MP & mum Arena Williams: it’s a labour of love

Juggling two young kids and a career in politics isn’t easy – and this Manurewa mother has no interest in pretending otherwise. Photo / Robert Trathen Hair and Makeup / Krisztina Moricz

When life gets stressful for Arena Williams, she picks up a paint brush. A mother of two young children and the MP for Manurewa, she has a busy life. But if she can find a few moments for creativity, it always pays off.

Slowly, she is completing a brightly coloured mural on the walls of her family home in South Auckland. Her living room also features artworks created by Arena and her father, Sir Haare Williams, along with items of furniture they have restored together.

“We started making this painting together when I was four years old,” says the 33-year-old Labour politician, pointing to one that is hung in pride of place. “It’s a board of plywood and we’d work on it to test out ideas.

“Dad taught me a lot of lessons: It’s always OK to change your mind; there’s never a mistake – it’s just a feature of the end product; and also to take risks but also have a plan B. Now he lives with me, so my kids get to paint with him and learn those same lessons.”

Williams was originally set on going to art school, but then she realised there was another path she needed to follow. With Haare’s teaching in mind, she changed direction, and instead went to study law and commerce at the University of Auckland, where she became involved in student politics.

Her father is an extraordinary role model. As well as being an artist, writer, teacher and broadcaster, he was a city councillor in Papakura.

"Dad taught me a lot of lessons: It’s always OK to change your mind; there’s never a mistake – it’s just a feature of the end product; and also to take risks but also have a plan B." Photo / Robert Trathen Hair and Makeup / Krisztina Moricz

Williams recalls, “He’d always be at the kitchen table on a Sunday afternoon, meeting people who had come over to our house to talk about some local issue. Whatever it was, he’d be willing to listen and work through problems with people.”

Arena’s mother Jacqueline Allan, a doctor, has also been deeply involved in the community. “Both of them have been role models for me,” she says. “They’ve taught me that by taking a problem, pulling at the threads and unwinding it, then putting the person at the centre of whatever decision is made, you’re going to get to a solution that works.”

Politics is a demanding and often brutal business, but Williams’ upbringing has shaped her into someone who feels driven to make a positive difference, even if combining being a politician with her other job, as mum to Te Mākahi, 5, and Waioeka, 3, isn’t always easy.

“One of the things I’ll always be grateful to Jacinda Ardern for is that she was always really frank about it being difficult to juggle,” says Williams, who is of Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Ngāi Tahu and Ngāi Tūhoe descent. “It doesn’t do anyone any favours if we pretend it’s easy. Sometimes I’ll get to the end of the day and be absolutely exhausted.”

She relies on paid carers, lots of whānau support and her husband Max, who always has her back. The pair met during their student activist days and he now works for the Auckland mayoral office.

Woman's Day.

“We have the same values of wanting to do the best for our community and for our kids,” smiles Williams, who is a regular panellist on TVNZ 1′s Breakfast. “We wouldn’t be able to do this if we didn’t share the same set of goals.”

Working as an MP means spending lots of time down in Wellington and, inevitably, Williams misses out on important moments in her kids’ lives.

“It’s something I always think about,” she says. “I try to be kind to myself and take the chances I do have. I got a very good piece of advice from one of my colleagues when I first came in, which was that sometimes you won’t get to the school swimming sports or a football game, but hopefully it won’t matter because you’ll have been to every other one you’ve had the opportunity to go to.

"One of the things I’ll always be grateful to Jacinda Ardern for is that she was always really frank about it being difficult to juggle." Photo / Robert Trathen Hair and Makeup / Krisztina Moricz

“I try to take the kids along with me to things as well. One of Jacinda’s legacies is that I don’t fear not being taken seriously as a young female politician when I’m out and about in Manurewa with my children. I also try to make opportunities for them to be in Wellington, so they get a sense of where I am and what I do.”

At one point during the pandemic, Williams was in lockdown in Wellington and unable to get home. “I was missing them like crazy and worried about them,” she recalls. “Actually, that was the first time I painted my living room walls. Painting gave me a sense of purpose and it was a mindful thing that I could focus my attention on.”

Family time is always treasured, and Williams is enjoying watching her children’s personalities and interests develop.

“Te Mākahi loves everything,” she says. “He loves art and is really into hip-hop dancing. He’s also interested in the outdoors and goes fishing in our swimming pool. He keeps asking me to take him survival camping, which I don’t want to do!

“Wai is really into dancing as well, but she’s about ballet and tap dancing. She loves language. One of the things she and I are doing at the moment is trying to learn to count to five in as many languages as we can. The last one we did was Swiss German and we’ve managed Arabic.”

Family time is always treasured, and Arena is enjoying watching her children’s personalities and interests develop. Photo / Robert Trathen Hair and Makeup / Krisztina Moricz

Having her father living with them for the past five years has made for some precious memories. No one knows exactly how old Haare is because he doesn’t have a birth certificate, but Arena guesses he’s in his late eighties or early nineties.

His life is busy too. He is writing a book, working towards an art exhibition, growing veges in the back garden, taking walks around the neighbourhood to chat to the tūi and spending lots of time with his mokopuna.

“Every day that he has with the kids feels like a blessing,” smiles Williams. “Every day, there’s something new that they bring into his life and I really feel the joy of that.”

Haare has encouraged the family in their spirituality and loves to get everyone up at 4am for a karakia.

“We have the same values of wanting to do the best for our community and for our kids." Photo / Robert Trathen Hair and Makeup / Krisztina Moricz

“I can’t say I get up every morning, but it’s definitely a part of our lives,” grins Williams. “We observe those times of the year, like Matariki, which are times of planting and reflection. I might not manage to make space for spirituality in my life if it weren’t for him because we’re constantly on the go.”

Her father is always someone that Williams can talk to about her work. She is passionate about education and its potential to transform lives. Climate change and her local environment are also top of mind.

“He’s the person that I’ll talk to about the hardest things,” she shares. “And the hardest things are often relationships.

“Going to him and talking about whatever the conflict is, I’ll find that somewhere along the rambling path of our conversation about the trees and the tūi. He’s got a good perspective on how to navigate the challenges and reach a peaceful resolution.”