People’s Alliance party leader Sitiveni Rabuka says the FijiFirst government is not fit to run the country because it cannot efficiently provide two basic necessities — electricity and water.

In a statement issued yesterday, he said the continuing crises of dry taps and regular power cuts was “good reason for voting the FijiFirst government out of office”.

“The inability of the Minister of the Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, and the Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama to keep the lights on and the water flowing through the taps is an indictment of their leadership,” Rabuka said.

• READ MORE: Other Fiji elections reports

“In addition to their other failures, they clearly cannot efficiently provide these two basic necessities for living. They are therefore not fit to remain in office.”

The former prime minister also claimed electricity supply disruptions, leaking mains, dirty water and empty taps were part of the daily routine for hundreds of thousands of citizens.

“Disruptions occur in many areas causing turmoil and stress in homes, workplaces and public facilities such as hospitals,” he said.

“On more than one occasion in recent times, all of Viti Levu has lost its electricity — some places have suffered up to four power cuts in one day.

“The CWM Hospital, the country’s largest, has previously been left without water. You can imagine what a nightmare that was for hundreds of patients, visitors and staff.

“There has never been an apology from Mr Bainimarama or Mr Sayed-Khaiyum for not getting their water and power act together.”

Felix Chaudhary is a Fiji Times reporter. Republished with permission.

Twenty-three people onboard an Australian Navy vessel enroute to help with the recovery effort in Tonga have tested positive for covid-19.

In a statement, the Australian Department of Defence said the positive covid cases, and their close contacts, are being isolated onboard the vessel which has a 40-bed hospital with operating theatres and a critical care ward.

The Department of Defence is adamant the cases will not stop the Adelaide’s mission with the vessel expected to arrive off the coast of Tonga in the early hours of tomorrow morning.

• READ MORE: Concern grows over psychological trauma amid Tonga’s recovery
• Australia and New Zealand compete with China for Tongan influence
• Global aid effort underway for Tonga’s recovery from the Hunga tsunami
• Other Tonga volcano eruption reports

It said it was confident it could deliver the much needed supplies on board to local authorities in Tonga without transmitting the virus.

Tonga is one of the few remaining covid-19 free countries in the world and the government has made it very clear its priority is keeping things that way.

Air New Zealand to deliver relief supplies
An Air New Zealand flight is scheduled to take supplies to Tonga tomorrow to help with the recovery from the recent volcanic eruption and tsunami.

Chief pilot Captain David Morgan said 18 tonnes of cargo — including fresh water, medical supplies, garments, bedding, and urgent machine and automotive parts — will be onboard.

The flight is scheduled to take off from Auckland at 8am.

The same plane will then turn around and depart from Tonga at 12.20pm tomorrow, bringing back passengers and cargo to Auckland.

Co-chair Jenny Salesa said more volunteers were needed at the Mount Smart Stadium donation centre as hundreds of drums still needed to be packed.

She said people had been so generous and more shipping containers were still needed.

Twenty-five containers are scheduled to be sent to Tonga tomorrow if they are all packed in time.

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

Specialist New Zealand Defence Force staff will be checking Tonga’s shipping lanes are passable and the wharf is safe so desperately needed humanitarian supplies can get through.

Three deaths have been confirmed after Saturday’s massive volcanic eruption. There are reports of significant injuries, but no details yet.

UN officials said 84,000 people – more than 80 percent of Tonga’s population — had been impacted by tsunami and the ashfall that followed the eruption.

• LISTEN TO RNZ MORNING REPORT: ‘I’m 100 percent confident that none of our deployed forces have Covid’ – NZDF Rear Admiral Jim Gilmour (duration 8′:27″)
• READ MORE:  Tonga eruption: Airport runway cleared of ash, says WHO official
• Tonga eruption: Images appear to show most of Atatā island wiped out
• Scientists warn Tonga eruption may damage environment for years
• Gallery: What the NZ air crew saw at Tonga’s Nomuka – a choking carpet of volcanic ash
• Other Asia Pacific Report coverage of Tonga

New Zealand Defence Force Rear Admiral Jim Gilmour said there were fears for food security, with reports ash was killing crops.

Ash and sea water have also contaminated water supplies.

Offshore patrol vessel HMNZS Wellington, which is carrying a helicopter, technical gear, and teams, has arrived in Tongan waters.

“They commenced clearing the outer part of the Nuku’alofa harbour and they’ll be working in towards the wharf area and terminal area,” Admiral Gilmour told RNZ Morning Report.

Scoping shipping channels
It will scope the shipping channels and wharves at the main port to see if they safe enough to use to drop off supplies, in time for HMNZS Aotearoa due today, which is carrying a range of stores including water, long life non-perishable foods, hygiene kits and shelter.

“Water is among the highest priorities for Tonga, and the Aotearoa can carry 250,000 litres, and produce 70,000 litres per day through a desalination plant,” Admiral Gilmour said.

“I feel that the most value that she’s going to provide today is bring able to discharge fresh water into water tanks for distribution around Tongatapu.”

Admiral Gilmour said staff did not need to set foot on Tonga at all, in an effort to avoid spreading covid-19 to the currently coronavirus-free country.

Sanitised containers will be moved by crane from the ship onto the dock or hauled by personnel in full PPE.

They will then withdraw and Tongans will pick up the goods.

Hundreds of people, including the Tongan Armed Forces, cleared ash off the international runway allowing a Defence Force Hercules to land yesterday afternoon.

Water containers, shelters
It carried the most urgently needed supplies including water containers, temporary shelters, generators, and communications equipment.

It was expected to be on the ground for about 90 minutes before returning to New Zealand.

The Hercules will be decontaminated today with a plan to head out again tomorrow, Gilmour said.

Admiral Gilmour said ash that was moved off the runway was sitting nearby and in a fine powder form. Some of this was picked up in the wind.

A Royal Australian Air Force C-17 also landed yesterday.

A third New Zealand Defence Force vessel, HMNZS Canterbury, is being prepared to be deployed this evening or on Saturday to arrive on Tuesday.

It is carrying two helicopters which can be used to distribute supplies and survey Tonga’s outer islands.

Self-sufficient force
The Defence Force intends to be self-sufficient to not put pressure on Tonga’s food, water and fuel supply.

It has enough stores to stay at sea for at least 30 days without any external assistance. If it stays that long plans will be made to resupply.

“We’re very mindful of the sensitivities about covid and its transmission. I’m 100 percent confident that none of our deployed forces have covid, they’ve all been PCR tested, at least double jabbed, some, if not many triple jabbed,” Admiral Gilmour said.

He said the NZDF respected Tonga’s decision whether or not to allow troops on the ground.

“If Tonga decides that they would like boots on the ground and our operators will be operating ashore, then will will do that and obviously still maintain a contactless approach delivering any assistance that is required.”

Australia’s high commissioner to Tonga Rachael Moore has described the loss of property as “catastrophic”.

“Along the western beaches there is a moonscape where once beautiful resorts and many, many homes stood,” Moore said.

Tonga has only just begun to re-establish global contact after five days cut off from the rest of the world.

Video scenes from Dr Viliami Uasike Latu, #Tonga Minister of Trade and Economic Development posted on FB. Just a snippet below. This is Hihifo side (Western side) of Tongatapu including Kanokupolu one of the badly hit villages. #Tonga #TongaVolcano #tongatsunami pic.twitter.com/d1zyXBwPo4

— Josephine Latu-Sanft (@JoLatuSanft) January 20, 2022

Mobile phone company Digicel has confirmed re-establishing communications between Tonga and the rest of the world, but lines have been clogged with heavy traffic, leaving many still unable to get through to loved ones.

Work to improve the satellite capacity and improve communications at the New Zealand High Commission in Nuku’alofa was being done Thursday evening.

Food and water woes
MP for Panmure-Ōtāhuhu and the co-chairperson of the Aotearoa-Tonga Relief Committee Jenny Salesa said Tongans in New Zealand were hearing from their families back home for food and bottled water.

“We’re also told by some of our relatives that the ash from the volcano is everywhere. A lot of the ash has now hardened like cement on some of the surfaces and cleaning up is a challenging task,” she said.

“Some of the worry is that it would also affect the crops and the traditional food sources that a lot of our Tongan people back home rely on.”

The relief committee is asking families from the most effected islands to head to the appeal at Mt Smart Stadium today. People from the rest of Tonga are asked to come from Sunday.

Each family being allocated a 44-gallon drum to send supplies to Tonga and eight containers have been given to the relief committee.

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

Langi Fatanitavake’s wife and son live on one of the islands flanking Tonga’s Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai undersea volcano, but his repeated calls home since the violent eruption and tsunami have gone unanswered.

The South Island seasonal worker last spoke to his family on Ha’apai on Saturday afternoon, shortly before destructive waves crashed into the island nation.

Fatanitavake is growing increasingly concerned for their safety.

• LISTEN TO RNZ MORNING REPORT: ‘Water is a critical issue for the people of Ha’apai and no doubt for the people of Tonga’ – MP Jenny Salesa
• ‘There will be issues around health because of the air quality and around water supplies as well – clean water is going to be a big issue’ – Katie Greenwood
• READ MORE: Tsunami wave hits Tonga’s ‘Eua royal palace gate as vehicles try to flee
• RNZ News live updates on the eruption and tsunami
• Why the volcanic eruption in Tonga was so violent, and what to expect next
• Other APR reports on the tsunami

“Last night and today, nothing. I called, no answer. My feeling is not good about my family,” he said.

Fatanitavake is also worried about his sister who lives on Atata Island, about 50 km from the volcano that has covered Tonga in a layer of ash.

“I want to know what happened to my sister,” he said.

Fatanitavake said the 17 other Tongans he was working with on an Alexandra orchard had not heard from their families either and were anxious to receive a simple message or phone call to say they were safe.

Repatriation flight postponed
A repatriation flight scheduled for Thursday for workers who came to New Zealand as part of the Recognised Seasonal Employers (RSE) scheme has been postponed.

Tongans in New Zealand have been praying for their Pacific Island families, as they endure an agonising wait for news from relatives cut off from the world.

Timaru’s Sina Latu last heard from her sister when she broadcast her family’s escape from the tsunami live on Facebook, as ash rained down on the island of ‘Eua.

“It was very scary, we could see the waves coming in,” she said.

While Latu believed they were safe, she said the lack of communication was upsetting.

“It’s painful, you just feel hopeless and very anxious,” she said.

“I’m so worried, I haven’t really slept well. I just want one phone call, or one message, that will do me, just to say we’re fine, we’re safe.”

Latu said she was also worried about her 80-year-old father who lives on Tongatapu, but was reassured by no official reports of injuries or deaths so far.

Aerial reconnaissance, water supplies
A New Zealand Defence Force plane flew to Tonga today to assess the damage, but Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said aerial reconnaissance depended on the conditions, including the amount of suspended volcanic ash.

Another plane took essential supplies like water late today.

Communication links were still down, because the undersea cable that connects Tonga to the wider world appears to have been damaged.

Invercargill’s Ofa Boyle is yet to hear from her brother and sister who live near the capital Nuku’alofa.

She is also worried about the situation on the Ha’apai group of islands.

“I have some extended family living around that area, in Ha’apai. It’s a big worry,” she said.

“On the main island, the waves coming inland are not those big giant ones. That gives a bit of relief, but I’m also anxious about what it’s like in other areas like Ha’apai, near where the volcano erupted.”

Boyle said Tongan families relied heavily on relatives overseas, who would rally around to help them.

GNS Science said there could be more small-scale eruptions for some weeks, but they would be unlikely to trigger another big tsunami.

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

Power is being restored in Tonga’s capital Nuku’alofa, and the country is sending naval boats to outlying islands to assess the damage from the huge Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption and tsunami.

A New Zealand Defence Force plane has left for Tonga to assess the damage from Saturday’s volcanic eruption and tsunami.

The violent eight-minute eruption of the undersea volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai triggered atmospheric shockwaves and a tsunami which travelled as far afield as Alaska, Japan and South America.

• LISTEN TO RNZ MORNING REPORT: ‘Water is a critical issue for the people of Ha’apai and no doubt for the people of Tonga’ – MP Jenny Salesa
• ‘There will be issues around health because of the air quality and around water supplies as well – clean water is going to be a big issue’ – Katie Greenwood
• READ MORE: Tsunami wave hits Tonga’s ‘Eua royal palace gate as vehicles try to flee
• RNZ News live updates on the eruption and tsunami
• Why the volcanic eruption in Tonga was so violent, and what to expect next
• Other APR reports on the tsunami

The flight — which was dependant on whether the ash cloud from Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai had dissipated enough — departed from Whenuapai air base in Auckland.

Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta said reports overnight said there had been no further ash fall, and that there was no damage to the runway in Tonga.

“It’s just a matter of clearing the ash from the runway.

“The flight is scheduled to leave this morning.”

80 percent of power restored
Mahuta said 80 percent of power had been restored in Nuku’alofa, on Tongatapu, but internet connections remained disrupted.

Damage on Tongatapu was able to be better assessed today, and the country was sending its naval capacity to the outer islands, she said.

The initial need was for water and water storage bladders, as well as food and medical supplies, she said, and Mahuta expected the Tongan government would be be making a more formal request for assistance.

WATCH An @NZAirForce Orion aircraft departing #BaseAuckland this morning for Tonga to undertake a reconnaissance flight.

View more of our updateshttps://t.co/0rcqlCN5VU #Force4NZ #NZAirForce pic.twitter.com/TqW4rGFGsE

— NZ Defence Force (@NZDefenceForce) January 16, 2022

The RNZAF P-3K Orion will carry out a reconnaissance flight over the affected area, including low-lying islands that have not been heard from.

The Defence Force was also preparing options for naval deployments to help with the recovery.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said yesterday the navy was making preparations, and either HMNZS Canterbury or HMNZS Manawanui could be deployed.

No casualties in Ha’apai
Labour MP Jenny Salesa, who is Tongan, last night joined a Zoom meeting with Tongan Methodist ministers, including Reverend ‘Ulufonua from Ha’apai.

‘Ulufonua told them there had been no casualties on the group’s main island. There was a lot of ash on the ground and quite a number of houses had been damaged.

“One of the main things that they’re dealing with right now is the damage to the water system and the fact that not all of the people were able to protect some of the tank water that they collect from the rain,” Salesa told RNZ Morning Report.

“There are 169 islands in all of Tonga, 36 of those are inhabited, and so we don’t have updates from any of those other islands.”

Red Cross teams in Tonga have supplies in the country to support 1200 households, their international organisation says.

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Pacific head of delegation Katie Greenwood said they were able to make very brief contact with the teams in Tonga on Saturday before communication was cut.

“Red Cross teams were supporting authorities to move people to the small available amount of higher ground around capital Nuku’alofa itself and also they are well trained to be able to support any needs that are arising on the ground,” she told Morning Report.

Looking for contact with loved ones
Greenwood said once communications were restored the Red Cross was looking to help connect families registration system where people indicate they are looking for contact with loved ones.

Can literally hear the volcano eruption, sounds pretty violent. pic.twitter.com/gX6z2lSJWf

— Dr Faka’iloatonga Taumoefolau (@sakakimoana) January 15, 2022

A P-8 aircraft from Australia’s defence force is also being sent to survey critical infrastructure such as roads, ports and power lines today, if conditions permit. A statement from Australian government ministers said it was co-ordinating critical humanitarian supplies for disaster relief, and was ready to respond to further requests for assistance.

New Zealand Acting High Commissioner in Tonga Peter Lund said Nuku’alofa resembled a moonscape.

He said the capital was blanketed in ash, and there was a lot of damage on the waterfront and along the western coast.

There were no confirmed reports of any deaths or serious injuries, he said.

The ash cloud reached many kilometres into the air, and the eruption is thought to be the largest since Mt Pinatubo, in the Philippines, exploded in 1991.

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

French Polynesia’s former president Gaston Flosse says he is in mourning because the French state has signed his political death by banning him from political office for five years for abusing public funds.

Flosse made the statement after France’s highest appeal court upheld a 2020 conviction over a long-running corrupt water supply arrangement in Pirae.

The ruling means the 90-year-old Flosse will not be able to contest this year’s French National Assembly elections and next year’s territorial election.

• READ MORE: Other reports on Gaston Flosse’s political controversies

As former and current mayors of the town of Pirae, Flosse and now President Edouard Fritch made the town administration pay for the water use in the upmarket Erima neighbourhood, where Flosse lived.

Flosse had set up the scheme and Fritch allowed the abusive billing process to be continued until the practice was discovered in an audit in 2011.

When the two were convicted in Tahiti in 2020, Flosse was declared ineligible to hold office for five years.

Flosse questioned how the justice system worked, as he was singled out for punishment in a witch hunt while Fritch got away with just a fine.

Why was Fritch still eligible?
He said he wondered why Fritch was not made ineligible for two years because for years the scheme was run while Fritch was mayor.

Flosse’s lawyer said he could not understand the intellectual mechanism used to convict Flosse over the issue.

Losing the appeal in Paris last week, Flosse, will not be able to run for office until 2027, but he said would not give up and would continue with renewed vigour.

Only last week, he had announced his candidacy for one of the three French Polynesian seats in the French legislature.

In 2014, Flosse had been declared ineligible for five years after another corruption conviction and he had hoped to avert a renewed such sanction by taking the matter to Paris.

He was forced to relinquish the presidency to his deputy Fritch, but the two politicians have since fallen out.

Fritch has since been re-elected president and mayor of Pirae.

In French Polynesia, about a quarter of the ruling party’s assembly members have corruption convictions, including the assembly president Gaston Tong Sang.

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

France’s highest court has upheld a corruption conviction of French Polynesia’s former president Gaston Flosse, effectively ending his political career.

It confirmed a 2020 appeal court ruling in Tahiti, which had deprived Flosse of his eligibility to hold public office for five years after finding him and the current president Edouard Fritch guilty of abusing public funds.

As former and current mayors of the town of Pirae, Flosse and Fritch made the town administration pay for the water supply to the upmarket Erima neighbourhood, where Flosse lived.

• READ MORE: Other Gaston Flosse reports

Flosse had set up the scheme and Fritch allowed the abusive billing process to be continued until the practice was discovered in an audit in 2011. In the appeal court in 2020, Flosse had been given a two-year suspended prison sentence.

However, Fritch was allowed to stay in office, but both have been fined and have been ordered to jointly settle the water bill of US$820,000.

When the case went to court, Fritch was a defendant and, as the mayor of Pirae, he was also a complainant because in the civil case running alongside, the town sought to be reimbursed.

In Paris, the court did not accept Flosse’s arguments that the statute of limitations applied, and it rejected a claim that Fritch could not both be a complainant and an accused.

Losing the appeal in Paris, Flosse, who is 90, will not be able to contest this year’s French National Assembly elections nor next year’s territorial election.

Only last week, he had announced his candidacy for one of the three French Polynesian seats in the French legislature.

In 2014, Flosse had been declared ineligible for five years after another corruption conviction and hoped to avert a renewed such sanction by taking the matter to Paris.

He was forced to relinquish the presidency to his deputy Fritch, but the two politicians have since fallen out.

Fritch has since been re-elected president and mayor of Pirae.

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

A suicide bombing near Kabul airport on Thursday added another dimension to the chaos in Afghanistan as Western forces rush to complete their evacuation.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the blasts that killed at least 175 people, including 13 US soldiers, challenging the Taliban’s hold on the capital.

Either group is bad news for Afghan women and girls, and anyone with links to the former government or exiting armies.

• READ MORE: Afghanistan at risk of hunger amid drought and Taliban takeover
• Other Taliban takeover articles

Taliban officials are on a charm offensive in international media, with one suggesting to Newsweek the group could contribute to fighting climate change if formally recognised by other governments.

Don’t expect the Taliban to consign coal to history any time soon, though. The militant group gets a surprisingly large share of its revenue from mining — more than from the opium trade — and could scale up coal exports to pay salaries as it seeks to govern.

Afghan people could certainly use support to cope with the impacts of climate change. The UN estimates more than 10 million are at risk of hunger due to the interplay of conflict and drought.

Water scarcity
Water scarcity has compounded instability in the country for decades, arguably helping the Taliban to recruit desperate farmers.

There was not enough investment in irrigation and water management during periods of relative peace.

One adaptation tactic was to switch crops from thirsty wheat to drought-resistant opium poppies — but that brought its own problems.

The question for the international community is: who gets to represent Afghans’ climate interests?

If the Taliban is serious about climate engagement as a route to legitimacy, Cop26 will be an early test.

Megan Darby is editor of Climate Change News.

Papua New Guinea police have intercepted and confiscated almost K200,000 (about NZ$90,000) in K2 and K5 notes hidden in a container on a ship which arrived at the Lae wharf in a suspected money laundering case.

The cash, packed into three boxes inside the container full of bottles of water, was sent as a consignment to a company in Wewak, East Sepik,the last major town before Indonesia’s Papuan border.

Lae Metropolitan Superintendent Chief Inspector Chris Kunyanban said local police were tipped off by their counterparts in Port Moresby where the ship had sailed from.

READ MORE: Minister warns foreigners over fake passports, visas

There were 37,503 K2 notes totalling K75,006, and 24,601 K5 notes totalling K123,005.

Kunyanban said after receiving the tip-off from Port Moresby, police secured a search warrant from the district court in Lae and alerted the shipping company.

National crime investigation unit officers in Lae identified the container when the ship arrived on Friday.

“About 90 percent of the container contained water products consigned to a company in Wewak,” Kunyanban said.

Tightly packed with cash
The officers then found the three boxes tightly packed with cash which were placed at the back of the container.

He suspected that it was the work of syndicates involving locals and foreigners.

“Currently, Papua New Guinea is facing a mounting problem with different syndicates brewing which involve locals and foreigners,” he said.

He said money laundering was becoming a problem.

The cash will be kept at the Bank of Papua New Guinea in Lae.

“Police will work with the Bank of PNG to establish which law has been breached and further investigations will be carried out,” he said.

He warned businesses to be mindful of the way they run their operations.

“Especially when shifting huge amount of money from one place to another, be mindful that
shifting large amount of cash in such a manner is not advisable,” he said.

Jimmy Kalebe is a National newspaper reporter in Papua New Guinea.

A “supergroup” of New Zealand environmental organisations has sent an open letter to the leaders of four key political parties, warning them that the public expects them to deliver on election commitments.

Following the so-called “environment election”, seven environmental groups have delivered their strong message to the incumbent centre-right National’s leader Bill English, centre-left Labour’s Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand First’s Winston Peters and Green Party’s James Shaw as they prepare to negotiate the country’s next coalition government.

While the open letter congratulates the parties and politicians for their election success last weekend, it reminds them about their commitments to improve the state of New Zealand’s environment.

The group said there was now a strong public expectation that there would be clear gains for freshwater, the climate and conservation in the next three years. It has pledged to hold future leaders to their promises.

The letter offers politicians help in achieving those key gains.

“Environmental issues were at the centre of the 2017 election campaign,” the open letter said.

“No matter who ends up in government, they will have a clear mandate and a responsibility to take action on fresh water, climate change, and conservation.

“And they should know that we will be right there to make sure they do.”

The signatories to the open letter are Ecologic, Environmental Defence Society, Fish and Game New Zealand, Forest and Bird, Generation Zero, Greenpeace NZ, and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF-New Zealand).

The open letter says:
29 September 2017

Rt. Hon. Bill English
Leader, National Party
Jacinda Adern MP
Leader, Labour Party

Rt. Hon. Winston Peters
Leader, New Zealand First Party

James Shaw MP
Co Leader, Green Party

Dear Party leaders,
A winner in this year’s election was the New Zealand environment. It featured as a bigger concern amongst the electorate than ever before. All of you through your party manifestos made commitments to improve the state of our environment. We congratulate you for those promises.

As environmental leaders, we wish to offer our congratulations to all parties and to both sitting and new MPs for their election success. We also wish to acknowledge those parties and MPs who are departing Parliament and thank them for their work.

There is now a strong public expectation that whichever parties form the next government, there must be clear gains for fresh water, the climate and conservation in the next three years.

We offer our help in achieving these gains:

FRESHWATER
It is clear that ecologically healthy freshwaters, and the ability of New Zealanders to safely swim in their rivers and lakes, will be a key measure of environmental success for the new Government. This can only be achieved if government facilitates and supports a transformation of the primary sector toward new, environmentally-friendly land uses and practices, coupled with tougher regulation and market signals which reflect the true costs of resource use.

CLIMATE
There must be a more structured and transparent approach to tackling the greatest challenge of our time – climate change. New Zealand’s emissions have continued to climb and we need an ambitious plan on how to reduce them. Transformative change is required through a new law to establish a statutory carbon budgeting process overseen by an independent Climate Commission to plan, monitor and report on the transition to net zero by 2050. Anything less betrays this and future generations.

CONSERVATION
The jewels in the crown of our national identity are the unique species which inhabit our lands, waters and wild places. We need the new Government to institute real measures to protect and enhance the viability of our precious species. This includes the health of the diverse and invaluable terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems that sustain both them and valued introduced species. An increase in funding of DOC’s core budget must be a key component in that strategy.

These issues, and the many others that fall under the umbrella of “environment”, are at the heart of the richness of our quality of life in New Zealand, and underpin our international reputation. They are also at the core of a genuinely sustainable future and are therefore true legacy issues. The natural world is our home and there are few greater gifts we can bestow our children than a vibrant, vital and healthy natural world.

We promise to continue our strong advocacy for the environment and look forward to working with all political parties, both in the next government and in the opposition, to achieve positive gains for our environment.

Yours sincerely

Kevin Hague
Forest and Bird

Russel Norman
Greenpeace New Zealand

Livia Esterhazy
WWF New Zealand

Bryce Johnson
Fish & Game New Zealand

Gary Taylor
Environmental Defence Society

Guy Salmon
Ecologic

Lisa McLaren
Generation Zero

• The open letter

BACKGROUND: Naashon Zalk reports on his two-part documentary

I had lived in New Zealand for two years in the early 2000s. In 2015, I moved back here. And I was astonished to see how much the country had changed in those 15 years.

It has become wealthier on the back of an urban property boom, mass immigration and the explosive growth of intensive dairy farming which began back in the 1990s.

I also discovered that the country is harbouring a disturbing secret, little known to the rest of the world: its freshwater is in severe crisis. Two-thirds of New Zealand’s rivers are too polluted to swim in and half its lakes are irreversibly damaged.

This pollution, say many independent environmentalists, scientists and economists, is primarily a by-product of the laissez faire growth of the country’s dairy industry. The government, dairy industry, and irrigation lobby disagree. They say it’s a legacy of over 100 years of farming.

I set out to investigate why New Zealand, a country which markets itself as a clean, green paradise, has in fact got disturbing water pollution problems which only appear to be getting worse.

While I was researching the story an event happened which I believe has been pivotal in awakening New Zealanders to the dire state of their freshwater. In August 2016, the tiny town of Havelock North, on the east coast of the country’s North Island, was incapacitated by an outbreak of campylobacter in their drinking water.

More than 5000 of its 15,000 inhabitants were made ill by the bug and three deaths were later linked to the outbreak.

Bigger pertinent story
Upon investigating the Havelock North water poisoning I was alerted to an even bigger, and more pertinent story in the wider Hawke’s Bay area.

The regional council had been striving for years to get a controversial billion-dollar irrigation scheme off the ground, called the Ruataniwha Water Storage Scheme. But as I found, local and national opposition to the dam, especially after the Havelock North contamination outbreak, was becoming more vocal.

I quickly realised that this was a crucial part of the story. The growth of New Zealand’s highly profitable dairy industry has, to a large extent, been made possible by irrigation schemes which deliver the massive volumes of water needed to produce milk.

Every litre of milk produced requires about 1000 litres of water. The most irrigated region of New Zealand is Canterbury, on the east coast of the country’s South Island. It has seen significant economic growth on the back of dairy farming but, over the same period of time, has also seen a drastic decline in the quality of its waterways.

Opponents of the dam in Hawke’s Bay were worried that the same environmental degradation would take place in their region if it went ahead.

They were also concerned that the council, hell-bent on the scheme, were ignoring glaring flaws in the dam’s business case.

A regional election, coming only a month after the Havelock North debacle, was gearing up to become a referendum on the dam and it gave me the perfect vehicle to explore the arguments. At the time, the nine-member council was divided between five pro- and four anti-dam representatives.

All it would take to thwart the dam was for anti-dam councillors to win a single seat. And the winning of that seat would have national repercussions, because the Ruataniwha project was seen as the poster child for other planned irrigations schemes, most of them along New Zealand’s drought prone east coast.

Eager to understand their vastly opposing views I followed the election campaigns of two local politicians.

‘Can the Dam’ campaign
Alan Dick, a regional councillor, was one of the dam project’s originators. The other, Paul Bailey, is a former bank manager turned Green Party politician. He was running for office for the first time under the slogan “Can The Dam”.

On the surface, the arguments of the pro-dam lobby sounded very reasonable. I was told the dam would alleviate drought concerns, boost economic growth and improve the quality of rivers it fed into by flushing away pollution.

In tandem with constructing the dam, much stricter environmental regulations would come into play to keep contamination below an environmental limit which was set by the Environmental Protection Agency.

But as I investigated further I found what seemed to be serious flaws in their arguments. And indeed, upon examination, the commercial case for the dam didn’t seem to add up either.

As you’ll see, these are documented in the first film – and continue into the second episode in which I also look at allegations of high-level political interference in the project and other related issues.

Over the many months, I’ve spent investigating this story, anxiety and anger about freshwater pollution has grown to make it New Zealand’s top environmental concern – and now, reflecting many of the same arguments I’d encountered in Hawke’s Bay, it’s also become a key issue in the country’s current and ongoing general election campaign, which reaches a climax on September 23.

Barely a day goes by without the problem being reported in the media here and seemingly everyone has an opinion – whether they be environmentalists arguing for a better way of managing a vital natural resource or dairy farmers who are angry at what they see as grossly unfair criticism of their role in the crisis.

The fury of the latter – and they are a powerful lobby in New Zealand – was brought home to us several times on location when our attempts to film generic roadside shots of dairy cattle were interrupted by the animals’ suspicious owners.

My main hope is that some of the questions raised by these films will contribute to the debate around New Zealand’s freshwater problems – problems that all agree will have to be addressed by whichever party takes office after the election.

One thing is certain, urgent action on pollution cannot be delayed.

Editor’s note: Last week, on August 30, as these two Al Jazeera documentaries were being prepared for broadcast, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council announced it was withdrawing support for the Ruataniwha dam, leaving the project’s future in some doubt. Nevertheless, with the current New Zealand National Party-led coalition government and many in the powerful dairy industry continuing to be strong supporters of irrigation schemes, it may be too soon to write the scheme off entirely.

• How water pollution has become a major issue in New Zealand
• Reporter’s Notebook
  
• Polluted Paradise – People & Power investigates Part 1
• Polluted Paradise – People & Power investigates Part 2

While the world was busy celebrating Women’s Day on March 8, in Fiji many women from different communities were struggling for their basic needs.

“In my community, I want to see improved infrastructure including proper crossings and bus shelter,” says a woman from Lautoka, Alecy Amua, who is worried about children’s safety.

“I want young people to access the training and support they need,” says Amacy Antonio of Suva, who is concerned about the violence and bullying in the communities that encourages suicide.

The irony is that the voices of these women are unheard and this leads to major issues that women are facing in Fiji.

“Women in Fiji have been recently facing issues related to food security, market economy, health, infrastructural problems — which are long standing — and access to the water,” says Sian Rolls, programme associate media advocacy of the regional feminist media organisation FemLINKPACIFIC.

“Women from significant communities are apathetic to the issues because they haven’t had the opportunity to access to the leadership or communication training or to speak for their family, for the community or for themselves.

“They cannot find a way to reach out to the local government agency.”

Lengthy, tiresome communications
The process of informing the government about the problems is not only lengthy but also tiresome.

For people living in a settlement, they have to take their issues through the advisory council.

Information is then taken to the district level and finally feedback is sent back to the community.

For those living in a village, they need to work through the provincial council.

Both systems still prefer men for communicating about issues.

This means major gender discrimination and ultimately women are excluded from the decision-making process.

However, the Fiji government has shown improvements in some areas.

Women in Parliament
Fiji has the highest number of women in Parliament in the Pacific – 16 percent.

There are also four women in the Fiji cabinet.

But local areas are underprivileged and women from these communities need government attention.

In 2014, the national gender policy was adopted. But such information is not making its way down to the advisory council level or provincial council level — or even to the villages.

Lack of education about the policy at local level means officials need to be reminded to include women in development planning.

In fact, women are facing problems about articulating their issues and fighting against gender discrimination.

Community radio
To give a voice to Fiji women, femLINKPACIFIC launched its own community radio in 2004.

The purpose of the radio was to bridge the gap between young and older women. Young women are keen to learn new technology whereas older women have not been able to present their issues.

The radio is a platform where women can raise their voice together and solve community issues.

FemLINKPACIFIC’S Sian Rolls believes that the more women are invested in, the better off their community is. With the objective of making women self-sufficient, they are willing to create an environment for their voice to be heard.

While FemLINKPACIFIC’s work is not focused on disaster and relief, its Women’s Weather Watch network and campaigns have been reflecting weather patterns. Its advocates say this programme is the only women’s centre information and communication model being used in the Pacific.

“As a leader I want to see myself, first to be a reliable person and well educated. I must work out my time between my family commitments and socialisation,” says Luisa Yalobula.

She is the leader of Bulileka Women’s Group and thinks that tradition, education, sometimes husband, source of income and communications are the barriers for the leadership.

Rolls says: “It is not only about changing the stories, but it is about bringing their voices to the society. Because when a woman shares her story, experiences on a multimedia platform, it makes a lot of difference in people’s mind.”

After Cyclone Winston
Fiji women used to consider themselves secondary to their husband and children. Because of that they are compromising their own health to make sure that their children’s requirements are taken care of, say advocates.

This includes pure water and hygiene issues. Usually dignity packs do not come with the immediate relief supplies, which accelerates women’s hygiene issues.

In Vatani Kaba village, Tailevu, for example, women need to travel a lot to access basic healthcare. Women have to spend almost $200 to get to the nearest main medical centre.

They have to catch a bus to a jetty and then they have to catch a bus for a nearby town and if they have to go to the capital, Suva, then again catch another bus to reach to centre.

Also, women from this village are facing major issues related to pure water. They have one pool in the middle of the village and it is the only source for them to get pure water.

In 2014, the women got vaginal infections for not getting the pure water.

Now far worse
It took 8 months for their recovery but again a dry spell and Cyclone Winston have made things worse for this village.

FemLINKPACIFIC’s programme associate network coordonation Frances Tawake says: “Many families have moved to the mainland because of the poor access to water in Vatani. If this problem is not solved now, no one will be left at the village.”

The government has not taken this issue seriously even though women have been talking about it in their district meetings.

“We will continue to voice our issues about water until it gets fixed. We will not lose hope. Our grandmothers, our mothers have gone through this and now it’s our turn. This water problem should not continue,” says Merewairita Nasiri, 39, from Vatani Kaba, who is determined to solve this issue for her village.

Apart from this, many of the women have lost their homes and now they are facing problems in terms of their shelter.

“Internal displacement is becoming a major issue for the women. Women are forced to move to the urban centre which may lead to the possibility of sexual exploitation. We do have some sexual harassment cases from the evacuation centres.”

Menka Goundan, a research officer from the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement, gave some insights about the women’s condition after Winston cyclone.

“In some cases, because of the economic insecurity, women are forced to provide one meal a day to their families. Also, some of the families are less likely to send their girl child to school,” says Goundan.

Cyclone Winston first struck western Fiji early last month before double backing and devastating the country on February 20 with a death toll of 44. It has been more than a month now since for these women to try to rebuild normal lives again.

Ami Dhabuwala is a postgraduate student journalist at AUT University. She is reporting on the Asia-Pacific Journalism course.

Water Authority of Fiji says it was well prepared before tropical cyclone Winston devastated areas around the country – but damage to water systems around the country will run into millions of dollars.

WAF chief executive officer Opetaia Ravai said in a press conference yesterday that investment in the F$4 million of Gensets generators helped to keep water supply consistent around the country during and after TC Winston.

Since the warning came when Tropical Cyclone Winston was approaching Fiji, our team — and we have a team of disaster risk committee here at WAF — started to mobilise and prepare for what was termed at that time a very big cyclone.

we now know that it was one of the biggest to hit the southern hemisphere.

Ravai said a lot of Fiji’s systems nationwide were affected.

“There are 227 pumping stations around the country and all these pumping stations require electricity and as you would know there was a huge damage to the electricity infrastructure and in the previous cyclones if you recall whenever there would be a cyclone people would be without water.

“This cyclone we were better prepared, we invested a lot in standby generators to the tune of $4 million and this year we will continue with that investment and other generators in key establishments so that when power outages do occur we can still supply water to the people of Fiji.”

Ravai thanked the wisdom of the board and management of WAF in investing in the Gensets to stand by for disasters like Winston.

He said WAF would continue to invest in generators so that in any situation consistent water supply was made available.

“And you would have experienced that in most of the towns and cities. We were able to do this because we had installed Gensets, had it not been for these Gensets, which were very big … and very expensive …

“For example, in Suva over 300,000 people would have been without water and that power was almost off for the week so you can imagine the inconvenience that would have caused and the amount of water carting we would have been going 24 hours 7 days a week and it would have been inconvenient to people.”

Running on Gensets
Ravai said water systems in the west from Tavua to Ba and Rakiraki were running on Gensets at the moment due to the delay in power restoration in the area because of the amount of damage that were caused to the power lines in Kings Road and the surrounding areas.

“There are just certain areas in the high areas of Tacirua, the high areas of Caubati, Khalsa road, Colo-i-Suva which are being supplied through trucks because of the power fluctuations that are happening now and again, causing our systems to depressurise.

“Then we have to recover again and that is why the high elevated areas will get affected the most.

Ravai said WAF had isolated the area and was servicing them through water carting with  trucks.

About six water trucks were being used by WAF to cart water to the surrounding areas of South Taveuni.
“In the North, the biggest damage I think occurred in the south of Taveuni where the desalination plants were damaged by TC Winston and it was quiet sometime before we were able to get to the southern end of Taveuni because of the damage to the roads.

“But our people are now there on the ground and starting to repair the desalination plant of the south of Taveuni.

47 water trucks
Ravai said there were about 47 water trucks carting water nationwide to supplement water coming through pipes; Ravai said each truck costs the Water Authority $1000 a day to hire and so far had supplied 6.5 million litres of water.

A team was leaving for Vanua Balavu to assess the area this afternoon, Ravai said.

“The areas in the Lau Group in Vanua Balavu and Lakeba have recovered from what we’ve gathered so far but nevertheless our teams are going out there with the assistance of the Australian and New Zealand Navy to fully assess the system and start with some repairs.”

Ravai said WAF would be hiring more project workers next week to repair systems in the 233 villages in rural areas around the country that were on the path of TC Winston.

So far, WAF had restored water systems in 87 villages.