Pacific voters in NZ urged to look beyond political promises
An Auckland law academic is urging Pasifika voters to look beyond election promises and consider what parties have actually delivered for their communities.
The comments come as political parties such as New Zealand First and Labour have laid out their immigration promises, specifically targeting Pacific migrants, ahead of the 7 November polls.
Dr Suliana Mone told Pacific Waves that voters should look at the track record of political parties and whether previous commitments to Pacific people have resulted in meaningful outcomes.
She said that, the way coalition governments are formed under the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system, not all campaign promises get implemented.
“I think you have got to look at it realistically. We have an MMP system here in Aotearoa New Zealand,” Mone said.
“So while some parties may like this visa waiver policy, they are going to have to negotiate with other parties [about what] is the most likely outcome for leadership, and that might mean they have to compromise in terms of the policies that they are going in and that might mean not actually seeing this come to fruition.”
Dr Mone said voters should also consider whether there is evidence of progress once a party is in government.
“Maybe we might need to move towards where we are requiring politicians to actually, once in government, to show that they actually implemented their policies, like an annual report on what policies they campaigned on, their progress towards it, whether they achieved it or not.
“There needs to be some [kind] of accountability mechanism during their time in government because it can’t just be based on pure trust.”
While immigration policies may have attracted attention among Pacific communities, Dr Mone said they were not necessarily the biggest priority for Pacific voters.
She said Pacific people were more concerned about how they are getting by.
“I think Pacific voters are interested in what everyone else in New Zealand, all voters are interested in.
“I know there is a huge interest in the cost of living crisis, affordable housing, education opportunities, pathways to employment, job security.”
“The visa waiver is a great thing, but I do not really think, realistically, that is the priority for Pacific people.”
Dr Suliana Mone
The University of Auckland
Dr Mone said Pacific faith leaders and community groups could potentially help people understand what they were voting on.
“The churches are like the villages, the social-political unit for our Pacific people here in Aotearoa New Zealand,” she said.
“They could definitely take a bigger role in promoting politics and policy, clarifying for our people what party policies are and how much their vote actually means, and how engaging in the political system could bring about changes for their lives.”
She pointed to the role Pacific churches played during the Covid-19 vaccination rollout as an example of how community groups can help increase engagement.
Dr Mone also noted Pacific youth were becoming more involved in political debates compared with previous generations.
However, she added that more needed to be done to encourage Pacific people to participate in civic processes.
