We were sitting in the Parliamentary debating chamber on the evening of Tuesday 20 February under urgency as the Government rammed through laws without public input or scrutiny.
New Green MP, former Auckland mayoral candidate and gentle giant Efeso Collins sat between Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and I as we talked about the truncated select committee process and I apologised to ‘Fes as I accidentally blasphemed. He laughed his disarming, inviting, trademark laugh.
None of us ever could have guessed that the next morning he would pass away while carrying water buckets to fundraise for clean, safe drinking water for kids in the Pacific. He left us as he lived, embodying values of care and humility and service.
I sat behind ‘Fes not even a week before as he delivered his maiden speech to our Parliament. Many have quoted from it in celebrating his uncanny ability to say what we were all thinking with such power, clarity, grace and eloquence.
Nowhere was this more abundant than when he spoke of love and its ability to drive our collective capacity for change. Near the end of his maiden, ‘Fes laid out why he was here:
The American civil rights activist James Baldwin said, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” We commit to working across this House as a nation and with each other irrespective of our postcode, income bracket, skin colour or level of qualification attained.
But, in order for that work, we must come with humility, the desire to listen and, dare I say it, maybe speaking last.
If I was to inspire anyone by getting to this House and my work over the next three years, I hope that it’s the square pegs, the misfits, the forgotten, the unloved, the invisible – it’s the dreamers who want more, expect more, are impatient for change and have this uncanny ability to stretch us further."
Shocked grief rippled through our Parliament on Wednesday 21 February as party leaders across lines acknowledged a human being that represented the best of us. It was yet another showcase of how he left us the same way he lived: bringing people together, calmly, in reflection of our shared humanity.
Much more must be and will be said in the coming days and weeks and months about an astounding leader, orator, father, husband and friend.
I intend to honour Fa'anānā Efeso Collins’ legacy in continuing our collective, crucial work to unify and collaborate around a higher cause: for systems that serve people and our planet, instead of exploiting them.
That means the tangibles ‘Fes never shied away from naming: a fairer tax system, ending poverty, secure housing, well-paid and respected social workers, climate resilience and policies that uphold and recognise our place in the Pacific.
I will miss my friend dearly, as I know many of our communities will, but we know his love and light lives on in each of us. Moe mai rā e te rangatira. (Chlöe Swarbrick)
Chlöe Swarbrick, T: 09 378 4810, E: chloe.swarbrick@parliament.govt.nz
www.greens.org.nz/chloe_swarbrick
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Published: March 2024
#ponsonbynews #iloveponsonby #ponsonby #auckland #aucklandshippestrip #onlyponsonby #ponsonbyroad #Greylynn #freemansbay #westmere #ponsonby #hernebay #stmarysbay #archhill #coxsbay
Published: March 2024