NZ First Candidates Address Auckland Chinese Community Ahead of 2026 Election

By Linxi, Vision Times New Zealand

As New Zealand’s 2026 general election approaches, three New Zealand First candidates met members of Auckland’s Chinese community on Oct. 10 to share their personal stories, political beliefs, and views on the country’s future. NZ’s general election is slated for Nov. 7.

Elliot Ikilei, standing in Takanini; Martin Gummer, standing in Epsom; and Dr David Wilson, standing in Henderson, spoke about what drew them to NZ First, while audience members raised questions about immigration, citizenship, the economy, and foreign interference.

The gathering offered a chance to hear not just what the candidates support, but why those issues matter to them. The meeting covered issues including immigration, citizenship, economic policy and foreign interference, while audience members had the opportunity to press them directly on how those positions could affect New Zealand’s greater Chinese community.

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Ikilei: Family, free speech, and social values

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For Elliot Ikilei, his connection with the Chinese community begins with what he described as shared values. Of Pacific Island heritage and a Christian, he spoke about the importance of family, honor, and respect, recalling that a Chinese man had first introduced him to Christianity.

Having spent around 20 years working with young people and families, Ikilei said those experiences had shaped his political priorities.

He described his role within NZ First as pushing back against what he calls “gender ideology,” opposing race-based policies he considers divisive, defending freedom of speech and strengthening families. He also spoke of his opposition to Marxism. Education was one example. Ikilei recalled a Chinese mother in East Auckland who, he said, had discovered her daughter was taught about gender identity without the family’s knowledge.

His Singaporean wife, he added, often asks why schools do not focus more on science, technology, English, mathematics and literacy. “She’s right,” he said.

Ikilei linked those concerns to NZ First’s positions on gender-related legislation, the English language and equal rights under the law. He also expressed reservations about the India free trade agreement, particularly its implications for international students, employment and migration.

“The Chinese community’s emphasis on family and traditional values is something New Zealand needs,” he told the audience. “Thank you for preserving that culture.”

Gummer: Business, family, and belonging

Martin Gummer’s ties to the Chinese community began through business. He has visited China four times, travelling to ten cities, and worked with Chinese entrepreneurs in New Zealand. “I have worked with entrepreneurial Chinese people in New Zealand and respect their commercial spirit and acumen,” he said.

This year, the connection became personal when he married a woman from China. His wife, who has a background in Chinese medicine and acupuncture, is learning English. Gummer joked that her knowledge of traditional medicine might help him live to 100.

He said he joined NZ First because he wanted a stronger economy where young New Zealanders could afford to raise families and feel hopeful about their future. Gummer also challenged the perception that NZ First is anti-immigration. “NZ First is not against immigration; it wants immigration that helps build our country,” he said.

He argued that newcomers should be encouraged to integrate and eventually become citizens. “I do not see it as restricting people, but as encouraging them to take that step and become part of the country.”

On economic development, he supported greater use of New Zealand’s natural resources, including agriculture, minerals, oil and gas, to boost export earnings.

Wilson: Citizenship and immigration

Dr. David Wilson, an economist with experience in regional development, focused on citizenship and New Zealand’s economic independence. “NZ First wants to re-establish the primacy of being a New Zealander, which we think has been lost,” he said, adding, “Citizenship is special.”

Wilson argued that citizens should have clearer entitlements than non-citizens, particularly in voting rights, superannuation and social benefits. He said New Zealand is unusual internationally in allowing eligible non-citizen residents to vote in general elections and argued that voting rights should instead be reserved for citizens.

On immigration, Wilson said New Zealand had experienced “massive immigration,” particularly in 2023, which he argued had placed considerable pressure on housing, healthcare and infrastructure. “We believe we need to slow down,” he said, adding that newcomers should commit to New Zealand rather than treat it as a stepping stone to another country.

An audience member asked how NZ First’s proposed reforms would affect residents, permanent residents, work visa holders and children born in New Zealand.

Wilson emphasized changes to the rights attached to citizenship rather than the residence process itself. NZ First’s published proposals also include longer waiting periods for permanent residence and citizenship. These remain party policies, not laws already in force.

Banks, energy, and the cost of doing business

Asked about the economy, Wilson criticized decades of asset sales and New Zealand’s reliance on Australian-owned banks. He argued that stronger banking competition could reduce borrowing costs. On a $750,000 mortgage, he estimated that a one-percentage-point interest rate reduction would save about $7,500 a year in interest (roughly $150 a week).

NZ First has proposed buying BNZ from its Australian parent, NAB, and merging it with Kiwibank to create a larger New Zealand-owned bank.

Wilson also called for separating electricity generation from retailing and developing new energy sources, including supercritical geothermal technology. NZ First has proposed committing $60 million to support that area. “Show me a country with high-cost electricity and prosperity — there are none,” he said.

He shared a lighter moment about the party’s business tax policy. Wilson had suggested cutting the company tax rate from 28 to 25 per cent, but NZ First went further, proposing 20 per cent for companies with annual turnover below $30 million. “And this is quite amusing,” he said, recalling how the proposal had developed.

Taiwan, data sovereignty, and foreign interference

Wilson also spoke about his recent visit to Taiwan, including its technology hub in Hsinchu, and his attendance at a Double Ten celebration the previous evening. Having first visited Taiwan around 30 years earlier, he said he was impressed by its technological and economic transformation.

He argued that New Zealand could develop its own data-centre industry, keeping more of its data under domestic control rather than relying on overseas facilities.

The discussion became more serious when audience members raised concerns about foreign interference, transnational repression and attempts to influence Chinese community organizations.

Wilson said closer cooperation between affected communities and New Zealand’s intelligence agencies, the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) and Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), was essential. “What needs to be done is to connect with the communities that are suffering from this, and with our agencies,” he said.

He also called for stronger capabilities to trace online propaganda and respond to interference made harder to detect by artificial intelligence. “We are a little behind, but not that far behind,” he noted.

‘Protect New Zealand with our lives’

Toward the end of the meeting, Ikilei turned to political commitment, personal risk and his reasons for supporting NZ First. He said he knew people in other political parties who were concerned about being compromised, while NZ First members, in his view, were prepared to put their country ahead of money, personal interests or the fear of being ostracised.

“NZ First is the party that wants to protect New Zealand with our lives,” he said as he shared about the personal cost of taking a political stand. “I have no desire to be killed for my views, but I have had enough death threats that I have talked to my wife about it,” said Ikilei adding that both he and his wife understood that his political stance could put him at risk.

He ended with an explicit appeal for electoral support, telling the audience that a vote for NZ First meant supporting people who placed New Zealand above “other countries, other governments and other ideologies.”

He concluded by invoking New Zealand’s Western cultural heritage and reaffirming his opposition to communism and Marxism. “We do not like communism, we do not like Marxism, and we hold proudly to that,” said Ikilei.

The gathering gave members of Auckland’s Chinese community an opportunity to hear three candidates explain their positions and question them directly on issues affecting their lives.

With the 2026 election approaching, the meeting offered Auckland’s Chinese community a direct look at how NZ First candidates are framing immigration, citizenship, economic policy and foreign interference — and gave voters a chance to challenge them on those positions face to face.