Efeso Collins

Fa'anānā Efeso Collins (born 1974/1975) is a New Zealand politician who is an Auckland Councillor of Samoan and Tokelauan descent. Collins carries the Samoan matai title of Fa’anana from the village of Satufia, Satupaitea, Savai'i.[2]

Efeso Collins
Member of the Auckland Council for Manukau
Assumed office
1 November 2016
Preceded byArthur Anae
Personal details
Born1974/1975 (age 47–48)[1]
Auckland, New Zealand
Political partyLabour
Alma materUniversity of Auckland

Early life and education

Collins was born and raised in the Auckland suburb of Ōtara.[1] He was the youngest of 6 children and has been much influenced by his church.[3] He attended East Tamaki Primary School and Ferguson Intermediate School. He briefly attended Auckland Grammar School before moving to Tangaroa College.[1] He later studied education at the University of Auckland, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1997 a Master of Arts in 1999.[4] He served as the first Polynesian Auckland University Students' Association president.[5]

Political career
Auckland Council
Years Ward Affiliation
2016–2019 Manukau Labour
2019–present Manukau Labour

Auckland Council

At the 2013 Auckland elections, Collins was elected to the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board and became its chairperson.[6][7] He contested the Labour party candidate selection for the Manukau East seat before the 2014 general election, but ultimately Jenny Salesa was selected.[8][9]

At the 2016 Auckland elections, Collins was elected to the Auckland Council, replacing Arthur Anae, who did not seek re-election.[10] He was sworn in as a councillor for the Manukau ward on 1 November.[11]

During the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, Collins called for the New Zealand Government on 27 August 2021 to grant an amnesty to people who had overstayed their visas in order to encourage members of the Pasifika community to come forward for COVID-19 tests. The then Health Minister Chris Hipkins has earlier reassured the Pasifika community that the Government would not use any information collected during testing for immigration purposes.[12]

On 25 July 2021, Collins disclosed that he and his family had received a death threat on 19 June in response to his comments criticising TVNZ's Police Ten 7 programme for its negative depiction of the Māori and Pasifika communities. Despite the threats to him and his family, Collins resolved to continue his involvement in politics.[13]

2022 Auckland mayoral election

In January 2022 Collins announced he would be running for Mayor of Auckland in the 2022 election.[14][15] On 28 February 2022, the Labour Party announced that they would be endorsing Collins as their preferred candidate.[16]

Political views

During the 2020 New Zealand cannabis referendum, Collins opposed the legalisation of cannabis; however he supports its decriminalisation.[17] Although he has spoken out on abortion and same sex marriage, he now respects people for their decisions. He backs fare-free public transport as "the first and best way" to address the city’s emissions.[3]

Family

Collins and his wife Fia have two daughters.[13][15]

References
  1. Husband, Dale (4 February 2017). "Efeso Collins: We're still on the factory floor — just dressed nicely now". E-Tangata. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  2. "About Us – Efeso Collins". The Daily Blog. The Daily Blog.
  3. Wannan, Olivia (17 March 2022). "Calls for fare-free public transport after Government halves ticket prices". Stuff. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  4. "Graduation search results". University of Auckland. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  5. Maude, Simon (7 November 2016). "What it means to be Samoan on Auckland Council". Stuff. Archived from the original on 20 April 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  6. "Supermarket deal paves way for expansion of Old Papatoetoe mall". Panuku.co.nz. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  7. Opeta Elika (11 October 2013). "Vote Efeso Collins" – via YouTube.
  8. "Labour to select candidate for Manukau East". Scoop.
  9. Roberts, Sarah (28 February 2014). "Labour picks Manukau East candidate". Stuff.
  10. "Labour sweeps Manukau Ward". Stuff. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  11. "Auckland councillor Efeso Collins claims discrimination at swearing in ceremony". The New Zealand Herald. 3 November 2016.
  12. "Auckland councillor Efeso Collins calls for amnesty for people with expired visas". Radio New Zealand. 27 August 2020. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  13. Latif, Justin (25 July 2021). "Auckland councillor Fa'anana Efeso Collins receives bomb threat after police TV show criticism". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  14. Niall, Todd (26 January 2022). "Auckland mayoralty: Efeso Collins confirms bid for the job". Stuff. Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  15. Manhire, Toby (26 January 2022). "'I think it's time': Efeso Collins commits to running for Auckland mayor". The Spinoff. Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  16. "Labour endorses Efeso Collins for Auckland mayoralty". Radio New Zealand. 28 February 2022.
  17. "Calls for decriminalisation as legal cannabis looks unlikely". Radio New Zealand. 31 October 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.