Pacific finance expert outlines how stronger money skills can ease unemployment pain

As Pacific unemployment continues to sit well above the national rate, a South Auckland Pacific finance expert says the impact is being felt through lost jobs and how families manage debt, bills, and financial commitments during tougher times.

Penisimani Tapueluelu, the co-owner and manager of MTF Finance Māngere, says limited financial literacy can leave Pacific households exposed when income becomes uncertain.

Speaking to John Pulu on PMN Tonga, Tapueluelu says education around credit and credit scores is especially important.

“Sometimes that lack of knowledge will get them stuck in some sort of contract,” he says. “One of the main things I want to focus on is education on credit and credit scores.”

He explains that credit scores are used by lenders to assess a person's financial reliability, particularly for borrowing such as housing loans.

Tapueluelu says scores shift depending on how consistently individuals meet regular financial commitments including utilities, electricity, and car payments.

Watch Penisimani Tapueluelu’s full interview on PMN Tonga below.

He says anything above a score of 500 is generally considered good credit, while lower scores can limit access to lending or result in higher interest rates.

Missing payments, Tapueluelu says, is mostly viewed by banks and finance companies as an indicator of risk.

“I've always noticed that we deal with money differently,” he says. “We've got church obligations, sometimes cultural obligations. But sometimes we forget we're in New Zealand.”

Penisimani Tapueluelu says missing regular payments on utility bills or car loans serves as an indicator to banks and finance companies about a person’s reliability as a borrower. Photo/File

Tapueluelu says improving financial understanding could place Pacific families in a stronger position to build long-term stability.

“If we could better that kind of stuff, we could actually put ourselves in a better position to build wealth, like some of these other cultures do,” he says.

His comments follow the release of Stats NZ Labour market figures, which show national unemployment rose to 5.4 per cent in the December 2025 quarter - the highest level in a decade - while Pacific unemployment reached 12.3 per cent, more than double the national rate.

While the economy added 15,000 jobs in the final three months of last year, the number of people actively seeking work increased at a faster pace, pushing unemployment higher overall.

In a press release, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says the figures point to an economy beginning to stabilise.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis says the latest statistics highlight a strengthening economy, as the 5.4 per cent unemployment rate sits fractionally below the 5.5 per cent forecast by the Treasury. Photo/File

“Obviously, we would prefer the rate to be lower still but the underlying details are positive and economists are expecting the unemployment rate to fall this year as the economy recovers,” Willis says.

But Labour MP Tangi Utikere says the data highlights the real-world impact of government decisions on Pacific families.

Speaking to William Terite on Pacific Mornings, Utikere points to reduced funding for Tupu Aotearoa, a programme designed to help Pacific people gain skills and employment.

Watch Tangi Utikere’s full interview below.

“This government cut the funding of [an odd] NZ$20 million for that,” he says. “These are not just numbers, but they are real people who have real lives, real mortgages, and real bills.”

As Pacific families continue to navigate economic uncertainty, Tapueluelu says strengthening financial literacy remains one practical step communities can take alongside wider employment and policy responses.