How will a National government represent Pacific communities?

The new National-led government may not have a single Pacific person in it.

With special votes yet to be counted, Fonoti Agnes Loheni - number 25 on the party list - may not make a return to parliament after a brief stint in 2019-2020.

In Te Atatū, National party candidate Angee Nicholas is leading by just 30 votes, which may change once the half a million special votes are counted.

Speaking to RNZ Pacific, political commentator Thomas Wynne says this raises questions on how the National Party will deliver an inclusive government that embraces diversity.

“Who is it exactly that they’re going to have as the Minister for Pacific People? Because if Angee doesn’t get in and neither does Agnes, then who? Because you don’t have any Pacific people in there. Chris Luxon says he has a party of diversity, well I’m sorry, but that’s just not the case.”

National Party candidates Fonoti Agnes Loheni (left) and Angee Nicholas. Photo/Facebook

In 2011, National Party candidate Alfred Ngaro was the first Cook Islander to enter parliament, and in 2019 Fonoti was the party’s first Pacific female MP.

This brings into question who the Minister for Pacific Peoples will be. Sefuiva says National's Dr Shane Reti was not convincing as the Shadow Minister for Pacific People in the last term.

“It’s whether he is sufficient enough of a champion to see that stuff through and whether he was convinced during his time in opposition and I suspect he wasn’t.”

Looking ahead

Pacific community leaders are conscious the incoming government will reverse what they call “hard gotten gains” made by the Labour government.

National's pre-election campaign signaled scrapping the $5 free prescription fees at the pharmacy and uncertainty over the future of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples.

Tau'anu'u Nick Bakulich hopes National will reconsider some of these decisions.

“If they were to disestablish the Ministry for Pacific Peoples it would be a sign of New Zealand going backwards in how they value Pacific people.”

Prime Minister-elect Christopher Luxon says they have no intention of ending the Ministry for Pacific Peoples, but drew the line at Labour's proposed amnesty for overstayers.

“Past experiences show that this policy will increase the number of migrants illegally overstaying their visa as they see the potential for future amnesties, and it will undermine the integrity of our immigration system that relies on rules being followed.”

Other changes National wants to roll out in the first 100 days are removing the Auckland regional fuel tax, reintroducing 90-day employment trial periods and ending taxpayer funding for cultural reports that judges use when sentencing offenders.