By Charlotte Muru-Lanning in Auckland

A Tongan group visited Ihumātao to show solidarity with the occupation of the land by mana whenua who greeted them with a pōwhiri.

The visit was to encourage more people from the Tongan community to show their support for the occupation, said an organiser, Semisi Vea Sikei.

“We’ve been to Ihumātao a few times and we were disappointed to see a lack of Pacific Islanders there,”  said Sikei, who is Māori and Tongan.

READ MORE: The call of Ihumātao: Migrant communities standing with Māori

Attendee Makelesi Ngata said that it was important to be there as a group to acknowledge how the Tongan community has benefited from being able to live on Māori land.

“It means a lot to me because we reside here, our parents migrated here from Tonga,” she said.

“We’re here to show our appreciation.”

The struggle also mirrored the struggles of people in Tonga whose sovereignty over land and affairs are under threat from international interests, she said.

“We can feel it as well.”

Another organiser, Siosi’ana Mafile’o-Tapueluelu said that the weekend visit was to show unity between the two groups.

“We just want to be there to show our support and to show our love to our Māori brothers and sisters,” she said.

It was love shown through Tongan food like taro, chop suey, pineapple pie and keke ‘isite, poetry, songs and traditional hymns.

The congregation of around 30 people was dressed in traditional church attire and carried Tongan flags. They were welcomed by Kaumātua with a pōwhiri to the makeshift marae atea at Ihumātao on Sunday.

• Charlotte Muru-Lanning is Ngāti Maniapoto and Waikato Tainui. She is based in Auckland, New Zealand. She has a BA in sociology and film and media studies and is currently completing a Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism at Auckland University of Technology

Pasifika people in New Zealand need to take charge against climate change which is already threatening their home islands, an Auckland hui has heard.

Political leaders have been too slow, warned climate experts, community, youth and Pasifika leaders who were joined at the Roskill Climate Restart hui by Minister for Climate Change James Shaw and Mt Roskill Labour MP Michael Wood.

“We have no choice. It’s about my people surviving in this world. My people [in Tuvalu] are already suffering. In terms of food they can’t plant crops now because of the salinity of the soil,” said E Tū union Komiti Pasifika representative Fala Haulangi.

READ MORE: USP journo students return from Solomons climate storytelling project

“Every day our people live in fear and that’s the reality people have to face. So, when we talk about what we will do in the next 10 years, no, let’s talk about today.”

Haulangi said there is a lack of trust in politicians among Pasifika communities but believes in the power of community to tackle climate change.

Pacific climate warrior Brianna Fruean said more attention needs to be placed on the resilience and adaptability of Pasifika people.

“Young people in Tokelau are building keyhole gardens for their villages so their gardening is raised off the ground as a way of adapting to climate change and soil salinisation. I’ve seen so many examples of the resilience humans can bring forward.

“We need more attention on the solutions and how we can look at people who really shouldn’t be as resilient as they are, considering all the obstacles that are given to them, and how they’ve overcome them. If someone in the Pacific can put up a fight against climate change, then anyone in the world can.”

James Shaw agreed, saying it was critical government works with communities when it comes to assessing real life effects of climate change.

“Wellington can’t work that out all by itself. [Risk assessment] is an area where we need to work closely with other communities because they have on the ground knowledge. Communities often have knowledge that has been passed down from generations.

“It’s going to take everything that we’ve got at every single level. It is one of those things that has to involve political change.”

The hui began with a community cycle ride around the newly-opened Te Auaunga (Oakley Creek) walkway led by “local biking heroes” Roskill Bike Kitchen and Global Hope Mission, followed by a free lunch provided by Wise Collective.

• Ayla Miller is studying Journalism through AUTs postgraduate diploma of communications and has an interest in arts, culture, entertainment and environmental news
• This story was first published on Te Waha Nui

Students across New Zealand are striking today as part of a worldwide day of action over global warming and the issue of climate change.

The strikes are expected to bring tens of thousands of students to the streets across the globe from Europe, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

Strikes in more then 20 towns and cities around New Zealand are planned, ranging from Russell in the north to Nelson in the south.

READ MORE: Amnesty welcomes school climate strikes, warns ‘truant’ governments

The Auckland strike will begin midday in Aotea Square, with musical performances and guest speakers coming out to discuss any and all environmental issues.

The demands of the School Strike 4 Climate NZ include passing a proposed Zero Carbon Act and ceasing all exploration and extraction of fossil fuels immediately.

Auckland University of Technology communications student Millie Hinchliffe said the strike was a good thing because it showed the younger generation was more aware of these environmental issues being seen through social media.

“People have become more aware of what’s going on … before the internet, people were aware but not as aware as to how bad the impact was but now you’re able to see it,” she said.

PM backs students
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern met with climate protesting students at Wellington College this week, saying it was vital that civic leaders listened to the concerns of the next generation.

“Students around the world are calling politicians to action – we have a responsibility to listen to them and respond,” she said.

Opposition leader Simon Bridges told The AM Show it was an important issue and he would not begrudge students taking a day off school to protest lack of action on climate change. However he was unsure whether the ends justify the means.

More than 1500 teachers and academics have thrown their support behind the strike by signing the Academics, Teachers and Researchers in Solidarity with School Strike 4 Climate Aotearoa New Zealand.

An academic who signed the above letter, senior researcher at Victoria University Dr Judy Lawrence, believes it is important for the younger generation to be involved, because it is their future that will be affected the most.

“The government makes decisions which will affect future generations and especially for those who cannot vote. So you are directly affected but have no voice. You will inherit the harm done by policy delay.

“Hope won’t do it. You want action.”

The movement started after 15-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg sat outside the Swedish Parliament building in Stockholm until the September election.

Her protest saw thousands rally behind her with strikes happening across Germany, Switzerland and England.

Te Waha Nui is AUT University’s training online publication and newspaper, publishing the work of journalism students on the Bachelor of Communication Studies and Postgraduate Diploma in Communication Studies programmes.

• School climate strikes – the big challenge is to make democracy work
• Greta Thunberg nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
• School Strike 4 Climate

India’s Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Jasvantsinh Bhabhor visited Auckland briefly last Saturday to talk about building international relations, but avoided comment on the country’s rape culture.

In light of recent events where two teenage girls living in rural India have been violently raped and then set on fire, Bhabhor declined to comment and restated his visit to New Zealand was solely relationship building.

India’s Tribal Affairs sector focuses on issues in rural Indian communities such as farming, education and cultural laws – which cover how community elders make their own laws surrounding rape.

In one of the past cases, the society’s elders said they had already punished the rapist and murderer with “100 sit-ups” so police involvement was not needed.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been criticised for his response and inaction over these incidents.

“Our government is committed to building cordial relationships to work towards the progress of all Indians,” said Bhabhor.

The brief stopover was en route to Samoa where the Indian government is working closely with Samoa’s medical centre.

First Samoan visit
High Commissioner Sanjiv Kohli said Bhabhor’s visit to Samoa is a first for any Indian minister in history.

“We have provided Samoa with their entire dialysis units and have even brought patients from Samoa to India for intensive surgeries.

“We are aiming to extend this aid to other countries,” said Kohli.

Twenty-eight-year-old Sukshant Nand who was present at the event said that the Indian minister failed to answer the big questions.

“The elephant in the room was rape culture in rural India which is a matter for Tribal Affairs, but here they are promoting their work in Samoa.

“There is work to be done in their own country,” said Nand.

Bhabhor said that they were taking “major steps” in areas such as demonetisation, GST, free electricity and electrification in rural communities.

However, it remained that both Bhabhor and Kohli were silent on rape issues.

Vandhna Bhan is a student journalist with the AUT School of Communication Studies news website Te Waha Nui.

Tūhoe leader Tamati Kruger has some hard truths to deliver in his upcoming 2017 Bruce Jesson Memorial lecture.

The chair of Tūhoe Te Uru Taumatua says New Zealand needs to face up to the fact that “we create a reality to suit our time and our purpose, and some of it is quite dishonest”.

“In New Zealand we have a mythology that we are a clean green nation, when we are not. We have another mythology that we’re quite egalitarian and liberal. We are not.

“We are quite a cruel people to refugees and people who have emigrated here. We are not as tolerant as we pretend to be.

“We have these things we have to be truthful about, to repair and fix,” Kruger said.

Kruger will speak tomorrow at the University of Auckland in a lecture which honours the late journalist and political thinker Bruce Jesson. The lecture has been delivered in previous years by notable intellectuals, including Jane Kelsey, Nicky Hager and David Lange.

He will also be speaking about his experiences leading his iwi, Tūhoe’s settlement with the Crown, and the Te Urewera Act. Kruger was the chief negotiator for Tūhoe in the settlement process.

Navigating differing politics
He said an important part of leadership has involved navigating the difference between Māori and Pākehā politics.

“Part of the blessing of Pākehā politics is you have this apparatus called law, where you can bend people to one’s will. But in Tūhoe politics you have to depend on your reputation and integrity for people to find that whatever you have to say has some wisdom and truth in it.”

On taking up the mantle of leadership, he said he “got to the stage where I could not renounce my parents’ prayers that I contribute something back to the iwi.

“I don’t see myself as having to do what I do forever…I’m probably facing the end part of my contribution to the Tūhoe people and I just want to continue to do my very best.”

Acting chair of the Bruce Jesson Foundation, Simon Collins, said the theme of the lecture was always about “the most important issues that we face in New Zealand, and one of the big elephants in the room is the big disparity between Māori and everyone else”.

“What Tūhoe is doing is one of the most exciting responses to that. They’re taking it into their own hands to do something about the problem.

“That’s what we’re hoping Tamati Kruger can talk about – what they’re doing can have lessons for all of us.”

Alex Braae is a journalism major at the Auckland University of Technology. 

• More New Zealand stories

Contemporary dance is set to take centre stage at next week’s Pacific Dance Festival.

The two week-long festival organised by Pacific Dance New Zealand is being held at the Māngere Arts Centre and will run from June 15-24.

Pacific Dance New Zealand (PDNZ) spokesperson Cilla Brown says the event celebrates and provides a platform for contemporary Pacific artists to showcase their work.

“There’s a bit of a wave with this new contemporary Pacific dance coming out. This is a way to showcase it and also develop and perform.”

She says the festival, which debuted last year, is the first of its kind and has gained more interest this year.

“It’s definitely grown, there’s heaps more interest and a lot more artists. Even international artists have inquired. This year we got 3 groups from Wellington.”

The two-week programme will feature work from several artists, including a piece called Wahine Toa – a collection of performances by four female choreographers.

Showcasing Pacific dance 
Interdisciplinary artist Pati Solomona Tyrell will present his work called Fa’aafa which touches on the relationship between queer Pacific children and their parents.

“There’s a piece in my work where I’m having a conversation in Sāmoan that me and my parents had when I came out to them. This platform will allow me to reach an audience that I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to reach.”

Local artist and curator Ema Tavola says she feels enriched and empowered by seeing Pacific works and is looking forward to the festival.

“It’s uplifting to see Pacific people using creative expression to tackle and understand pertinent issues. The rootedness in Pacific dance and movement means this festival is anchored to our homelands – It makes me feel close to home.”

Brown says having the festival in Mangere also brings the theatre to the Pacific community.

“There’s a lot of Pacific communities there already. It’s important for our community especially our Pacific kids to see our community on the stage as professional choreographers and dancers.”

Tavola says she is glad to see the festival held in South Auckland.

Pacific culture accessible
“It’s accessible to Pacific audiences and young people, and adds real value to our local arts landscape out here; and as a Pacific person seeing this kind of thing – I love it.”

The event will also include an art exhibition showcasing cultural dance costumes as well as workshops for local schools with artists and performers.

Contemporary dance performance Nu’u by group, Freshmans Crew, will debut at the festival on June 17 before they travel to Hawaii, Los Angeles and Utah.

• See Pacific Dance New Zealand for more information and tickets for the festival

Brandon Ulfsby is a student journalist with Auckland University of Technology’s training newspaper Te Waha Nui.

Two Auckland University of Technology students who took top communication studies prizes at an awards ceremony last night are off to Fiji next month on a climate change “Bearing Witness” project.

Julie Cleaver and Kendall Hutt were rewarded for their journalism at the School of Communication Studies annual awards event.

Cleaver, editor of AUT’s magazine Debate and a freelance writer for The New Zealand Herald, won the school award for final year Bachelor of Communication Studies excellence in communication theory.

Hutt, who works for AUT’s Pacific Media Centre as contributing editor of Pacific Media Watch, won the Radio NZ International Prize for top student in Asia-Pacific journalism.

They will fly to Fiji in the mid-semester break for a two-week assignment for the PMC in partnership with the Pacific Centre for the Environment and Sustainable Development (PaCE-SD) and the Regional Pacific Journalism programme at the University of the South Pacific, and AUT’s Te Ara Motuhenga documentary collective.

“This is the second year running that we have done this mission and we would like to build it up to cover several Pacific countries, especially the ‘frontline’ climate change nations,” said Professor David Robie, who initiated the project.

Cleaver, who is of Canadian and Māori descent, said her passion and interest for media topics were more rewarding than getting a good grade.

Raising awareness
The award would encourage her to raise awareness of other cultures in New Zealand.

Hutt, who travelled to Finland last year, said the journey had broadened her journalism horizons.

Hundreds of people packed AUT’s function hall for the ceremony, hosted by advertising supremo Mike Hutcheson, who told guests he welcomed the recognition of creativity and diversity.

Hutcheson’s comic anecdotes left guests amused and inspired — “be the voice of creativity”, he said.

Her trip to Fiji last year during the first Bearing Witness mission and a passion for global journalism had won her this award, she said.

“If we want a diverse culture in New Zealand we should have more international students address or share knowledge in other cultures.”

Scholarships awarded
Communication Studies postgraduate scholarships were awarded to Shirin Brown, Jayakrishnan Sreekumar, Rebecca Trelease and Chao Zhang.

Another AUT journalism graduate, Janie Cameron, was named top postgraduate student in creative practice and won The New Zealand Herald prize. She shared her insight, telling the audience that for such a “small country we have a lot of problems” and her role as a journalist was a “unique voice for the voiceless”.

Ophelia Buckleton won the National Business Review award for outstanding journalism graduate in the Bachelor of Communication Studies degree.

The awardees were given cash, a plaque of recognition and internships based on their specialisation.

Queenie Jose is a final year Bachelor of Communication Studies student journalist working on Te Waha Nui.

• Earlier story on the awards
• Full list of award winners

Niuean taro has made a return to the shelves and the stomachs of many in New Zealand — but the humble vegetable has come at a cost.

The Niuean taro is being sold at the Mangere Food Market for $12.99 a kg – more than twice the price of the Fijian and Samoan equivalent.

Managing director for the Mangere Food Market, Vutha Hang says transport costs are to blame.

“Reason why it’s more expensive is because they send it via plane, if they send it via boat then it’ll be cheaper,” he says.

Hang was approached by Shopexports and Freight Ltd to sell the product. Others had declined the offer, he said.

“For me I’ll try, if the people buy it then I’ll carry on and sell it, but if people don’t buy it then I have to stop.”

Shopexports and Freight Ltd, which imports the taro for Mangere Food Market, claims on its Facebook page that the produce supports growers in Niue.

Niuean expats claim their country’s product is of a superior quality than other Pacific varieties.

Fotu Jackson, a Pacific engagement manager at AUT University, says from her extensive knowledge of the Pacific she believes Niuean taro is one of the best.

“I think Niuean taro has a lot more taste, the texture is different than other taro from the Pacific – and I say that as a Samoan,” she says.

Jackson says the soil in Niue is very rich, and she believes this contributes to the uniqueness of the Niuean variety.

Hang says a lot of customers come into his store and look for the taro but only a few actually buy it.

Jackson says despite the price of the Niuean taro, it is worth it.

“I was actually one of the people who drove to buy the taro.”

Jackson says there are not many places you can buy Niuean taro, whereas the Fijian and Samoan variety is readily available throughout the country.

“When it comes to New Zealand it’s really popular, it’s in high demand.”

Repeated efforts to get comment from Shopexports and Freight Ltd were not been successful.

Brandon Ulfsby is a student journalist with Auckland University of Technology’s traning newspaper Te Waha Nui.