Efeso Collins: What I really want for Christmas as an Auckland councillor

Photo / RNZ, Jessie Chiang

By Michelle Cooke for RNZ

What do people who work to improve the lives of others want for Christmas? Not a phone, or a new car - but the things that would make a real difference to the people they support. Auckland councillor Efeso Collins shares his hopes and dreams for South Aucklanders.

"I've spoken to a number of people over the past two years, since the outbreak last year, and they've all said to me, 'so we get the Covid vaccine, but we were going to die anyways, if it wasn't starvation or being homeless, it's now Covid'," Collins says.

"That's what we're dealing with. There's a whole lot going on under the surface."

South Aucklanders come to the councillor with their problems - the things they want him to fix, fight for, or just be aware of.

There are parents who tell him they don't eat so their children don't go without; families who just get on with two meals a day, as they can't afford more; parents who speak with guilt in their eyes about their teenage children who gave up school this year in order to work and support their whānau; their children who speak with pride about being able to help their families.

He has lived their struggles, knows it first-hand and feels their pain. He wants more for them and his head is swimming with ideas on how to make things better - so they don't have to only survive, but thrive.

"It's so unjust for a wealthy nation," he says. "It is just so unfair and unjust. It is an indictment on our society."

So what does he want for his community, now, in 2022 and in the future? What would make a difference?

"My hope for the community is that we as a nation settle on some basics, that every child will wake up and know they've got three meals every day, that they've got somewhere safe and warm to sleep at night."

There needs to be a universal basic income, more breakfast and lunch programmes in schools, a fast-tracked social housing programme and more local jobs.

"That's what I mean by basics - if we can just get a reprieve. I use that word reprieve quite specifically because it feels like we've been sentenced to doom, and a reprieve would give us a break. By giving us these basics, then our children are able to hope again, to dream again."

Collins is outspoken about the need for intensification. He and his family live in a two-bedroom apartment and says they love it. More apartments, including social housing, need to be built near public transport, he says.

If he could wave a magic wand and make it all happen now, he would. Instead, Collins says he tries to be a conduit between his community and Wellington.

A proud Labour Party member, Collins has been outspoken this year against the government's Covid-19 response and says there's been a huge disconnect between officials and the people on the ground.

"The bureaucracy can't just keep the system running. Because that system needs a norm, and on the streets of Ōtara and parts of Papatoetoe, it is nowhere near the norm that is expected in an office in Wellington," he says.

"And that's why I've been so angry at the lack of trust. That's how it feels to me, that there's a lack of trust between the bureaucracy and local organisations. If we are going to provide the kind of resource that the government wants to, then the bureaucracy needs to facilitate that to happen, not be an impediment."

Many people don't trust the government because they already feel let down and abandoned, so some were left wondering why they should get the vaccine just because the government told them to, Collins says.

Counties Manukau was the last district health board in the city to reach 90 per cent double-dosed, and it took a lot of hard work from people on the ground to get there - door knocking, driving up and down streets, standing on street corners.

"That's what we wanted to do from the beginning," Collins says.

"In South Auckland, there are lots of community organisations who know this community well and are trusted by the people. If they see us at their front door, they realise we can speak in Samoan or Punjabi, then the connection is made immediately."

The next challenge is connecting with families and ensuring they feel it's safe for their children to get vaccinated. Collins wants schools, churches and community groups to get involved, and he wants Māori and Pasifika children to be prioritised.

"So we've got to do really well and ensure we get trusted sources alongside whānau, so that people are trusting this vaccine for children."

Collins is planning on running for mayor at next year's local government elections, and says while he has spoken to senior Labour Party members about his intention, he is going to reflect over the next month or so on the many comments he has received from people saying they would support him, but only if he ran as an independent.