“Only the hood can change the hood.”
“If we really believe that, if Manurewa wants changes then Manurewa needs to be at the decision-making table.”
So says Luella Linaker, a candidate for the South Auckland seat and one of 32 independent candidates running at the election.
Linaker admits it was a last-minute decision after the first Covid-19 lockdown to run where she grew up. During Alert Level 4 Linaker juggled a number of work and volunteering roles including one looking after elderly council flat residents.
“Three friends and I worked with elderly residents at a council flat because in the past one of them, two of the residents had passed away and nobody knew about it for days and we didn’t want that to happen during the lockdown so we did a whole lot of work there."
She said the generosity of the community during lockdown inspired her.
“There were some amazing things that came out of that [lockdown], and I think that's what gave me the fire in my belly to want to make a difference.”
Her late decision to run after being “badgered by friends” came after political parties had their candidates locked in, forcing Linaker to become an independent.
“I was never interested in a political career, honestly, it wasn’t what I wanted but after working with the community, I actually thought our community needs that voice.”
A laughing Linaker says her campaign, which saw her take time off work, has been “run off the smell of an oily rag”.
She also admitted she would look to join a political party next time, saying she liked the Green Party’s policies with Manurewa still in need of a local voice in Parliament.
“We've got such a great community. The narrative is often not in our control, and it's not a positive narrative.”
Her biggest supporter is her 81-year-old father, Linaker says.
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