Labour's Waitaki candidate, Ethan Reille, opened the Ōamaru Labour team's official campaign office on Friday night (August 18) as a "hub for people to come and feel heard".

The opening at the office on 123 Thames St, was supported by around 30 enthusiastic locals and special guests, including Ōamaru resident Angela Taylor who opened the event with a karakia and waiata, and Labour MPs Rachel Brooking and Ingrid Leary, who complimented Ethan on not just the new office, but his broader campaign efforts.

Ethan is well known within the party and widely respected for "his positive energy and work ethic", Rachel said, while Ingrid commented that his "credibility" and "impact" outshone comments about his youth.

He spoke about how he became motivated to enter politics in 2020.

"Whilst we felt really united as a country through the first lockdowns, things around us and around the world were very fragile. For me, getting involved in politics was about making sure that we could keep, keep that strength.

"It was about being heard as a young person, but also ensuring our most vulnerable were heard. Because we know that when we're supporting our most vulnerable, we're supporting all New Zealanders."

He described reaching out to the president of Young Labour, meeting with then Labour candidate for Waitaki, Liam Wairepo, and "before I knew it, I was signing my life away to be campaign coordinator".

Fast forward to Waitaki in 2023.

"We're facing the shortages of a health workforce - we've seen that recently with the closure of the hospital. We're seeing a coastal erosion where Waitaki Boys' [High School] is facing in the next 20 years, a lot of their infrastructure entering the Pacific Ocean; we're facing a real need to be able to protect our education systems, especially ensuring that we have more pay equity and collective offers for our teachers. There's no more time to waste right now here in Waitaki," Ethan said.

"Threats of closing down the Ministry for Pacific Peoples, and I won't quote what was said, but it's concerning, because for a population like Ōamaru, who has one of the largest Pasifika populations outside of South Auckland, [these are] the very people we relied on during our health response in 2020, the very people that ensured we were vaccinated, ensured that we had testing clinics, ensured that we had food supplies, and ensured that our most vulnerable were being looked after.

"It is those people that are still the most vulnerable in our community, but give everything they can to ensure that we are all looked after," he said.

"But it's also people, like yourselves, because today, you're all here to share a common message that across the country, we all want a future focused government."

Ethan said Labour's was a bold campaign, and it was going to be a "rough time given the current climates".

"But, I absolutely have faith in the party that we will get there."

It is not just about this election, he said, but all the elections to come.

"Like Ingrid told me back when we were down at the Dunedin Region 6 conference, every single seat is winnable, you just have to have the right team, the right army, the right messaging, and a positive campaign that's willing to do the hard yards for all."

"I might be the face of the campaign, I might be the one that faces the brunt of some of it all, but at the end of the day, it's our movement, it's our collective movement to ensure that we don't have under representation like we have had."

Ethan acknowledged the support of the volunteers, new and old, in their red jackets knocking on doors on rainy Saturdays and helping with phone banking on Wednesday nights.

He reflected on the importance of the new office and having a physical space, "for people to come and feel heard and feel part of this movement".

"It's not my campaign, it's your campaign. And together we can share that collective mission to ensure that we do have a strong local and present voice building a stronger Waitaki and New Zealand for everyone. So thank you."