Candidates Push Back On ACT’s Plan To Abolish ‘Done Nothing’ Pacific Ministry

Coco Lance
RNZ Pacific digital journalist

ACT Party candidate
Henrietta Devoe is standing by her call to abolish the
Ministry for Pacific Peoples (MPP), questioning whether it
has delivered for Pasifika communities.

Devoe made the
comments during last week’s Pacific Media Network (PMN)
debate, which brought together Pasifika representatives from
across the political parties.

Debate moderator PMN’s
William Terite asked the candidates whether the MPP “should
remain”.

Devoe was the only candidate to say it should
not, arguing the ministry had failed to deliver for Pacific
people.

“I’d just like to say I raised my kids in
Ōtara, and honestly, what has it done for the people? Like,
what has it done? Really? Nothing,” Devoe said.

“The
Ministry for Pacific Peoples has done nothing for Pacific
Islanders.”

Devoe’s comments are not a new position
for ACT, which has long-called for MPP to be
abolished.

Back in 2023, ACT leader David Seymour
controversially said he fantasised about sending a “guy
called Guy Fawkes in there and it’d all be over, but we’ll
probably have to have a more formal approach than
that”.

But Devoe’s comments were rejected by several
other candidates, who described them as
“insulting”.

“I think that’s a really insulting thing
to say,” Opportunities Party candidate Romeo Tevaga said.
“In terms of the public servants who work at the Ministry
for Pacific Peoples, how do you think they achieve Language
Weeks, which are really important to our identity, language
and culture?”

“We’re not just any other population,”
Green Party candidate Teanau Tuiono added.

Labour’s
Jenny Salesa also pushed back.

“I absolutely disagree
with [Devoe’s comments],” Salesa said.

“I think that’s
a really insulting thing to say. Very insulting. Why should
we get rid of the ministry now when we have this many
people?”

‘Focus on need, not race’ –
Devoe

Devoe has since told RNZ Pacific that she
stands by her comments, pointing to the experiences of her
own whānau.

“My husband and I raised our children in
Ōtara – our daughter was the first in our family to attend
university gaining two degrees and is now a lawyer, while
our son has completed his commerce degree and works
fulltime,” she said.

She said that reflected the
“legacy that our Pacific families came to New Zealand
for”.

“Risking everything to build a better life for
generations to come. That’s the legacy that unlocks Pacific
potential everywhere.

“I support ACT’s plan to abolish
the Ministry for Pacific Peoples and build a smaller,
accountable government. Health, education and housing
agencies should meet people’s needs and deliver
results.

“I’m tired of Pacific people being used as a
political football or portrayed as needing more help than
others. Do you know how insulting that is? That our kids
supposedly need special treatment. Every community has
needs.”

She added that governments needed to offer
support based on need rather than race.

“Every
community has needs – the government should focus on need,
not race. I don’t need a ministry in Wellington to tell me
to be proud of my culture, and I certainly don’t need one
telling me what my people are capable of
achieving.”

Guided by priority communities

The
MPP said it would not respond to the views of individual
political candidates, but said its work was directly guided
by priorities identified by Pacific communities.

MPP
secretary Gerardine Clifford-Lidstone said these included
education, health, housing, economic development and Pacific
languages.

“Our work is guided by the priorities our
communities have consistently told us matter most:
education, health, housing, economic development and Pacific
languages, as outlined in our Delivering for Pacific
Communities Strategy,” Clifford-Lidstone
said.

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