Fauono Ken Laban's historic win ushers in NZ’s potentially most diverse city council

Lower Hutt's new mayor says his election as Aotearoa's first Pasifika mayor reflects a community built on service and trust, and a council more diverse than any before it.

Fauono Ken Laban has made history as New Zealand’s first Pasifika mayor, a milestone he meets with humility.

The long-time broadcaster and community advocate says his victory in Lower Hutt reflects the generations of Pacific migrants who worked hard, served others, and built the foundation for today’s leadership.

Fauono said he feels “very humbled”, and when asked to describe the feeling a few days ago when he found out he won, he says the feeling was “one of humility".

“I’m no different to any other Pacific Island person raised in New Zealand.

"I’m another first-generation New Zealand-born product of the great migration from the Pacific, Samoa, to New Zealand in the 1950s.

Pacific migrants in factory jobs during the post-war labour boom, a generation that paved the way for leaders like Lower Hutt’s new Pasifika mayor. Photo/Te Ara The Encyclopedia of NZ

And I suppose at some stage in the history of our country, there was going to be a Pasifika mayor. And I’m very honoured and humbled that it’s me," he tells Pacific Mornings.

When asked about how significant this milestone means to the Pacific community, breaking the glass ceiling to be the first Pasifika mayor in Aotearoa, he says, “it's not something I've given a lot of thought to yet".

"But when I reflect on the campaign, the campaign process, the public appearances and the various events that we attended, I look back now, and there was such a huge contribution and presence of Pasifika people. And I think that, in the end, it's obviously manifested itself into votes to give me the mandate to serve.

Lower Hutt, home to New Zealand's first Pasifika mayor. Photo/Hutt City Council

“I think being in the broadcast industry for so long has got some advantages when it comes to name recognition as well,” he says.

Fuaono was raised in Wainuiomata and credits his parents for shaping his values and approach to public life.

“I think a lifetime resident of the Hutt would know, many of the constituents and residents, would know either myself or my own immediate family and my parents. My parents were very, very similar life of service in the community to myself. They were the ones that laid the pathway forward and set the example for me.”

While his election marks a personal milestone, Fuaono sees it as part of a broader shift in representation, including on his council.

Voters in Lower Hutt made history by electing Aotearoa's first Pasifika mayor, marking a new chapter in local leadership and representation. Photo/RNZ

“I think we have a Chinese, an Indian, a Samoan mayor, three Māori, and potentially a Tongan elected. [Lower Hutt is] probably the most diverse council in New Zealand.

"So there’ll be differing views, and I hope the debates, as I said, are robust and strong, and everybody advocates passionately for their point of view.”

He said the next challenge lies in balancing the city’s competing needs, from businesses and ratepayers to families under financial strain.

“In a civil society we have to manage the priorities and expectations of both the business world alongside the social obligations we have to support, especially the vulnerable communities who need the most. Finding that balance will be a huge challenge over the next three years,” he says.

Watch Fauono Ken Laban's full interview below.

“Some very clear messages came to me during the campaign about the cost of rates, the cost of living, and the cost of health care, and how it impacts more so on some families than it does on the others. So that'll be a challenge for us as a new council to address that.”

Fuaono plans to begin his term by reviewing council structures and governance arrangements, setting up subcommittees, and ensuring the new council is equipped to act quickly.

“Well, we all made commitments that we would look at the current state of our organisations, line-by-line reviews, the set-up of the governance structures, setting in place of subcommittees and the various leaders that will fulfil those roles. All of those things need to be addressed in the coming weeks.”

After decades of public service and community advocacy, Fuaono says he is “humbled by the opportunity to serve, and looking forward to the challenge”.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.