Faʻanānā Efeso Collins | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Collins in 2023 | |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Green party list | |
| In office 14 October 2023 – 21 February 2024 | |
| Succeeded by | Lawrence Xu-Nan[n 1] |
| Manukau ward councillor | |
| In office 1 November 2016 – 28 October 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Arthur Anae |
| Succeeded by | Lotu Fuli |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 27 May 1974 Ōtara, Auckland, New Zealand |
| Died | 29 February 2024 (aged 49) Britomart, Auckland, New Zealand |
| Political party | Green (2023–2024) Labour (before 2023) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of Auckland (BA, MA) |
Faʻanānā Efeso Collins (27 May 1974 [1] – 21 February 2024) was a New Zealand politician, activist, and academic. A former long-serving member of the New Zealand Labour Party, local body politician, and advocate for the Pasifika community of Auckland, he was a Member of Parliament for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand from October 2023 until his sudden death in February 2024.
Collins was born in Ōtara, South Auckland, to working-class Samoan immigrants. He attended the University of Auckland, where he later lectured, and in 1999 was the first Pasifika elected as President of the Auckland University Students' Association. He soon joined the Labour Party. At the 2013 Auckland elections, Collins was elected to the Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board, and became an Auckland Councillor for Manukau in 2016. Collins became a leading national figure for Pasifika rights and identity. He contested the 2022 Auckland mayoral election as an independent, backed by the Labour and Green parties,[n 2] losing to Wayne Brown. In 2023, he joined the Green Party, and was ranked high enough on their party list to enter the New Zealand Parliament as a list MP after that year's election.[2]
Less than a week after giving his maiden speech, Collins attended a fun run on lower Queen Street, Auckland, as part of a charity event for ChildFund.[3][4] He collapsed during the event and died at the scene.[5]
Cite error: There are <ref group=n> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=n}} template (see the help page).
- ^ "Fa'anānā Efeso Collins: Leader was an 'extraordinary man', widow says at funeral". Radio New Zealand (Birth date is not visible in the text of the article. The birth date is visible as "27/05/1974" in a picture of the funeral slideshow in the background of the third-most photo from the top taken by Nick Morno at the funeral). 29 February 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:3was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Ham, Katie; Johnson, Erin (20 February 2024). "Green Party MP Efeso Collins, 49, dies at Auckland charity event". Stuff. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
- ^ "Updates: MP Efeso Collins dies during charity run". RNZ. 21 February 2024. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
- ^ "Green MP Efeso Collins dies after collapsing at Auckland charity event". 1News. Archived from the original on 20 February 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2024.