Alfred Meredith Filipaina is a New Zealand politician who is an
Auckland Council
Auckland Council () is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that also has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is a unitary authority, according to t ...
lor.
Biography
From the mid-1980s until 1997, Filipaina worked as a community constable in Māngere Bridge.
Political career
Filipaina was a Manukau City Councillor prior to the 'Super City' merger of Auckland's councils into Auckland Council in 2010.
In the inaugural 2010 Auckland Council elections Filipaina was elected from the
Manukau ward
Manukau Ward is an Auckland Council ward that elects two councillors and covers the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board, Māngere-Ōtāhuhu and Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Board, Ōtara-Papatoetoe Local Boards. The two councillors are currently Alf Filipain ...
. He was re-elected in 2013 and 2016. In 2016 the new mayor,
Phil Goff
Philip Bruce Goff (born 22 June 1953) is a New Zealand retired politician and former diplomat. He was a member of the New Zealand Parliament from 1981 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 2016. He served as Leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, le ...
, appointed him deputy chairperson of the environment and communities committee.
In the
2022 New Year Honours
The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...
, Filipaina was appointed a
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...
, for services to the New Zealand Police and the community.
In March 2025, Filipaina announced that he will not seek re-election as a Councillor in the 2025 Auckland local elections, and will instead run for the
Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board
Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board is one of the 21 local boards of the Auckland Council, and is overseen by the council's Manukau ward councillors. The board is governed by seven board members elected at-large. The board's administrative area i ...
. He had previously been speculated as a potential candidate for Mayor of Auckland.
Personal life
Filipaina's father was an overstayer, who narrowly avoided deportation during the dawn raids. One of Filipaina's brothers, Olsen, represented the
New Zealand national rugby league team
The New Zealand national rugby league team () has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the Kiwi (bird), native bird of that name. The team' ...
in
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...