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RNZ News
2 days ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Councillors hit back at Wayne Brown's 'Pacific victims' remark
Councillors Lotu Fuli, left, and Alf Filipaina, right, with Mayor Wayne Brown, centre, who accused them of 'being Pacific victims' despite data showing they attended more meetings than him in the last quarter. Photo: Auckland Council/RNZ/Stuff Ricky Wilson via LDR A South Auckland councillor says she doesn't buy into the racist rhetoric that "brown people are lazy", after mayor Wayne Brown accused her of playing a 'Pacific victim' card. Two Manukau ward councillors have clashed with Brown after he claimed they are not showing up to do the work. Councillors Lotu Fuli and Alf Filipaina pointed to official data that shows they have outperformed him in attendance. "It's a bit rich for him to talk about attendance when his is quite low," Filipaina says. In response, the mayor said the councillors were "doing what they always do, being Pacific victims". The comments followed a public grilling from Brown last week over councillors not attending meetings in person. "My attendance is 92 per cent, Lotu's is 98 per cent, and the mayor's is 88 per cent," Filipaina says. Brown dismissed the figures as "very selective" and says councillors were "playing the victim" while neglecting workshops, where he says most of the work happens. "It's just rubbish. And so whoever's given you those, a very selective use of statistics, that," Brown says. The mayor claimed the councillors attended very few workshops. "They are doing what they always do, being Pacific victims. They're always victims." He also criticised remote participation from the councillors. "Lotu in particular mostly attends digitally and doesn't turn her phone on, doesn't turn her picture on, so we don't know where she is." Fuli says the mayor's comments were "not only wrong, but damaging". "Don't buy into that racist rhetoric that brown people are lazy. Fact-check them. My record stands for itself - I'm there all the time, I'm out in our community all the time." She says the mayor's remarks echoed attacks made against former mayoral candidate Fa'anānā Efeso Collins. "They used that against him so much, I think because he's brown." Fuli says Brown had himself missed a key six-hour Governing Body meeting the previous week. "He didn't attend online, he didn't attend at all. He was absent - and that was a really, really important meeting." Brown says he had a family issue so couldn't attend. Fuli called the mayor's decision to single out councillors "very unusual". "He was going through them one at a time, making disparaging comments... is this because it's election year and the media's there?" Filipaina says he had both knees replaced but continued serving the community regardless. "I go online. That's exactly what we've been doing, representing our community." He questioned the mayor's motivation. "He's just making everything political now because he doesn't want people on the Governing Body table that are going to disagree with him." Fuli agreed: "He doesn't like the fact that he can't bully me and Alf. We've actually been bold - we voted against the cuts he's proposed." Fuli says the impact of the mayor's claims extends beyond council chambers. "It's perpetuating that myth that brown people are lazy. That we're not turning up. That Manukau doesn't have a strong voice. But the fact is, we've been bold. Alf and I have stood up when others didn't." Councillor Josephine Bartley, the only other Pacific member on the Governing Body, had an 86 per cent attendance rate and confirmed she had taken bereavement leave. Brown defended his connection to South Auckland. "I've got more votes than either of those do in South Auckland. So I represent everywhere - and I employ people in South Auckland." He rejected claims of racism and bias. "Everything's picking on Pacific and South Auckland. It's bulls**t, you know. That's not true." No Governing Body meeting this term has failed to reach quorum. Only two committees, Performance and Appointments, and Finance and Expenditure, have done so, and the mayor was absent from at least one. Auckland Council data shows that in the last quarter, Fuli attended 94 per cent of meetings, with another 4 per cent recorded as council business. Filipaina attended 88 per cent, plus 4 per cent on council business. Auckland's mayor attended 79 per cent, with 9 per cent on council business, totalling 88 per cent. LDR is local body journalism funded by RNZ and NZ on Air.
RNZ News
14-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
'Easier to live in the islands' - Pasifika families 'in survival mode' amid joblessness
According to the latest unemployment figures, 12.1 percent of Pasifika in Auckland cannot find work. Photo: Supplied/ Unsplash - Josh Olalde Figures released last week show Aotearoa's unemployment rate has remained at 5.1 percent. However, Pasifika unemployment has risen to 10.8 percent this quarter, more than double that of the national rate. Advocates say hard times for the community are only getting harder. A Pasifika organiser for FIRST Union in Auckland Antonia Lili'i describes the mood amongst her Pasifika members as hopeless. "We are totally in survival have been in survival mode since Covid." Auckland is home to more than 275,000 Pacific Island people as of 2023. However, according to the latest unemployment figures, 12.1 percent of Pasifika in Auckland cannot find work - the highest level in ten years. Nationwide, one in ten Pasifika are unemployed - its highest level since 2016. Antonia said that, if there is no change, many of her members have no choice but to cross the ditch or move to the islands. "It is easier to live in the islands at the moment, you do not have a mortgage, or rent to pay, and you can plant food to grow back home." "Young pasifika women or men who have done quite well, a majority of them are moving to Australia." Auckland councillor Lotu Fuli said that she does not see any light at the end of the tunnel. "Hard economic times hit Pasifika families disproportionately harder than others," Fuli said. "The recent cuts in public service jobs, funding for important programs and for community initiatives has exacerbated these issues." "Every day now, I am seeing families who are not only struggling to make ends meet and feed their families. But now there are also very few services where they can turn to for help due to the ongoing funding cuts." The opposition agreed that there was not enough being done to address Pasifika unemployment. Labour deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni pointed to fewer building and construction jobs, as well as hiring freezes in the health sector, as particularly painful. "Pacific people are generally working in more precarious work, so when there are job losses, sadly it is Pacific who suffer the most." Meanwhile, the government have expressed relief that the headline figure for unemployment saw little change from last quarter. Finance Minister Nicola Willis said in a press statement that the result was encouraging. "I know people are still struggling in this economy, that is why on May 22 the Government will deliver a Budget that continues the work to get the books back in order, while building on the foundations we've laid to foster economic growth. It will be a responsible Budget that secures New Zealand's future." Economist Craig Renney said that the government has ignored several underlying weaknesses in the labour market. "About half of all workers saw a pay rise less than inflation, and we saw about three million fewer hours being worked this year." "The headline rate remained the same, but that disguised numbers inside which are really quite concerning, like Maori and Pasifika unemployment." Renney said that the higher unemployment rates in those communities should trigger alarm bells for the government. "Right now, there is no plan to assist those workers to get into work, or get new skills and training." National did not respond to a request for comment, while ACT declined to comment.
