'What we need is time': National list candidate Nancy Lu eyes party votes to retain seat

Up close and personal with National list candidate Nancy Lu on the campaign trail discussing racist rhetoric, her achievements in office and the country's diverse future.

When RNZ followed National list candidate Nancy Lu on the campaign trail in Auckland's North Shore in 2023, rising crime rates and a cost-of-living crisis sat at the top of her agenda.

While recent figures have shown a reduction in crime, voters nationwide are still feeling the squeeze of rising costs.

So, this time Lu is asking New Zealanders to give the coalition government one more term to see the projected growth materialise.

"Some sectors of the economy are seeing the recovery … the export sector, the tourism sector, especially in some of our rural and South Island cities," Lu said.

"[But] at the moment, our recovery and our job creation is very uneven," Lu said.

"What we need is time to let the plan work."

The first-term MP is again a list-only candidate.

She is ranked 16th - the highest of any Asian candidate on National's list.

This time, she hopes her fate is settled on election night.

In 2023, preliminary results on 14 October left her out of Parliament.

Lu eventually secured a seat in November after National list MP Andrew Bayly won the Port Waikato by-election, elevating her into Parliament as the next candidate on the party list.

Lu was one of three MPs of Chinese ethnicity this term alongside National's electorate MP from Mt Roskill, Carlos Chung, and Green Party list MP Lawrence Xu-Nan.

In the upcoming election, Lu's relatively high party list ranking may not be enough to squeeze her into Parliament based on current polling.

The latest RNZ-Reid Research poll on Thursday showed support for National had dropped below 25 percent, a worryingly low figure for list-only candidates dependent on electorate results to go their way to secure a seat.

The 1News-Verian poll on Tuesday showed support for National a few points higher at 29 percent but still looking unlikely to secure a seat for many candidates ranked too far down the party list.

Speaking to RNZ on the campaign trail, Lu highlighted the contributions of the Chinese community in making the country a more prosperous and dynamic nation in her maiden speech in Parliament in January 2024.

"Our nation's history is woven in with the contributions of Chinese Kiwis who have and will continue to play a vital role in shaping the modern New Zealand we cherish today," she said.

"From the Otago gold rush days to when Chinese miners ventured into New Zealand in pursuit of opportunities; to early Chinese migrants contributing to various sectors of our economy, such as vegetable growers and dairy product exporters; to Chinese entrepreneurs who established small, medium and large businesses that drive innovation and create jobs; to bilateral traders, international students, skilled migrants, investors, families and children, the list goes on."

So, how did she feel when fellow Chinese-origin MP Xu-Nan was told to "go back to your own country" by Foreign Minister Winston Peters.

"I said outrightly [then] this is absolute racism," Lu said.

"It has no place in the New Zealand values.

"There are people and voters in this country that unfortunately, in my opinion, side with [those] kind of comments. But I still don't believe [that] kind of comments or racism at heart represents most New Zealanders.

"I strongly, strongly request that he [Peters] makes an apology."

Xu-Nan acknowledged Lu's support - as well as Chung's - after the remarks were made.

"Yes, they did [express support]. Contrary to what people see…all the Chinese MPs and candidates … actually get along well because all of us have the same goal of doing what's best for our communities," Xu-Nan said.

"Your behavior matters, and it reverberates into our communities. What I am worried about is [that] kind of behavior is not acceptable in the workplace, it's not acceptable at school, yet we allow people to get away with it on a national stage.

"And we have seen before from that particular party when they're saying things carelessly, and what are frankly racist, translates to more harm to migrant communities, more harm to Asian communities."

Detailing her work as a first-term MP, Lu talked about her work in mental health.

"[I worked with] Minister of Mental Health Matt Doocy, and, by 2025, we had for the first time in New Zealand history ring-fenced government funding for the Asian community," she said.

"[There are] cultural differences and language barriers. [But] also there's a lot of taboo in our respective cultures and families. Often mental health situations are even more complicated [within the Asian community]."

A recent New Zealand Asian Wellbeing and Mental Health report found that the mental health of Asian New Zealanders had improved slightly, but their level of stress remained high, with more than half of Asian adults remained at risk of depression (54.5 percent).

The National candidate also counts the recent changes in parent resident visa category as one of the government's big wins this term.

"I [feel] very proud that in the last three years I've had the opportunity to advocate for the Asian community and to see that the government has responded in that way," said Lu, pointing to her role as a list MP, which she said gave her freedom to roam and engage with ethnic communities from across the country.

"My job is to find those migrant communities, to bring them closer … to connect them with our political system, to be part of our democracy and to be part of the mainstream community."

Lu mentions a recent poll by marketing research firm Trace Research, which asked more than 1000 New Zealanders on which MPs of Asian heritage were perceived to be the strongest performers.

According to the poll, 28.6 percent of respondents named Lu as the strongest performer, followed by National list MP Melissa Lee (23.8 percent), as well as Labour's Ayesha Verrall (22.3 percent) and Priyanca Radhakrishnan (17 percent).

"I was very humbled and privileged to be ranked number one in that survey … evidence to show that in the last three years I've worked really hard to reach and connect with the different communities around the country," she said.

However, Lu might be concerned the same survey revealed 42.5 percent of Asian voters supporting National, followed by Labour at 31.9 percent, ACT at 8.2 percent, the Greens at 6.6 percent, New Zealand First at 5.3 percent and Opportunity at 3.7 percent.

A similar survey focusing on Chinese voters prior to 2023 election had revealed National enjoyed 70.9 percent support compared to Labour's 12.5 percent.

But Kingsley Wong, president of the National Party Chinese Group, the party's special interest group for Chinese New Zealanders, appears unfazed by suggestions that National could lose some of its loyal voters.

RNZ has previously reported that some in the Chinese community were weighing a switch in allegiance, frustrated by the National Party's inaction over Peters' remarks to Xu-Nan.

"I have worked with the National Party ever since Pansy Wong got elected to Parliament in 2008," she said.

"The party has always respected the Chinese community and our values of working hard align closely with each other. This time, too, we have a lot of candidates from ethnic communities.

"Our message this time is simple: three years is too short, so we need another three years to prove our strategy is right."

When asked about Opportunity leader Qiulae Wong and what it would mean for the Chinese community of New Zealand to see a person of Chinese origin lead a political party in Parliament, Lu wanted to see more ethnic candidates running in elections - whether they be local or national.

"I would like to see talented and hard-working Chinese New Zealanders represent our country … who can also represent a special demographic," she said.

"It's very important for all political parties to consider a future that is better [for our] multicultural cohesion.

"There's still a lot more job to be done, and I think a better representation of our Asian community or Asian New Zealanders in Parliament will be fantastic to see, but it is still quite a long way to go."