STRICTLY 4 THE ISLANDS - UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT?

Weekly Pacific Politics with Otis Whinney

Aotearoa’s own Tāmaki Makaurau is often referred to as the largest Pacific city in the world, and there is much truth in that description. The city’s Pacific population exists in all corners of Aotearoa’s most populous city, but suburbs and neighborhoods within South Auckland have become the most famous examples of the Pacific community in the city. Māngere, Manurewa, and Takānini in particular have become significant targets for a certain political party looking to win big in this year's general election—Winston Peters’ New Zealand First. 

Traditionally, the Labour Party has been able to count on the political loyalty of large parts of the Pacific population in Aotearoa, but in 2026 nothing in politics is for certain. The world is seeing modern right-wing populism enter a golden age of popularity and electoral viability, and our own Winston Peters has taken notice. Winston has always been a shrewd navigator of the political realm, and it seems that he sees an opportunity in the current political climate of the world for NZF to win it big. And Winston is not going to waste that chance. He’s had a slew of new additions to his team announced as of recent, a smorgasbord of formerly retired politicians and other interesting personalities that he must believe are the key to securing his party’s biggest win yet. Former Labour, National, and even New Conservative members have joined the ranks of NZF and are now in the running to represent key areas across the country, including South Auckland.

Speaking of New Conservative, NZF’s new candidate for the South Auckland suburb of Takānini has been named as Elliot Ikilei. He’s a former leader of the New Conservative party, former member of Hobson’s Pledge (the lobby group who helped lead the charge against co-governance in the Ardern era), and a person of Niuean, Tongan, Māori, and English descent. Ikilei has made it clear he intends to appeal to the Pacific community of South Auckland through his Christian faith. When speaking to William Terite on Pacific Mornings, he stated his alliance with NZF made sense as a “a Pasifika person and as a Christian person,” and argued that Labour and others held anti-Christian values and, by virtue of that, anti-Pacific values. 

Esther Tofilau-Tevaga is NZF’s new candidate for the Manurewa electorate. A Sāmoan entrepreneur, she aims to use her experiences working on the ground with Pacific communities to reach voters and bring Winston Peters’s favourite thing back to the forefront of decision making in Manurewa—common sense. 

Vicky Hau is now contesting Māngere on behalf of NZF. A Tongan business woman raised in a religious-conservative environment, she sees Pacific people as the potential kingmakers of this next election, and intends to take full advantage of this by winning Māngere for NZF. 

Former National MP Alfred Ngaro has also announced his new membership with NZF. A proud Christian Zionist of Cook Island and Jewish descent, his platform in the present day shows those cultural and ideological roots plainly. He argues for the preservation of a New Zealand built on Judeo-Christian values and the classic NZF belief in a socially conservative society. 

These fresh faces have been announced off the back of a coalition government (including NZF) that has consistently failed to deliver for Pacific peoples. Their promises of economic relief alongside law and order have not come to fruition, and Pacific peoples have remained disproportionately affected in areas concerning violent crime and poverty. Winston has also spent his time as foreign minister cozying up to the Trump administration, the same administration who caused a fuel crisis through their war on Iran that ravaged our region, and that one consistently contributes to the further militarisation of the Pacific. It can be hard to see what appeal NZF and the New Zealand right-wing actually would have to our Pacific communities. Perhaps that's why faith and social values have taken the front stage for some of these candidate’s platforms. “The idea of patriotism, having a love for the nation, nationalism, putting New Zealand first, and common sense, things like men and women and the idea of biological truth being actuality,” were the values Elliot Ikilei stated were aligned with both his and NZF, but it’s hard to imagine NZF’s obsession with what bathroom trans people use is going to put food in the stomachs of kids in South Auckland.

The war for South Auckland is just beginning. Maybe the status quo will be maintained. Maybe they’ll win big and change the landscape of Tāmaki Makaurau forever. Whatever happens, one thing is for sure; it’s gonna take more than faith to make the right change.