One Candidate, One Pint: Vicky Hau on trying to get Pasifika to jump on the NZ First wave

The Māngere candidate has one question for swing voters: 'What has Labour done for you?'

This instalment should probably be renamed one candidate, three rounds. NZ First's Māngere candidate Vicky Hau might be one of the most up-for-it political hopefuls we meet this election, but always being keen for a good time (especially if it's at the Māngere Cossie Club) can be an underrated political tactic: "I'm a big people pleaser," Hau smiles. "I want everyone to be happy, I want everyone to like me."

For first-time general election candidate Hau, who's at number 21 on the NZ First party list, this campaign is all about trying to persuade traditional red voters to think differently. Māngere is one of the safest Labour seats in the country, having never been flipped in its 57 years as an electorate – and that's in no small part thanks to the area's significant Pasifika population. The community's historic loyalty to Labour endures, with a Pacific Media Network poll showing 50% of Pasifika across the country still prefer the party in 2026.

"The challenge is moving those traditional voters," Hau explains. She worries too many Pasifika – Tongans specifically, as that's where Hau's whakapapa and focus lies – are fixed on party allegiance and the tradition of just voting for whoever Mum and Dad voted for. A little further south in the Manurewa seat, NZ First candidate Esther Tofilau-Tevaga is "doing the same with the Samoans". "It's interesting because I'll say, 'So, what has Labour done for you?' And [Pasifika voters] don't want to have that kind of discussion," Hau says.

When the question is flipped back on Hau, she comes through with the efforts her party leader Winston Peters, as minister of foreign affairs, has made in progressing Pacific partnership and trade. "A voice that can channel that through to our community, I think it's really important," Hau says. "Because Winston is out there doing all these things that no one else is."

At a recent candidates event, things got heated when a Labour Party volunteer got "really aggro" over Hau's messaging, she says. It wasn't a particularly productive conversation: the volunteer had "pulled faces" to Hau's assertion that she's "yet to see what influence" a Labour MP can provide for Māngere. "I just kind of said to her, well if you want, we can take it outside and you can talk to me," Hau says. "That's the ghetto in me."

In the past Hau worked at the local Ministry of Social Development office "down the road", and has continued her current job as manager of Māngere Town Centre while she campaigns – her focus there is improving economic development and foot traffic in the area. But it's certainly the campaign that's keeping her busiest when we meet, from attending candidate events to making sure Winston "and the matua" are supported on walkabouts and have their schedules filled when they're campaigning in South Auckland.

Hau also has some eye-opening pub yarns up her sleeve, the most memorable of which recounts an engagement party on K Road, when she tried to out-drink the lads from church. "I turn around to go to the toilet, and somehow fall, cut my chin and the blood was gushing everywhere," she says. "I ended up in hospital, had the alcohol pumped out of me before they stitched me up.

"The funny thing is, I still made it to church the next morning."

THE SPINOFF PUB Q+A

How much should a pint cost?

$6.

Favourite place to get a drink in Aotearoa?

This is one of them. I used to work close by, and we would walk over after work. I've got a lot of memories in this room. We would even bring our own music before they renovated and got speakers.

Do you have a karaoke go-to?

Recently, my go-to is 'Choosin' Texas' by Ella Langley, because it's such an easy one. But prior to that, my favourite was 'Kiss Me' by Sixpence None The Richer.

Which three candidates would be on your pub quiz team?

Winston, Michael Laws and Ron Mark. I call them my uncs.

Which candidate from across the aisle would you most like to share a drink with?

[Labour's Kenepuru candidate] Aunty Barb Edmonds. She's very intelligent.

Is there an alcohol-related law you would like to change?

In my community, there's a bottle store on every corner. I think that's something that should be looked at. New Zealand First's make NZ healthy plan is all about tackling chronic illnesses that include nutrition, and actually educating people on what they eat and drink.

What’s a policy area we’ve been nursing without finishing the glass?

I would love to see the fireworks ban get across the line in the first 100 days. We've got a lot of support for it; I've had lots of voters that have told me they've swung because it will help their fur babies. In communities like mine, we have fireworks all throughout the year. When they go on sale, people bulk buy and let it off whenever they want.

What qualities make a good drinking partner?

Anyone that's down to have a good time.

Have you ever had a Schnapps election moment where you regretted your political instinct?

I come from a very conservative family, they're very on the right. I've been quite proud of everything I've been standing on and speaking to.

Up next on One Candidate, One Pint: Michael Wood, Labour Party candidate for Mt Roskill.