Tokelau – Asia Pacific Report

Tokelau airport project scrapped despite multi-million dollar design

APR editor — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 03:43:18 +0000

New Zealand has scrapped a project to build an airport in Tokelau after sinking NZ$3 million into the design phase.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade told RNZ Pacific that the Tokelau government had been advised of their decision.

Tokelau is completely inaccessible by plane, with visitors and its roughly 2600 residents required to travel via boat from Samoa. A return fare on the boat, which runs once every two weeks, is approximately NZ$306, with a travel time of around 24-32 hours.

READ MORE: Other Tokelau reports

“This decision was made in the context of the high cost of the project and the constrained fiscal environment currently facing the New Zealand government,” MFAT said in a statement.

“We recognise that air services have been a long-held aspiration of the people of Tokelau. ”

The government had spent around $3 million on feasibility, design, business casing and procurement planning since 2020, with funding agreed to the year before. The project faced delays due to COVID-19.

Stuff reported in 2022 that tenders for the project that had been put out for one provider who would be willing to work with the council of elders, or Taupulega, on a design concept.

Intended design
An Official Information Act request from October 2024 confirmed that the intended design included one terminal with an 800m by 30m runway on Nukunonu, the largest of Tokelau’s three atolls.

A tender for a construction contractor had been placed as late as September 2025, with an expected timeline reaching out to 2030, according to MFAT’s DevData tool.

Children collecting inati (part of a fundamental cultural system of resource sharing) for their families. Image: Elena Pasilio/RNZ

John Teao, former chairman of the Wellington Tokelau Association, said he was personally pleased to see the project come to its end.

“There’s not enough land to have an airstrip . . . and it’s also the environmental impact — it’s a pristine environment,” Teao said.

“I just don’t see any any justification for an airport.

“Maybe in the future, if they have sea planes or things like that.”

Teao said he hopes to see the money spent on something more useful, such as improving the existing boat system.

Bridging the gap
The New Zealand Labour Party’s Pacific spokesperson, Carmel Sepuloni, said this project was intended to bridge the gap between Tokelau and the world.

“While the details are unclear, it’s disappointing to hear this news,” she said in a statement.

“There are real risks that come with having no access to an airstrip. With a population of about 2500 and almost 10,000 Tokelauans living in New Zealand, travel to and from Tokelau is difficult.

“There’s a clear need and given Tokelau is within the realm of New Zealand, I’d expect the government to offer a clear explanation as to why they’ve scrapped these plans.”

An election in Tokelau for their General Fono is set for January 29. Each village is selecting their candidates for just over a week of campaigning.

The Fono consists of three Faipule, or village leaders, three Pulenuku, or village mayors, and 14 general delegates, elected for a three-year term.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Pasifika recipients say King’s Birthday honours not just theirs alone

APR editor — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 07:08:52 +0000

By Teuila Fuatai, RNZ Pacific senior journalist, Iliesa Tora, and Christina Persico

A New Zealand-born Niuean educator says being recognised in the King’s Birthday honours list reflects the importance of connecting young tagata Niue in Aotearoa to their roots.

Mele Ikiua, who hails from the village of Hakupu Atua in Niue, has been named a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to vagahau Niue language and education.

She told RNZ Pacific the most significant achievement in her career to date had been the promotion of vagahau Niue in the NCEA system.

READ MORE: King’s Birthday Honours 2025 — the full list of recipients

The change in 2023 enabled vagahau Niue learners to earn literacy credits in the subject, and receive recognition beyond “achieved” in the NCEA system. That, Ikiua said, was about continuing to increase learning opportunities for young Niue people in Aotearoa.

“Because if you look at it, the work that we do — and I say ‘we’ because there’s a lot of people other than myself — we’re here to try and maintain, and try and hold onto, our language because they say our language is very, very endangered.

“The bigger picture for young Niue learners who haven’t connected, or haven’t been able to learn about their vagahau or where they come from [is that] it’s a safe place for them to come and learn . . . There’s no judgement, and they learn the basic foundations before they can delve deeper.”

Her work and advocacy for Niuean culture and vagahau Niue has also extended beyond the formal education system.

Niue stage at Polyfest
Since 2014, Ikiua had been the co-ordinator of the Niue stage at Polyfest, a role she took up after being involved in the festival as a tutor. She also established Three Star Nation, a network which provides leadership, educational and cultural programmes for young people.

Last year, Ikiua also set up the Tokiofa Arts Academy, the world’s first Niue Performing Arts Academy. And in February this year, Three Star Nation held Hologa Niue — the first ever Niuean arts and culture festival in Auckland.

Niuean community members in Auckland . . . Mele Ikiua with Derrick Manuela Jackson (left) and her brother Ron Viviani. Image: RNZ Pacific

She said being recognised in the King’s Birthday honours list was a shared achievement.

“This award is not only mine. It belongs to the family. It belongs to the village. And my colleagues have been amazing too. It’s for us all.”

She is one of several Pasifika honoured in this weekend’s list.

Others include long-serving Auckland councillor and former National MP Anae Arthur Anae; Air Rarotonga chief executive officer and owner Ewan Francis Smith; Okesene Galo; Ngatepaeru Marsters and Viliami Teumohenga.

Cook Islander, Berry Rangi has been awarded a King’s Service Medal for services to the community, particularly Pacific peoples.

Berry Rangi has been awarded a King’s Service Medal for services to the community, particularly Pacific peoples. Image: Berry Rangi/RNZ Pacific

Lifted breast screening rates
She has been instrumental in lifting the coverage rates of breast and cervical screening for Pacific women in Hawke’s Bay.

“When you grow up in the islands, you’re not for yourself – you’re for everybody,” she said.

“You’re for the village, for your island.”

She said when she moved to Napier there were very few Pasifika in the city — there were more in Hastings, the nearby city to the south.

“I did things because I knew there was a need for our people, and I’d just go out and do it without having to be asked.”

Berry Rangi also co-founded Tiare Ahuriri, the Napier branch of the national Pacific women’s organisation, PACIFICA.

She has been a Meals on Wheels volunteer with the Red Cross in Napier since 1990 and has been recognised for her 34 years of service in this role.

Maintaining a heritage craft
She also contributes to maintaining the heritage craft of tivaevae (quilting) by delivering workshops to people of all ages and communities across Hawke’s Bay.

Another honours recipient is Uili Galo, who has been made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the Tokelau community.

Galo, of the Tokelau Aotearoa Leaders Council, said it is very gratifying to see his community’s efforts acknolwedged at the highest level.

“I’ve got a lot of people behind me, my elders that I need to acknowledge and thank . . . my kainga,” he said.

“While the award has been given against my name, it’s them that have been doing all the hard work.”

He said his community came to Aotearoa in the 1970s.

“Right through they’ve been trying to capture their culture and who they are as a people. But obviously as new generations are born here, they assimilate into the pa’alangi world, and somehow lose a sense of who they are.

“A lot of our youth are not quite sure who they are. They know obviously the pa’alangi world they live in, but the challenge of them is to know their identity, that’s really important.”

Pasifika sports duo say recognition is for everyone
Two sporting recipients named as Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the King’s Birthday Honours say the honour is for all those who have worked with them.

Pauline-Jean Henrietta Luyten with Eroni Clarke of the Pasifika Rugby Advisory group. Image: RNZ Pacific

Pauline-Jean Henrietta Luyten, who is of Tongan heritage, has been involved with rugby at different levels over the years, and is currently a co-chair of New Zealand Rugby’s Pacific Advisory Group.

Annie Burma Teina Tangata Esita Scoon, of Cook Islands heritage, has been involved with softball since she played the sport in school years ago.

While they have been “committed” to their sports loves, their contribution to the different Pasifika communities they serve is being recognised.

Luyten told RNZ Pacific she was humbled and shocked that people took the time to actually put a nomination through.

“You know, all the work we do, it’s in service of all of our communities and our families, and you don’t really look for recognition,” she said.

“The family, the community, everyone who have worked with me and encouraged me they all deserve this recognition.”

Luyten, who has links in Ha’apai, Tonga, said she has loved being involved in rugby, starting off as a junior player and went through the school competition.

Community and provincial rugby
After moving down to Timaru, she was involved with community and provincial rugby, before she got pulled into New Zealand Rugby Pacific Advisory Group.

Luyten made New Zealand rugby history as the first woman of Pacific Island descent to be appointed to a provincial union board in 2019.

She was a board member of the South Canterbury Rugby Football Union and played fullback at Timaru Girls’ High School back in 1997, when rugby competition was first introduced .

Her mother Ailine was one of the first Tongan women to take up residence in Timaru. That was back in the early 1970s.

As well as a law degree at Otago University Luyten completed a Bachelor of Science in 2005 and then went on to complete post-graduate studies in sports medicine in 2009.

Pauline-Jean Henrietta Luyten with Sina Latu of the Tonga Society in South Canterbury. Image: RNZ Pacific

She is also a founding member of the Tongan Society South Canterbury which was established in 2016.

Opportunities for Pasifika families
On her rugby involvement, she said the game provides opportunities for Pasifika families and she is happy to be contributing as an administrator.

“Where I know I can contribute has been in that non-playing space and sort of understanding the rugby system, because it’s so big, so complex and kind of challenging.”

Fighting the stereotypes that “Pasifika can’t be directors” has been a major one.

“Some people think there’s not enough of us out there. But for me, I’m like, nah we’ve got people,” she stated.

“We’ve got heaps of people all over the show that can actually step into these roles.

“They may be experienced in different sectors, like the health sector, social sector, financial, but maybe haven’t quite crossed hard enough into the rugby space. So I feel it’s my duty to to do everything I can to create those spaces for our kids, for the future.”

Call for two rugby votes
Earlier this month the group registered the New Zealand Pasifika Rugby Council, which moved a motion, with the support of some local unions, that Pasifika be given two votes within New Zealand Rugby.

“So this was an opportunity too for us to actually be fully embedded into the New Zealand Rugby system.

“But unfortunately, the magic number was 61.3 [percent] and we literally got 61, so it was 0.3 percent less voting, and that was disappointing.”

Luyten said she and the Pacific advisory team will keep working and fighting to get what they have set their mind on.

For Scoon, the acknowledgement was recognition of everyone else who are behind the scenes, doing the work.

Annie Scoon, of Cook Islands heritage, has been involved with softball since she played the sport in school years ago. Image: RNZ Pacific

She said the award was for the Pasifika people in her community in the Palmerston North area.

Voice is for ‘them’
“To me what stands out is that our Pasifika people will be recognized that they’ve had a voice out there,” she said.

“So, it’s for them really; it’s not me, it’s them. They get the recognition that’s due to them. I love my Pacific people down here.”

Scoon is a name well known among the Palmerston North Pasifika and softball communities.

The 78-year-old has played, officiated, coached and now administers the game of softball.

She was born in the Cook Islands and moved with her family to New Zealand in 1948. Her first involvement with softball was in school, as a nine-year-old in Auckland.

Then she helped her children as a coach.

“And then that sort of lead on to learning how to score the game, then coaching the game, yes, and then to just being an administrator of the game,” she said.

Passion for the game
“I’ve gone through softball – I’ve been the chief scorer at national tournaments, I’ve selected at tournaments, and it’s been good because I’d like to think that what I taught my children is a passion for the game, because a lot of them are still involved.”

A car accident years ago has left her wheelchair-bound.

She has also competed as at the Paraplegic Games where she said she proved that “although disabled, there were things that we could do if you just manipulate your body a wee bit and try and think it may not pan out as much as possible, but it does work”.

“All you need to do is just try get out there, but also encourage other people to come out.”

She has kept passing on her softball knowledge to school children.

In her community work, Scoon said she just keeps encouraging people to keep working on what they want to achieve and not to shy away from speaking their mind.

Setting a goal
“I told everybody that they set a goal and work on achieving that goal,” she said.

“And also encouraged alot of them to not be shy and don’t back off if you want something.”

She said one of the challenging experiences, in working with the Pasifika community, is the belief by some that they may not be good enough.

Her advice to many is to learn what they can and try to improve, so that they can get better in life.

“I wasn’t born like this,” she said, referring to her disability.

“You pick out what suits you but because our island people — we’re very shy people and we’re proud. We’re very proud people. Rather than make a fuss, we’d rather step back.

“They shouldn’t and they need to stand up and they want to be recognised.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Fiji slapped with Trump’s highest tariffs among Pacific countries

APR editor — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 06:39:43 +0000

By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist

Although New Zealand and Australia seem to have escaped the worst of Donald Trump’s latest tariffs, some Pacific Islands stand to be hit hard — including a few that aren’t even “countries”.

The US will impose a base tariff of 10 percent on all foreign imports, with rates between 20 and 50 percent for countries judged to have major tariffs on US goods.

In the Pacific, Fiji is set to be charged the most at 32 percent, the US claiming this was a reciprocal tariff for the island nation imposing a 63 percent tariff on it.

Nauru, one of the smallest nations in the world, has been slapped with a 30 percent tariff, the US claimed they are imposing a 59 percent tariff.

Vanuatu will be given a 22 percent tariff.

Norfolk Island, which is an Australian territory, has been given a 29 percent tariff, this is despite Australia getting only 10 percent.

Most other Pacific nations were given the 10 percent base tariff.

This included Tokelau, despite it being a non-self-governing territory of New Zealand, with a population of only about 1500 people living on the atoll islands.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Fa’anānā Efeso Collins – an ‘extraordinary man’, says widow

APR editor — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 09:28:13 +0000

RNZ News

The late Green Party MP Fa’anānā Efeso Collins has been remembered by his widow as an “extraordinary man” at a service in South Auckland.

The 49-year-old husband and father-of-two died on February 21 after collapsing during a charity event in Auckland’s central city.

Fa’anānā’s unexpected death came as a shock to many, with his aiga — including wife Fia and daughters Kaperiela and Asalemo — saying he was “the anchor of our tight-knit family”.

Politicians and members of the public, including school students, were among those attending Fa’anānā’s funeral at Due Drop Event Centre in Manukau on Thursday afternoon.

Many of the guests were dressed in traditional Pacific clothing, and a gospel choir sang as the crowd filled the room.

Fa’anānā’s wife and daughters were described as his “constant bullseye”. Image: RNZ/Nick Monro

To start the service, poet Karlo Mila read a poem that finished: “You become the ancestor we always knew you were.”

Family spokesman Taito Eddie Tuiavii then gave a formal greeting in Samoan, paying tribute to Fa’anānā and his villages.

‘Larger than life’
He described Fa’anānā as “larger than life”.

It was an “indescribable feeling” to mourn the loss of “our champion”, Tuiavii said.

Fa’anānā’s sisters took the stage to share stories from his life.

His sister Jemima . . . “We didn’t have much growing up in Ōtara, but we were raised with an abundance of love, and that made us pretty rich.” Image: RNZ/Nick Monro

As a child, Fa’anānā was known as ‘Boppa’, his sister Jemima said. He loved playing and watching cricket.

“We didn’t have much growing up in Ōtara, but we were raised with an abundance of love, and that made us pretty rich.”

Fa’anānā preferred watching the TV news to children’s programmes and loved trivia.

He attended Auckland Grammar School for just two weeks, before deciding to leave due to “racist comments”, his sister said. He then transferred to “the mighty” Tangaroa College before going on to Auckland University.

Mourners embrace at the Due Drop Events Centre. Image: RNZ/Nick Monro

‘Deep friendship with Jesus’
Fa’anānā always had “a deep friendship with Jesus”, the crowd heard.

“Efeso was able to reach so many people because of his relationship with Jesus.”

Jemima signed off by saying: “Manuia lau malaga (rest in peace), Boppa. Until we meet in the clouds.”

Another of Fa’anānā’s sisters, Millie Collins, described her brother as “our family’s golden boy”.

“He was my mum and dad’s sunshine, and to his brothers and sisters, his cousins and friends, he was our superstar.”

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. Photo: RNZ/Nick Monro

He was always helping out his extended family, Millie Collins said.

“[He was] born to impact the world, born to lead through service. A visionary, a loving, honourable son, husband, father, brother, cousin, nephew and friend.”

Heartbroken at parting
Dickie Humphries, who has known Fa’anānā since they attended Auckland University, addressed his friend’s widow directly, saying he was heartbroken that they had been parted.

“This is not what our friend wanted for you. He wanted to love you through a long life,” he told Fia.

However, he was also happy Fa’anānā had found “his best friend, his greatest champion”, he said.

Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi. Image: RNZ/Nick Monro

Fa’anānā’s legacy had showed him “we must live big lives”, Humphries said.

“Lives of service, lives that leave this world better for having been in it. Lives that make right on the legacy of Efeso.”

He said all gathered there must keep working towards a better Aotearoa — one where Pasifika people did not die young, or face racist abuse while in Parliament.

Humphries remembered his friend as someone with “an inquiring mind and a curious heart”.

‘Unwavering belief in people’s brilliance’
“He had an unwavering belief in the brilliance of our people.”

The Green Party’s seats in Parliament were empty today as all 15 MPs attended their colleague’s funeral. Image: RNZ/Angus Dreaver

Among the people at the funeral were Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and James Shaw, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Labour leader Chris Hipkins, and National’s Gerry Brownlee, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi.

Fa’anānā’s wife and daughters were wearing the dresses they wore at Parliament earlier this month, when Fa’anānā gave his maiden speech as an MP.

Like Humphries, Davidson addressed Fia directly in her speech, saying Fa’anānā valued her opinion above all else.

“He lived for the power of Pacific women.”

Family was his “constant bullseye”, Davidson said.

Green Party co-leaders Marama Davidson and James Shaw with Labour leader Chris Hipkins in the crowd at Fa’anānā Efeso Collins’ funeral. Image: RNZ/Nick Monro

She promised the Green Party would wrap their arms around their colleague’s family for their whole lives. All 15 Green MPs were at the funeral.

Legacy of self-determination
The party would also continue his legacy of fighting for the self-determination and wellbeing of Pasifika people, Davidson said.

“My friend, my brother Fes. What I wouldn’t give to hug you close and long right now, even just one more time. You beautiful man. I love you always.”

In his speech, Fa’anānā’s friend Te’o Harry Fatu Toleafoa said the MP was kind to everyone, “whether you’re Christopher Luxon in the Koru Lounge or the cleaner”.

“He treated absolutely everybody with value, dignity, respect and he made them feel special.” Image: RNZ/Nick Monro

“He treated absolutely everybody with value, dignity, respect and he made them feel special.”

Te’o also paid tribute to the next generation of leaders following in Fa’anānā’s footsteps.

“He was the best of us … but if you think Fes is the best, wait ’til the next generation comes up.”

Te’o mentioned the death threats Fa’anānā received in his role as a public servant, before addressing his daughters directly: “Thank you for giving us your dad, even though we didn’t deserve him.”

Racist hate mail
Pasifika journalist Indira Stewart also talked about the difficulties Fa’anānā faced while running for and serving in office.

Fa’anānā . . . “one of the finest leaders of our generation” Image: RNZ/Nick Monro

He received racist hate mail and a bomb threat was made to the home he shared with his wife and daughters.

Fa’anānā was “one of the finest leaders of our generation”, she said.

“We are so proud of the legacy you leave behind for the next generation of Pasifika.”

Samoan singer-songwriter Annie Grace and South Auckland duo Adeaze also performed hymns during the service.

Fa’anānā’s widow Vasa Fia Collins was the last speaker and took the stage with her daughters beside her.

She introduced herself by saying: “I am an ordinary woman who married an extraordinary man.”

The funeral of Fa’anānā Efeso Collins. Video: RNZ

Fa’anānā was “born to lead”, she said.

“If you knew him, you’d know that he always tried to discreetly enter spaces and sit at the back. But how can you miss a man who’s 6’4 with a booming voice and a beautiful big smile?”

A doting father
He was also a doting father, taking their daughters to school, teaching them how to pray and “feeding them ice cream when I wasn’t looking”, she said.

“He treated me like a queen, every single moment we were together . . . a true gentleman, always serving our needs before his own.”

Fa’anānā had a great capacity for the “square pegs” in society — those who did not fit in, she said.

He valued the knowledge of his Pasifika ancestors and always mentored and love young people, she said.

“Fes died serving others. He has finished his leg of the race and the baton is now firmly in our hands.

“Please don’t let all that he did, all his hard work — blood, sweat and tears — be for nothing.”

Fa’anānā’s sisters in the crowd. Image: RNZ/Nick Monro

Fa’anānā was charismatic, humble and wise, she said. He saw the potential in others and made them better people.

Be ‘the very best of us’
“[He] never stopped encouraging people to rise, to aim high, to be the best version of themselves . . . he was the very best of us.”

Vasa told her daughters she was proud of them: “Daddy would be, too.”

Fa’anānā was the family’s “warrior” and protector, she said, and now he was their “eternal Valentine”.

“I’m so grateful for the life that we built together. But I trust and know that Fes is in the presence of God.”

Vasa finished her speech by singing a Samoan hymn.

Fa’anānā would be laid to rest privately after his casket was driven through Ōtara and Ōtāhuhu one last time.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Efeso Collins . . . ’empowering our rangatahi to think beyond the lines’

APR editor — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 23:21:19 +0000

By Lucy Xia, RNZ News reporter

The family of Green MP Fa’anānā Efeso Collins say they are “devastated” at his loss and have thanked the public for their patience during a “difficult time”.

Fa’anānā, 49, collapsed and died during a charity event in the Auckland CBD on Wednesday.

In their first statement since his death, his aiga — which includes wife Fia and daughters Kaperiela and Asalemo — said he was “the anchor of our tight-knit family”.

“Anyone who knew Efeso, knew that his daughters were at the heart of everything he did. They were his inspiration and drive,” they said.

Details about the funeral were expected to be announced on Friday, the family said.

Meanwhile, a notice posted by Tipene Funerals said it was with “heavy hearts” that the family announced Fa’anānā’s death.

He was a “dear husband, son, brother, uncle and loving father”, the notice said.

“Words cannot express our gratitude for all the messages of love, support and comfort received since Fa’anānā was called to rest. Thank you for your prayers and wrapping us firmly in your love as we navigate through this difficult time.

“We respectfully ask for privacy and your patience as we come to terms with the loss and prepare the final celebration of his life.”

Fa’anānā Efeso Collins . . . his family “respectfully ask for privacy and your patience”. Image: Fa’anānā Efeso Collins/RNZ

An inspiration for young people
Fa’anānā was remembered as warm, kind and an inspiration for Māori and Pasifika communities — particularly rangatahi.

Community members said he left an enduring legacy for his South Auckland community, where he served three terms on the local board and as ward councillor before giving his maiden speech in Parliament just a week ago.

University student Winiata Walker, 22 . . . saw Fa’anānā Efeso Collins as a role model. Image: Lucy Xia/RNZ

In Ōtara, where Fa’anānā was born, raised and served his community, his loss was deeply felt.

University student Winiata Walker, who volunteered his time teaching music to kids in Ōtara, said Fa’anānā was always a role model.

“Such a humble man, and from South Auckland to Parliament, that’s such a big step for South Auckland.”

Walker said Fa’anānā’s death was a big loss for the communities that relied on him to have their voices heard.

“As our community we have to fight harder, because he was the change, he was someone we could look up to for change for our community. But since he passed away, I think we have to work together more and work harder for progress.”

A valuable mentor
Twenty-five-year-old Terangi Parima, who ran the Ōtara youth hub and Ōtara Kai Village, said Fa’anānā was a valuable mentor for rangatahi.

Terangi Parima, who runs the Otara Kai Village and Otara youth hub, . . . she will always remember how Fa’anana encouraged youth to become leaders. Image: RNZ/Lucy Xia

“Empowering our rangatahi to see themselves in spaces that he sat in, empowering our rangatahi to think beyond the lines that have been drawn out for us . . . he’s a legend, an absolute legend.”

Parima said she will always remember how he encouraged youth to consider becoming leaders.

“He actually was a significant part in supporting our rangatahi, our youngest rangatahi who ever went for a local board role, to actually step into those spaces, and encourage her.”

Parima said it made a difference to have someone like Fa’anānā, who had been through disadvantaged communities like Ōtara, to be in Parliament.

She said he bridged the gaps between political spaces and communities.

A group pay respects where Efeso Collins died . . . singing a waiata led by Dave Letle. Image: RNZ/Finn Blackwell

Parima said Fa’anānā departed in a way that embodied what he stood for.

“He literally passed away [doing] exactly what he’s always done, and what he loves, and that’s serving his community and being purposeful.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Asia Pacific Report recalls how Fa’anānā Efeso Collins was inspirational with a range of local ethnic communities, including being a special guest at Auckland’s Ethnic Communities Festival in 2022. He also supported local body ethnic election teams with his mahi with the Whānau Community Hub and Centre.

The Auckland Rotuman Fellowship Group’s Rachael Mario with Fa’anānā Efeso Collins at the Whānau Hub. Image: Nik Naidu/Whānau Hub

Guest of honour Fa’anānā Efeso Collins at Auckland’s Ethnic Communities Festival in Mt Roskill in 2022. Image: Nik Naidu/Whānau Hub

Pasifika leaders remember ‘stand-out community leader’ Fa’anānā Efeso Collins

APR editor — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 21:08:24 +0000

By Eleisha Foon, RNZ Pacific journalist

Fa’anānā Efeso Collins is being remembered as a pillar of the Pacific community with a “big heart of service”, who loved being a husband and father.

The 49-year-old Samoan-Tokelauan leader and Greens MP has been described as someone who embodied the Samoan proverb: “o le ala i le pule o le tautua” — the pathway to leadership is through service.

Prominent leaders say Fa’anānā was “a strong community advocate”, known for serving disadvantaged communities.

A beloved father, husband, brother and friend, Fa’anānā died suddenly in Auckland yesterday afternoon and leaves behind a strong legacy of service as someone whose mission was helping the poor.

Health leader Sir Collin Tukuitonga said his death sent shock waves across the region, especially in the heart of South Auckland, where he grew up and had spent most of his time serving others.

“Shocking is an understatement. He was on the same mission as the rest of us [Pacific leaders]. A good man. Good community values. It’s absolutely devastating for his family, for the Pasifika community, for NZ and beyond.

“Efeso was a rare person. The Pasifika community is not well endowed with community leaders like Efeso – ethical, strong, community-minded.”

‘Stand out community leader’
Tukuitonga noted Fa’anānā’s contribution to students when he became the first Polynesian president of the Auckland University Students’ Association in the late 1990s.

“He did a lot at university for students, for local government. He was a stand-out community leader. A number of us were hopeful he would also have an impact at national Parliament, no doubt his legacy will live on in many of the things he had supported.”

National candidate and longtime friend Fonoti Agnes Loheni said he was “a very special person”.

“I am grateful for our friendship. His faith in God made him strong. He was a very fearless and fierce voice for the poor. He had a big heart of service. He was not only an advocate but also a man of action,” she said.

Loheni acknowledged his family, wife and two girls, saying just last week they had connected during his induction into Parliament and he shared with her just how much he loved his family.

“He was catching me up on his wife and his daughter. That was it for him, being a husband and a father were the main roles for him. The most important.”

Loss felt across region
Former minister for Pacific peoples Aupito William Sio said the loss was being felt across the region.

Tonga’s Princess also paid tribute online.

“It was no mystery to any of us in the islands how loved he was by many of our Pasifika community in New Zealand.”

Shocked to hear of the sudden passing of @efesocollins It was no mystery to any of us in the islands how loved he was by many of our Pasifika community in New Zealand. My heartfelt condolences go out to his family and friends. Toka aa ‘i he nonga moe melino ‘a e ‘Eiki pic.twitter.com/XBnJkNhooi

— Frederica (@FredericaTuita) February 21, 2024

Aupito William Sio . . . “His [Fa’anānā’s] profile reached the four corners of the Pacific region.” Image: Johnny Blades / VNP

Sio said: “His [Fa’anānā’s] profile reached the four corners of the Pacific region. He was getting support from overseas when he ran for mayor. He gave everybody the belief that anybody can achieve the highest office in NZ society. Even though he didn’t win it he got major endorsements from two political parties and made everyone hopeful of the future.”

Sio said Fa’anānā was always speaking truth to power, recalling the night of his swearing-in as an Auckland councillor.

“He confronted racism and discrimination in the council. I think he made everyone uncomfortable and made them reflect on their behaviours. I think he was fearless, he woke everybody up. It enabled the next generation to build some confidence in who they were.”

Friends and colleagues of Fa’anānā have told RNZ Pacific their thoughts were with his family, wife and children.

‘He was always there to help’
Hana Schmidt, a director of Papatoetoe-based, Pasifika-led creative agency Bluwave, counted Fa’anānā as one of her mentors and supporters.

She told RNZ Nights that a lot of young people were able to relate to him and speak to him, because he could relate to their experiences growing up in South Auckland

“He was an awesome person gave a lot of guidance to those in south Auckland who are in the community space, and also the business space and the governance space.”

She said he was always there to help, and wasn’t always wearing his political hat

“He would rather have genuine connections with the youth that he did come into contact with, the conversations were very genuine and close to heart.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Entire village tested as covid reaches third Tokelauan atoll

APR editor — Tue, 18 Jul 2023 02:35:25 +0000

By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist

The number of covid-19 community cases in Tokelau has surpassed 50 and has now cropped up on all three atolls.

The Ulu o Tokelau, or head of government in Tokelau, Kelihiano Kalolo, has announced the territory’s first community outbreak in Fakaofo atoll.

An entire village has been tested after a man who visited Fanuafala hospital tested positive.

READ MORE: Other Tokelau covid reports

After the positive test, the doctor there decided to conduct a screening of the whole village.

The screening confirmed 15 community cases, as of July 11.

The latest case tested positive after arriving in Nukunonu, the largest atoll in Tokelau.

The latest Tokelau Health Department update shows 56 cases on Fakaofo, the second-largest atoll of the group.

Atoll at outbreak centre
This is the atoll at the centre of the first outbreak.

There is currently one covid case in Nukunonu and none in Atafu, though there have been five cases at the border since the end of last year.

There have been 80 cases in total in Tokelau since the virus arrived at the border in December last year.

The government’s General Fono meeting is to be held over Zoom this month because of the outbreak.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Tokelau Covid-19 Update July 14, 2023. Image: Tokelau Health Department/RNZ Pacific

‘We carry the voice of the colonised people’, delegates tell UN

APR editor — Sat, 24 Jun 2023 00:20:18 +0000

By Finau Fonua, RNZ Pacific journalist

France’s grip on its overseas territories in the Pacific may be waning, with pro-independence delegates now claiming to have the support of the majority of their indigenous people in their territories.

The delegates from New Caledonia and French Polynesia spoke during talks at the UN’s Special Committee on Decolonisation this week.

The sensitive issues of indigenous rights were part of the speeches delivered by the delegates from Kanaky New Caledonia and French Polynesia — French “overseas territories and collectivities” — at the UN.

Kanaky — an ‘illegitimate referendum’
Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) delegate Magalie Tingal-Lémé repudiated a controversial 2021 referendum that had rejected independence from France, which had been boycotted by pro-independence groups in the wake of the covid pandemic.

“We believe that through this illegitimate referendum, the French state has robbed us of our independence,” said Tingal-Lémé.

“We will never accept this outcome and so, unable to contest the results under French internal law, we are turning to the international community for an impartial institution to indicate how to resume a process that complies with international rules on decolonisation.”

FLNKS permanent representative at the UN Magalie Tingal-Lémé . . . “The pro-independence movement found itself alone in raising public awareness of the positive stakes of self-determination.” Image: UN screenshot APR

Tingal-Lémé told the committee that the indigenous Kanaks of New Caledonia were unhappy with the status quo, accusing France of breaking the UN’s principles of freedom and equality.

“Every time we speak before your institution, we carry the voice of the colonised people,” said Tingal-Lémé.

“When we speak of colonisation, we are necessarily speaking of the people who have suffered the damage, the stigma and the consequences.”

French Polynesia — government supports decolonisation
Pro-independence Tahitian politician Vannina Crolas also advocated for the independence of a collective of islands in eastern Polynesian known as “French” Polynesia.

Like New Caledonia, the island group has been a part of France since the 19th century, but opinions of independence are more divided among the native French Polynesians who have experienced a more positive historical relationship with Paris than their Kanak neighbours.

Earlier this year, the pro-independence party Tāvini Huiraʻatira Party — led by Moetai Brotherson — won the Territorial Assembly’s 2023 presidential election by 38 votes to 19 over the ruling anti-independence Tapura Huira’atira Party.

Delegate Crolas told the committee that Brotherson had recently met President Emmanuel Macron and that the French government had so far respected the democratic processes in French Polynesia, which at the moment appears to be moving towards independence.

“France values democracy as much as our government does, and if I stand here in front of you today it’s because of democracy,” said Crolas.

“I’m here to represent the government that our people elected democratically to confirm to your committee and the world, that the government of French Polynesia fully supports the proper decolonisation and self-determination process under the scrutiny of the United Nations.”

Tokelau — committed to self-determination
Tokelau head of government Kerisiano Kalolo told the Special Committee on Decolonisation that he was committed to self-determination.

A referendum held in Tokelau in 2007 showed that more than 64 percent of Tokelauans supported removing the current political status of the islands, although the results were not enough to bring about change.

Kalolo said there was renewed interest and that he was pushing for independence.

Ulu-O-Tokelau Faipule Kelihiano Kalolo and Tokelau Administrator briefing the UN Decolonisation Committee on recent key developments and challenges in Tokelau. Image: Twitter/@FSarufa

He stressed he would maintain strong economic ties with New Zealand.

“The General Fono agreed to revive the conversation on self-determination and the future political status of Tokelau, and we plan to initiate that in the second half of the year,” said Kalolo.

“Madam chair, the relationship between Tokelau and the government of New Zealand is significant and we will continue to look towards New Zealand and development partners for support.”

The UN Special Committee on Decolonisation meeting concludes this week.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Tokelau covid: Two new cases announced as lockdown ends

APR editor — Mon, 29 May 2023 10:28:34 +0000

By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist

Tokelau’s largest atoll, Nukunonu, is now out of lockdown after experiencing its first community cases of covid-19.

In a statement, the government said Fakaofo Atoll has had two cases at the border and Nukunonu now has six positive community cases — all within the same household.

This includes the two new community cases who are children from the same family who have been isolating together.

READ MORE: Other Tokelau pandemic reports

The two kids were confirmed as covid-19 positive on Friday, May 26.

Tokelau confirmed its first community case on May 21, becoming one of the last places in the world to record community transmission.

Government spokesperson Aukusitino Vitale said they were all in good health and were being taken care of.

Hospital staff continued to manage their situation daily.

Meanwhile, the Council for the Ongoing Government, chaired by the Ulu o Tokelau (head of government), is set to meet on Friday to discuss the next official covid-19 update.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Lessons from peace activists – and action is up to the readers

APR editor — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 04:59:50 +0000

REVIEW: By Heather Devere

The aims of Peace Action: Struggles for a Decolonised and Demilitarised Oceania and East Asia as stated by the editor, Valerie Morse, are “to make visible interconnections between social struggles separated by the vast expanse of Te Moana Nui-A-Kiwi [the Pacific Ocean] … to inspire, to enrage and to educate, but most of all, to motivate people to action” (p. 11).

It is an opportunity to learn from the activists involved in these struggles. Published by the Left of the Equator Press, there are plenty of clues to the radical ideas presented. The frontispiece points out that the publisher is anti-copyright, and the book is “not able to be reproduced for the purpose of profit”, is printed on 100 percent “post consumer recycled paper”, and “bound with a hatred for the State and Capital infused in every page”.

By their nature, activists take action and do things rather than just speak or write about things, as is the academic tradition, so this is an important, unique, and rare opportunity to learn from their insights, knowledge, and experience.

READ MORE: Other Asia Pacific Report reviews

Twenty-three contributors representing some of the diverse Peoples of Aotearoa, Australia, China, Hawaii, Japan, New Caledonia, Samoa, Tahiti, Tokelau, Tonga, and West Papua offer 13 written chapters, plus poetry, artworks, and a photo essay. The range of topics is extensive too, including the history of the Crusades and the doctrine of discovery, anti-militarist and anti-imperialist movements, land reclamation movements, nuclear resistance and anti-racist movements, solidarity and allyship.

Both passion and ethics are evident in the stories about involvement in decolonised movements that are “situated in their relevant Indigenous practice” and anti-militarist movements that “actively practice peace making” (p. 11).

Peace Action … the new book. Image: Left of the Equator

While their activism is unquestioned, the contributors come with other impressive credentials. Not only do they actively put into practice their strong values, but many are also researchers and scholars. Dr Pounamu Jade Aikman (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Apakura, Ngāti Wairere, Tainui, Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Te Rangi, Te Arawa and Ngāti Tarāwhai) holds a Fulbright Scholarship from Harvard University. Mengzhu Fu (a 1.5 generation Tauiwi Chinese member of Asians Supporting Tino Rangatiratanga) is doing their PhD research on Indigenous struggles in Aotearoa and Canada-occupied Turtle Islands. Kyle Kajihiro lectures at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and is a board member of Hawai’i Peace and Justice. Yamin Kogoya is a West Papuan academic from the Yikwa-Kogoya clan of the Lani tribe in the Papuan Highlands. Ena Manuireva is an academic and writer who represents the Mā’ohi Nui people of Tahiti. Dr Jae-Eun Noh and Dr Joon-Shik Shin are Korean researchers in Australian universities. Dr Rebekah Jaung, a health researcher, is involved in Korean New Zealanders for a Better Future.

Several of the authors are working as investigators on the prestigious Marsden project entitled “Matiki Mai Te Hiaroa: #ProtectIhumātao”, a recent successful campaign to reclaim Māori land. These include Professor Jenny Bol Jun Lee-Morgan (Waikato, Ngāti Mahuta and Te Ahiwaru), Frances Hancock (Irish Pākehā), Carwyn Jones (Ngāti Kahungunu), Qiane Matata-Sipu (Te Waiohua ki te Ahiwaru me te Ākitai, Waikato Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Pikiao), and Pania Newton (Ngāpuhi, Waikato, Ngāti Mahuta and Ngāti Maniapoto) who is co-founder and spokesperson for the SOUL/#ProtectIhumātao campaign.

Others work for climate justice, peace, Indigenous, social justice organisations, and community groups. Jungmin Choi coordinates nonviolence training at World Without War, a South Korean antimilitarist organisation based in Seoul. Mizuki Nakamura, a member of One Love Takae coordinates alternative peace tours in Japan. Tuhi-Ao Bailey (Ngāti Mutunga, Te Ātiawa and Taranaki) is chair of the Parihaka Papakāinga Trust and co-founder of Climate Justice Taranaki.

Zelda Grimshaw, an artist and activist, helped coordinate the Disrupt Land Forces campaign at a major arts fair in Brisbane. Arama Rata (Ngāruhine, Taranaki and Ngāti Maniapoto) is a researcher for WERO (Working to End Racial Oppression) and Te Kaunoti Hikahika.

Some are independent writers and artists. Emalani Case is a writer, teacher and aloha ‘āina from Waimea Hawai’i. Tony Fala (who has Tokelauan, Palagi, Samoan, and Tongan ancestry) engages with urban Pacific communities in Tāmaki Makaurau. Marylou Mahe is a decolonial feminist artist from Haouaïlou in the Kanak country of Ajë-Arhö. Tina Ngata (Ngäti Porou) is a researcher, author and an advocate for environmental Indigenous and human rights.

Jos Wheeler is a director of photography for film and television in Aotearoa.

Background analysis for this focus on Te Moana Nui A Kiwi, provides information about the concepts of imperial masculinity, infection, ideas from European maritime law Mare Liberum, that saw the sea as belonging to everyone. These ideas steered colonisation and placed shackles, both figuratively and physically, on Indigenous Peoples around the world.

In the 17th century, Japan occupied the country of Okinawa, now also used as a training base by the US military. European “explorers” had been given “missions” in the 18th century that included converting the people to Christianity and locating useful and profitable resources in far-flung countries such as Aotearoa, Australia, New Caledonia and Tahiti.

In the 19th century, Hawai’i was subject to US imperialism and militarisation.

In the 20th century, Western countries were “liberating other nations” and dividing them up between them, such as the US “liberation” of South Korea from Japanese colonial rule. The Dutch prepared West Papua for independence 1960s after colonisation, but a subsequent Indonesian military invasion left the country in a worse predicament.

However, the resistance from the Indigenous Peoples has been evident from the beginnings of imperialist invasions and militarisation of the Pacific, despite the arbitrary violence that accompanied these. Resistance continues, as the contributors to Peace Action demonstrate, and the contributions reveal the very many faces and facets of non-violent resistance that works towards an eventual peace with justice.

Resistance has included education, support to help self-sufficiency, medical and legal support, conscientious objection, human rights advocacy, occupation of land, coordinating media coverage, visiting sites of significance, being the voice of the movement, petitions, research, writing, organising and joining peaceful marches, coordinating solidarity groups, making submissions, producing newsletter and community newspapers, relating stories, art exhibitions and installations, visiting churches, schools, universities, conferences, engaging with politicians, exploiting and creating digital platforms, fundraising, putting out calls for donations and hospitality, selling T-shirts and tote bags, awareness-raising events, hosting visitors, making and serving food, bearing witness, musical performances, photographic exhibitions, film screenings, songs on CDs.

In order to mobilise people, activists have been involved in political engagement, public education, multimedia engagement, legal action, protests, rallies, marches, land and military site occupations, disruption of events, producing food from the land, negotiating treaties and settlements, cultural revitalisation, community networking and voluntary work, local and international solidarity, talanoa, open discussions, radical history teaching, printmaking workshops, vigils, dance parties, mobile kitchens, parades, first aid, building governance capacity, sharing histories, increasing medical knowledge.

Activist have been prompted to act because of anger, disgust, and fear. The oppressors are likened to big waves, to large octopuses (interestingly also used in racist cartoons to depict Chinese immigrants to Aotearoa), to giants, to a virus, slavers, polluters, destroyers, exploiters, thieves, rapists, mass murderers, war criminals, war profiteers, white supremacists, racists, brutal genocide, ruthless killers, subjugators, fearmongers, demonisers, narcissistic sociopaths, and torturers.

The resisters often try to “find beauty in the struggle” (Case, p. 70), using imagery of flowers and trees, love, dancing, song, braiding fibers or leis, dolphins, shark deities, flourishing food baskets, fertile gardens, pristine forests, sacred valleys, mother earth, seashells, candlelight, rainbows, rays of the rising sun, friendship, alliance, partners, majestic lowland forests, ploughs, watering seeds, and harvesting crops.

Collaboration in resistance requires dignity, respect, integrity, providing safe spaces, honesty, openness, hard work without complaint, learning, cultural and spiritual awareness. The importance of coordination, cooperation and commitment are emphasised.

And readers are made aware of the sustained energy that is needed to follow through on actions.

The aim of Peace Action is to inspire, enrage, educate and motivate. These chapters will appeal mostly to those already convinced, and this is deliberately so.

In these narratives, images we have guidance as to what is needed to be an activist. We admire the courage and bravery, we are educated into the multitude of activities that can be undertaken, and the immense amount of work in planning and sustaining action.

This can serve as a handbook, providing plans of action to follow. Richness and creativity are provided in the fascinating and informative narratives, storytelling, and illustrations.

I find it difficult to criticise because its goal is clear, there is no pretence that it is something else, and it achieves what it sets out to do. It remains to be seen whether peace action will follow. But that will be up to the readers.

Peace Action: Struggles for a Decolonised and Demilitarised Oceania and East Asia, edited by Valerie Morse. Te Whanganui-A-Tara (Wellington): Left of the Equator Press, 2022, 178 pages. NZ$25.99. ISBN 9780473634452.

Dr Heather Devere is former director of practice, National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Otago, and chair of the Asia Pacific Media Network (APMN). This review is published in collaboration with Pacific Journalism Review.

Tokelau declares 2023 elections result in spite of comms problems

APR editor — Fri, 27 Jan 2023 07:11:59 +0000

By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist

The government of Tokelau has declared the results of the 2023 national general elections.

Voting took place on all three atolls, and also in the Apia office of the administration on January 23.

The final results for the election of 20 members of the General Fono, declared under 16.1 (b) of the Tokelau National Election Rules of 2022, are as follows:

Final Tokelau 2023 general election results. Image: Tokelau govt

Vote counting was challenging due to poor internet connectivity. The phone tower has also been playing up.

A government spokesperson said the election team was crowding around printers late on Thursday night waiting for votes to come through one by one.

RNZ Pacific has been told there was a “real buzz about Nukunonu”, the largest atoll in Tokelau on national election day – 30 people voted from home, including elderly.

Tokelau is a realm nation of New Zealand and also has an Administrator but the New Zealand government says it respects the traditional governance structures that are “integral to community life in Tokelau”.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Fiji’s weather bureau predicts up to seven cyclones this season

APR editor — Sun, 23 Oct 2022 23:40:22 +0000

RNZ Pacific

Fiji’s weather office predicts that up to seven tropical cyclones may affect several Pacific countries in the coming cyclone season — and up to four of them may be severe.

In its 2022/2023 Tropical Cyclone Seasonal Outlook, the Fiji government predicted that the region would experience less than the annual average cyclone activity.

Fiji’s National Disaster and Management Minister Jone Usamate announced there would be between five and seven tropical cyclones and that three or four of them may be severe.

READ MORE: Other Pacific cyclone reports

The minister said at least two of those cyclones were likely to pass through Fiji during the cyclone season which runs from early November to the end of April.

The Fiji Meteorological Service also serves as the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre (RSMC) and functions as the weather watch office for the region from southern Kiribati to Tuvalu, Fiji, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna and New Caledonia.

It also provides forecast services for aviators in an area that includes Christmas Island (Line Islands), Tokelau, Samoa, Niue and Tonga.

“On average seven cyclones affect the RSMC Nadi region every cyclone season. Thus, our 2022-2023 cyclone season is predicted to have an average to below average number of cyclones,” Usamate said.

“On average, three severe tropical cyclones affect the RSMC Nadi region every season, therefore the 2022-2023 tropical cyclone season is predicted to have an average to below average number of severe cyclones. For severe cyclones which are category three or above, we anticipate one to four severe tropical cyclones this season.”

Early warning
However, the minister sounded an early warning for extensive flooding which is typical of La Niña which may continue to affect the region to the end of 2022.

The RSMC outlook said: “This season’s TC (tropical cyclone) outlook is greatly driven by the return of a third consecutive La Niña event, which is quite exceptional and the event is likely to persist until the end of 2022.”

Additionally, the RSMC warns countries in its area of responsibility of the possibility of out-of-season cyclones.

The peak tropical cyclone season in the RMSC-Nadi region is usually during January and February.

“While the tropical cyclone season is between November and April, occasionally cyclones have formed in the region in October and May and rarely in September and June. Therefore, an out-of-season tropical cyclone activity cannot be totally ruled out,” the RSMC said.

“With the current La Nina event and increasing chances of above average rainfall, there are also chances of coastal inundation to be experienced. All communities should remain alert and prepared throughout the 2022/23 TC Season and please do take heed of any TC warnings and advisories, to mitigate the impact on life and properties.”

According to Usamate, Fiji Police statistics show that 17 Fijians have died from drowning in flooding which occurred between 2017 and the most recent cyclone season.

“The rainfall prediction for the duration of the second season is above average rainfall. That means we should expect more rain in the next six months.

“As you all know, severe rainfall leads to flooding and increasing the possibility of hazards such as landslides. In Fiji, flooding alone continues to be one of the leading causes of death during any cycle event,” Usamate said.

Fiji’s Disaster Management Minister Jone Usamate . . . “In Fiji, flooding alone continues to be one of the leading causes of death during any [cyclone] cycle event.” Image: Fiji Govt/RNZ Pacific

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Tunoa – house arrest – on Tokelau family ends after more than a year

APR editor — Thu, 22 Sep 2022 23:36:36 +0000

RNZ Pacific

The Taupulega, or council, on the Tokelau atoll of Nukunonu, has lifted a house arrest order on a family which had refused to get vaccinated against covid-19.

The family was placed under tunoa in August 2021.

A council meeting on Wednesday told family member Mahelino Patelesio that the tunoa was being lifted. However, the family would be updated on restrictions that might apply when a cargo ship drops off supplies.

READ MORE: More reports on covid-free Tokelau

At the meeting, Patelesio sought forgiveness from the community for any hurt arising from the family’s refusal to be vaccinated and the resulting social media dispute.

He also said he felt sorry about what he claimed was a lack of information that the Taupulega and atolls had about the Pfizer vaccine and felt worse about the children in the community who had had to get the vaccine, again citing claims of lack of information.

RNZ Pacific’s correspondent on Nukunonu said members of the public and Taupulega expressed sadness and disappointment at the meeting over how the family handled this situation on such a public platform — social media — where the depth of the culture was not taken into consideration and was instead damaged.

The general manager for the office of the council of Nukunonu, Asi Pasilio, explained to RNZ Pacific in July why the council of 36 heads of extended families who serve the atoll’s community had decided to impose tunoa.

Decision of local council
“This is a village rule, this is the decision of the local council which runs the island and the community. We have the laws of Tokelau but we also have the local council which has the authority over their village,” Pasilio said.

Nukunonu Council general manager Asi Pasilio … “This is a village rule.” Image: RNZ Pacific

She said there were no jails in Tokelau, but when there was a serious offence the council could just ask people to stay at home.

Tunoa took the place of jail.

While under tunoa, family members provided shopping for them.

The New Zealand dependency with a population of about 1500 has had no cases of covid-19 since the global pandemic began in early 2020, according to the World Health Organisation.

New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) said in July the former Administrator, Ross Ardern, had no say in the implementation of tunoa, and that mandatory vaccination was a decision taken by Tokelau’s village leaders.

At the time about 99 percent of Tokelau’s eligible population aged 12 and over were fully vaccinated.

Tokelau is a self-governing New Zealand dependency.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Tokelau keen to get its people stuck abroad back home again

APR editor — Tue, 26 Jul 2022 23:52:58 +0000

By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist

Plans are underway to help Tokelauans stuck abroad, mostly in New Zealand and Samoa, to return home.

The general manager for the office of the Taupulega (council of elders) of the atoll of Nukunonu, Asi Pasilio, said borders had been shut for more than two years with the country maintaining its covid-19 free status.

Pasilio said no firm date had been set just yet because it depended on the reopening of Samoa’s border.

She said officials were working towards being ready for the first repatriation flight, with quarantine restrictions to take place in late August or early September.

“Currently in Nukunonu and Tokelau we are preparing for our first repatriation flight in a few years, mostly in New Zealand and Samoa,” she said.

“We have essential workers that need to return home. But to do that we need to prepare this by making sure we have the quarantine houses are well set up and the support for their arrival making sure that we have enough health staff to look after the quarantine services for when our people arrive.”

Family again refuses to get vaccinated
A family that has been under tunoa — effectively house arrest — on Nukunonu in Tokelau for the past 11 months has once again refused to get vaccinated.

Vaccinations are mandatory in Tokelau and local councils and village elders are making sure the rules are kept.

Mahelino Patelesio, his wife and two adult children, have been placed under tunoa, to protect the community.

He said it had been a struggle since they refused the vaccination and have been confined to their property on the beach.

Tokelau’s government says it was maintaining tough measures to keep the territory covid-free.

The Taupulega in Nukunonu has not ruled out loosening restrictions and the Patelesio family is expected to be discussed again next week.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Tokelau family under house arrest for nearly a year over vaccine defiance

APR editor — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 06:01:18 +0000

By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist

A family has been under house arrest in Tokelau for almost a year after they refused to get vaccinated against covid-19.

The tunoa — house arrest — was imposed on the family of four by the Taupulega (council) on Nukunonu, one of the three atolls that make up Tokelau.

The New Zealand dependency with a population of about 1500 has had no cases of covid-19 since the global pandemic began in early 2020, according to the World Health Organisation.

However, there are strict protocols in place to prevent the spread of the virus.

The general manager for the office of the council of Nukunonu, Asi Pasilio, explained to RNZ Pacific why the council of 36 heads of extended families who serve the atoll’s community, decided to impose tunoa in August 2021.

Culturally complex
“This is a village rule, this is the decision of the local council which runs the island and the community. We have the laws of Tokelau but we also have the local council which has the authority over their village.”

Pasilio said there were no jails in Tokelau, but when there is a serious offence the council can just ask people to stay at home. Tunoa takes the place of jail.

She said it was a culturally complex issue.

“It will take someone to come here and live our life here, to understand what we mean by house arrest and council authority and communal living.

“Yes, of course, you make your own decisions here, but doing things in a communal manner is very common.”

Family claims they have been left voiceless
In a video posted on social media on July 3, the father, Mahelino Patelesio, said he has felt silenced.

He said he was a member of the council before the tunoa was imposed.

“Before we were placed under house arrest, I explained my stance and I wasn’t allowed to speak at that particular meeting, I actually went there to resign. I wasn’t allowed to do that so I was voiceless.

“From August 3 [2021] three of us adults above 16 years old were placed under house arrest, our daughter was placed under house arrest with us about four months later, towards Christmas,” Patelesio said.

RNZ Pacific has also contacted the family directly but has not received a response.

Asi Pasilio said that while the family is in tunoa they are being supported by the community.

“Their house is right beside the sea so they can go for a swim, they can move around their area but not outside their home boundary.

“They have family members who do their shopping for them.”

Pasilio said the family has been told they have another opportunity to get vaccinated this week following the arrival of more doses.

She said the family had not informed the council of their decision as of Tuesday but if they do choose to get a jab, the tunoa will be lifted.

If they do not, the council will meet again to review the situation.

Matter up to Tokelau, says NZ
New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the former Administrator Ross Ardern had no say in the implementation of tunoa, and that mandatory vaccination was a decision taken by Tokelau’s village leaders.

“Home-isolation has been authorised under the Tokelau customary practice of tunoa, a practice over which Aotearoa New Zealand has no direct authority,” its statement said.

“Aotearoa New Zealand officials have engaged extensively with Tokelau’s leaders to encourage them to strike a balance between the rights of the majority to remain safe from covid-19 in their villages and the rights of the individual.”

“Some 99 percent of Tokelau’s eligible population 12 and over is fully vaccinated (two doses of Pfizer for 12 to 17-year-olds, and three doses for those 18 and over).

“Both doses of paediatric vaccines have been completed, with 99 percent uptake. Boosters for 18+ were successfully administered in Q1 2022 with 99 percent uptake,” MFAT said.

Asi Pasilio said of the three atolls, Fakaofo is fully vaccinated, Atafu has had less than 10 unvaccinated people, and on Nukunonu just the family of four is unvaccinated.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

‘Calm’ health advocate among 18 Pasifika recognised in Queen’s Birthday Honours

APR editor — Sun, 05 Jun 2022 20:07:31 +0000

By Susana Suisuiki, RNZ Pacific journalist, and Eleisha Foon, journalist

Pacific health advocate and champion Dr Collin Fonotau Tukuitonga heads the list of Pacific recipients in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for 2022.

This year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours coincide with the celebrations of Queen Elizabeth’s 70 years as monarch, so have been renamed the Queen’s Birthday and Platinum Jubilee Honours.

Associate Professor Tukuitonga, a Niuean, and the the inaugural Associate Dean Pacific and associate professor of public health in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, has received the Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Pacific and public health.

READ MORE: New Zealand Queens’s Birthday Honours – the full list

“Over the past two years he has been a calm and steady voice for immunisation in the Pacific,” said Pacific Peoples Minister Aupito William Sio.

Sir Collin joins 17 other Pacific people also recognised for their contributions to health, education, sport, the arts and many other sectors.

Sir Collin has been active in the covid-19 response information, particularly for the Pasifika community.

He said he was humbled to have been nominated.

“I wasn’t aware that this was happening, so it’s a humbling experience,” he said.

“I’m thankful to be acknowledged, I should also say that it’s not just myself, I think it’s an acknowledgement of all the people involved and I’m just fortunate to have been nominated — there are lots of people in our community who do the work day and day out.”

Sir Collin plans on celebrating his achievement with his children but hopes to be able to visit Niue soon.

Sports
Leaupepe Luteru Ross Poutoa Lote-Taylor has also been honoured for services to cricket and Pacific communities.

Leaupepe retired from cricket and signed off as New Zealand’s most successful test batsman, with 7683 runs including 19 centuries from 112 matches between 2007 and 2022, with a batting average of 44.66 runs.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to play cricket for the Black Caps for several years and thoroughly enjoyed it, and being able to help others both on and off the field,” he said.

Ross Taylor and family after his final test for the Black Caps … the second test against Bangladesh at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on 11 January 2022. Image: RNZ/Photosport

Leaupepe said contributing to the Pacific community is something he wants to continue doing.

“I’m a proud Kiwi and I’m a proud Samoan as well. I’ve been fortunate to have the platform to give back throughout my career and now that I’m retired I look forward to giving back more.”

Having received numerous awards throughout his cricket career, Leaupepe said being honoured by the Queen was “extra special”.

“As a cricketer, you want to do your best to your ability but to be recognised like this — it’s not just for me, it’s my teammates who have helped me out and my family and friends who sacrificed a lot for me.”

Arts
New Zealand-born Samoan opera singer Jonathan Lemalu is in disbelief after being made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to opera.

Lemalu is a Grammy Award-winning bass-baritone who has been performing internationally for more than 20 years.

He said it was a complete surprise to be awarded the honour.

Bass Jonathan Lemalu and Virtuoso Strings rehearse. Image: RNZ/Ana Tovey

“I honestly didn’t believe it. I thought it was a joke,” Lemalu said.

“Hilarious in a way because it didn’t sound like something that would be happening to me. Mum got a Queen’s Honours in 2006 for services to the Pacific community. It felt cool in a way to follow in her footsteps.”

Education
Mangere College Deputy Principal Melegalenuu Ah Sam was also in shock when she found out she was on the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2022 list.

Melegalenu’u Ah Sam has become a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Pacific language education.

Beginning in the mid-1990s, Ah Sam established Samoan language teaching at the college, later driving the addition of Cook Islands Māori and Lea Faka-Tonga.

She led the establishment of the Languages ‘L Block’ at the college in 2012, as a hub for Māori and Pacific learning in language and culture.

Melegalenuu Ah Sam … has become a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Pacific language education. Image: Mabel Muller/RNZ

“I paused — and then I read the email again,” Ah Sam said.

“And then I just said a short prayer. I feel humbled, I just want to thank the people that recognised the work that myself and my colleagues and everyone else in the education sector are doing.

“For me personally I’m not expecting any rewards, I’m not expecting anything like this, I do it because I love working in education and I love teaching. So to be nominated is a privilege and an honour.”

Ah Sam said growing up in Samoa, her parents were her best role models.

“My parents played a huge part in my life. They made sure that we strived to be the best we can be — my mother was a nurse, and my dad was a Samoan judge,” she said.

“I didn’t feel that I wanted to get into nursing, but they allowed me to come to New Zealand on a scholarship and they instilled in my sisters and brothers the importance of achievement and success in whatever field.”

Other Pasifika people recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for 2022:

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit: Bridget Snedden, for services to people with learning disabilities
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit: Lesi Atoni, for services to the Tokelau community
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit: Sandra Borland, for services to nursing and the Pacific community
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit: Matthew (Mataio) Brown, for services to mental health and the prevention of family violence
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit: Siaosi Fa’alogo, for services to the New Zealand police and the community
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit: Dr Linita Manu’atu, for services to Pacific education and the Tongan community
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit: Tolupene Peau, for services to the Tokelau community
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit: Bill Urale, for services to music and the community
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit: Kiriovea Jasmin McSweeney, for services to the film industry
Queen’s Service Medal: Gabrielle-Sisifo Makisi, for services to Pacific communities and education
Queen’s Service Medal: Reverend Salafai Mika, for services to church ministry and the Samoan community
Queen’s Service Medal: Reverend Hiueni Nuku, for services to Tongan and Pacific communities
Queen’s Service Medal: Vaipou Saluni, for services to education and the Pacific community
Queen’s Service Medal: Luther Toloa, for services to the Pacific community

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

It’s time to deliver on Pacific climate financing, says Cook Is PM

APR editor — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 22:28:42 +0000

COMMENTARY: By the Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown

After years of empty promises by major emitters, it’s time to deliver on climate financing.

The world is warming. The science is clear. Most large, developed countries need to take ambitious action to reduce their emissions in order not to impact us further.

If they don’t, there is dire consequence, and in turn a significant rise in adaptation cost to us, those that did not cause this problem.

READ MORE: Other COP26 reports

COP26 GLASGOW 2021

Some people call it paradise, but for me and thousands of Pacific people, the beautiful pristine Pacific Island region is simply home. It is our inheritance, a blessing from our forebears and ancestors.

As custodians of these islands, we have a moral duty to protect it – for today and the unborn generations of our Pacific anau.

Sadly, we are unable to do that because of things beyond our control. The grim reality of climate change, especially for many Small Island Developing States like my beloved Cook Islands, is evidently clear.

Sea level rise is alarming. Our food security is at risk, and our way of life that we have known for generations is slowly disappearing. What were “once in a lifetime” extreme events like category 5 cyclones, marine heatwaves and the like are becoming more severe.

No longer theory
These developments are no longer theory. Despite our negligible contribution to global emissions, this is the price we pay.

We are talking about homes, lands and precious lives; many are being displaced as we speak. I am reminded about my Pacific brothers and sisters living on remote atolls including some of those in our 15 islands that make up the Cook Islands — as well as our Pacific neighbours such as Kiribati, Tuvalu, Tokelau and many others, not just in the Pacific Ocean.

This family of small islands states is spread beyond our Pacific to across the globe.

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown … “the devastating impact of climate change has evolved from a mere threat to a crisis of epic proportion.” Image: Nate McKinnon/RNZ

Here in the Cook Islands, we are raising riverbanks to protect homes that for the first time in history are being reached by floodwater. We are building water storage on islands that have never before experienced levels of drought that we see now.

Over the years, the devastating impact of climate change has evolved from a mere threat to a crisis of epic proportion, now posing as the most pressing security issue to livelihoods on our island shores.

We live with undeniable evidence to back up the science. Most of you who follow the climate change discourse know our story. We have been saying this for as far as back as I can remember.

For more than 10 years of my political career, our message to the world about climate change has been loud and clear. Climate change is a matter of life and death. We need help. Urgently.

Given only empty promises
Today, I am sad to say that after all the years of highlighting this bitter truth, the discourse hasn’t progressed us far enough. All we have been given are promises and more empty promises from the world’s biggest emitters while our islands and people are heading towards a climate catastrophe where our very existence and future is at stake.

But we will not stop trying. As long as we have the strength and the opportunity to speak our truth to power, we will continue to call for urgent action. In the words of our young Pacific climate activists, “We are not drowning, we are fighting.”

Koro Island, Fiji, after Tropical Cyclone Winston in 2016. “It is critical that COP26 begins discussions for a new quantifiable goal on climate finance.” Image: UNOCHA

As the political champion of Climate Finance for the Pacific Islands, I believe it is imperative that world leaders fast track large-scale climate finance that are easy to access for bold long-term and permanent adaptation solutions.

It is critical that COP26 begins discussions for a new quantifiable goal on climate finance. We need to do this now. Not tomorrow, next year or the next COP.

Last week when I addressed world leaders attending COP26, I urged them to consider a new global financial instrument that recognises climate-related debt, separately from national debt. We need to provide for innovative financing modalities that do not increase our debt.

We need to take climate adaptation debt off national balance sheets, especially since many Pacific countries are already heavily in debt. Why? Pacific countries contribute the least to global emissions and they should not have to pay a debt on top the consequences they are already struggling with.

Amortising adaptation debt
We need to consider amortising adaptation debt over a 100-year timeframe.

We must seek a new commitment that dedicates financing towards Loss and Damage that would assist our vulnerable communities manage the transfer of risks experienced by the irreversible impacts of climate change. We must also ensure that adaptation receives an equitable amount of financing as for mitigation.

I want to reiterate that adaptation measures by their very nature are long-term investments against climate impacts, thus we need to be talking about adaptation project lifecycles of 20 years, 50 years and 100 years, and more.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited Tuvalu in 2019 and described the nation as “the extreme front-line of the global climate emergency”. Image: UN in the Pacific

We are at a critical juncture of our journey where the fate of our beautiful, pristine homes is a stake. I call on all major emitters to take stronger climate action, especially to deliver on their funding promises.

Stop making excuses; climate change existed way before covid-19 when the promises of billions of dollars in climate financing were made.

It is time to deliver.

Mark Brown, Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, is also the Pacific Political Champion for Climate Finance at COP26. While not attending the COP this year due to covid-19 travel restrictions, Prime Minister Brown is providing support and undertaking this role remotely. This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Pacific Forum welcomes NZ climate aid boost, urges collective action

APR editor — Mon, 18 Oct 2021 19:00:30 +0000

By Johnny Blades, RNZ Pacific journalist

The head of the Pacific Islands Forum says New Zealand’s climate aid boost augurs well heading into COP26, and is pushing all developed countries to meet climate funding commitments made in Paris in 2015.

New Zealand announced yesterday that it was committing NZ$1.3 billion over four years to support countries most vulnerable to climate change.

Over half of the money is to go to the Pacific.

New Zealand’s Climate Change Minister James Shaw described it as finance that is necessary to support some of the most vulnerable countries in the world to adapt to the effects of climate change.

After all, New Zealand committed to making such finance available as part of it signing up to the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015.

With the aid announcement coming ahead of the UN’s Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, at the end of this month, Shaw hopes it can help repair some of the frayed consensus around the Paris Agreement.

“Because the fact is that the developed world has not delivered on that commitment to collectively mobilise US$100 billion a year [in annual climate finance].”

‘Suspicion and breakdown’
“That has led to a suspicion and a breakdown in relationships between the wealthier countries of the world, of which New Zealand is one, and the other countries.”

The Pacific Forum’s Secretary-General, Henry Puna, is heartened by the level of support.

“I’m totally ecstatic on behalf of the region at the New Zealand announcement,” he told RNZ Pacific.

“Yet at the same time, urgent ambitious climate action and finance are the two hinges open on a net zero, 1.5 degree future. But time is running out.”

Tuvalu is highly susceptible to rises in sea level brought about by climate change. Image: Luke McPake/UNDP

Puna said he was hopeful that all developed countries would finally fulfill the funding commitments that they had made in Paris but had largely failed to meet.

“And I think the US has already set the tone; and the announcement — although not on the same issue — by China that they’re also coming to the party, augurs well for COP26.

He said the Pacific Islands region’s representatives would be heading to Glasgow in hopeful but resolute mode.

“But we’re certainly going there with full determination to try and talk to developed countries to support the commitments that we already made in 2015 in Paris.”

According to Shaw, the climate funding will be directed in three areas:

to support adaptation efforts;
to support Pacific countries to reduce carbon emissions themselves;
and to support climate change capacity and capabilities — this could include investment in ocean science, and preparing for climate-related migration.

Finance allocation to be Pacific-led, needs-based
Shaw said the funding will be on top of New Zealand’s existing aid programme.

The government is not yet being too prescriptive on categorisation of the adaptation efforts it will finance, with Shaw saying they would prioritise on the basis of need.

He said New Zealand would be guided by Pacific Islands governments on where the climate aid is best directed.

“Last year the Fijian prime minister asked our government for help, as it undertakes the massive task of moving 42 villages further inland, away from rising waves,” Shaw explained.

Minister for Climate Change James Shaw … “Many villages in low-lying countries like Tuvalu, Tokelau and Kiribati have no further inland that they can go. They must adapt to the massive changes that are upon them.” Image: RNZ/Poo/Stuf/Robert Kitchin

“Many villages in low-lying countries like Tuvalu, Tokelau and Kiribati have no further inland that they can go. They must adapt to the massive changes that are upon them.”

But Dr Luke Harrington, a senior research fellow at the New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute, says in terms of the country’s overseas aid contributions the aid boost is not enough

“All OECD countries have a target of about 0.7 percent of our gross national income. New Zealand sort of sits at the moments at about 0.27 percent. So that’s about an annual shortfall of $1.2 billion.”

However, Shaw said the funding boost could make a real difference.

“The Cook Islands estimate that about 25 percent of their annual budget is spent on climate-related costs — whether that’s cleaning up after the last cyclone or trying to build stronger and better infrastructure and housing to resist the next cyclone.”

Still, the minister conceded that the new climate aid package was no substitute for significant reductions to carbon emissions, and on this front as well, few countries have done what is required.

A king tide in Tarawa, Kiribati, on 30 August 2019. Image: RNZ/Pelenise Alofa/KiriCAN

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Aftershocks of covid-19 threaten to undo gains across Pacific, says report

APR editor — Sun, 17 Oct 2021 23:53:22 +0000

By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific deputy news editor

Experts are warning that development gains across the Pacific region over the past 10 years could be undone due to the challenges of the covid-19 pandemic.

The aid organisation World Vision wants a once in a life time multinational effort to rebuild Pacific livelihoods that have been shattered by the pandemic.

In the Pacific Aftershocks report, World Vision reveals the results of a survey of households across the region.

The Pacific Aftershocks report. Image: World Vision

It said while much of the Pacific had not had local cases of covid-19 there had been a tragic human cost due to the economic fallout.

World Vision New Zealand’s TJ Grant said the economic devastation could take a greater toll than the virus itself.

Grant said that while many Pacific nations managed to keep infections and transmissions at bay, vulnerable people were now facing the huge cost of closed borders and isolation.

“Almost two-thirds of households have either lost jobs or lost income and have had to resort to other alternative sources of income.

‘One in five houses skip meals’
“Related to that one in five houses is having to skip meals or having cheaper meals because they can’t afford to have a healthy diet. One of the compounding factors here is that through the covid pandemic food prices have risen significantly in many Pacific countries,” Grant said.

PNG children walking on the Highlands Highway. Image: Koroi Hawkins/RNZ Pacific

One of the nations worst hit by the economic downturn caused by the pandemic is Vanuatu.

World Vision’s country director in Vanuatu, Kendra Gates Derousseau, said Vanuatu had managed to keep covid out yet its food prices had soared by 30.6 percent.

She said this put healthy food out of reach for countless urban ni-Vanuatu.

“Vanuatu is quite dependent on imports, particularly for urban households that work and cannot spend their time doing agricultural gardening and featuring fresh food. And also the price of transport has gone up significantly because the importation of petrol has slowed down,” she said.

People lining up to get food supplied from Save the Children on the main island Viti Levu. Image: RNZ Pacific/Save the Children

World Vision wants Australia and New Zealand to lead a once in a generation step up to help these developing nations overcome the devastating impacts of covid.

It is looking for a comprehensive international programme of support for economic recovery and to address key economic, health and child welfare issues.

Stunted growth exacerbated
Grant said stunted growth, as a result of poor nutrition, was a perennial Pacific problem, and occurrence like the virus and its aftershocks exacerbated it.

Derousseau said New Zealand and Australia and other donor nations could not abandon the Pacific when they were most needed.

“The covid-19 pandemic is a global phenomenon as well as climate change and we know that the Pacific Island nations are extraordinarily affected — even more so than other regions of the world, and so a regional crisis like this requires a regional response.”

Roland Rajah is a development economist with Australian think tank, the Lowy Institute. He has written that the Pacific will be economically put back 10 years by the pandemic.

Ni-Vanuatu children … healthy food out of reach for countless urban ni-Vanuatu. Image: RNZ Pacific

Rajah told RNZ Pacific it was definitely among the worst affected by the lockdowns.

“Already other parts of the world, South East Asia, even sub-Saharan Africa, Latin American, the Caribbean, they are all on the rebound already,” he said.

“Their prospects for recovery are much stronger than for the Pacific. And there are a variety of reasons for that, but it’s fair to say that it’s amongst the worst affected anywhere in the world.”

He said the Pacific nations typically can’t follow the path of the developed nations and provide stimulis packages because they don’t have the funds.

But he suggests properly targetted infrastructure investment — that that is aimed at also addressing climate change — assisted by the metropolitan powers, may go some way to providing employment and incomes boosts.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

NZ budget 2021: What does $108m mean for Pasifika ‘wellbeing’?

APR editor — Thu, 20 May 2021 13:44:59 +0000

By Sela Jane Hopgood, RNZ Pacific journalist

In the New Zealand 2021 Budget, a big investment of NZ$108 million has been signalled to support the wellbeing of the Pacific population through the rebuild and recovery from the covid-19 pandemic.

Pacific Peoples Minister ‘Aupito William Sio said this was a significant investment for Pacific communities who have been hard-hit by the pandemic in the past year.

“With the Pacific Aotearoa Lalanga Fou Goals as a guide, the Pacific package puts a strong focus on Pacific wellbeing and continues the government’s commitment to ensuring that Pacific peoples are leading this work to achieve confident, thriving, prosperous and resilient communities,” he said.

“Budget 2021 makes this possible through tailored business, health and education initiatives that bolster the vital holistic work Pacific communities are already doing across the country.”

The $108 million Pacific package is made up of the following:

$99.6 million new operating funding
$660,000 new capital funding from the Budget 2021 allowances and the Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund (CRRF).
$7.8 million in operating funding is repurposed from existing funding in Vote Education.

Pacific Peoples Minister ‘Aupito William Sio … initiatives that bolster the vital holistic work Pacific communities. Image: Samuel Rillstone/RNZ

The package includes:

$30.3 million boost to assist the Tupu Aotearoa programme to support approximately 7500 Pacific peoples into employment, training, and education across Aotearoa New Zealand, funded from the CRRF.
Investing $6.6 million to support establishing the Pacific Wellbeing Strategy – a cross-government initiative that will develop ways to measure Pacific wellbeing across government work programmes and initiatives.
Supporting Pacific businesses through the impacts of covid-19 with $16.2 million for business support services, funded from the CRRF.
$20.8 million supporting Pacific bilingual and immersion education in the schooling system, made up of $12.4 million of new operating funding and $644,000 of new capital funding from Budget 2021 allowances, with $7.8 million of repurposed funding from Vote Education.
$5 million operating funding and $16,000 capital funding to deliver sustained professional learning and development to embed Tapasā as a tool to address social inclusion in the education sector.
$5.1 million for the development of two new Pacific language subjects, gagana Tokelau and vagahau Niue as NCEA Achievement Standards subjects.

Lynfield College on the Niue stage at Polyfest 2021 … Budget funding for development of two new NCEA Pacific languages, gagana Tokelau and vagahau Niue. Image: Mabel Muller/RNZ

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Pacific launches talks about how to reopen amid covid pandemic

APR editor — Tue, 04 Aug 2020 22:55:55 +0000

Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk

The safe reopening of entry points into six Pacific Islands countries amid the covid-19 pandemic is being discussed at a meeting in Fiji this week.

The virtual roundtable is being convened by the United Nations and the Asian Development Bank with representatives from Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Fiji.

The UN’s Sanaka Samarasinha said the discussion would be addressing border security.

“All these countries have a minimum standard of safety. At the end of the day, countries will agree to let people in if they feel that those who are coming – the source country have also safety standards that the receiving country accepts. If that doesn’t happen, there’s not going to be movement between two countries,” he said.

Samarasinha said similar roundtables were being planned for the Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa and Tokelau.

Samarasinha said the UN and the ADB had emphasised at the meeting clear protocols and the importance of ensuring that the airlines, seafarers associations and tour operators were included in preparing plans for reopening borders.

He said support from the international community can include initiatives such as the training of customs, immigration, police and health officials and the distribution of personal protective equipment for use at airports and seaports.

Dependent on tourism
He said small island developing states, which depended largely on tourism for their economies, had been hit hard by the global slowdown due to the pandemic.

“The UN has, from the beginning of this crisis, advocated for the safe, responsible and timely reopening of national entry points, on which many small businesses and jobs depend,” he said.

“While the decision of when, how and with whom to open borders is a sovereign decision, safety, vigilance, responsibility and international co-operation are critical as the world slowly opens up again.”

Masayuki Tachi’iri, director of the ADB’s Pacific sub-regional office in Suva, said collective action was needed now to support health systems and economies in the Pacific.

“The ADB’s latest assessments suggest the effects of lockdowns and travel bans have been particularly severe on the region’s tourism-dependent economies, with some facing double-digit declines in gross domestic product in 2020,” he said.

This article is republished by the Pacific Media Centre under a partnership agreement with RNZ.

Forget Australia, open up to covid-free Pacific bubble, says Cook Islander

APR editor — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 21:45:34 +0000

Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk

New Zealand’s “intransigence” over wanting to allow Australians in before New Zealanders out to the covid-free Pacific does not stand up to scrutiny, says a Cook Islands resort owner and doctor.

“If we unwittingly let the virus cross the Tasman, our country will take a huge hit,” says New Zealand-based John Dunn, a resort owner and visiting surgeon at Rarotonga Hospital.

Instead of concentrating on a possible travel bubble with Australia, New Zealand should be demonstrating “kindness” and offering a tourism economic lifeline to the Cook islands, Niue and Tokelau.

10th PNG case ‘evidence of local transmission’

John Dunn … Testing in other island countries has been “patchy”. Image: JD

“Kindness was brilliantly promoted by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern as a principle in the pandemic fight, alongside testing and tracing,” he wrote today in a guest column in The New Zealand Herald.

“Kindness can be misplaced, such as allowing infected people to travel the country. Alternatively, it could be used powerfully, by saving Pacific economies.

“The Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau don’t feature in the UN list of member countries. That’s because they aren’t fully independent, existing in free association with New Zealand.

“While self-governing, their historical status means they depend on us in varying ways in matters like defence and foreign policy. And they are New Zealanders. We have real responsibility for them stemming from the colonial era.”

‘Malevolent engine’
Moreover, the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau are free of the “malevolent engine of SARS-Cov-2”.

“It has never penetrated these islands. The Cooks in particular have been conscientious and aggressive, testing 15 percent of the tiny population – all negative.”

Dunn praised the guidance of Dr Aumea Herman, the Cook Islands Secretary of Health, for this achievement.

“She is an internationally trained public health expert and has fiercely guarded the nation’s borders with the support of the government, shutting down one critical week earlier than New Zealand.”

Testing in other island nations had been patchy and reporting was unreliable, especially from those living under non-democratic regimes and with larger populations, he wrote in a clear reference to Fiji which has lately been pushing the idea of a “Bula bubble” with Australia and New Zealand.

“There exists, therefore, a strong argument to regard Rarotonga in the Cook Islands as a domestic destination and Prime Minister Henry Puna has made exactly that appeal.”

Dunn cited numbers such as only 15,000 people live in the 15 Cook Islands, mostly on Rarotonga and Aitutaki. (60,000 live in New Zealand).

Travel is economically vital
“Tourism represents 70 percent of GDP and 70 percent of the 170,000 annual visitors are from New Zealand. This travel is vital to the economy,” he wrote.

“At present Rarotonga is unnecessarily empty, the resorts are unnecessarily deserted and the airport – the lifeline – unnecessarily vacant. There is absolutely no danger in travelling there. Visitors are at more risk from a tsunami or cyclone.”

Dunn said that Prime Minister Ardern had stated she did not want to think about this issue until after a transtasman bubble was established. However, former prime minister Helen Clark had advocated opening to the islands at the same time as Australia.

“The argument that it is better for our economy to allow Australians in before New Zealanders out to the Pacific does not stand up to scrutiny,” wrote Dunn.

“Also, most of the New Zealand dollars spent in the Cook Islands return home via exports purchased and revenue for companies like our national carrier. Finally, the lesson from the GFC is that unemployment in the islands triggers a further diaspora to [New Zealand] which becomes a welfare load and further decimates the local population.

New Zealand should open up to selected Pacific nations now, wrote Dunn.

“To not do so is illogical and damaging. It makes more sense to keep New Zealand, and the Cook Islands, Australian-free while they still have active coronavirus.”

NZ pledges $1m for WHO in coronavirus support to Pacific

Pacific Media Watch — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 05:06:14 +0000

Pacific Media Watch

New Zealand is providing NZ$1 million to the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Suva, Fiji, to support its Pacific Action Plan for Covid-19 coronavirus preparedness and response.

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced that New Zealand is partnering with countries in the Pacific to ensure they are prepared for, and able to respond to the global threat of the infectious disease.

“There are currently no confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the Pacific, but it is vital that New Zealand is working hard in partnership with our neighbours to ensure the region is safe and as prepared as can be,” Peters said.

However, Fiji health authorities reported today that there were four people suspected of being infected by the virus were in isolation and Tonga also reported a suspected case.

New Zealand is jointly funding the WHO Pacific regional coronavirus response plan, in partnership with Australia, in response to requests for assistance from Pacific island countries.

The New Zealand government has also signed a contract with the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) for countries in the South Pacific to send samples of potential Covid-19 cases to ESR’s laboratory in New Zealand for testing, free of charge.

Supporting the realm countries has been another focus of New Zealand’s preparations related to coronavirus.

“In partnership with the WHO, New Zealand has deployed a team to Cook Islands to support Covid-19 preparedness, with further joint trips planned to Tokelau and Niue from next week,” Peters said.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade media release and RNZ News.

Coronavirus death toll in Italy now 107 – latest pandemic updates

‘Bullying’ Australia disregards Pacific over climate crisis, says 350 Pacific

Pacific Media Watch — Fri, 16 Aug 2019 06:36:26 +0000

Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk

Eighteen leaders from the Pacific region met for 12 hours at the 50th Pacific Islands Forum meeting with Australia holding out on language that duly recognises the “climate crisis”.

Despite two strong diplomatic declarations – the Nadi Bay Declaration on the Pacific Islands Climate Change Crisis and the Tuvalu Declaration on Climate Change for the Survival of Pacific Small Islands Developing States – being made by Pacific Island states within two weeks of each other, the Australian government has turned a blind eye to its closest neighbours’ plea for an end to the coal industry.

Australia’s coal policy and its use of carry over credits to fulfill its obligations under the Paris Agreement have come under fire and been major points of contention at this year’s 50th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Meeting in Funafuti, Tuvalu.

Both declarations strongly call for Australia to commit to urgent climate action, as the effects of the climate crisis become more apparent on a daily basis.

In response to Pacific Island states, which have considered Australia as the “big brother”, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that it will provide A$500m over five years in climate resilience and adaptation funding for the region.

“Australia is supposed to be an ally for the Pacific, and their inaction in a time of dire need is appalling,” said Fenton Lutunatabua, 350 Pacific managing director.

“This funding support is being marketed as a solution, but in fact is a diversion of funding that was already allocated for supporting the Pacific Island states.”

Australia’s aid ploy
Australia’s ploy to use aid as a means of negotiating in the Pacific is failing, with Pacific Island leaders literally stating that they do not care about the money anymore.

The Prime Minister of Tuvalu and chair of the Pacific Islands Forum said during the PIF meeting on Tuesday that channeling aid money to the Pacific was in no way a compromise to open new coalmines and continue with unregulated emissions.

“Pacific Island leaders have stepped up their game significantly because for us it is a matter of survival and they have committed to holding industrialised, coal-producing nations to account,” said Patricia Mallam, senior communications specialist for the Pacific.

“The appalling fact in all this is that Australia is granted a seat at the same PIF meeting table as nations literally struggling to protect the lives and cultural integrity of their people.

“Australia bullies its way through negotiations, attempting to mask the gravity of the climate crisis on paper – when the visible proof in our lives shows otherwise.”

Pacific Island leaders had paved the way for polluting countries to take more concrete steps towards recognising that the climate crisis was real, she said.

The fact that Australia continued to disregard the science that proved this, and carried on with allowing the coal industry to prosper was “a slap in the face of its family in the Pacific”.

“We share the same part of the planet, in close proximity to each other, so taking action to save the Pacific pretty much means saving your own people. A person of authority in a position to make a difference, who compromises the wellbeing of their very own people is not worthy of being considered a leader,” added Mallam.

Key examples of leadership across the Pacific include:

The Marshall Islands becoming thefirst country in the world to update and strengthen its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement.
The Republic of Fiji holding the presidency of COP23 through 2017-2018 and having recently announced that it will introduce aClimate Change Act, one of the world’s most ambitious legislative programmes which includes tighter restrictions on the use of plastics, a framework for Fiji to reduce its emissions to net-zero by 2050, the introduction of a carbon credits scheme and the establishment of procedures for the relocation of communities at risk from the adverse effects of the climate crisis.
Tokelau announcing the launch of its Fakaofo Wind Turbine Project, situated on the southernmost island of Tokelau. The viability of this innovation is being tested for urgent climate action.
More climate stories
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NZ to give $6m boost for USPNet telecommunications upgrade

Wansolwara — Mon, 26 Mar 2018 21:38:27 +0000

By Salote Qalubau in Suva

The New Zealand government has committed $NZ6 million ($F8.84 million) to improve the University of the South Pacific’s digital e-learning sector.

The commitment was revealed by USP Vice-Chancellor Professor Rajesh Chandra during the unveiling of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) commemorative monument at the Laucala campus last week.

The grant is expected to boost USPNet and ICT developments.

“New Zealand contributed significantly to the development of USPNet and to ICT development that strengthened links between all our campuses and greatly improved both the administrative communication and the teaching capacity of USP,” he said.

“We are very grateful that NZ has made a grant of $NZ6 million to totally re-engineer USPNet and replace all the satellite dishes to create a 21st century learning network for the Pacific Islands. This is a special contribution from NZ to mark our 50th anniversary.”

Air force base campus
Meanwhile, New Zealand Defence Minister Ron Mark also announced two new developments in Fiji and New Zealand’s defence relationship when he joined more than 100 ex-5 Squadron servicemen and women for the unveiling of the commemorative monument to mark the land that was once home to the RNZAF 32 years ago.

“The New Zealand government announced the deployment of both the Royal New Zealand Navy inshore and offshore patrol vessels to Fiji later this year. The first, the IPV will be here in May, the OPV will follow after that,” he said.

“These and the deployment of the two technical advisers from the New Zealand Army and the Royal New Zealand Navy are two examples of our collaborative approach to supporting the development of our respective forces.”

Mark said he was also honoured to be able to commemorate the unveiling of the monument and the university’s 50th anniversary.

“Both of these partnerships are very important to New Zealand,” he said.

Salote Qalubau is a final year University of the South Pacific journalism student reporting for Wansolwara News.

Health risks of climate change ‘earliest, most severe’ for Pacific – WHO

Kendall Hutt — Fri, 29 Sep 2017 23:16:57 +0000

By Kendall Hutt in Auckland

Loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise, and longer, more intense heat waves. The observable effects of climate change on the environment are well documented and continue to make headlines.

But climate change also carries serious and fatal risks to human health.

“Under climate change conditions, the health and safety of humans are as vulnerable, eventually if not immediately,” the World Health Organisation (WHO) notes.

With rates of Type 2 diabetes and obesity among the highest levels in the world, the health of Pacific island communities in the face of climate change is grim.

In its 2015 report ‘Human health and climate change in Pacific island countries’ the WHO’s Western Pacific Region notes:

“The Pacific will experience some of the earliest and most severe impacts of climate change.

“These effects will include detrimental impacts on various aspects of human health and development.”

This is due to the fact climate change is regarded as a “health risk multiplier”. Put in simpler terms, climate change acts as a trigger and amplifier of pre-existing health risks.

For the Pacific, these include vector-borne (mosquito and tick), waterborne and foodborne diseases, injuries and deaths as a result of extreme weather events, and compromised food security and malnutrition.

‘Highest priority’
These health risks are also regarded by Pacific Island countries as the “highest priority” to be addressed in health adaptation strategies.

Seia Mikaele Maiava, an organic farmer from Nukunonu, Tokelau, and a 350 Pacific Climate Warrior told Asia Pacific Report:

“Impact of climate to food security is growing in the Pacific. Islands like Tokelau, Kiribati and Tuvalu have salt water intrusion into their soil from rising sea water levels.

Farmers like Amelia Vua from Korolevu, Navosa, Fiji … see crops affected by climate change. Image: Kendall Hutt/PMC

“This brings a huge challenge in planting their crops, therefore people will depend on imported foods that are unhealthy.”

Maiava said the salinisation of food crops was leading people to become dependent on imported “high fatty” and sugary food, increasing non-communicable diseases (NCD’s) such as diabetes.

Speaking to Asia Pacific Report from Samoa, Viliamu Iese, a research fellow in climate change, food security, and disaster risk management with the University of the South Pacific’s Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development, said the impact of climate change on food production was strong.

“It reduces access to food, increases malnutrition and reliance on imported processed foods, therefore increasing the risks of NCDs,” he said.

‘Killed the crops’
Maiava and Iese’s statements have been echoed by young journalism student Semi Malaki of Tuvalu, who told the Bearing Witness project: “With the impact of salt water intrusion and sea level rise, the salt water came up and killed the crops.

Salination of crops .. new dependence on unhealthy, imported foods. Image: Kendall Hutt/PMC

“People now are not much dependent on root crops, they’re dependent on imported foods from overseas and its had lots of impact on our diets.”

This phenomenon is sometimes known as “over-nutrition” and the Asian Development Bank regards climate-induced changes in food supply as one of the major risks posed by climate change on human health.

“Climate change in the Pacific will have both direct and indirect effects on food security.

“The most direct effect, particularly in the smaller atoll countries, will be further reduction of already declining output per capita as a result of increasing natural disasters and rising sea level in the longer term.”

The WHO notes in its report: “Many participants in the vulnerability assessment and adaptation planning process around the Pacific were firm in their belief that climate change would lead to a worsening of the NCD crisis.”

Though the situation may appear grim, it does not mean Pacific Island countries are not adapting and mitigating to the health impacts of climate change.

‘We are fighting’
Although health adaptation finance may be a problem – climate change impacts on health only serve three percent of current adaptation funding targets according to the WHO – the Pacific has continued its “we are fighting” approach to climate change.

“Throughout their history, Pacific communities have long demonstrated a high degree of resilience to environmental challenges,” the WHO stated.

The Pacific’s national adaptation programmes of action, assessed in the WHO’s report, provide clear pathways for effective adaptation and mitigation.

Maiava also said people in the Pacific were becoming more aware and using innovative ideas to grow healthy, organic food.

“Many people are doing good work to raise awareness of growing your own food and eating healthy. I am part of good organisations doing this. Also, we have a keyhole garden project happening in Tokelau that will help each family to grow their own food,” he said.

The WHO notes that as early as the 1990’s “The health impacts of climate change had been given some consideration in many Pacific Island countries and areas as part of their early work on climate change adaptation, even before these policy documents that specifically address the health impacts of climate change were adopted by the health sector in the region.”

Such praise comes despite the unprecedented rate, scale and impact of climate change in modern human history.

World support needed
However, the WHO notes “whole-of-government” and “whole-of-society” approaches are needed to address climate-sensitive health risks.

With COP23 fast-approaching, it is clear whole-of-world support will be needed to address the human cost of climate change.

Children, the elderly and disabled … most vulnerable to climate change amplified health risks. Image: Kendall Hutt/PMC

Samoan airline deals at centre of Tokelau chopper purchase

Mackenzie Smith — Thu, 01 Jun 2017 21:04:07 +0000

By Mackenzie Smith in Auckland

Tokelau’s controversial helicopter buy was part of at least one major Samoan airline deal, along with plans for the establishment of a luxury hotel on the remote New Zealand-administered territory.

In February, then Foreign Minister Murray McCully slammed Tokelau over the purchase of two helicopters that he described as “extravagances”, and later said they represented “a breakdown in Tokelau’s governance”.

David Nicholson, New Zealand’s Administrator for the territory, also imposed restrictions on Tokelau’s capital spending and has since carried out a review into the helicopters which found government officials behind the purchases did not have the authority to make them.

Documents obtained by Asia Pacific Report under the Official Information Act confirm earlier revelations that the helicopters, which will now be sold off, were part of an “interim air service”, with the end goal of establishing runways on Tokelau.

Last October, a Tokelau “senior public servant”, whose name was redacted, advised the NZ Civil Aviation Authority (NZCAA) that Tokelau was exploring a fixed-wing air service between Samoa and Tokelau.

According to the public servant, Polynesian Airlines, which is co-owned by the Samoan government, would be functioning as the service operator, made possible through a “partnership arrangement” with private Samoan tourism company, Grey Investment Group (GIG).

It is unclear whether the public servant is one of the two who were suspended pending an investigation by Tokelau’s government into their role in the helicopter purchases.

Commercial deal
A document from February last year, composed by a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) official, reveals Tokelau’s bilateral team advised MFAT of a proposal made by a hotelier, whose name was redacted, for a commercial deal involving “operating a helicopter service from Apia to Tokelau”.

Its purpose would be to deliver tourists “to a proposed high end hotel in Tokelau”.

The chairman of GIG is Alan Grey, son of famous proprietor Aggie Grey and who holds several senior government and corporate positions in Samoa, including a directorship of Polynesian Airlines.

GIG has an extensive portfolio of investments, including several high end hotels and resorts across the Pacific, and Alan Grey is also chairman of the Samoa Hotel Association.

Polynesian Airlines and GIG have not responded to requests for comment.

The arrangement with Polynesian Airlines was mentioned as early as September in email correspondence between NZCAA and MFAT officials.

It was also described in a January meeting between David Nicholson, several MFAT and NZCAA officials, and Tokelau’s Chief Technical Helicopter Adviser and Financial Adviser.

‘Logistical support’
Polynesian Airlines was “providing logistical support” to Tokelau, “including hangar space and access to fuelling facilities”, according to notes from the meeting.

One of the redacted emails obtained under OIA about the Tokelau controversy. Image: MS/PMC

However, earlier documents reveal Polynesian Airlines was not the only Samoan company that expressed interest in a fixed-wing air service to Tokelau.

In a November email, which had its recipients redacted but includes a “minister”, then High Commissioner to Tuvalu Linda Te Puni said she had “heard about a number of proposals for helicopter services and a seaplane service involving Talofa airways with possibly a Japanese company”.

In another email later that month and this time addressed to multiple NZCAA officials, Te Puni confirmed Tokelau was in discussions with Talofa Airways.

In October, a representative for the airline advised NZCAA of the logistics of future flights to and landings on Tokelau, after NZCAA requested the information so that it could determine the relevant rules for aircraft operation in Tokelau.

Following earlier statements from Ulu-o-Tokelau Siopili Perez and former Foreign Minister Murray McCully that the helicopters would be sold off, a chain of emails starting from late February show those plans are now under way.

A number of discussions between CAA and MFAT officials detailed the logistics of selling or contracting out the two helicopters to recover their initial cost.

March correspondence between NZCAA and MFAT officials revealed Administrator David Nicholson had “been approached” by Hawker Pacific, an Auckland-based aviation provider, with the intention of it acting as a sales agent for the helicopters.

Tokelau suspends two officials following helicopter row review

American Samoa tuna cannery closure prompts fisheries gifts to Tokelau

Mackenzie Smith — Sun, 28 May 2017 21:21:13 +0000

By Mackenzie Smith in Auckland

After the closure of one of its tuna canneries, American Samoa is looking to recover by giving away tonnes of the fish to its neighbours, a move welcomed by Tokelau.

In December, tuna supply group Tri Marine indefinitely closed its Samoa Tuna Processors plant based in Pago Pago after supply and profit issues.

While the fate of Samoa Tuna Processors remains uncertain, American Samoa is now sending its excess tuna to the governments of Tokelau and Samoa.

Earlier this month both neighbours were gifted more than 11 tonnes of tuna each — in Tokelau’s case, enough to match two years worth of its tuna imports.

American Samoa Department of Commerce Director Keniseli Lafaele said there were plans to extend this offer to Tuvalu and Kiribati as well.

The main idea behind it, said Lafaele, was to establish economic relations and improved access to the fisheries of the wider Pacific.

“We would like to explore the possibility of exporting goods from American Samoa to the neighbouring countries.”

Mutually beneficial
This could be mutually beneficial for Tokelau, a country heavily reliant on both imported goods and income made through selling fishing licences to foreign nations, said Lafaele.

Despite its population of roughly 1500 people, Tokelau netted US$13.5m in 2016 alone from the licensing of its 320,000 sq km exclusive economic zone.

Seiuli Aleta, Acting General Manager of the Office of the Council for the Ongoing Government of Tokelau, said American Samoa’s gift was a sign of the growing relationship between the two countries.

“It’s not just that we’re located in the same geographical area and there’s a primary interest in fisheries, there’s a collective interest which I think in terms of economic development is probably good for both countries.”

Stan Crothers, a fisheries adviser to Tokelau, said Tokelau was working closely with Tri Marine leading up to the closure of its processing plant in Pago Pago.

“It’s really unfortunate that they had to close. And I guess the donation of that canned fish is just an example of the sort of relationship we had. We’re very disappointed that that didn’t go further but we’re hopeful that one day that might come again.”

He said the company was offering Tokelauans the opportunity to work on boats, in the Pago Pago factory and in some management positions.

“On the American Samoan side you’ve got the capital and the plants, we’ve got the fish, there’s a deal made in heaven there somewhere isn’t there?”

Aleta said despite the closure of Samoa Tuna Processors, the prospect of jobs and training offered to Tokelauans by American Samoa were still “on the table”.

Mackenzie Smith is a Te Waha Nui student journalist at Auckland University of Technology.

Tokelau suspends two officials following helicopter row review

Mackenzie Smith — Thu, 11 May 2017 01:07:19 +0000

By Mackenzie Smith in Auckland

Tokelau has suspended two of its public servants in Samoa, after a review into the purchase of two helicopters found the pair went behind officials’ backs.

This follows restrictions on Tokelau’s spending placed by Administrator David Nicholson after Minister Murray McCully slammed the millions of dollars spent on the helicopters, which Tokelau will now sell off.

Administrator David Nicholson … review found Tokelau Public Service Commission “did not have authority” for purchase. Image: MFAT

A summary of the review carried out by a New Zealand company on behalf of Administrator Nicholson found the Tokelau Public Service Commission, operating out of Apia, “did not have the authority to make the purchase”.

Aleki Silao, an adviser to the public service, told Asia Pacific Report in an email that “two senior officials have been suspended” with full pay by Commissioner Casimilo Perez, pending the outcome of the commissioner’s investigation into their actions.

Silao said the terms of reference for the investigation were still being considered by Tokelau’s government and lawyers.

The review revealed the helicopters came as “a surprise” to both Tokelau’s government and the administrator, who were not consulted by public service officials.

It said New Zealand also “offered technical assistance” which wasn’t accepted by Tokelau but the review did not clarify what this was for.

Although the governments of New Zealand and Tokelau approved bigger picture plans for an interim transport solution, this was still thought to be in a “preparation phase”.

Also highlighted was the role the “disjoint” between public service officials in Apia and decision-makers in Tokelau had in the purchases.

Part of the Tokelau review findings.

At Tokelau’s General Fono in March, Ulu Siopili Perez announced the Apia public service offices would be relocated to Tokelau by the end of the year.

The review concluded by making a number of recommendations, including improving Tokelau’s governance and undertaking “a capacity building programme to support the planning and implementing of capital development”.

New revelation in Tokelau chopper furore in air transport ‘big picture’

Mackenzie Smith — Wed, 12 Apr 2017 22:04:08 +0000

By Mackenzie Smith in Auckland

Tokelau’s purchase of helicopters included plans to travel via remote Swains Island, contradicting earlier reports claiming the aircraft were ill-suited for the job.

Documents also reveal New Zealand officials approved plans for air services to Tokelau in the lead-up to the heavily criticised investment.

Tokelau air transport plans as detailed in the July 2016 General Fono minutes.

In February, it was revealed that Tokelau had bought two helicopters to circumvent the 24-hour ferry voyage from Samoa, expenditure Foreign Minister Murray McCully described as “extravagances”.

At the time, NZ Helicopter Association chairperson Peter Turnbull raised doubts about whether the aircraft would be able to make the almost 500km trip from Samoa to Tokelau.

The incident prompted New Zealand’s Administrator to the territory, David Nicholson, to propose veto powers on purchases more than NZ$500,000 by Tokelau’s local government.

However, inquiries have revealed plans to use the US-administered Swains Island (pop. 17) as a stopover point between Samoa and Tokelau, effectively splitting the direct flight in two.

In light of this, Turnbull said both legs of the journey were “quite achievable” by the Bell 212 “Huey” helicopter purchased by Tokelau.

Approached by officials
American Samoa Representative and owner of Swains, Su’a Alex Jennings, said he was approached in January by officials from Tokelau’s National Public Service based in Apia.

Su’a said he had later contacted the US Federal Aviation Administration and was told Swains could be used in emergencies and as a fuel stop for the helicopters.

He said he had also briefed local leaders from the American Samoa government and further progress was only “pending a formal commitment” from Tokelau.

Following public outrage from Minister McCully and Ulu o Tokelau Siopili Perez, that commitment seems unlikely, with the General Fono agreeing last month to sell the helicopters.

Both helicopters were sold separately by New Zealand businesses and licensed with the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand.

Under the National government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has pushed for air transport to Tokelau since 2010, when then-acting administrator Jonathan Kings said Minister McCully was “personally excited” about air services he viewed as a “sensible, workable and sustainable” solution.

A meeting in June last year between the previous Ulu, Afega Gaualofa and Minister McCully saw the prospect of a regular air service between Tokelau and Samoa raised further.

Earlier McCully support
Minister McCully said in a written statement at the time he supported the project and the use of Tokelau’s International Trust Fund towards paying for it.

Swains Island in relation to independent Samoa and American Samoa. Map: National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa

Air services were put forward as part of Tokelau’s proposed development initiatives the following month at the General Fono in Fakaofo.

This included plans for an interim air service to be “up and running soonest” until village airstrips on Tokelau’s atolls could be constructed.

An independent review of the helicopter purchases, commissioned by David Nicholson, has been completed and found “issues of governance and process around capital purchases”, said Minister McCully in a written response to questions tabled by Labour’s Pacific Island Affairs spokesperson Aupito William Sio.

Aupito said it was time for Minister McCully to “come clean” and reveal what came out of the report in this review.

“We also know that there was a meeting that occurred on March 16th in Apia between the minister, the administrator and the Tokelau leadership and I think it’s in the public interest to know what was discussed at that meeting.”

Currently, the only means of transport to Tokelau is the Mataliki, a ship designed in London and built in Bangladesh at a cost of over NZ$12 million, paid for by the New Zealand government.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it would not respond to questions regarding the purchases due to an “ongoing inquiry taking place in Tokelau”.

Minister McCully declined to comment, while David Nicholson and Siopili Perez could not be reached for comment.

‘Heavy handed’ NZ clamps down on Tokelau spending

Mackenzie Smith — Tue, 14 Mar 2017 19:32:31 +0000

By Mackenzie Smith

As Tokelau’s ninth government takes shape, the new leader is raising concerns over New Zealand’s treatment of its last remaining Pacific territory.

Ulu-o-Tokelau Siopili Perez used his opening speech at the General Fono (Parliament) last week to protest against proposed veto powers for New Zealand’s Administrator to Tokelau.

The changes would put Administrator David Nicholson in control of the use of Tokelau’s development funds for any projects more than $500,000 — oversight not seen since the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) relinquished it to the General Fono in 1996.

Labour’s Pacific Island Affairs spokesperson Su’a William Sio said power over Tokelau’s affairs should lie with the General Fono, not New Zealand.

“This kind of heavy handed approach smells of arrogance and I think it would be an affront to a nation that is seeking self-determination,” he said.

Tony Angelo, a constitutional adviser to Tokelau’s Taupulega (Council of Elders), said the veto powers could compromise New Zealand’s compliance with the United Nations decolonisation requirements.

The UN ruled in 1960 that all peoples have the right to free political status and economic, social and cultural development.

‘Step back’
“I think the result would be, as the Ulu says, a step back from what has been relative autonomy,” said Dr Angelo.

Auckland University anthropologist Dr Judith Huntsman said the administrator’s move was unusual at a time when Ulu was promising the relocation of government offices in Apia, Samoa to Tokelau.

“[Tokelau is] pushing to get that office under the control of the people of the islands rather than that being viewed by outsiders and [MFAT] as the centre of Tokelau,” she said.

Su’a said MFAT was “stuck in colonial thinking that belongs to a bygone era” and it made no sense to have the office in Apia.

He said Foreign Minister Murray McCully was travelling to Apia to meet with Ulu to discuss his comments at the General Fono.

MFAT confirmed McCully would be in Samoa this week but did not respond when asked about Su’a’s claims.

The proposed veto powers come less than a month after it was reported Tokelau spent millions on two helicopters to circumvent the 24-hour boat journey from Apia, without proper certification or certainty the aircraft could make the lengthy trip.

‘Extravagances’
McCully told 1News at the time that the purchases were “extravagances” and New Zealand would “reflect on its own budgetary arrangements” with Tokelau.

“Given there appears to have been a breakdown in Tokelau’s governance, New Zealand is reviewing the oversight it has of capital expenditure,” McCully said in a written statement.

Although the funds for the helicopters reportedly came out Tokelau’s income from fishing licences, Dr Huntsman said this would still have to be sourced from Tokelau’s International Trust Fund.

The fund, set up in 2004, was started with contributions from New Zealand’s government and sat at over $78 million at the end of the 2014 financial year.

Mackenzie Smith is a Te Waha Nui student journalist at Auckland University of Technology.

Tokelau International Trust Fund

Climate change doco highlights Tokelau as world leader in ‘solar revolution’

TJ Aumua — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 23:20:51 +0000

The Asia-Pacific premiere of a documentary showcasing how the remote island dependency of Tokelau has became the world’s first solar-powered territory was screened this week in Auckland. TJ Aumua reports.

The Solar Nation of Tokelau, directed by Ulli Weissbach, puts the idyllic New Zealand dependency of Tokelau in the Pacific in the spotlight as the first territory to be free of CO2 emissions.

Through the documentary, locals on the dependency, comprising three remote atolls, are able to share with the world how solar-powered energy has provided power to every household, making life easier and creating better education opportunities.

Above all, Tokelau shows how some of the smallest countries are effectively fighting against the global threat of climate change.

Community members at the premiere in Auckland Meleka Pou-Poasa (from left) with documentary director Ulli Weissbach and Jewel Toloa. Image: Del Abcede/PMC

Positive praise
The documentary received positive praise from members of the Tokelau community living in New Zealand.

Lotu Foua, who moved from Tokelau to New Zealand in 1994, said she attended the premiere because she did not know much about the solar panels on the island.

“I’m proud of Tokelau, for a tiny island like that to be first in the world [to be CO2 emission free] it makes me think about going back and starting another life there,” she said.

Although it has been 22 years since she has been back home to Tokelau, Foua said the solar panels have made it easier for her to connect with family back home.

“Communication is a lot easier now but it was bit hard in those days. I remember wanting to talk to mum and dad and I couldn’t get through but now I can just reach them easily.”

Staying in touch with family is vital when considering it takes a plane ride to Samoa and then a 20-plus hour boat journey to reach Tokelau’s three atolls.

Audience members (from left) Takua Ioua and Lotu Foua said they learned something new about their home nation from the documentary. Image: Del Abcede/PMC

Tokelau community member, Takua Iona, who was also at the premiere, said seeing the effects of climate change on her home atolls was “saddening” and it hurt to see how it affected the “old ways and life of Tokelau”.

“I just wish all of the Tokelauans that are here [New Zealand] can see the changes.

“I had no idea what the solar panels were like, but now seeing this documentary I understand how it is helping the Tokelauan people.”

Way of life
Director Ulli Weissbach referred to the documentary as a “mixed bag of issues” saying it grew from being just about a “solar revolution” to weaving in the challenges and beauty of “the way of life in the Pacific”.

The spirit of Pacific people as ocean navigators, their value of community and culture are all captured through personal stories and experiences in this documentary.

“It’s a way of life that you don’t see in the touristy parts of the Pacific Islands. [I wanted to] show people how it was and also how hospitable people are in the islands and how joyful they are, seeing all their sunny faces.

“I would like to thank the Tokelau people for their hospitality. They really made us feel at home and actually shared their homes with us.

“They really supported us a lot and made a lot of things possible.”

The premiere was organised by Devonport Rotary Club and supported by the New Zealand German Business Association (German Trade Office), the German Embassy and the Goethe Institute in Wellington.

The documentary has been made available for viewing online.

The bank of solar panels providing power for Tokelau. Image: Solar Nation of Tokelau

Climate change report confirms ‘worst fears’ for Pacific nations

PMC Reporter — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 06:25:17 +0000

The State of the Climate 2015 report released this week has reaffirmed that efforts by Pacific Island countries need to be accelerated to keep the lead and momentum of the Suva Declaration initiated by the Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF).

Pacific Islands Development Forum Secretary-General Francois Martel says he is extremely concerned at the low level of ratification of the Paris Agreement to date, with only 22 countries and 1.0 percent of emissions.

“The report confirms our worst fears that time is not on our side and that projections on climate impacts were very much underestimated,” he said.

“This is why Pacific leaders need to remain vigilant and champion the ratification and implementation of the Paris Agreement globally.”

The State of the Climate 2015 report released online by the American Meteorological Society also disclosed how important it is for Pacific leaders to continue their advocacy for climate action at COP22 and beyond.

Martel added that Pacific nations together represented nearly one-fifth of the planet and this would send a strong message to the rest of the world if such a treaty could be agreed upon and ratified by the most vulnerable nations on Earth.

“Pacific leaders did it before to pledge allegiance against nuclear arms so we should now look at fossil fuels in the same light.

“This report for the Pacific reminds us of the urgency and confirms that climate induced impacts will destroy our nations. The Pacific Islands should continue to be at the forefront of that battle,” he said.

‘Broke records’
The report also confirmed that 2015 surpassed 2014 as the warmest year since the mid-to-late 19th century.

Climate indicators in the report show patterns, changes, and trends of the global climate system, several markers such as land and ocean temperatures, sea levels and greenhouse gases broke records set just one year prior.

Last year’s record heat resulted from the combined influence of long-term global warming and one of the strongest El Niño events the globe has experienced since at least 1950.

Furthermore a Guardian article published this month has stated that limiting global temperatures to below the 1.5 degree target, negotiated in Paris last year, and measured in relation to pre-industrial temperatures, would be extremely difficult.

The article published figures based on Met Office data by meteorologist Ed Hawkins of Reading University that showed the average global temperatures have been more than one degree above pre-industrial levels for every month except one this year.

Pacific officials join global tactics workshop to combat illegal fishing

APR editor — Sun, 06 Mar 2016 20:26:12 +0000

By Fatu Tauafiafi in Auckland

A large contingent of Pacific island country officials will be among delegates from 60 countries meeting in Auckland today to discuss latest tactics to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing across the globe.

The 5th Global Fisheries Enforcement Training Workshop (GFETW) will align to the theme: “Working together to combat IUU fishing to ensure the sustainability of world fish stocks.”

Hosted by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and the International Monitoring Control and Surveillance (MCS) Network, it is an opportunity for nations to update each other on the latest techniques and technologies and to strengthen the communication ties that makes the MCS network successful.

The International MCS Network focuses in particular on enhancing cooperation with developing countries, and at the 4th GFETW held in Costa Rica 2014, several presentations pointed to the need to deploy additional efforts in developing countries in order to strengthen their capacities to implement effectively internationally agreed measures. These efforts were urged to address governance, legislation and technical capacities (means and skills).

MPI spokesperson Dean Baigent said global co-operation means there was increasingly nowhere to hide for boats and crews that deliberately plunder high seas fisheries.

“We have a successful network where nations share information gathered from satellite monitoring, aerial surveillance, catch data and vessel inspections that targets illegal operators and makes it very difficult to profit from IUU fishing.”

Obvious host
Baigent plugged New Zealand as the obvious country to host the global workshop.

“We are responsible for managing the world’s fourth largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and are an active participant in monitoring and patrolling the toothfish fishery in the Southern Ocean and the tuna fishery in the southwest Pacific Ocean.”

Niue’s MCS Officer Launoa Gataua certainly hopes the meeting will deliver on its objective as Niue desperately needs help for the monitoring, control and surveillance of its 360,000 sq km fishery.

Niue had only recently re-opened its waters for fishing in June 2013 and so far licensed seven vessels with the hope that its cap of 10 will be reached in the near future.

However, they are aware that a lot of their fishery income is hemorrhaging through illegal, unreported and unregulated fishers. And they are powerless to do anything about it at the moment.

Niue is one of three Pacific island countries without a patrol boat but that is not usually a big problem because it has a constitutional arrangement with New Zealand to provide surveillance for its EEZ. But for the whole of 2015, that service did not happen as New Zealand assets were diverted elsewhere.

‘Pretty much blind’
“Last year alone we had no surveillance patrol done for our EEZ except for a chance visit by a French patrol boat which was very welcome. But that apart we are pretty much blind,” Gataua said.

“We do know there’s a lot of IUU going on in our EEZ. An estimate of how much that loss of income is to Niue would probably be on the low side.”

He explained that they get regular reports from visiting yachts on their way from the Cook Islands. Reports which they [Niue’s fisheries division] are not picking up through the Automatic Identification System (AIS) or the regional Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) run by the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA).

“To me that’s an indication of IUU fishing,” he said. “Each of those ships sighted is lost income to Niue.

“But what else can we do? It’s too hard for us to monitor the area.”

Gataua is attending the 5th Global Fisheries Enforcement Training Workshop and is hopeful the next five days will provide options and help for Niue’s situation. Help that would have significant impacts to Niue’s economy. With its GDP, a meager $28.5million, any increase from its fishery revenue would be a massive boost considering that tourism, is the biggest earner at just under $6million.

“If we can reduce the IUU going on in our EEZ, it’s quite feasible that our fisheries revenue will rival that of our tourism sector.”

He points enviously towards their smaller neighbor Tokelau, whose 2015 fisheries revenue topped $12.5million, as to what is possible.

The Future of Fisheries Roadmap

Pacific countries offer to compromise over tuna fishing deadlock

APR editor — Sat, 13 Feb 2016 03:42:22 +0000

By Lucy Craymer in Hong Kong

United States boats might soon be allowed back into the world’s best tuna fishing waters after the 17 Pacific states that control the waters offered to compromise in an attempt to end a six-week standoff.

A group of Pacific island states — which includes small islands and atolls such as Tuvalu, Tokelau and the Marshall Islands — along with New Zealand and Australia have been refusing to issue fishing licences to around 36 US vessels to trawl in their waters since the start of the year after their owners, typically tuna-supply companies or individuals, refused to meet payments agreed to in August last year.

The standoff means US boats cannot access seas where around half of the world’s skipjack tuna are caught each year. It is also endangering a vital revenue stream for some of the world’s poorest nations.

The Pacific island countries have now agreed to sell fewer fishing days to the US boats, in line with the US’s request, with the remaining days to be sold to fleets from other countries or local boats, said James Movick, Director-General of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency.

The agency has been responsible for negotiating the fishing agreement on behalf of the Pacific states.

Pacific island countries aim to both raise revenue and manage tuna stocks by selling fishing days each year to either countries or companies, which in turn allocate them to different vessels. The minimum price for one fishing day is US$8000.

Significant changes
The current dispute first arose in November when the US government asked for significant changes to the August agreement it made on behalf of the American Tunaboat Association. It had agreed to pay $68 million so that its member boats could fish for 6250 days collectively.

The first quarterly payment toward that was due at the end of December, in time for licences to be issued at the start of January.

The association now wants to cut the fishing days by 30 percent and reduce its payment by $23 million, blaming sharply lower tuna prices. The US is entitled to its allocation of fishing days under a nearly 30-year-old treaty that is linked to a $21 million annual aid payment to the islands.

The new proposal “should satisfy the US without the need for any further negotiation,” and he is hopeful that licences will be able to be issued over the next couple of weeks, Movick said.

No specific details have been released about the new proposal. Movick said negotiations werecontinuing.

The US has officially withdrawn from the treaty beginning in January 2017 and new negotiations over access for U.S. boats will be undertaken over the coming year, Movick added.

Lucy Craymer is a Wall Street Journal correspondent in Hong Kong.

—

Tokelau’s new ferry Mataliki slips quietly into Apia port

APR editor — Thu, 04 Feb 2016 10:50:46 +0000

Tokelau Office

By Jaap Jasperse in Apia

The brand-new Tokelau ferry Mataliki slipped quietly into Apia port this week, awaited by staff of the Tokelau Transport and Support Services (TSS) Department.

The ship was designed in London and built in Bangladesh at a total cost of more than NZ$12 million, funded by the New Zealand government.

Upon arrival on a beautiful calm morning on Wednesday, Mataliki was decked out in international signal flags for numbers and the letters of the alphabet.

This ancient form of marine communication is unlikely to ever be used seriously, as the ship is equipped with the most modern satellite navigation and communications technology – there is even wifi on board for its crew and passengers.

TSS Director Asofa Fereti said the new ferry’s arrival was the end product of years of negotiations and team work between colleagues in NZ MFAT and TALO. Many technical people were engaged to provide input into the initial design and further modifications.

“It’s a dream come true for Tokelau”, Fereti said.

“We have been waiting for this moment for a long time; let’s hope the vessel proves worth the wait.”

Year behind schedule
Delivery of the ferry from Bangladesh was a year behind schedule because there had been problems with the stability of the boat in its initial design.

This has now been fixed and the boat has been making its successful voyage from the shipping yards in Chittagong, Bangladesh since December 29.

Mataliki stopped over in Singapore for a week, departing there on January 12 and making refuelling stops at the ports of Dili, East Timor, on January 18 and in Honiara, Solomon Islands, on January 27. The vessel’s crew comprised mostly Tongans, including chief engineer Tolati Fifita.

They had first been flown in from Tonga for the sea trials last year, and then again for the entire voyage to Apia.

The crew included one Tokelauan, Lamesa Mataga. Both the master, Steve Christieson, and first mate, Allan Dillon, had been flown in from New Zealand for the journey.

The new Tokelau ferry replaces a succession of charters from the Samoa Shipping Corporation: the Fasefulu and Lady Naomi have been supplementing trips by the PV Matua which has been doing regular, fortnightly trips for several years until its engine broke down in July last year.

Operations of the new ferry will be jointly managed by the Tokelau Transport Department and the company Transport and Marine – whose operations manager Dick Mogridge was on hand to also sign off on arrival of the ferry in Apia.

Tokelau atolls
Mataliki is capable of transporting up to 60 international passengers at a time, and a relatively small amount of cargo for the three Tokelau atolls Atafu, Nukunonu and Fakaofo. It can carry up to 120 passengers between the atolls.

Tokelau’s population of about 1400 people is entirely dependent on shipping for people and goods, as there are no flights to and from the islands.

The length of the trip to Tokelau will not change much as a result of the new ferry. With a cruising speed of 11.5 knots, Mataliki is still expected to take at least 24 hours for a one-way journey from Apia to the nearest atoll, and 4-6 hours between the three villages.

Mataliki is intended to continue a fortnightly service between Apia and Tokelau, interspersed with freighters such as the Fasefulu that will still be chartered for goods and particularly fuel transport.

Mataliki has been designed mainly for passenger transport, and passengers will find it a lot more comfortable than previous vessels. There are a greater number of proper berths to sleep in; there’s even a sick room for medical evacuations between hospitals.

Solar panels will be mounted on the rooftop of the passenger deck to help reduce power consumption.

Mataliki’s maiden voyage to Tokelau is planned to start on March 1.

—

Pacific public health warning over Zika virus infection

APR editor — Sat, 30 Jan 2016 01:20:15 +0000

Pacific Media Centre

By Losalini Bolatagici in Suva

Fiji and other Pacific Island nations have been warned about the mosquito-borne Zika virus.

The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), in collaboration with the World Health Organisation, has this week sent an update on the Zika virus infection to public health ministries and health professionals in the Pacific Islands region.

Fiji’s Ministry of Health and Medical Services will release an official statement in relation to the virus, which shows symptoms of mild fever, rashes and joint pain.

The rare tropical disease can also cause possible birth defects, transmitted through bites from the same kind of mosquitoes that can spread other tropical diseases such as dengue fever, chikungunya and yellow fever.

SPC closely monitors the Zika situation regionally and internationally, including dengue and chikungunya.

“We provide an ongoing service to the region’s public health professionals whereby we maintain a map of epidemic and emerging disease alerts for regional health security purposes,” said acting SPC Deputy Director (Public Health Division) Dr Salanieta Saketa in a statement.

“According to the information available to us, no Pacific countries have reported confirmed cases of the Zika virus infection so far this year, but further investigation is under way to ascertain circulation of the virus in a number of Pacific Island countries and territories.”

Lab diagnosis
She said Zika virus infection could only be confirmed by a laboratory diagnosis and Pacific Islands countries had very limited capacity for Zika testing.

“We’re working closely with our partners from the Pacific Public Health Surveillance Network to overcome this challenge and facilitate access of all countries to the few laboratories which can perform the testing,” Dr Saketa said.

Part of SPC’s update concerned the latest findings on the possible association between Zika virus infection in pregnancy and congenital central nervous system malformations, including microcephaly.

While this was not proof that Zika virus had caused these malformations, a possible association could not be ruled out given the evidence available, Dr Saketa said.

“In view of the latest findings, we provided countries with a number of recommendations. For example, we recommend all travellers, particularly pregnant women, who are visiting known affected areas to take extra precautionary measures to prevent being bitten by mosquitoes.”

First Zika hospitalisation case in NZ this year

Pacific Islanders debate paradox of ‘Oceanianism’ and global citizens

Shailendra Singh — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 04:39:15 +0000

From Indepth News

By Shailendra Singh in Suva

Discussions about the concept of “Global Citizenship” are gaining momentum in various international forums, but remain largely unexplored in the Pacific Islands.

According to Ron Israel, co-founder of The Global Citizens’ Initiative, Global Citizens think beyond communities based on shared group identities. They see themselves as part of a larger, emerging world community.

The late Professor Epeli Hau’ofa … the “new Oceania”. Image: USP

In the Pacific, the late Tongan academic and philosopher, Professor Epeli Hau’ofa, had gone as far as proposing a common regional identify he called the “new Oceania”, comprising of people with a common Pacific heritage and commitment, rather than as members of diverse nationalities and races.

In Hau’ofa’s conceptualisation, an Oceanian was anyone who lived in the Pacific, and was committed to the region, regardless of ethnicity or religion. His framework also accounted for the “astounding mobility” of Pacific Islanders over the last half-century or more.

This expanded version of Oceania covered larger areas than was “possible under the term Pacific Islands region”, forming a “world of social networks that crisscross the ocean, all the way from Australia and New Zealand in the southwest, to the United States and Canada in the northeast”.

Oceania … a “world of social networks that crisscross the ocean, all the way from Australia and New Zealand in the southwest, to the United States and Canada in the northeast”.

Hau’ofa felt that a common, enlarged Pacific identity was crucial for the advancement of collective regional interests, including the protection of the vital Pacific Ocean.

Connecting and mobilising people to agitate for common interests is the thread that binds the Oceanian and the Global Citizen concepts.

Global Citizen
Global Citizen is just more expansive. Its proponents link it to the universal values of justice, democratic participation, diversity, and global solidarity as the building blocks for peaceful, tolerant, inclusive and sustainable societies.

Pacific Island commentators laud the concept, but feel that certain cultural, economic, geographical and historical obstacles could stand in the way of its implementation.

Former University of the South Pacific academic in literature, Dr Som Prakash, feels that some Global Citizen values are incompatible with the cultural beliefs, philosophies and life-styles of Pacific Island societies.

For instance, egalitarianism is seen as inimical to the hierarchical nature of some Pacific societies, such as chiefly power in Fiji, the aristocracy in Tonga, and matai (chiefly) system in Samoa.

“Democracy, for example, is not always welcomed by traditional chiefs who are given much more power and authority than the ordinary folks,” says Prakash.

“It takes a while for the ordinary Pacific cultures to get accustomed to the questioning of elders and chiefs. Often peace (one of the pillars of Global Citizenship) is argued to be better attained under a benevolent dictator.”

There are some other apparent contradictions. As pointed out by Fiji’s former vice-president, Ratu Jone Madriwiwi, in collective Pacific societies like Fiji, group interests supersede individual interests.

Agents of change
Global citizenry, on the other hand, centers on individuals as the agents of change through instilling in them “awareness of the interconnected nature of the world and the need for a global focus for development”.

However, the likes of Fiji-based university student, Duane Mar, do not see the above paradoxes as obstacles. Mar points out that the Pacific is equally affected, if not more, by some common world problems, which transcend geographical cultural, and philosophical differences.

“Global citizen is a person whose ideals and thought processes are based around those of the general global issues, such as poverty, climate change and human rights,” says Mar.

“In many rural Pacific communities, the people are very much aware of issues like climate change, and the need to combat poverty. These issues are discussed at the community level and from there, villages often work with NGO groups to address them.”

Moreover, collectivism, based on group solidarity, has some clear parallels with the Global Citizen concept of “interdependency”, even though the Global Citizen model encompasses an “interdependent world” rather than just the village, or clan.

Global Citizen, as espoused by UNESCO and other institutions, promotes the idea that people’s “individual and collective actions have a global impact – and it is their responsibility to engage in positive actions for their communities and the planet”.

The idea of collective responsibility to address global problems is likely to resonate with Pacific peoples, especially in relation to global warming and sea-level rise, seen as a severe threat to the region.

Global warming
For years, one Pacific leader after another has stood up at various international forums to urge the industrialised nations to take responsibility for global warming and implement meaningful policies to reduce carbon emissions.

As Kiribati President Anote Tong has often pointed out, the Pacific region contributes the least, just three percent, to global warming, but many islands are on the “frontline” of sea level rise.”

Speaking at a recent meeting of Pacific Island leaders, Fiji Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama blamed the industrialised nations for “our slide into disaster”. He added that, “the industrialised world needs to reorganise its economies and its priorities to stop pumping excessive carbon emissions that are warming the planet. To let us sink beneath the waves is totally immoral. The world must not betray us.”

Another recent Pacific leaders’ meeting in the Papua New Guinean capital, Port Moresby, ended in a stalemate after Australia and New Zealand blocked a bid from low-lying island nations for a tougher global target.

This stance has led to increased polarisation, with one commentator stating that the “lacklustre response by Australia and New Zealand to the plight of Pacific nations has finally reached boiling point”.

‘Tragedy of the commons’
Mar describes the Pacific’s global warming predicament as the “tragedy of the commons”, which in this case refers to the actions of some nations having an adverse impact on those nations that did not contribute to the situation.

On his part, USP academic Dr Prakash sees Australia and New Zealand’s intransigency over global warming as perhaps the most recent example of the many ways in which the greater powers have treated the Pacific with “carelessness, if not contempt”.

Prakash feels that such treatment lead to scepticism in the region about what inevitably comes to be seen as “fancy notions of globalisation, often emanating from well-to-do nations”.

He adds that “the most visible and tangible effects of globalisation is the crass TV, mobile phones and social media that inundate our Pacific societies”.

However, as Mar points out, the Pacific has partially benefited from globalisation.

Furthermore, globalisation and Global Citizenry are two distinct ideas. In fact, Global Citizen principles aim to address situations such as “tragedy of the commons”, a by-product of globalisation, although it is easy to see how the two terms could be confused.

The reality is that despite their smallness and isolation, the Pacific region’s destiny is tied with the rest of the world, something which Hau’ofa was keenly aware of.

Surely Hau’ofa was thinking along Global Citizen lines when he wrote that “we cannot confront the issues of the Pacific Century as individual, tiny countries created by colonial powers and acting alone. We could indeed ‘fall off the map’ or disappear into the black hole of a gigantic Pan-Pacific doughnut”.

This article was first published by Indepth News and has been updated by the author for Asia Pacific Report.

Tuna fishing deal dispute keeps US boats out of Pacific waters

APR editor — Mon, 18 Jan 2016 05:26:48 +0000

A 2015 Greenpeace video about the “out of control” global tuna fishing industry, including the Pacific. Rainbow Warrior skipper Peter Willcox interviewed. Video: Greenpeace

Report from Pacific Media Watch

By Lucy Craymer in New York for The Wall Street Journal

United States boats are set to be locked out of the world’s best tuna-fishing waters after reneging on a deal with 17 Pacific states, amid a slump in prices for the fish sold in cans in supermarkets all over the country.

A group of Pacific island states—which includes small island and atoll nations and territories such as Tuvalu, Tokelau and the Marshall Islands—along with New Zealand and Australia are refusing to issue fishing licenses to around 36 US vessels to trawl in their waters after their owners, typically tuna-supply companies or individuals, refused to meet payments agreed in August last year.

“These are the most attractive fisheries in the world and there are boats dying to fish in these waters right now but they can’t go and fish,” said Transform Aqorau, chief executive officer of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement, a grouping of eight of the islands which control most of the regions’ best fishing grounds.

Without a resolution, US-owned fishing boats—often based in American Samoa, a US Pacific territory—risk losing the roughly 300,000 tonnes of catch, mainly skipjack, they normally net annually in the region. That tuna is mostly processed into canned form, often in American Samoa as well.

Fishery licence sales generate around US$350 million annually in total for small states such as Kiribati and Tuvalu, where around 20 percent of the population lives on less than US$1 a day. More than a quarter of that fishing revenue comes from the US, the Asian Development Bank estimates.

Struggling nations
Some of the island nations are already struggling because of the way in which El Niño has affected fish migration patterns this year, reducing the amount of tuna in areas they control, said Christopher Edmonds, a senior economist at the ADB.

The current dispute first arose in November when the US government asked for significant changes to the August agreement it made on behalf of the American Tunaboat Association. It had agreed to pay $68 million so that its member boats could fish for 6250 days collectively. The first quarterly payment toward that was due at the end of December, in time for licences to be issued at the start of January.

The association now wants to cut the fishing days by 30 percent and reduce its payment by $23 million. The US is entitled to its allocation of fishing days under a nearly 30-year-old treaty that is linked to a US$21 million annual aid payment to the islands.

“The issue is simply that the US fleet cannot afford to buy the number of days,” said Brian Hallman, executive director of the American Tunaboat Association based in San Diego.

“The economic situation for the U.S. fleet has been worsening, and is so dire that many vessels are on the edge of bankruptcy, and boats are dropping out of the Treaty.”

Hallman said ample global tuna stocks was behind the recent drop in tuna prices, thanks to an increasing number of boats fishing for the catch globally.

Skipjack tuna is currently selling at $950 a metric ton in Thailand, a major processing location, having nearly halved since July 2014 when it was selling for $1820 a metric ton.

Fishing costs up
Meanwhile, fishing costs have risen: in 2010, the US paid around $30 million to access the fishing grounds now in dispute, compared with the $90 million they agreed to pay this year.

Negotiations continue between the parties but until an agreement is reached the US fleet will remain docked in American Samoa. The Pacific states are currently “testing the waters” to see if they can sell the fishing days the US wishes to give up, said Wez Norris, Deputy Director-General of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, which negotiated last year’s agreement on behalf of the Pacific states.

A US State Department official said “the best way forward for all parties would be for the Pacific Island parties to revise the terms for the US fleet for 2016”.

“It is a huge concern for us that our boats can’t fish in their traditional fishing areas and deliver fish back to American Samoa,” said Joe Hamby, chief operating officer at Tri Marine Management, which produces tuna brand Ocean Naturals and supplies tuna to supermarket chain Costco.

Canned tuna accounts for 93 percent of American Samoa’s exports.