of fortunes and meeting the community’s aspirations, he said.
“The point is, you want people in Parliament who will boldly speak. I don’t want to be an MP that turns up to different events in the community for five minutes to take a selfie and say: ‘Look at me, I’ve turned up’. That is not what community advocacy is about for me’.”
He acknowledged the attachment many Pacific-Kiwi families had with the Labour Party, which they had voted for, for generations. But he also spoke of changing mindsets - both among younger Pasifika and the older generation.
Speaking about his own family, who grew up “Labour hard”, he gave the example of his elderly mother, who voted for the Green Party for the first time this year.
“We went, as a family, to vote. And just before we voted, mum goes: ‘Faigata tele le mea lea’. (This is a very hard thing). I could see she was really struggling. She was going to vote for her son, but the whole voting for the Greens was a challenge for her.
“For her, just talking through the fact that she’s not giving her party vote to Labour was a big thing. I think the emotional attachment that our people have had for many years to the Labour Party is being challenged.”
Labour’s Lemauga Lydia Sosene is proud to be the new MP for Māngere - the first woman to be elected in the role since the electorate was established in the late 1960s.
“I’m pretty pleased. I’m first-time, so it was a huge experience for me to be running as a candidate and to be able to receive a lot of support from our community. That was pretty special for me.
“Coming into the role, I have some skills and central government is a whole new...stepping up. And it was an opportunity to see what the electorate would be saying in terms of their confidence in me.”
Her historic win, however, is bitter-sweet - given her Party will be seated on the Opposition.
“Our country has spoken. We’re not in Government and that’s hugely disappointing.”
Lemauga joins Parliament as a first-time electorate MP and says she is proud to join the Labour Pacific caucus. Post-election, that is now made up of former Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni, former Minister for Pacific Peoples Barbara Edmonds, Jenny Salesa and Palmerston North MP Tangi Utikere.
Lemauga Lydia Sosene alongside then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern after giving her maiden speech last year. Photo / Michael Neilson
“I feel very privileged to be able to be added to the team of Pasifika caucus - though, in Opposition. The work continues.
“What I hope to bring and what I will bring is the confidence that I’m able to, in Opposition, understand the community better.
“Secondly, is to put that to the new government. How will they continue to deliver for the community of Māngere?”
Some of the issues affecting her electorate and which she hopes to continue to bring up in Parliament include the cost of living, housing, education, people’s wages, small businesses and, for some families, immigration.
Lemauga, whose late parents were well-known church leaders in the Samoan community in Auckland, acknowledged it was their lives that inspired her to serve others.
“I think they would’ve been proud. I see it as an opportunity to be in this role of a life of service. I go back to why I stepped in - because I really do believe I have the opportunity to serve the community.”
