Campbell Matthews, 33, has spent almost a decade as a social worker in the Family and Youth courts, and wants to represent the electorate he grew up in
Labour’s candidate for Pakuranga says he decided to stand for Parliament after seeing what government policy was doing to the families he works with.
Campbell Matthews, 33, has been a registered social worker for almost a decade, working “primarily in the assessment and intervention space within the family court and youth court”.
“I have seen the direct consequences of the current government’s policies on not only members of my community, but on friends, family and the whanau I work with at my 9 to 5,” he told the Howick & Eastern Post.
He was born and raised in Pigeon Mountain, went to Pigeon Mountain Primary, Bucklands Beach Intermediate and Pakuranga College, and played football for Fencibles as a boy, “back before they redid the fields all those moons ago”.
“This is my community whether I am elected come November 7th or not.”
Matthews spent 2024 in Wellington as a policy analyst before returning to frontline work.
“Sitting behind a computer all day in an office didn’t feel right, and I missed working on the frontline.”
“Ironically, now that I’m running for Parliament, I get to blend the best of both worlds together and engage with my community but also scratch my policy itch without having to be away from my friends, family and community.”
He says he was not interested in politics as a child, and credits his parents with changing that.
“As a kid my parents would make me watch the news and afterwards ask me things like ‘what was your take on that story’ or ‘how would you do things differently?'”
He joined Labour in 2021 and became a financial member the following year.
“The values that the Labour Party holds have always been values that I’ve aspired to live by.”
His father worked in the printing industry and his mother was an early childhood educator.
“We were a real working-class kind of whanau,” he said.
“While the nature of the working class has changed a lot in the last few decades, I still believe that those working hard in this country should have chances to get ahead and a government that cares about them.”
“Workers aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet.”
Matthews says the three concerns residents raise with him most are the cost of living, healthcare, and “a generation of Kiwis moving overseas for better opportunities”.
“Every conversation I’ve had on the doorstep so far in this campaign has been about the cost of living.”
“Costs have soared in the last 2 and a half years.”
“Wages have stayed low with little growth and bills are piling up, be it electricity which has increased 20% in 2 years, or gas prices which continue to sit above 3 dollars a litre for 91.”
“But don’t fret because the Labour Party has clear and actionable relief coming when we form the next government.”
Matthews says Labour would cap a week of bus and train travel at $20 and freeze fuel excise for a full term.
He says the party would make prescriptions free and give everyone three free doctor’s visits a year.
Matthews also points to Labour’s plan to break open the grocery market, and to SolarSaver, which would help households put solar panels on the roof without paying upfront.
Asked what he wants to achieve, Matthews says his goal is to become Pakuranga’s member of Parliament.
“My pathway to that is to listen, and from that come up with realistic and practical solutions to problems for our electorate, ones that can be delivered on, not just talked about.”
“I am here to listen and fight for those same values that as a longtime resident of Pakuranga I know the community cares about.”
“I’m a fighter, and at the end of the day, if I can sit down on November 7th knowing that I put in the hard yakka to help members of my community feel listened to, I will be happy.”
He says the campaign is running on social media, public meetings and flyer drops.
“Many of the most lasting conversations with members of the public have been when I’ve just been out and about getting dinner or having a beer.”
Simeon Brown held Pakuranga for National in 2023 with 26,105 electorate votes against 7,395 for Labour’s Nerissa Henry, a majority of 18,710 and the largest in east Auckland.
Brown is now Health Minister and chairs National’s election campaign.
“Look, I’m under no illusion that Pakuranga has voted National for a while,” Matthews said.
“I believe that the values of the Labour Party align with the values of those in my electorate way more than people realise.”
“No percentage at a ballot will stop me engaging with members of the community and fighting for them, either as a social worker, or a member of Parliament.”
Matthews is 70th of 72 on the party list Labour released on 8 June.
Matthews said he wanted to acknowledge how hard the last three years had felt for families in the electorate.
“The cost of living is soaring, ED waits are through the roof, people are literally dying in our hospitals waiting to be seen, and the government is simply telling you to wait because things will get better.”
“You don’t have to wait, and you deserve a government that cares about the little guy.”
ACT’s Parmjeet Parmar, who contested Pakuranga in 2023, is standing again, and Opportunity has named Pakuranga-raised clinical pharmacist Kevin Huang.
Nominations close at noon on 8 October, and the election is on 7 November.
