New Zealand sports star eyes job as MP

Photo: Grahame Cox

Inga Tuigamala and Plantation gym co-owner Nick Tuitasi.

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Inga Tuigamala used to smash opponents on the footy field – now he wants to smash some Pacific Islanders dependence on the dole and DPB.

And the former rugby and league star has confirmed he would consider running for Parliament in 2011 if offered a spot on the National Party list.

Tuigamala, 40, and fellow All Black team-mate Michael Jones, 44, both joined prospective Prime Minister John Key on the campaign trail in the lead-up to the 2008 General Election.

It was a move that shocked some because Labour had previously had the majority of the Maori and Polynesian vote.

And Tuigamala said he would be prepared to run for Parliament in two years time if the opportunity arose.

"My mum always inspired me to keep an open eye on everything, never shut the door on anything," Tuigamala told Sunday News.

"I am always willing to look, listen and learn.

"If that road crosses my path then I would be stupid not to consider it, stupid not to look at the pros and cons and what benefit it could be to my people."

Tuigamala yesterday opened Plantation gym, which he co-owns with former police officer Nick Tuitasi in New Lynn, west Auckland.

It is the latest venture for the footy star-turned-funeral parlour owner and is aimed at improving the health of his people.

The opening ceremony, which featured boxer David Tua cutting the ceremonial ribbon, comes just eight days after Tuigamala launched his new autobiography, titled Inga: My Story.

Having made a very public political stand last year, the former Manu Samoa star expressed his desire to break some Islanders dependence on the benefit.

He wrote the decision by some to rely on the welfare system was a blight on the Polynesian community.

Tuigamala confided his role model and "hero" was his mother, Pulelua.

After his father's death, Tuigamala said his mother was left to raise 14 children on her own.

But she never relied on a Social Welfare benefit, he said.

Talking to Sunday News, Tuigamala said he was not the "only voice" in the Polynesian community wanting to change some people's mindsets.

He said it was a vision also shared by Jones, Tua and Tuitasi.

"I want people to be a benefit, rather than be on a benefit," he said.

"I am not talking about those who cannot work.

"I am talking about those who are on the verge of maybe going: `Maybe I can work. If I get myself healthy enough, if I do my exercise, if I take my medication, if I eat the right food, change my attitude and set new goals I can actually attain this'.

"I am trying to encourage my fellow Pacific Islanders."

Family, friends and west Auckland locals flocked to Plantation yesterday.

The walls in its lobby features portraits of leading Polynesian sportsmen and women with quotes aimed at inspiring gym users.

While improving the health of the west Auckland community might not be the best business move for his funeral parlour, Tuigamala said he was committed to making a difference.

"In my funeral business I have been burying them [young men] for the last three years – a lot of them have died under the age of 40. And that really saddens me," he said.

"It means that a lot of wives are widowed without husbands, a lot of children are without fathers. And it doesn't have to be like that.

"I am a result of that. When my father passed away at 49, my mother has been a widow for the past 28 years. Not having that father figure around was an enormous weight on my brothers and sisters, as well as my beautiful mother."

Inga: My Story is out now, published by Penguin Books, with a recommended retail price of $40.

- © Fairfax NZ News