God, family, community: the death of Efeso Collins mourned

Thursday, 22 February 2024

He was a graceful leader who knew the power of having the last word. Inspired by faith, family, and community, those paying tribute to Fa’anānā Efeso Collins have described his contribution as both great - and greatly cut short.

Collins - a committed Auckland community leader, long time Labour member, mayoral candidate, and Green MP - collapsed at a charity event in central Auckland on Wednesday morning and died. He was 49 years old and leaves behind a wife, Fia, and two daughters.

The abrupt death has been met with an outpouring of shock, sadness, and grief. Mournful MPs stood in the House on Wednesday afternoon to pay tribute to a man of promise, who just six days ago delivered a maiden speech in the House, a speech which has now become his valedictory.

Born to Samoan immigrants in Ōtara, his father at first worked as a taxi driver, his mother on a factory floor, as they raised the family in a state house they called home for two decades.

Motivated by his experience at school - his family was instructed to stop speaking Samoan at home for the sake of their children’s education - Collins went on to earn a master’s degree with a dissertation on brown flight and a critique of school reforms in the 1980s that “wrecked havoc on the public school system”.

In recent years, he said he had been re-learning the language he lost, but still had “major tremors” speaking Samoan in public.

Many in Parliament remember meeting Collins as a student politician, the first Polynesian president of the Auckland University Students’ Association.

Labour deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni, among those grieving on Wednesday, said the death of Collins was a loss for the country and the Pasifika community which he both celebrated and advocated so strongly for. .

“His priorities never wavered; they were God, family, and serving his community.”

Labour leader Chris Hipkins recounted a 1999 meeting of student politicians in which Collins “held the entire room in the palm of his hand” with his eloquence.

“I know that he was a believer that there is power in being the last to speak.”

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, more recently acquainted with Collins, said the MP was a “true servant leader” whose promising career in Parliament was just starting.

Before entering Parliament, Collins worked in education and youth work. He spent three terms on Auckland Council serving as chair of the Ōtara-Papatoetoe local board and was councillor of the Manukau Ward.

He became widely known when he ran for the Auckland mayoralty in 2022, endorsed by both Labour and the Green party. He lost to Auckland mayor Wayne Brown, who said Collins was a “fierce and respectful opponent”, a bold Pacific leader and champion for South Auckland.

After the mayoral run, Collins joined the Green Party list and was elected into Parliament in October. A week ago, he delivered his maiden speech.

Green Party co-leader James Shaw, visibly distraught, said the party was “tremendously proud” to bring the joyful, funny and kind Collins into Parliament. What was striking about Collins’ speech, Shaw said, was his talk of “love” - a word not often discussed in Parliament’s halls.

“The fact that he chose to talk about love, to me, says volumes about who he was.”

Love is an act of courage, a commitment to the oppressed wherever they are found, Collins said in that speech.

“There's a saying in Samoan: ‘E le tu fa'amauga se tagata’ — no one stands alone, no one succeeds alone — and, for me, no one suffers alone.”