Pacific vote in focus as parties make final pitch before election day

With just hours to go before New Zealanders vote, three senior party candidates have made their final pitches to Pacific voters with sharp differences emerging over representation, the economy and what a new government would mean for Pacific communities.

ACT leader David Seymour says his party would abolish the Ministry for Pacific Peoples if returned to government, arguing that state agencies should deliver services to all Kiwis and not through separate ministries.

“Yes, I think that ministry does not actually deliver for Pacific peoples," he tells William Terite on Pacific Mornings.

Seymour says ACT would instead focus on measures such as housing, education, jobs and business opportunities.

But New Zealand First candidate Alfred Ngaro says he would push back against any move to remove the ministry, arguing Pacific communities need a stronger voice inside government.

“I will be advocating for the Ministry of Pacific Peoples because of what it can and should be doing in our nation and so forth," he tells Terite.

Pacific candidates from six political parties recently took part in PMN’s election debate, putting their policies and priorities to voters ahead of Saturday’s vote. Photo/PMN News

Ngaro says the bigger question is whether Aotearoa recognises the value Pacific people bring to the country.

“For Pasifika people, it's time for change. It's time to, again, on this journey, we were voting in one way, which predominantly for Pasifika was Labour. We need to vote in a different way. Vote for change, vote for hope, vote for the future.”

Ngaro is expected to return to Parliament through the NZ First list but says his focus after the election will be on serving than positioning himself for a future leadership role.

Watch Alfred Ngaro's full interview below.

His comments come as NZ First seeks another term in government and the final shape of the next coalition remains uncertain.

For Labour, finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds is making a different kind of pitch. She's promising to put Pacific families and the wider cost of living pressures at the centre of economic decisions if Labour wins.

Edmonds says Pacific unemployment is a particular concern with the rate around twice the national level.

For Pacific voters, she says her approach would be shaped by her own background and the values she was raised with.

“First and foremost, I'm Sāmoan. We have values as Pacific people, as Sāmoan people, around the collective.”

Edmonds is also campaigning to become New Zealand’s first Pacific woman Finance Minister if Labour forms the next government.

Listen to Barbara Edmonds' full interview below.

She says her priorities would include reducing cost pressures, creating jobs and improving access to public services while maintaining Labour’s plan to return the books to surplus.

The three candidates also face different questions about what happens if their parties do not get the result they want.

Seymour has committed to staying on as ACT leader even if the party ends up in opposition.

Ngaro says he remains fully behind NZ First leader Vaovasamanaia Winston Peters and rejects talk of succession.

Edmonds says she is focused on Labour winning and becoming Finance Minister, rather than discussing what happens if the party falls short.

Watch David Seymour's full interview below.

The latest PMN-Horizon Research survey shows nine in 10 Pacific respondents say the cost of living will influence how they vote, with jobs and wages, health and housing also among their key concerns.

The survey also found a trust gap for the coalition parties, with 72 per cent saying National does not understand Pacific communities well, compared with 74 per cent for ACT and 59 per cent for New Zealand First.

The final pitches have highlighted clear differences between the parties over Pacific representation, government funding and the future of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples.

Polling places open from 9am tomorrow with voters deciding which parties will have the numbers to shape the next three years. The polls close at 7pm.