Pacific candidate says communities need a seat at the policy table

A Pacific woman challenging one of Labour’s safest seats says more Pacific people need to step inside the political system if they want their communities’ voices heard.

Dr Zabeen Lateef is preparing to contest the Remutaka electorate, currently held by Labour leader Chris Hipkins, and says her second attempt to enter Parliament is about encouraging Pacific communities to have a stronger say in decision-making.

Speaking with William Terite on Pacific Mornings, the National Party candidate said Pacific people need to be involved in politics and policy-making to influence real change.

“For Pacific people to actually affect real change, we have to be involved in politics and in policy-making and make sure that our voices are always heard around the table,” Lateef says.

“So if there are improvements to be made, those suggestions can be written into policy and that would actually make its way into Parliament,” she says.

“National policies are all developed at the grassroots level and the pathway is very clear-cut. That's how I became involved in the National Party, through policies.”

Labour Party Leader Chris Hipkins represents the Remutaka electorate. Photo/File

Lateef acknowledges she faces a major challenge in Remutaka, which has been held by Labour since 1996.

She says her own family background reflects the strong Labour connection among many Pacific and migrant communities.

“So I've come from that migrant Labour voting population. National always talks about the economy, GDP and infrastructure.

Watch Dr Zabeen Lateef’s full interview below.

“There's a misunderstanding that all that means is that National doesn't care about people. But the reason National wants to improve the economy and improve healthcare, the infrastructure, and improve GDP, is because ultimately it benefits people.

“As a party, and I suppose as Pacific people, we need to have that message resonate with us. So we always need to bring it back to our people and how it benefits us.”

National Party’s Remutaka candidate, Dr Zabeen Lateef, encourages Pacific communities to get further involved in the political arena. Photo/Auckland Council

Data from the latest census profile reveals Remutaka has one of the larger populations among New Zealand electorates with Pacific people making up 11.4 per cent of the population, above the national average.

The region is also facing economic pressures, with unemployment sitting at 7.1 per cent compared with the national average of 5.8 per cent.

Lateef says her goal is to have more Pacific voices represented in political conversations.

Born in Fiji to a family of sugarcane farmers, Lateef moved to New Zealand after the first military coups and grew up in South Auckland before studying at the University of Otago.

She has spent more than a decade at the university, starting her career as a biomedical scientist before moving into governance.

Although she does not hail from the Wellington region, Lateef sees that as an advantage because she can listen to the community without assumptions.

She plans to campaign through door-knocking and community meetings as she works to connect with Remutaka voters.

The 2026 general election will be held on Saturday, 7 November, with advance voting opening on Monday, 26 October. For more information, visit the Electoral Commission’s website.