Many people have been paying their respects to Fa'anānā Efeso Collins at Tipene Funeral Home. Photo: RNZ / Finn Blackwell
Roads have been closed as droves of whānau, friends and politicians pay their respects to Fa'anānā Efeso Collins.
Fa'anānā, 49, collapsed and died during a charity event in the Auckland CBD on Wednesday. He is lying in state at a funeral home in the Auckland suburb of Ohehunga.
The Green MP's funeral will be held on Thursday and people have been invited to pay their respects at Tipene Funeral Home, 24 Hill Street.
An RNZ reporter at the scene on Monday morning said there had been a steady stream of mourners arriving and a large number of cars outside the funeral home.
Green Party MPs were among the mourners, with co-leaders Marama Davison and James Shaw among those attending.
Other MPs from across the political spectrum had also been paying their respects. Former Labour prime minister Chris Hipkins and National's Takanini MP Rima Nakhle also visited this morning.
Singing could be heard from inside.
One mourner spoken to by RNZ said Fa'anānā Efeso Collins was hugely important to the community as a Pasifika leader.
In a statement, Tipene Funeral Home said a road closure and traffic management would be in place on Hill Road (between Flemming Street and Princes Street) from 7am until 7pm from today until Wednesday.
It sought to balance the needs of residents and businesses carrying out their normal activity with the large amount of mourners expected over the next few days and traffic management staff would be on site, it said.
Mourners attending were asked to carpool where possible due to limited available parking and to get to Hill Street from Princess Street (rather than Church Street). Right turns onto Hill Street from Princess Street will be restricted to avoid disrupting normal traffic, it said.
The funeral home said the weekend saw "droves of whānau, community, friends - even folks who have never met Efeso but have been moved by public tributes - hīkoi to to pay their respects, often having to wait hours to be hosted".
Visits will also be made by the New Zealand Labour Party Pasifika Caucus, Te Puni Kōkiri, Te Arawhiti, Ministry of Pacific Peoples - all led by Hon Tama Pōtaka, with visits from Mayor Wayne Brown, Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson, The Independent Māori Statutory Board, Auckland Council executive team leader kaimahi, diplomatic core and a proposed visit from the Kīngitanga, the statement said.
