'Our kids with us': Efeso Collins' widow encourages Pasifika to make voting a family affair

New Zealanders will vote for their next government on Saturday.

The weekend will bring the familiar sights of election day: election parties, events, campaigns and hordes of supporters from across the political spectrum.

But for Vasa Fia Collins, the widow of the late Green Party MP Fā'anānā Efeso Collins, this year's general election will feel markedly different - as it will be the first since her husband's untimely death.

"It's been really, really hard, I'm not going to lie," Collins told RNZ Pacific.

Fā'anānā Efeso Collins tragically passed away in February 2024 after suffering a cardiac arrest at a charity event in Auckland's Britomart.

This year, the election season has been a very different experience for the Collins whānau.

During the 2023 election, Collins and her family were campaigning alongside Fā'anānā, who went on to fulfil their dream of entering Parliament.

"Last election was such an exciting time for our family. We were out there ... campaigning for Efeso, and we were really excited and proud of him that he made a dream come true, and he finally saw his way into central government."

However, as the familiar sights of an election campaign spring up, it brings all of those memories back.

"This time around, it's hard to move in these spaces and not think about him," Collins said.

"When we see the hoarding and we see people sign waving, we're thinking to ourselves like, 'Man, that was us and our family and our friends and our network', so it is really challenging."

Continuing her and Efeso's voting traditions

Despite some challenging years, Collins has been a strong voice for Pacific people, including speaking out on the biggest issues facing her community.

"We've got to always keep in mind the welfare of our people, and that's something I carry with me always," Collins said.

"It's something Efeso would have wanted all of us to do, to always carry that welfare and wellbeing of our people in every space that we enter.

"It's a little hard, but it's also good to see and find hope in our young people coming through."

Collins will continue a family tradition this year, taking her daughters to the polling booth so they can watch her have a say on who leads the next government.

"We have conversations leading up to it, and then they watch mum. My girls are going to watch me go into the booth and watch me do it," she said.

She wants people to "make a day" out of voting, taking their children with them so they can better understand the voting process.

"This is about exposing them to these processes as early as possible and talking to them about here the different parties, the different colours... so I'm doing it with my six-year-old as well as my 14-year-old. I'm trying to make it a real event as opposed to something that I do on my own in my spare time," Collins added.

"This is something we started with Efeso when he was alive, and something that I'm really keen to continue now that he's no longer with us."

This practice extends to Collins whānau, friends and community, who she encourages to vote alongside her.

"As Pacific people, it's important we bring our people with us, and we take our kids with us, we take our elderly with us," she explained.

"So I'm making an event of it in my family and amongst my friends to make sure that all of us get in there, all of us understand what's happening."