Watch out Wellington: Auckland’s newest MPs have got some things to say
Sunday, 22 October 2023
The brief was simple: wade through the sea of new faces arriving at Parliament, find the electorate MPs representing Auckland seats (or list MPs who happen to be Aucklanders), and quiz one from each party about the issues they’ll take to the capital.
Then it got tricky, because not all parties have new Auckland MPs: Labour lost MPs left right and centre; ACT’s two most prominent Aucklanders are old hands, not newbies.
So we fudged a little, as you’ll see below. Those caveats aside, here it is: a multi-party snapshot of some of the new MPs representing the - some may say - greatest city in New Zealand, along with their important views on the best place to get a Samoan supper, a decent coffee, or a moment of serenity.
Rima Nakhle, National, Takanini electorate
Rima Nakhle, 43, took Takanini off Labour’s Anae Neru Leavasa. Sydney-born to Lebanese parents, Nakhle trained as a lawyer. She met Kiwi husband Roger through a mutual interest in Lebanese politics and moved here in 2012.
The big Auckland issues: Doorknocking in Takanini, Nakhle saw many people were struggling with the cost of living, with health issues and with crime “or a lack of feeling safe. Sometimes it's easy to forget that when you're in these grandiose halls.”
From the CV: Nakhle runs Te Mahia Community Village, a family business which she says transformed a troubled caravan park in Takanini into a provider of emergency and transitional housing. “We help people through budgeting courses, we work alongside social wraparound services. The village used to be in the top three for police callouts, now we hardly register on the radar.”
Top spot: Papakura marae is “one of my favourite places”.
Best coffee: Songbird Cafe in Takanini. “I love the owner and the staff are awesome.”
Ideal weekend: With her husband at a cafe somewhere, “but I also love Anchor Bay beach.”
A pronunciation guide: Nakhle says there are two ways to say her last name. There’s “the Kiwi way” (which to my ear sounds like “Barclay” with an “N”). Or there’s “the brave way”, where the Arabic consonant “kh” is given its full guttural due (rather like the “ch” in a Scottish loch). But seriously, says Nakhle, either is totally fine.
Steve Abel, Green Party list MP (#9)
Steve Abel, 53, lives in Rānui, West Auckland. Aside from his list ranking he stood for the Greens in New Lynn (National’s Paulo Garcia won). He’s a veteran environmentalist and climate activist, and a musician.
The big Auckland issues: For west Aucklanders who weathered the January floods and Cyclone Gabrielle, climate change is a devastating prospect, says Abel. “We have rain anxiety!” Cost of living also tops the list – “interest rates, exorbitant food prices, exorbitant rents”.
From the CV: Abel is a longtime battler to protect native trees in the city. In 2020, he was part of a 245-day protest action to prevent the felling of a stand of native trees in Avondale, but “eventually the police moved in in force, and the chainsaws came”. The trees weren’t legally protected because a National government had removed blanket tree protections from the RMA in 2013.
Top spot: Karekare Beach. Just 40 minutes from the centre of the biggest city in the country, you can find a wild, windswept “prehistoric-feeling space” with black sand and coastal vegetation leaning away from the wind: “I just love it.”
Best music venues: The Wine Cellar and Whammy Bar, both in Karangahape Rd. “Venues are the heart of original music. You need a venue that’s willing to let original musicians and alternative musicians play.”
Ideal weekend: A bush-walk with family on the flanks of the Ranui ranges.
Lemauga Sosene, Labour, Māngere electorate
Lemauga Sosene, 58, isn’t quite a newbie, having served as a list MP since May 2022 when Louisa Wall left, but near enough! As a local board member since 2010, Sosene has spoken out about the importance to Pasifika people of overcrowded housing, minimum wage rates and transport infrastructure.
The big Auckland issues: Climate change: “We were hit by all the storms.” Cost of living: “What I’m worried about is the haves and the have-nots.”
From the CV: At electorate clinics Sosene meets people who can’t afford that week’s groceries. Her local board experience comes in useful, whether that’s knowing how to access officials or a budgeting service, or tapping non-governmental resources in the local community: “It’s about linking people.”
Top spot: Māngere – all of it. Sosene won’t play favourites, perhaps because there are too many options, from “vibrant” Māngere market, to walking and cycling tracks, to the local sports clubs, including netball’s Māngere East Hawks and rugby’s Manukau Rovers. She also namechecks the arts centre, the library and the cafes at Māngere Bridge or near the airport.
Best food: Māngere market food stalls. “For 20 bucks you’ll get a good feed.” Sosene recommends the Cook Island doughnuts, and a Samoan supper which might include chop suey and taro, a roast chicken piece, palusami (coconut and onion in a taro leaf), banana, “and a whole lot of different things”.
Parmjeet Parmar, ACT list MP (#8)
Parmjeet Parmar, 53, also stood in Pakuranga where National’s Simeon Brown won. Though new to ACT, Parmar was a National MP 2014-2020. Indian-born, she moved here at 25. She has multiple science degrees, is a company director and has hosted shows on Radio Torana.
The big Auckland issues: Cost of living and crime are the big ones, but Parmar is also concerned New Zealand is losing essential workers to Australia. The solution is to ensure New Zealand remains an attractive place to live and work – “and Auckland’s a big part of that”.
From the CV: Given Parmar’s background in science and business, she’s advocating for change to our biotech laws. Researchers and industry are hindered by 1996’s anti-GM Hasno Act: they can take their work in genetic modification to a certain level in New Zealand, “but after that they feel stuck” and the work ends up overseas. “We want to make sure our legislation is based on scientific evidence, not ideology.”
Top spot: “My home is my favourite. That’s where my family is.”
Ideal weekend: Auckland is “so community-minded”, says Parmar, that there’s always something happening, and most weekends she gets amongst it. Diwali is coming mid-November, and as we speak Navaratri – a nine-day Hindu festival – is in full flight. “The community gathers, and there’s a religious component, followed by a cultural component with dancing and Indian food. It’s all about bringing everybody together and feeling joyous.”
Something sweet: Parmar and her husband own Kiwi Empire Confectionery, which was founded in 1935 and still makes feijoa drops, raspberry bars, blackballs, aniseed balls and acid drops.
Casey Costello, NZ First list MP (#3)
Casey Costello (Ngātiwai, Ngāti Hau, Ngāpuhi) is 57 and lives in Pōkeno, which is actually in Waikato District, but the Port Waikato electorate – which she will contest in the imminent byelection – includes bits of southern Auckland. A former Detective Sergeant and vice-president of the police union, of late she’s been prominent in the race-focussed lobby group Hobson’s Pledge.
The big Auckland issues: Law and order is the biggie, says Costello, “in the sense of feeling safe. Even if you argue statistics, people are feeling unsafe – not just individuals but small businesses as well”.
From the CV: On crime, Costello harks back to her policing experience in South Auckland. “I know the challenges the police are facing.” On race, she says her work with the anti-affirmative-action group Hobson’s Pledge is all about advocating for “equality before the law”.
Top spot: Āwhitu Peninsula on Manukau Harbour: “It’s got that ruggedness, and it’s really quiet.”
Best butcher: Pokeno Bacon. Once upon a time it was just about the bacon, but Costello says it’s now a full-service gourmet butcher shop.
Ideal weekend: Costello often heads up north to see her mother. But in Auckland, “I’m thinking Botanic Gardens – they’re unbeatable. Though I have a phobia about ducks.”
Bonus parliamentary experience: After leaving the police Costello ended up manager of security and operations at Parliament, overseeing projects like the installation of x-ray scanners. Even so, “I still get lost.”
* Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke, who won Hauraki-Waikato for Te Pāti Māori, is also an Auckland MP of sorts, seeing the Māori electorate stretches north to include the likes of Papakura, Clevedon, Beachlands and Waiuku. However, we were unable to reach the new MP or her team before press time.