'Our people don't want handouts': Pasifika voters want action on bread-and-butter issues

Aotearoa New Zealand will decide its next government on Saturday, 7 November. But for many voters, the choice comes down to one thing: who can deliver the change they are looking for?

"I want to see change in housing. I want to see change in employment, and healthcare."

Like many of his young Pacific counterparts, those are the main issues for 22-year-old Saili Ah Maan when he heads to the polls this week.

At the same time, Ah Maan is also concerned by the growing number of New Zealanders moving overseas, alongside a daunting unemployment crisis.

In 2025 alone, more than 28,500 New Zealand citizens left for Australia.

In the June 2026 quarter, more than 171,000 New Zealanders were unemployed and youth unemployment had reached its highest level in more than 30 years.

"Everyone's moving to Australia, and that's the talk right now, is why are our greatest talents going overseas," Ah Maan said.

"We're all trying to look for jobs here, and obviously there's not much, and then it's hard for small businesses to create opportunities for us to be able to work.

"I think for young people, we want answers. We want to know if our vote obviously counts. We want to know if our leaders will actually do what they say."

Key concerns for Melesaini Elite are things like putting kai on the table, petrol in the car, and making sure sick whānau are looked after adequately.

Elite, a social and healthcare worker, said he wants to see Pasifika communities better supported with the basics.

"Cost of living is the big one and healthcare support," Elite said.

"I live with a disabled female who can't really do things on her own. She's pretty much bedridden, and [there's] just a lack of support that we've been getting.

"We have tried to get more caretakers to come in, but then it goes back to [the issue that] there's not much caretakers at all because there's a loss of jobs."

Marsha Daji, a mother of six, is worried about how her whānau will hold up in the future.

"I'm just really worried for them because they're trying to raise children, buy their own homes," Daji said.

"It's just ridiculous the prices that they're having to pay just to get into a house, even a rented house, let alone the food and getting to and fro from work.

"I don't think any of the parties have actually come up with a really good solution for that, and that's the big worry for me."

So, how can things change?

'We want to help ourselves': Vasa Fia Collins

Vasa Fia Collins, the widow of former Green Party MP Fa'anānā Efeso Collins, told RNZ Pacific that everyday Pasifika in Aotearoa are working incredibly hard to "make ends meet".

"Our people are working hard. We're not lazy. and we don't want handouts. We want to help ourselves, but it's about creating the conditions for us to thrive," Collins said.

However, Collins is questioning whether political parties are doing enough to understand those pressures.

"All of us are sick and tired of the rhetoric. Also, sick and tired of our votes being taken for granted."

It is an issue she believes has likely contributed to political disengagement across some Pasifika communities.

"Our people are the most over-consulted people in the country, and so we're sick and tired of having to tell our stories and explain ourselves over and over again, we want action," Collins said.

"We want people of substance in that House who are going to represent us fairly."

'Still operating in colonial spaces'

But Collins points out there is also too much focus on Pacific politicians being the ones responsible for alleviating all the concerns of their communities, given the challenges of navigating Parliament and all its quirks and complexities.

"I do think it's relatively unfair to put that all on the shoulders of Pacific candidates," Collins said.

"These spaces are still colonial, and the thing that we have to understand is we're still operating in very colonial spaces, and so to any Pacific candidate who's been brave enough to put their hand up to be part of the election, I still take my hat off because it's not an easy thing to do."

'They come every year asking for our vote': Hana Schmidt

Hana Matauaina Vai Schmidt is host of the popular Pacific podcast Breaking Waves, and a strong Pasifika community voice.

She agreed with community concerns around what issues are the most pressing.

"Mostly cost of living, affordability, groceries, renting. The second would be opportunities into work. A lot of people can't find jobs," Schmidt said.

But alongside those bread-and-butter issues, Schmidt said that Pasifika voters are increasingly questioning what political representation is genuinely delivering for Pacific communities.

"I think the third would be trusting politicians or supporting politicians who support us," she said.

"For a long time the narrative has been 'we need more representation' in Parliament, but I think that is now shifting to keeping the MPs that we have supported [and] accountable."

Schmidt pointed out that during election periods, politicians are visiting many Pasifika communities, but tangible delivery of policies doesn't always match the rhetoric on the campaign trail.

"Politicians only listen when it's very late in the journey of getting somewhere," she said.

"But how useful are they when they get their seat? They come every year asking for our votes. But is there a good return on investment for supporting them?"

Given enrolment rates in areas where Pacific people primarily live remain lower than the general population, Schmidt added that political parties and MPs need to do more to explain why politics is relevant to Pacific people's everyday lives.

"That translation hasn't been bridged yet," she said.

"Politics literally affects everyone."