The councillor’s role in the South Auckland community during Covid outbreaks speak to his strengths, say the 20 signatories.
A group of 20 health professionals and academics have thrown their weight behind Efeso Collins in an open letter published today. In the letter – published in full below – the Manukau ward councillor and candidate for the Supercity mayoralty is credited for his role in the response to the Covid-19 crisis.
Among the signatories backing Collins are Jin Russell, the paediatrician who played an important role in communicating the Covid response to the public, hospital doctor and award-winning writer Emma Espiner, and Sir Collin Tukuitonga, the academic knighted earlier this year for his services to Pacific and public health.
The letter writers say Collins’ involvement and advocacy in the Covid response evidenced a “courage, leadership, community experience, and corporate know-how” required to lead the Supercity.
They write: “Efeso boldly mobilised Auckland communities and bravely advocated for an Auckland community-led response. He took immediate action by calling to bring Auckland communities and people on the ground to the decision-making table. He urged officials to prioritise the vaccine rollout in South Auckland where transmission was high, challenged the self-isolation framework at home for vulnerable people (especially Māori and Pasifika), worked with the government to ensure Auckland’s cultural and ethnic diversity was reflected in the testing and vaccine communication strategies, and advocated for an amnesty for people who had overstayed their visas to encourage them to get tested for Covid-19 (reducing the overall risk to all Auckland residents).”
Asked about his criticisms of parts of the government’s Covid response in an interview with The Spinoff during which he announced his candidacy earlier this year, Collins said: “I think it was important for the government to know off the bat that prioritising Auckland, and South Auckland in particular, needed to be a serious consideration. So I was disappointed when papers were released that showed that it wasn’t something that was seriously considered … I think it was important that I advocated for that position.”
A poll by Kantar for Q&A, published on Sunday, showed Collins trailing the former Far North mayor Wayne Brown by six percentage points among those who selected one of the candidates. The poll of 1,000 people, conducted after Viv Beck quit the race, showed a high number who didn’t provide a name, with 30% of 1,000 people polled answering “don’t know”, 10% refusing to say and 4% saying they didn’t plan to vote.
At the last local elections, turnout in Auckland was a little over 35%. In the 2022 contest, voting is under way, with polls closing at noon on October 8.
Open letter to Auckland on Efeso Collins
We the 20 undersigned doctors, health professionals, and academics endorse Efeso Collins for the Mayoralty of Auckland.
Efeso has clearly demonstrated he has the courage, leadership, community experience, and corporate know-how to get the job done and ensure Auckland is the city in which its residents will thrive.
From the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Efeso boldly mobilised Auckland communities and bravely advocated for an Auckland community-led response. He took immediate action by calling to bring Auckland communities and people on the ground to the decision-making table. He urged officials to prioritise the vaccine rollout in South Auckland where transmission was high, challenged the self-isolation framework at home for vulnerable people (especially Māori and Pasifika), worked with the government to ensure Auckland’s cultural and ethnic diversity was reflected in the testing and vaccine communication strategies, and advocated for an amnesty for people who had overstayed their visas to encourage them to get tested for Covid-19 (reducing the overall risk to all Auckland residents).
Facing adversity, he put you – the people of Auckland – first.
Efeso’s values and experience transcend Auckland’s diverse communities and set him apart from the other candidates. Efeso will continue to be a courageous leader and advocate for Auckland businesses, communities, and families to ensure your voices and interests are at the heart of decision-making, just as he did during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic. He has the fearless aspiration, Auckland community expertise, and tenacity to build a vibrant, sustainable, and accessible city that all Auckland residents and businesses can be proud of.
We know he is the best mayor for all of Auckland.
Ngā mihi nui
Dr Jin Russell, community and developmental paediatrics
Dr Alister Woodward, public health medicine and epidemiology
Sir Collin Tukuitonga, public Health
Dr Arend Merrie, General Surgery
Dr Vanessa Selak, public health
Dr Emma Espiner, doctor and writer
Dr Maryann Heather, general practice
Dr Api Talemaitoga, general practice
Dr Chris Bullen, public health medicine
Dr L'Ondine Tukuitonga, general practice
Dr Mamaeroa David, general practice
Dr Jamie Hosking, public health medicine
Dr Jemaima Tiatia, arts, Māori and Pacific studies
Siro Fuatai, general practice
Dr Judith McCool, epidemiology and biostatistics
Dr Vili Nosa, Pacific health and population health
Fa’asisila Savila, Pacific health
Selah Hart, Hāpai Te Hauora
Dr Jesse Whitehead, population research
Dr Rawiri Taonui, Māori and Indigenous studies