OPINION: The cost of living keeps climbing, and unemployment is rising too, despite Finance Minister Nicola Willis touting the “positive news” of a lower-than-expected unemployment rate.
But in Māngere, the story looks very different.
Cars snake around Centre Park, full of kaumātua and kuia waiting patiently for free fish heads and frames.
It’s a lifeline, offered for a small koha, to help stretch their kai throughout the week.
Just a few metres away, Papatuānuku Kōkiri Marae runs the fish distribution and a Koha Café, opening its doors three times a week as a hub where whānau can gather, connect, and eat, no questions asked.
Talk to anyone on the ground and it’s obvious: this government isn’t making things any easier.
Tāmaki Makaurau now has the highest unemployment rate in the country. In the past year alone, it’s jumped from 4.6% to 6.1%, that’s another 15,000 people out of work.
And with a by-election looming in the Māori seat of Tāmaki Makaurau, candidates are making all the right noises: cheaper groceries, warmer homes, better healthcare, fairer education, more support for whānau.
But let’s be honest, this by-election won’t change much.
What it can do is shine a spotlight on the hardship Māori communities are facing right now. It’s a chance to remind decision-makers in Wellington that Māori aren’t just stats on a spreadsheet.
Because for all the promises and political spin, this government hasn’t delivered for Māori, not for everyday working families, and definitely not for those doing it the toughest.
Right now, in the heart of Māngere, fish heads and frames are what many kaumātua are relying on. And that says everything.
