By Poto Williams

The Labour Party Pacific caucus has welcomed Jenny Salesa of Manukau East and Carmel Sepuloni of Kelston, successful MP’s in the recent General Election and reflects the high calibre pacific candidates that contested including those who were unsuccessful, Jerome Mika, Lemalu Herman Retzlaff and Anahila Kanongata’a-Suisuiki

Salesa and Sepuloni join Poto Williams (Chch East), Kris Faafoi (Mana) and the head of the caucus Su’a William Sio (Māngere) that provides not only a good representation across Pacific nations but coverage across the country as well.

While final counts are yet to be confirmed, the National party only have 2 Pacific MP’s, Peseta Sam Lotu Iiga and Alfred Ngaro, while Fia Turner waits to see if she is successful on the list.

Sepuloni returns to Parliament where she can renew her commitment to improving educational and health outcomes for marginalised and vulnerable groups. Salesa brings a strong sense of advocacy for a fair and just society as well as opportunities for all New Zealanders with a wealth of public sector experience and a strong background in community contribution.

The head of the Pacific caucus Sua William Sio is excited with the team and its prospects. “its historic and it’s a step in the right direction. Its a new beginning which is a step towards achieving our ultimate dreams and aspirations. Making sure we have good people at the very top”.

The members of the 51^st Parliament will be sworn in 20^th October 2014.

In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 85 year old Vilitama Hafeiki of Niue said life is but a moment.

“We’re only here on earth for a short time so I want to enjoy every moment of it,” the father of Niuean education told the writer before his 66^th wedding anniversary, June this year.

He added, “What I mean is to enjoy it by doing the right thing. Do good and love one another so the moments of goodness are passed onwards to future generations.”

Life is a necklace of ‘moments’. Woven and tied on strings of emotion, experience and belief, they tell the true story of us. An honest, personal telling untainted by physical, psychological, religious or social status.

Every single person, blessed with the same abilities and potential is a creator of moments. Each of them a precious letter to the story of humanity. For some, their life is made meaningful by paying their moments forward, sharing and hoping their good deed makes a difference in someone’s moment of need.

The majority create theirs in response to families and close friends. While a few, usually through circumstance not in their control or making, bring to life ‘moments’ so powerful their impacts touch people on a global scale.

At the centre of these ‘global moments’ is a common power source – the indomitable human spirit, a fearless belief that ignites the power in all of us to turn the ‘impossible to reality’.

One such ‘global moment’ was created by Richard Traum when he became the first amputee to complete the New York City Marathon (NYCM) in 1976. His feat led to the establishment of the Achilles Track Club in 1983, an organisation that helps people with disabilities take part in mainstream running events.

Today, Achilles and its programs have helped hundreds of thousands in the disabled community revive hopes and dreams, renew aspirations and strive anew.

But that is not all.

Disabled athletes’ amazing feats have equally served to inspire many in the able-bodied community.

Two Pacific island women following the path created by Dr Traum’s moment will take part in the ‘Hoka One One Taupo Half Marathon’ this weekend.

At first sight, they will look the same as any other brown skinned Pacific islander. But for Niva Retimanu and Felicia Manase, the Taupo event is part of an extraordinary journey that leads to the New York City Marathon in three months time.

Niva Retimanu, a Pacific frontier journalist and newsreader for NewstalkZB is the outspoken, talkative, vibrant one with the voluptuous personality. She’s the running partner and guide for Felicia Manase, the lithe, slim and sporty looking one, when they run the NYCM on 2 November.

Felicia, of Samoan and Tuvaluan heritage is the athlete. Because she has mild cerebral palsy, her participation at the New York event will be a historical moment. She will be the first disabled athlete from the Pacific Islands to run the NYCM. She will run as part of Achilles, New Zealand’s team where Niva is one of two Achilles’ Pacific ambassadors. The other is rugby league legend, Tawerau Nikau.

When Felicia’s New York moment arrives, it will be a dream come true for a young woman from Tuvalu where its total land area is a mere 26 square kilometers. A patch of land at its highest point peaks at 4.6 meters above sea level, a home to 9,800 people that is disappearing as a result of global warming.

All of that means that lining up in the world’s biggest marathon in America’s biggest city with a population of more than 18million people will be dizzying. An unimaginable moment considering it was only this year, on a whim, that Felicia started running because she felt like doing something different.

“In college, I was too afraid to play sports in case I was teased or bullied. It was a barrier I had,’’ said the 27 year-old.

It wasn’t until early this year when Felicia saw the Wellington Round the Bays race set to take place in February that she decided to run in it. It was a goal she decided to keep secret from her protective family.

But with three weeks left to race day, keeping the secret was going to be difficult so she finally told her family and work colleagues.

Race day arrived and Felicia walked into the unknown. Given the furthest she ran in training was 3km, it was not surprising to know that during the race she was worried she was not going to make it.

“At one point I wanted to give up because my body couldn’t take any more. But I knew I had to keep going,” she told media.

It was an emotional moment for Felicia when she knew that she was going to achieve her goal.

“Even before I saw the finish line, I started crying,” she recalled. “As soon as I crossed the finish line, I just dropped to the ground. It was so satisfying that I did it.’’

Her amazing feat became viral amongst her circles. And it wasn’t long before one of her colleagues at the Ministry of Education told her about Achilles International.

It was a moment she realized that she was in a space where she can reach up and touch that ‘something bigger than herself’. That if she can run the New York Marathon, she could inspire others to overcome similar barriers that she overcame when running the Wellington event. It is her way of paying it forward so that someone needing a moment of hope, has that assurance they are not alone.

“I want to be a role model for people with big dreams. If I can do this, I can do anything I put my mind to.’’

Niva Retimanu is an Achilles Ambassador. Her inspirational story is the result of a forward payment made by her NewstalkZB colleague Kerre Woodham-McIvor.

It started a few years ago when Niva admitted she was going down a really bad path. That something had to change or she was going to end up in pretty sad territory.

“I was eating the wrong food, no exercise, smoking, big party girl that kind of thing. And then I read Kerre’s book about running,” she told Pacific Guardians.

“At the time, Kerre was a big girl and I was in that kind of space where I said to myself, bigger people can’t run, especially us Samoans. I mean the guys are built for rugby so they need to be big, but us girls, man, we’re just not built for running.”

But having bought Kerre’s book, Niva decided there was no harm in reading.

“Funny thing was, as I read Kerre’s book, I got absorbed into her story. It was gripping stuff, I couldn’t help but be inspired and challenged by it all.”

It was transformational with Niva talking herself up, “if Kerre can run a marathon, and not just any marathon but the mother of all marathons, New York, then by heck I’m going to do it too.”

And true to her word Niva committed and trained hard. She was on target to run the 2012 event and her work colleagues and friends were right behind her.

“I was all set and looking forward to run the NYCM. This was me doing something for me.”

But as fate would have it, super storm Sandy blew into New York and for the first time since its 1970 beginning, the event was cancelled.

However, because she was already in New York, Niva decided to write some stories. It was during this time that Peter Loft, Head of the Achilles NZ, was keen to meet up with Niva. He had been taken with Niva’s personal story (through NewstalkZB) and wanted to ask if the colourful and vivacious Niva would be willing to be an Achilles ambassador.

As is one of her endearing straight-up characteristic, Niva’s reply to the introductions was, “Never heard of you guys. I always thought Achilles was my heel, anyways, what do you guys do?”

Achilles, Niva was told, was started by Dr Richard Traum who in 1976 became the first amputee to run and complete the New York marathon on a prosthetic leg.

His experience brought a powerful sense of achievement and self-esteem. A life-changing feeling Dr Traum desperately wanted to share with as many people with disabilities he can reach.

In 1983, the vision was achieved with the creation of the Achilles Track Club, now called Achilles International. An avenue for disabled people, like Felicia Manase, with the opportunity to do something bigger than themselves.

But while its many programs focus on athletics, the truth according to Achilles international is that “sports are simply the tool for accomplishing our main objective: to bring hope, inspiration and the joys of achievement to people with disabilities.”

But the life changing experience is not confined to people with disabilities. For Niva, having shared time amongst a host and variety of people with disabilities from all over the world, she feels it is she that has gained much more from the experience.

“Being amongst such amazing people with so much positiveness was the highlight for me because they are the reality. As a journalist and newsreader, you go to different places, cover different stories, and you look at ways to personalize it. So being with them is reality personalized.”

She paused as she connected with a personal moment in 2012. It was June, and she was in her home country Samoa to report on its 50th anniversary of sovereign independence.

“I was there and doing all the reports when all of a sudden I saw the flag being raised. In that sliver of time, I grasped a moment. I said to myself, OMG, for the first time my identity as a Samoan was tangible in my hands. As I looked at the flag being raised, I remembered my parents.

“And I clearly saw the reason why they, and so many of our Samoan parents and ancestors came to New Zealand. A moment of realization that the independence, opportunities and life that I, as a child of their generation, are made real because of their vision and willing sacrifice so that I have a better life.”

It is personal moments such as these that Niva truly connected with Achilles and its cause.

“My Achilles journey has really taught me a lot. That when you go through all the different processes in your life-when you’re in your 20s, 30s, 40s, you end up finding out what is really important in life. And for me, it’s family.

“I no longer complain about things because I don’t have the right. When you think life is really tough – well it’s not. Those are the feelings that Achilles has revealed for me, and one of the things that I want to ‘pay forward’.”

And ‘paying it forward’ she has. Last year, she completed her maiden Achilles ambassadorship when guiding stroke victim Maryanne Hooson for 7 and a half hours across New York’s five boroughs.

Niva told their journey personally to Pacific Guardians.

“Maryanne suffered a stroke eight years ago. But before that, she was an ultra-marathon runner having completed 40 marathons before a freak accident on a waka caused her stroke.”

Maryanne’s stroke was serious. For three years, she had to re-learn how to walk, talk and reconnect many of her other bodily functions.

“Through that harrowing experience, she had one dream above all else that drove her. And that was to run a marathon one last time. Her dream was given an opportunity through Achilles, and Niva was selected as her guide.”

However, in the lead up to the event, Niva raised some concerns.

“She was faster than me,” she laughed at the telling. “That was my biggest worry. I told Peter [Loft] he had to match me with someone slower than me. Running was my disability, I reminded him.”

Jest aside, the role of Ambassador and guide is a serious one.

Prior to the start of the 2013 event, Peter Loft reminded everyone about their role and the expectations on their participation.

“Before we started, the chairman got us together and spoke to all the guys and disabled athletes. Failure he said is not an option. ‘We have body bags, and we will take you home in body bags if we have to’,” recalled Niva.

“He said there’s only two reasons why we won’t be able to finish the race. ‘You’re either dead, or you’re in a hospital. Otherwise you finish’.”

Niva told Pacific Guardians, “I thought to myself OMG, is this for real.” She put up her hand and asked Peter, “are you talking to the disabled athletes only?”

“No I’m talking to you Niva,” came the serious reply.

For nearly eight hours and 42 kilometers, Niva and Maryanne mingled and ran with 50,302 other runners. It was night-time, it was the middle of winter, it was wet and 2-degrees celsius when they crossed the finish line together.

“Maryanne was in so much pain but that was forgotten in the euphoria that she was living her dream. It was to be Maryanne’s last run before a total hip replacement back in New Zealand. She will never be able run a marathon ever again.”

Added Niva, “She’s just learning to walk all over again.”

But what a 7plus-hour moment it was for Maryanne. One of the poignant highlights of their  journey came from some of the two million spectators who lined the course, “it is they who personalize NYCM,” said Niva.

It is they who played a huge part in getting Niva and Maryanne to the finish line.

“At the 30 kilometer mark, we were on the verge of pulling out. And that’s when the spectators who were dancing, clapping and partying sensed what was about to happen – came to our rescue.”

Every runner in the NYCM has their name printed on their t-shirt. It is significant because it personalizes the event for runners and spectators alike said Niva.

“I was on my last reserves and about to cave in when all of sudden I heard people calling out, ‘C’mon Niva, you can do it.’

“Others were shouting out some tough love, ‘you didn’t come here to walk, you came here to run. So c’mon Niva, get up there and start running’.”

What makes the NYCM so unique, observed Niva, is people stay out in support of runners way past the time winners crossed the finish line.

“Achilles is really well known in New York, so Achilles runners are easily recognized. So even at that late hour of the night and pretty rotten weather, you still have these Americans with one kilometer to go urging you on, ‘one more kilometer to go, you’re nearly there, you’re a star’ they call out. And you think, ‘we’ve been running for 7-hours and these people are still out here supporting us - wow’.

“It is that kind of support and genuineness that makes the NYCM unique and why it’s so popular. I mean, if you look at it another way, it’s the best way for anyone to see New York city,” she quipped.

But finish they did and a fitting finale to Maryanne’s running life. One that Niva felt she came away as the more blessed of the two.

In Taupo this weekend, Niva’s attention is firmly focused on Felicia. She knows that in New York, their journey will be longer than Maryanne’s. Niva estimates it will take them between 8 and 10 hours.

Just seven months ago, Felicia would never have believed it if someone said that one day she would be running a marathon. Let alone raise $3,000 to run the world’s most popular and iconic marathon.

But thanks to her audacious spirit and the Wellington Lions ($1,700), Cerebral Palsy Society of NZ ($1,000) and her ‘Give a Little’ page ($500), that running in the 2014 NYCM is now a reality.

In three months time, Felicia will create a rare historic moment when she becomes the first disabled athlete from the Pacific islands to take part in the New York City Marathon. A feat the Pacific island missions at the United Nations, headquartered in New York, should also take special pride in.

Her commitment and sacrifice are significant. She is running a path cleared by Dr Traum, an opportunity that has brought inspiration to so many people.

If there are any lingering doubts Felicia may have, then the story of Terry Fox will remove all and focus her on the significance and importance of the feat she is about to undertake.

Terry Fox was a young Canadian cancer patient back in the 1970s. While undergoing treatment in hospital, he was so overcome by the suffering of other cancer patients, many of them young children that he wanted to do something about it. It so happens that he came across Richard Traum’s New York marathon story. It was the inspiration that drove Terry to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research.

He started running on 12 April 1980. He ran until he died having covered 5,343kilometres in 143 days.

Ms Donna Bell of Newfoundland, Canada was there that 12^th day of April. She vividly remembered the moment Terry took the first step of his journey called, ‘The Marathon of Hope’.

“It was a cool, overcast day in St. John’s, Newfoundland,” she wrote on Terry’s Facebook in 2010. She remembered the small crowd and little fanfare at St John’s that day. No sign that Terry’s endeavor would grow to such prominence and later to become the ‘journey Canadians never forgot’.

She recorded a conversation she had with Terry on the 11 April, the eve of the Marathon of Hope.

“It struck me that April 11, that both of us felt this impossibly daunting task of a one-legged man running across Canada seemed quite possible, probable and achievable, in fact,” she wrote.

“This many years later, I find myself wondering was that because at age 20 I felt all 20-somethings were invincible or was it because Terry exuded so much confidence? – probably a combination of both. He definitely demonstrated a fierce determination that evening, which pretty soon the entire country came to witness.”

Terry, one human being whose ‘moment’, by paying it forward, to date, has raised over $650million for cancer research.

Felicia Manase with Niva Retimanu are following the path trailblazed by Richard Traum and Terry Fox. The three disabled athletes differ in many aspects but share two common threads.

First is the need to pay their good deeds forward. And secondly, as described by Ms Donna Ball, “a fierce determination that … pretty soon the entire country came to witness.”

Pieces of advice that Hafeiki Vilitama says are sparks of inspiration that can change the world when it’s their time for expression without boundaries.

 

Ulu o Tokelau, Aliki Faipule Kuresa Nasau met with Australia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon Julie Bishop in Canberra today. He conveyed Tokelau’s appreciation for the continuing support by the Government of Australia through bilateral and regional programmes.

“Tokelau has continued to receive significant aid from Australia to support education, health, water programs and the Tokelau Trust Fund” said Nasau.

The Hon Bishop reiterated that Australia is working in partnership with the Pacific to alleviate poverty, increase the quality of life, and achieve sustainable economic development. Developing young people and gender issues also featured in the Canberra conversation between the Ulu and Minister.

Mr Nasau had met with the Australian Parliamentary Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Senator Brett Mason, earlier in the day.

“The Senator was most interested in Tokelau’s renewable energy project and fisheries” said Nasau. Tokelau currently has almost 100% of its electricity supplied through solar energy.

Mr Nasau’s next itinerary stop will be in New York, to present “The Question of Tokelau” before the UN Special Committee on Decolonization. He is accompanied by the Administrator of Tokelau, Jonathan Kings and Tokelau Official, Joe Suveinakama. Mr Nasau will return to Tokelau at the end of June, to chair the first-ever regional Fisheries Ministerial Meeting in Tokelau: this meeting aims to produce actioned-oriented outcomes for progressing the management of fisheries in the Pacific region.

Source: Tokelau Affairs

Construction started today on the $30 million NZ government aided solar power projects in the Cook Islands and Tuvalu.

Much of the Pacific is reliant on burning imported diesel for power, which is not only expensive but can also destroy the environment.

NZ’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr Murray McCully says the construction will result in 95 per cent of the electricity in the Cook Islands and Tuvalu supplied by solar energy.

“In the Cook Islands, New Zealand is supporting the construction of eight solar generation systems for the six outer islands of Rakahanga, Pukapuka, Nassau, Penrhyn, Manihiki and Palmerston. The total value of this investment is $20.5 million,” says Mr McCully.

“In Tuvalu we will develop four mini-grid solar/hybrid systems on the Islands of Niutao, Nanumanga, Nanumea and Vaitupu, at a total cost of $13.9 million.”

Tauranga-based company PowerSmart is the contractor. The company recently completed a similar project in Tokelau that now powers 100 per cent of its electricity needs.

“PowerSmart has a strong track record of working with New Zealand and Pacific Governments on renewable energy projects. PowerSmart delivered the recently completed Tokelau Renewable Energy Project which saw a win for Tokelau at the 2014 EECA Renewable Energy Awards,” says Mr McCully.

The Tokelau project sees the island save nearly $900,000 in diesel costs every year and reduces its CO2 emissions by over 1300 tonnes.

“These are exactly the sort of results we want to replicate across the Pacific through our support for renewable energy initiatives,” Mr McCully says.

 

Education ministers from six Pacific countries and the New Zealand territory of Tokelau will attend this week’s international Education Summit in Wellington.

The ministers will be guests, observing the OECD’s 4^th International Summit on the Teaching Profession (Summit) focused on building and supporting teaching excellence. While their delegations will take part in the  event set to take place on 28-29 March in Wellington.

Education Minister Hekia Parata has labelled the summit “the ‘world cup’ of education” by bringing in Ministers of Education, heads of teacher unions and teacher leaders from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) highest achieving countries from the top performing education systems around the world.

Ms Parata said, “I am delighted that this year we will welcome observer delegations from some of our Pacific neighbours, including the Cook Islands, Niue, Tonga, Samoa, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. This is a first for the Summit, and draws on New Zealand’s unique Pacific identity.”

Minister-led Pacific delegations confirmed:

Cook Islands: Hon Teina Bishop

Niue: Hon Pokotoa Ikiua Lalotoa Sipeli

Tokelau: Hon Saili Peau

Tonga: Hon Dr ‘Ana Taufe’ulungaki

Samoa: Afioga Hon Magele Mauiliu Magele

Solomon Islands: Hon Reuben Ha’amori

Vanuatu: Hon Bob Loughman

The Summit is hosted jointly by the Education Minister of the host country, the OECD and Education International. It was initiated by United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in 2011, and is focused on strengthening the teaching profession and raising student achievement.

This year, the Summit theme is “Excellence, equity and inclusiveness – high quality teaching for all”.

“Earlier this year, I announced that NCEA Level 2 achievement amongst Pasifika students who left school has risen to 71.8 per cent in 2013 – that’s an increase of 7 per cent since 2012, and 16.5 per cent since 2008. We must continue to try new things to help all students succeed.

“The Summit will be an opportunity to not only strengthen our regional education links with our Pacific ministers, but will also allow us to look at how we can continue to  raise Pasifika student achievement whether here in New Zealand or in neighbouring Pacific nations.

“While in New Zealand, I also hope the Pacific Ministers will take the opportunity to enjoy the Festival of Education being held Wellington – the final of three Festivals coinciding with the Summit.

“This is where our local schools are celebrating excellence in education and can showcase their innovations, collaborations and achievements. The Festivals held last weekend in Auckland and Christchurch were a huge success. It will be great for visiting ministers to experience the exciting things happening in the New Zealand education system,” Ms Parata says.

INFORMATION

The Minister announced earlier this month the following delegations attending the Summit from the OECD’s 25 highest-performing school systems:

• Canada: Hon Jeff Johnson
• China, Hong Kong: Hon Eddie Ng Hak-kim
• Denmark: Hon Christine Antorini
• Estonia: Dr Jaak Aaviksoo
• Finland: Minister Krista Kiuru
• Germany: Hon Stephan Dorgerloh
• Japan: Vice Minister Shinichi Yamanaka
• Netherlands: Minister Jet Bussmaker
• Poland: Undersecretary of State Ewa Dudek
• Sweden: State Secretary Bertil Östberg
• UK: Cabinet Secretary Michael Russell
• USA: Secretary Arne Duncan
  

The fate of Pacific languages Vagahau Niue, Cook Island Maori, and Tokelauan in Aotearoa will be known on 18 March 2014.

That’s the “due date” for government’s response to the ‘Inquiry into Pacific Languages in Early Childhood Education’ report tabled in November 2013.

The National government is expected to maintain its position that survival will be up to Pacific communities themselves. That it will not intervene to help.

This was confirmed by Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga to media last year.

“Government isn’t there to preserve languages. It’s really the people that preserve languages – the Pacific people, whether it’s in our homes, in our churches. That’s what keeps languages alive,” Peseta told media.

“Government policy or government funding doesn’t preserve languages, people do.”

A month later in January 2014, Peseta was appointed Minister for Pacific Islands Affairs.

Campaigners to save Pacific languages have called government’s stance a “death sentence” for Vagahau Niue, Cook Islands Maori and Tokelauan.

Auckland University researcher John McCaffery was part of the 2011 Bilingual Leo Coalition-led petition. The more than 6,000 signature petition called for government to fully fund bilingual education and Pacific languages.

An intervention they say will keep Pacific languages alive and raise education results for Pacific learners.

The Inquiry was crucial to those Pacific aspirations according to Mr McCaffery.

“It was the last roll of the dice for Cook Island Maori, Tokelau and Vagahau Niue, and without urgent intervention those languages will cease in this generation.”

So when the report was tabled with its recommendations distancing government from involvement.

Mr McCaffery added, “The research evidence on that is very clear. So it is a death sentence, in essence.”

The Green Party’s Education spokesperson Ms Catherine Delahunty was part of the Science and Education Parliamentary Committee that headed the Inquiry.

Yesterday she told Pacific Guardians the inquiry did not answer questions the petition raised.

“From the Green Party’s point of view, we didn’t really get strategies for addressing the concerns behind that petition.

“Instead we got recommendations that were weak and it put the responsibility of saving Pacific languages back to Pacific communities.”

She was disappointed that despite evidence presented confirming children do best in their heritage/mother tongue for the first initial years. And having strong language links to their culture or identity is critical to their success as citizens.

“This government has taken the position that Pasifika education is not as important to them. That they will take no responsibility for fostering their languages despite education evidence that it is critical to Pacific kids learning.”

Ms Delahunty said it is disturbing to see the government focus is to “assimilate Pacific learners as quickly as possible into a monolingual, monocultural pakeha school system by putting together education polices that strip away their culture, their identity, and indeed their advantage for education success.”

NZ First MP Le’au Asenati Lole-Taylor does not agree if Pacific languages are pushing claims to be considered official languages of New Zealand. However, she does support government intervention if it is to help grow the viability of Pacific languages as part of Aotearoa’s diverse multi-cultural society.

“New Zealand has three official languages and that’s how it should be. If any other language seeks that official recognition then I don’t think that is right. However, in a multicultural society like ours there should be options for people to learn other languages. That leads to better understanding of each other’s cultures and values which if taken together actually makes us a really powerful society and nation.”

And that can extend to international relations and trade she added.

“I mean how well did Kevin Rudd improve Australia’s relations with China when he delivered that speech in China in Mandarin?”

An example of that diversity is Westlake Boys and Girls High winning the 2013 ‘Big Sing’ national competition. It was an all non-Samoan group of students performing and singing to the Samoan song ‘Mauga e o le Afiafi’.

Asian and European students not only learned Samoan words, songs and actions, their endeavor was a national winner.

Something that will be missed if the drive to a palagi dominated school system under National continues.

But Ms Delahunty admitted that current government recognize bilingual pre-schools are important.

“Unfortunately, it’s only token recognition because they refuse to intervene and support the language centres,” she said.

“This government is toeing the line that it’s up to Pacific aiga, fanau and communities to save their language. Government officials turn up and say nice things. They encourage it along but have made it very clear they are not going to invest in it.

“And that’s a concern because it’s a refusal to acknowledge how very difficult it is for Pacific community groups to set up bilingual schools without help.”

But why should government intervene when it’s not bound by any legal obligations to promote Pasifika languages? It has no additional obligations regarding the languages of the countries in the New Zealand realm (Tokelau, Niue, and the Cook Islands), and no legal obligation to promote the provision of Pasifika-language education.

Ms Delahunty said the Green’s perspective as to why the State should be involved was perfectly captured in a verbal submission by one Pacific parent to the Inquiry.

“Please help us because our kids are the next generation and they are looking outward,” said the parent. “We feel that we can’t speak our language to them and there’s nothing at school that supports that – this is an important thing to do.”

Said Ms Delahunty, “What that parent said strikes at the heart of what the State’s responsibility is to its public.”

There is also another reason according to an elderly Samoan man from Naenae.

“The government is not involving itself from a legal stand point. But what about its moral obligation?

“What about its historical links and deep relations with the Pacific, doesn’t that count for something?,” he asked.

“A lot of New Zealand’s wealth was built on the backs of our people who came here as labourers. We don’t mind that because we love work, but doesn’t our contribution to building up this country come with some love to help us keep our language and identity which, like it or not, is part of New Zealand now.

“Our children are New Zealanders too and they are now part of New Zealand’s heritage.”

 

Related articles

• Our Pacific community: Charting Pasifika’s progress in NZ
• Pasifika languages in education
• Pasifika kids ‘lose language’ at school
• Report seen as death sentence for some Pacific languages

By Pacific Guardians

14/01/2014 – Labour’s Economic Development spokesperson Shane Jones has ridiculed the John Key  Government’s ‘new’ procurement policy. He made the comment when a Bangladeshi company was given the go-ahead to build Tokelau‘s new ferry.

“The Government was forced to cynically introduce new procurement regulations last October after the struggle local companies are having was highlighted by the Oppositions’ manufacturing inquiry,” said Jones in a statement.

“However, this contract shows Steven Joyce’s changes were merely lip service. This hands-off Government is not committed to Kiwi companies.”

He called it “bizarre” that New Zealand’s boat building industry was good enough for Oracle Team USA but is not good enough for the Pacific Islands.

“Boat builders only need to look at Dunedin’s gutted Hillside workshop if they want to see the future the Government has planned for their industry,” he added.

“Has the Government learnt nothing from KiwiRail who spent $70 million on Chinese-built locomotives only to find they were plagued with problems?

“It’s short-sightedness penny-pinching has robbed local companies and local communities of jobs and opportunities.

“The tax and other downstream benefits of this type of contract would undoubtedly make up for the extra cost in building the ferry in New Zealand.

“New Zealand workers shouldn’t be second only to cheap labour in Bangladesh where the average monthly wage is $NZ697,” Shane Jones says.

Related articles

• Bangladesh ferry purchase disregards benefits of NZ made
• Ferry deal angers Kiwi boat builders
• Kiwi boatbuilders left out by Govt
• NZ Govt to buy ferry from Bangladesh
• Steven Joyce: NZ must keep moving forward to become ‘Pacific Tiger’

Originally published on Rocky Mountain Institute by Laurie Guevara-Stone.

Some of the most vulnerable places in the world to live in the face of climate change are islands. Rising sea levels, contaminated ground water, and increasing severity of storms are just some of the many threats to island communities. Many island residents also pay extremely high energy prices, due to limited domestic resources and the need to import fuel long distances. Switching to renewable energy can not only decrease fuel expenditures for many island populations, but can also show the world what can be done in the face of climate change.

POWERED BY THE SUN

Tokelau (population: 1,500) is an island nation in the South Pacific, made up of three atolls whose highest point is only five meters above sea level. Even though the New Zealand protectorate’s contribution to climate change is miniscule, it faces grave threats to its very existence. In 2011, at the Durban Climate conference, Foua Toloa, the head of Tokelau, said the island would be using 100 percent renewable energy by 2012. By October of that year residents accomplished their goal, becoming the first country in the world to produce 100 percent of its electricity from the sun.

Prior to 2012, Tokelau’s residents relied on three diesel-driven power stations, burning 200 liters per day at a cost of nearly $800,000 per year. Tokelauans only had electricity 15 to 18 hours per day. They now have three solar photovoltaic systems, one on each atoll. The 4,032 solar panels (with a capacity of around one megawatt), 392 inverters, and 1,344 batteries provide 150 percent of their current electricity demand, allowing the Tokelauans to eventually expand their electricity use. In overcast weather, the generators run on local coconut oil, providing power while recharging the battery bank. The only fossil fuels used in Tokelau now are for the island nation’s three cars.

New Zealand advanced $7 million to Tokelau to install the PV systems. But with the amount of money saved on fuel imports the system will pay for itself in a relatively short time period (nine years with simple payback). The successful project even inspired a video game, Coconut Sunshine, in which the player is in charge of the nation’s finance and energy policies. The goal is to build more solar and coconut oil plants to earn money from selling excess energy in order to pay off the debt before the year is out.

SENDING A MESSAGE TO THE WORLD

While one of the main impetuses for the switch to renewables was economic—to avoid huge fuel expenses—it wasn’t the only impetus. Living with the impacts of climate change—droughts, hurricanes, and contamination of ground water—was a factor as well. In 2011 Tokelau had to import water, a first in the island’s history. Tokelauans now take workshops in rainwater collection, owing to the scarce availability of freshwater due to rising sea levels.

While the island’s renewable energy systems will only keep 950 tonnes of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere each year, a drop in the bucket as to what is needed to combat climate change, Tokelauans are hoping the rest of the world will follow their example. “We stand to lose the most of any country in the world due to climate change and the rising sea levels,” Toloa stated at the Durban Climate Conference, “so leading the way by making the highest per person investment in the world is a message to the world to do something.”

Islands around the world are turning to renewables to meet their energy needs. Other 100-percent-renewable-powered islands include Floreana in the Galapagos (population: 100) and El Hierro in the Canary Islands (population: 10,000+). Other islands with 100-percent-renewable-energy goals include:Cape Verde, Tuvalu, Gotland (Sweden), and all 15 of the Cook Islands. In the U.S., Hawaii is leading the way, ranking second in the nation for installed solar watts per person, with more than 1,000 megawatts of renewable projects in service, under construction, or awaiting approval.

PAVING THE WAY FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD

Many disbelievers argue that high penetrations of renewable energy aren’t practical for larger grids, and would jeopardize the reliability of our electricity system. One by one, island nations are proving the opposite is true. Generating electricity from an increasingly diverse array of sources makes their systems more reliable, not less so. While these systems require the islands to pay an upfront premium for assets like sophisticated controls and energy storage, these devices quickly pay for themselves given the high costs islands face to import diesel. This dynamic makes these hybrid microgrids practical for islands today, while the declining costs of these technologies will quickly make these technologies cost competitive on the mainland as well.

By switching to renewable energy, island nations reduce their reliance on imported fuels, keep money in the local economy, provide their residents with reliable power, and lower their carbon emissions. They can also serve as “test beds” for adoption of new technologies and models of what can happen on a larger scale. “It’s a lot easier to implement a high penetration of renewables on a small island,” according to Peter Lilienthal, founder and CEO of HOMER Energy, a company providing software and services to the international renewable distributed energy market. “But it’s absolutely scalable. You learn how to do things on a small scale first. Doing solar and wind at high penetration levels, there’s a lot of learning that needs to happen.” And island nations are helping us learn what needs to be done.

Related articles

 

• 3 Islands Lead the Way By Going 100% Renewable Energy
• Tokelau: From Fossil Fuel to Solar