'Mind-blowing': North Shore elects first Kiribati councillor

Pasifika councillor Victoria Short dreamed of representing her community, but first she had to overcome a major fear.

When Short first stood for the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board at 28, she nearly didn’t make it to her first candidates’ meeting.

“I cried before my speech,” she recalls. “Public speaking terrified me. I didn’t think the Shore was ready for someone like me.”

She went anyway, encouraged by her husband.

“He’s my biggest supporter, my voice of reason, the love of my life,” she says.

“He told me, ‘Just do it.’ So I did.”

Councillor Victoria Short finds her new office. Photo/Victoria Short - Albany Ward Candidate Facebook

That decision set her on a path that would lead, five years later, to the governing body of Auckland Council.

Short, 33, now represents the Albany Ward, one of the city’s fastest-growing northern areas, and is the first person of Kiribati descent elected to the council.

When the results were announced, she says the moment felt surreal.

“It is such a privilege to be able to represent the Albany Ward at the governing body table.

"But in all honesty, I’m still in shock… It’s mind-blowing that so many people came out to support and have put their faith in me.

"And it’s quite a heavy burden to carry, but I’m ready to work and I’m ready to do this for everyone.”

Her victory unseated long-serving councillor Wayne Walker, who had held the role for more than two decades.

“Wayne did amazing work for the community, but people wanted a fresh perspective and a different way of doing things."

Before entering local government, Short worked for former Foreign Minister Murray McCully in the East Coast Bays electorate office. It was there she first encountered the frustrations people had with council bureaucracy.

“Most of the complaints were about Auckland Council or Auckland Transport.

Councillor Victoria Short, centre next to Mayor Wayne Brown, with fellow new councillors John Gillon, Matt Winiata, Bo Burns and Sarah Paterson-Hamlin. Photo/Victoria Short - Albany Ward Candidate Facebook

“I started wondering what was going on and discovered there was something called a local board. I’d never even heard of them.”

The experience inspired her to stand for election, but she didn't expect to win.

“I thought, this is the Shore, and my demographic doesn’t match. But people saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself.”

Born in New Zealand and raised between here and Kiribati, Short grew up speaking the language fluently.

“My mum is Kiribati. When I was little, we weren’t allowed to speak English at home. If I did, my grandma would lose it,” she laughs. “That’s how I learned our values and our faith.”

Kiribati students perform a traditional dance celebrating Victoria Shorts culture, who is of Kiribati descent and represents Auckland’s Albany Ward. Photo/RNZ/Jogai Bhatt

She says people sometimes think she doesn’t “get it” because she’s from the North Shore.

"I do understand. I grew up with strict [Kiribati] traditions and cultures... I understand our values and where our faith is.”

Short describes herself as a “numbers person” and says she is determined to push for greater financial discipline across the council.

“I love numbers,” she says. “I really want to foster fiscal responsibility within Auckland Council, because that underpins everything else we do.”

Her other priorities are the basics: water, transport and infrastructure, which she says remain “woefully behind” in parts of her ward. But she also wants to elevate urgent local board issues.

Most of Auckland Council's councillors for this term with the mayor. Photo/Victoria Short - Albany Ward Candidate Facebook

“I want to support our local boards in bringing that community voice into the governing-body space.”

Short believes the biggest challenge facing councils is disconnection: the gap between what local government does and what people think it does.

“Most people only contact us when something’s gone wrong,” she says. “Their first experience is never positive. It’s not, ‘Our park looks great,’ it’s ‘The bus didn’t show up’ or ‘There’s a pothole outside my house'.”

She supports civic education in schools and a rethink of the voting system to help young Aucklanders better understand the power of local decisions.

Short says women, especially Pasifika women, shouldn’t have to pay a personal price to represent their communities in politics. She hopes more Pacific women will feel confident stepping into leadership.

What keeps her grounded is family and humour.

“I can be serious when I need to be, but I also love a laugh."

For now, Auckland’s newest Pasifika councillor is focused on learning fast and staying true to herself.

“I just want to keep showing up, listening and doing the work,” she says. “If more of our Pasifika people see that and think, ‘I can do that too,’ then that’s a win.”

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