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.

Sonny Bill Williams will be in Samoa next week to attract more Samoans to the game of rugby league.

His visit is part of the National Rugby League (NRL) push to expand into more Pacific islands.

The head for the NRL, Mr Dave Smith, said the Pacific Islands – Samoa, Fiji, Tonga and Papua New Guinea – would play a crucial part in the game’s future. Already, about 37 per cent of NRL players come from the Pacific Islands he added.

A statistic that has now formalized into action when the NRL launched the Pacific Strategy yesterday. A concept Sonny Bill tweeted as “Great and xxciting times for the NRL.”

Aimed at strengthening rugby league by building stronger business and community ties in the Pacific Islands it hopes to activate support by developing closer ties with government and business connections throughout the Pacific said Mr Smith.

Next week is the first part of the strategy with Mr Smith, Sonny Bill Williams and Kangaroos coach Tim Sheens heading to Samoa to promote the message. They will be meeting with government and business officials as well as conducting football clinics and education programs for children.

Later in the year, superstar fullback, Jarryd Hayne and other NRL stars have been earmarked to visit Fiji to promote the strategy.

Mr Smith said the Pacific Nations had the potential to become powerhouses of the game.

“The interest in our game in Samoa is incredible, especially now that they have qualified for the Four Nations tournament at the end of the year,” he said.

“And, with the next World Cup in 2017, there is no reason one of the Pacific nations cannot make the finals of our biggest international event.

“We saw Mal Meninga coaching the Papua New Guinea Kumuls for the last World Cup and we have seen the PNG Hunters perform incredibly well in the Queensland Cup.

“So the game is on the rise in the Pacific and the timing is perfect to build our relationships on and off the field.”

Mr Smith said the Pacific Strategy would focus on:

• Game development
• Player welfare
• Commercial and corporate opportunities
• Supporting education, social and community outcomes
• Strengthening the Rugby League bodies in each nation to build the international game

Mr Smith said one of the great aspects of the program was that it enabled NRL stars like Sonny Bill Williams and Jarryd Hayne to give something back to their homelands.

The players will combine skills clinics with educational programs aimed at teaching children how to eat well and lead healthy lifestyles.

Tim Sheens, who has coached some of Australia’s finest players will also conduct coaching clinics and classes for children.

Mr Smith said the NRL already had 12 staff in Papua New Guinea who would teach life skills to about 50,000 students in 80 schools over the next three years.

“We are looking to engage up to 10,000 students in Samoa and Fiji through the NRL’s literacy and anti-bullying programs which will replicate our current “League for Life” Program in PNG.

“At the same time we want to help young people in Fiji, PNG, Samoa and Tonga develop their rugby league careers by expanding the pathways already in place which enable them to play in local competitions and, ultimately, their national teams.”

Sonny Bill said he was looking forward to working with the Samoan children and communities to help improve their

“I don’t think there is anything better than knowing you helped change someone’s life for the better,” he said.

“So if we can educate Samoan school children about nutrition and healthy lifestyles – and throw in some football skills as well – it will be a great outcome.”

Jarryd Hayne said playing for Fiji in the World Cup was one of the most memorable experiences of his life.

“I love the idea of giving something back to the people of Fiji and the beauty of this program is that it is all inclusive – it reaches out to boys and girls and covers everything from literacy and maths skills to sporting and social skills.

“It also encourages teamwork and we all know how important that is on and off the field.”

A P-3K2 Orion aircraft from the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s (RNZAF) Airborne Surveillance and Response Force (No 5 Squadron at Base Auckland in Whenuapai) took part in an international maritime surveillance operation hosted by the Cook Islands Maritime Police that concluded this week.

The P-3K2 was based in Tonga and Samoa and provided support to patrol boats from these two countries as well as one from the Cook Islands, patrolling the Tongan and Cook Islands’ Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs).

The operation was planned and co-ordinated by staff from the participating countries and provided a focus for those nations to work together to combat illegal fishing and other crimes at sea.

It also provided an opportunity to exercise the principles of the Niue Treaty, which enables member nations to enforce fisheries legislation, protect natural resources and combat all forms of maritime crime in each other’s EEZs.

New Zealand is a key maritime surveillance partner for Pacific Islands countries, supporting their maritime surveillance activities to help protect the fisheries, which are a key economic resource for the region.

The RNZAF’s Air Component Commander, Air Commodore Kevin McEvoy, who is responsible for all Air Force operations, said that the New Zealand aircraft play an important role in helping Pacific Island countries combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

“These operations help strengthen our bi-lateral and military relationships with our key South-West Pacific partners as we meet our obligations in the region and demonstrate New Zealand’s commitment to international fisheries management conventions,” he said.

The aircraft captain, Squadron Leader Marcus Hogan, said that it had been a rewarding and productive operation.

“The upgraded P-3K2 Orion is perfect for this work. We get the satisfaction of carrying out a valuable and important task in support of our neighbouring nations. At the same time we are up-skilling many of our people and working alongside other maritime enforcement agencies.  It’s been a great operation to be on,” he said.

By Tupuola Terry Tavita, Editor, Savali

-The New Zealand-Pacific Islands seasonal worker scheme (RSE) will increase its intake by a thousand more workers to 9000 this year. The announcement was made in Wellington this afternoon by Immigration Minister Hon. Michael Woodhouse during the 8th annual RSE conference.

According to Minister Woodhouse, though there is a preference to recruit unemployed New Zealanders to its fledgling horticulture and viticulture industry, the continued profitability of the industry has become reliant on RSE Pacific Island workers.

“The industry is not only expanding but diversifying to other fruits and products, so the need for Pacific Island workers under the RSE scheme to meet harvest demands and market deadlines simply cannot be overlooked,” he said.

Samoa Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said the scheme – now in its 8th year – has been both a boon for New Zealand employers and Pacific Island economies. “The RSE work policy has been a win-win situation not just for employers being provided with a ready access to a reliable and stable seasonal workforce resulting in significant productivity gains and improvements to harvest quality but also for the worker in gaining the important work, ethical and commercial skills.

“Along with the money they will bring home with them, it will greatly improve the quality of life and standard of living in their communities back in the islands.”

The PM Tuilaepa said that government and local RSE office will continue to push to recruit more Samoan workers under the scheme and to set up commercial programmes at home to take advantage of the skills and experience returning workers bring with them.

“Presently, Samoa’s focus is not only about strengthening the uptake of workers to enable more of our able men and women to gain seasonal employment, but also to leverage the benefits of RSE policy by working across government and the business community on business enterprise ventures for returning workers.”

On the event that some of the workers will acquire permanent residence in New Zealand under the quota scheme, Prime Minister Tuilaepa said his government is not at all concerned.

“It’s a fact of life that you continue to lose your talented individuals to other countries. New Zealand loses its skilled workers to Australia and Australia too to other parts of the developed world every year. Pacific Island countries like Samoa are no different.

“In our case, even if our skilled people move overseas and work there, they still send home millions in remittances that contribute enormously to the development of their families and the national economy.”

One statistic, the Prime Minister said he was happy about, is the significant reduction of incidents involving Samoa workers this year.

“Good behavior and abstaining from alcohol is a key issue I have been hammering into our workers from day one. In order for the programme to succeed and employ more of our people, they have to work hard, behave themselves on the farms and stay out of trouble.”

At the conclusion of his address, the Prime Minister invited the RSE participants to hold their 9th conference in Apia next year.

“As employers, you need to know where your workers are from, but most importantly, where and what the money that you are paying them is being used for.

“There is a little rugby match in Apia around July next year involving the famous All Blacks and a little-known team called Manu Samoa, hopefully played at midday under the burning tropical sun. It would be good to schedule your meeting in Apia around that time. It will certainly be a lot warmer than cold and blustery Wellington.”

Facts about the RSE scheme:
•       Since its inception in 2007, approximately 7000 Samoan workers have been recruited under the scheme. It accounts for up to eight percent of formal employment every year,
•       Up to July, 1153 Samoan workers have been recruited this year,
•       The RSE scheme is estimated to contribute $20 million tala to the local economy every year

Labour’s Pacific immigration policy announced in the weekend is “too timid, too little, too late” according to the Mana Party’s Vice President, James Papali’i. He said it continues New Zealand’s “racist immigration policy” against Samoans and Tongans.

“Why does New Zealand persist with a racist immigration policy where we see people from Tonga and Samoa face tough and tight quotas while Australians can hop on a plane, arrive in New Zealand, get employment and stay as long as they like?,” says Papali’i who is Samoan.

“Pacific people have contributed far more to the growth and prosperity of this country than Australians. Australians didn’t build the industrial base of Auckland it was built by New Zealander’s, with a major contribution from the Pacific Labour community over the last 50 years.

“My Dad and his two brothers came here in the mid fifties and worked in factories all their lives. They built churches, raised families and Labour has taken their votes for granted for too long.”

He called Labour’s plans to speed up family reunification for Pasifika people as ‘timid’.

Says Papali’i, “I have seen these plans and I believe that these are too timid. After waiting on the sidelines for so long Pacifika people want to see bold immigration policies.

“Speeding up family reunification is all very well but it’s too little, too late.”

Pacific people now have a real choice this election. MANA has three great Pasifika candidates who will be calling on Pacific people to give their party vote to Internet MANA this election.

 

Click to view slideshow.

New Zealand has a major workforce problem, it is short of skilled tradespeople. For the Canterbury rebuild alone, it needs 35,000 workers.

In July 2013, Immigration minister Mr Woodhouse estimated “there are only 18,000 currently in the country”.

The Allied Workers Federation (AWF) on their website state: “to have any chance of delivering the necessary skills and servicing the country’s needs in the next 10 years there must be a much greater focus on increasing this pool of skilled Tradespeople.”

A readymade population pool of Pacific and Maori remained untapped until the National government stepped into this space in 2012 and set-up a pilot Pasefika and Maori Trades Training Initiative targeting each group separately.

Its approach to Pacific was different as it identified and reached out to Pacific churches as a key partner to success.

A year later, in its 2013 budget, government committed to the scheme and increased its funding investment to $43million over four years. The funding provides a fees-free place to participants and $4,000 per learner for the fees subsidy and additional pastoral care.

In this new phase, the two groups were brought under one umbrella, the Maori and Pasifika Trades Training Initiative, with the new national goal of recruiting and training 3000 scholars in four years. Management of the program in different regions will be through Consortia of Maori/Pacific organisations, tertiary education organisations, and employers.

For Pasifika’s 1,500 quota, the aim is to provide:

• a pathway for Pasifika learners who would not normally enter trades training
• to increase their opportunities for future employment within chosen trades
• an opportunity for Pasifika learners to continue on to study higher level qualifications within  tertiary study.

In the Wellington region, scholars take up their trades training at Weltec in Petone and Whitreia in Porirua, while the Pacific Ministers Forum provide the recruitment and pastoral care.

Earlier this week on Tuesday, Whitireia’s inaugural intake of 21 recipients held a small celebration to acknowledge all of them achieving first semester milestones. And an opportunity to meet the people behind the Wellington Consortium.

The gathering also served two other purposes. For students to formally present their work to the management group; and for Whitireia’s management and church leaders to fine-tune their partnership and collaborative approach to the scheme.

There is a lot riding on the success of these first scholars-for all parties concerned.

Rev Nove Vaila’au represents the church ministers group on the Consortium. He told students, “We want a 100 per cent success at graduation. You are the first lot in this new journey and if you do it well then others will also come along and take part in this opportunity.

“So you have a responsibility in receiving that scholarship to make sure that you pass, that you attend everyday, and make sure that you do all the work that is given to you by your tutors, nothing less.”

He added, “On our part, we are doing everything in our power to push the whole scheme so when you graduate from here … that you go through to an apprenticeship scheme.”

To achieve a 100 per cent success for students will involve an enormous amount work outside the classroom, both at Whitireia campus and in the wider community.

The new undertaking discussed at the meeting on Tuesday will break new grounds in education delivery for Pacific communities. It is proposing a merging of the formal and informal sectors at a regional scale. The challenges involved are not standard.

What is known by the Samoan and Pacific community is that education success for their children must include cultural and religious context, and changes looked resetting of mindsets and behaviour of all parties, from students, staff, community leaders and individual families.

Overall success will also need more specific government intervention, to put in place concrete pathways that will connect the scheme directly with apprenticeships and jobs. That sought for government intervention if it happens will increase Pacific business participation and success. It will lead to certification that will unlock the potential for self-employment and populate a Pacific network of trades professionals and enterprises.

The challenges stunting Pacific students achieving in education have been known for a while but a formal process that encapsulates a Pacific solution taking in the informal and formal sectors is not in place.

It is not easy as the complexity involved in extending and merging a tertiary institute’s staff, learning, administration, counseling, student policies framework and intellectual property into the social fabric of the community and individual families’ homes is enormous.

But that is exactly the undertaking being constructed by Whitireia and Pacific church leaders in this case.

If successful, it will advance a paradigm shift on a way Pacific students approach learning, and creation of support networks to maintain and enhance it. On the other side, provide a guide for the formal education system to realign its teaching approach and pedagogies in key areas that will unlock Pacific students’ learning potential.

The church itself, in providing pastoral care under the Scheme, has revised its approach to add social intervention to its spiritual mission.

“It’s about changing the mentality of our people from waiting to be saved to one about what is the long-term thinking of parents towards their children. As they enter into college and beyond, how do they want things to be for him or her?”

It has meant pushing churches to set-up educational program within the community.

“Initiatives like mentoring programs are now starting to happen and making homes as educational positives that provide support and encouragement. Essentially what we’re saying is that the future of our people become part of our ongoing work and lives – a more holistic approach.”

That holistic approach has been extended to Whitireia.

“If you come across a student going through difficulty and don’t know where the problem is, we would be very happy to come into that discussion,” Rev Nove told Whitireia managers.

“Maybe our connection to the communities, our access to the language could be the answer.”

The vision of the group repeated Rev Nove, “100 per cent going in and 100 per cent coming out – so anything that gets in the way and jeopardies that means we need to work together to solve that problem. We cannot let it go without finding a way to solve it – there has to be a way.”

Rev Nove has been involved with the Pasefika Trades Training from day-one. Money he said is not the issue at this early stage.

“As a community, we want our members of congregation to be employed. We would like our Pacific people to go to the right jobs,” he said.

“We have been doing this without money from the beginning because what has never clouded in the minds of our organisations is that what we are doing is for the future – that is all. We are very enthusiastic about that. With or without money, we will do it.”

For Whitireia managers Charles Aliva and Leisha Williams, the pastoral care element is crucial.

One aspect of the pastoral care work is to rebuild a student’s educational toolbox and put them back on track.

A case in point is a student who dropped out of school at 15 and came back at 18 to study.

“These are hands on courses and many young people in those situations do not have the core skills to start with, let alone deal with it,” said Charles, who is the Pastoral Care Coodinator.

Students confidence in their abilities at the start would be low, and the education environment itself would be intimidating and can end up being the cause of failure rather than any lack of academic ability he said.

Leisha, the Pacific Success Advisor works with staff from different areas and students “identifying anything that will get in the way. It’s about promoting success and getting away from the deficit model that Pacific islands students do not do well.

“For us, the expectation is that students at Whitireia are going to succeed and if there’s anything that’s going to get in the way of that then we will find what that is and a way to overcome that.”

An example said Leisha is provision of “academic support in terms of writing, reading and their assignments or connecting them with the right services or their tutors.”

It’s about building resilience, capability and confidence to succeed within a tertiary environment.

Charles, agrees and says that is where most of the time and resources in the program are invested.

“The time and effort we spend on pastoral care gets everything aligned. It is what determines the success of the program because these recipients do not come straight from a classroom or work environments.”

But all the training will not guarantee an apprenticeship or training. That is where the priority focus of the Reverends Forum and Whitireia management is now focused.

“In between the training and employment there is an apprenticeship that needs to happen,” Rev Nove told students.

“However, out there in the market it’s very difficult to make sure that that is in place but we’re trying our best.”

The Consortium’s efforts will be made easier if students at Whitireia and Weltec provide them with the ammunition of a 100 per cent pass rate at the end of the 2014 training program.

It will also be an indication that New Zealand’s shortage of skilled Tradespeople is being addressed.

 

2014 PASIFIKA TRADES SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

Name                                             Trade                          Ethnicity

Robert Vaafusuaga-Erica               Carpentry                     Samoan

Vasa Vaila’au                                    Carpentry                      Samoan

Caleb Farley                                      Carpentry                      Niuean

Daniel Seko                                       Carpentry                      Samoan

Mack Bauro                                       Carpentry                      Kiribati

Teleekai Teaiolo                               Carpentry                      Tuvalu

Feofaaki (Aki) Tuangalu                 Carpentry                      Tongan

Willie Ropati                                     Adv Automotive            Samoan

Simon Puia-Betham                        Adv Automotive            Samoan/Cook Is

Manuela Emile                                 Electrical                         Cook Islands

Tofu (Pati) Tuugamusu                   Electrical                        Samoan

Oliver Fidow                                      Electrical                        Samoan

Paulo Agafili                                      Electrical                        Samoan

Sione Nuku                                        Electrical                        Tongan

Pasia Filo                                            Plumbing                        Samoan

Vincent Vaovasa                               Plumbing                        Samoan

Bradley Moafanua                            Plumbing                        Samoan

Jermal Taliauli                                  Plumbing                        Samoan

Opeti Miller                                        Electrical                        Tongan/Maori

Meseka Lupo                                      Electrical                        Samoan

Talalelei (Junior) Etuale                  Carpentry                      Samoan

 

 

By Alan Ah Mu

With the polls saying immigration isn’t a hot issue in the 20 September elections, the current New Zealand government has no incentive to make an extra effort to fill the quota of migrants allowed various Pacific Island countries yearly.

Under the quotas Samoa is allowed 1 100, Tonga 250, Tuvalu 75 and Kiribati 75.

Since National became government in late 2008 the quotas haven’t been filled (see table below).

Labour hasn’t failed to point this out.

“Since 2009 both the Samoan and Pacific Access Quota have not been filled,” it’s Pacific Island Affairs spokesman Su’a William Sio said in a statement.

“The decline in meeting the Samoan and Pacific Access quotas coincides with the National government disestablishing the Pacific Division within Immigration New Zealand,” Su’a said.

“The last time these quotas were filled was when there was a Labour government,” he said.

Indeed under Helen Clark’s government the number of Samoan migrants, at least, exceeded the 1 100 quota mark in 2004 (1482), 2005 (1330), 2006 (1106), 2007 (1202) and 2008 (1122).

Asked why this had happened, Immigration New Zealand, said in a statement the number of migrants allowed in depended on “a number of factors including but not limited to the applicants job offer and the health and character of those included in the application.  This can result in a variation in the number of applications decided each year.”

Apart from that four-year period at least for Samoa things have returned to normal – the quotas remain unfilled.

One suggestion is that they be filled by those who enter for temporary periods under the Seasonal Employment Scheme.

Another suggestion is for the quotas to be filled by those granted work visas.

That suggestion was put to Deputy Prime Minister Bill English on Capital Samoa Radio last week.

“Yeah well that’s a reasonable question,” English said.

“I don’t know exactly the answer to that,” he said.

“I mean at the moment you know there’s a set of rules and we want to stick to the rules as they are, and they’re pretty even handed relative to where people come from whether it’s from Australia or Samoa or wherever.  So we haven’t got any proposals to change the rules as they are.”

So in the Pacific Islands quotas area expect the same old same old past the elections.

Especially since all political commentators say National will win.

The table below shows the number of applications approved under the Samoan Quota since 2001/02.  We are not able to provide figures for years prior to that.  The figures are for the financial years 1 July to 30 June.

Year	Number of applications approved
2001/02	1,042
2002/03	463
2003/04	641
2004/05	1,482
2005/06	1,330
2006/07	1,106
2007/08	1,202
2008/09	1,122
2009/10	788
2010/11	906
2011/12	874
2012/13	938
2013/14 (as at 28 May 2014)	883

Source: Immigration New Zealand.

 

 

Earlier today the Labour Party announced its candidate List for the 2014 General Election. A further 21 people will be standing for electorates only.

On the list, current Pacific MPs Su’a William Sio and Poto Williams are virtually guaranteed of a return to parliament with Poto highly placed at 28. However, both of them enjoyed sizeable majorities from the past election and by-election to be confident of winning their electorates.

However, missing from the list is the member for Mana, Kris Faafoi. He has opted to live or die in the electorate contest that includes Minister for education, Mrs Hekia Parata.

For other Pacific candidates, Carmel Sepuloni (29), Jenny Salesa (31) and Jerome Mika (35) are all in with good chances of making it through. Ms Sepuloni and Mrs Salesa are standing in strong Labour electorates and both are expected to win.

However, newcomer Mr Herman Retzlaff, son of former deputy prime minister for Samoa, Misa Foni Retzlaff, has decided to remove his name from the list. He’s opted to take his chances in the new electorate of Upper Harbour, battling it out against Minister for Social Welfare, Mrs Paula Bennett.

In releasing its list, Labour Party president Moira Coatsworth said, “An outstanding group of talented New Zealanders was selected for Labour’s list over the weekend. Our Moderating Committee met on both Saturday and Sunday in Auckland and agreed a list of 64 List candidates.

“We are excited by the skilled, experienced people we expect to join our Caucus team”.

Leader David Cunliffe, added, “I am delighted at the fantastic array of talented candidates who have made it onto our List. Those candidates will be out each day promoting our messages on jobs, homes and families, and I look forward to joining them on the campaign trail”.

• Labour’s full team of electorate and list candidates will be profiled at its Congress on 6 July 2014.
• The List of 64 people comprises 30 men and 34 women. A further 21 people (16 men and 5 women) are standing only for electorates.

LABOUR LIST 2014

1 David Cunliffe
2 David Parker
3 Grant Robertson
4 Annette King
5 Jacinda Ardern
6 Nanaia Mahuta
7 Phil Twyford
8 Clayton Cosgrove
9 Chris Hipkins
10 Sue Moroney
11 Andrew Little
12 Louisa Wall
13 David Shearer
14 Su’a William Sio
15 Maryan Street
16 Phil Goff
17 Moana Mackey
18 Kelvin Davis
19 Meka Whaitiri
20 Megan Woods
21 Raymond Huo
22 Damien O’Connor
23 Priyanca Radhakrishnan
24 Iain Lees-Galloway
25 Rachel Jones
26 David Clark
27 Carol Beaumont
28 Poto Williams
29 Carmel Sepuloni
30 Tamati Coffey
31 Jenny Salesa
32 Liz Craig
33 Deborah Russell
34 Willow-Jean Prime
35 Jerome Mika
36 Tony Milne
37 Virginia Andersen
38 Claire Szabo
39 Michael Wood
40 Arena Williams
41 Hamish McDonnell
42 Anjum Rahman
43 Sunny Kaushal
44 Christine Greer
45 Penny Gaylord
46 Janette Walker
47 Richard Hills
48 Shanan Halbert
49 Anahila Suisuiki
50 Clare Wilson
51 James Dann
52 Kelly Ellis
53 Corie Haddock
54 Jamie Strange
55 Katie Paul
56 Steven Gibson
57 Chao-Fu Wu
58 Paul Grimshaw
59 Tracey Dorreen
60 Tofik Mamedov
61 Hikiera Toroa
62 Hugh Tyler
63 Susan Elliot
64 Simon Buckingham

PROFILES of SELECTED LIST CANDIDATES

23 Priyanca Radhakrishnan
Policy analyst, Ministry of Women’s Affairs
Former Policy Development and Refuge Coordinator, Shakti Community Council Inc. (refuge organisation for Asian, African and Middle Eastern women)
Master of Development Studies, Victoria University of Wellington

25 Rachel Jones
A small business owner (second hand book store)
Labour electorate candidate for Tauranga
Research fellow at Aalto University, Finland
Has a double PhD in Management Communication and English Literature

29 Carmel Sepuloni
Chief executive for Vaka Tautua, Pacific disability, mental health and older persons NGO
Labour electorate candidate for Kelston
MP for Waitakere 2008-11

30 Tamati Coffey
TV presenter
Labour electorate candidate for Rotorua
BA (Hons) in Political Science
President of Maori Students Association, University of Auckland, 2003

31 Jenny Salesa
Principal Adviser Pacific, Tertiary Education Commission
Labour electorate candidate for Manukau East
Founding President, Pacific Island law Students Association, University of Auckland

32 Liz Craig
Medical Doctor, Public Health Physician
Labour electorate candidate for Clutha Southland
Senior Clinical Epidemiologist, NZ Child and Youth Epidemiology Service
Senior Lecturer in Womens’ and Childrens’ Health at the University of Otago

33 Deborah Russell
Senior Lecturer in Taxation, Massey University
Labour electorate candidate for Rangitikei
Worked as an accountant, auditor and tax consultant
Writer in social issues, ethics and taxation
PhD in Philosophy

34 Willow-Jean Prime
Councillor for the far North District council
Labour electorate candidate for Northland
Previously practised as a lawyer
Masters of Law, Bachelor Arts/Bachelor of Laws and Post Graduate Diploma in Maori and Pacific Development

35 Jerome Mika
Organiser, First Union
Labour electorate candidate for Papakura
Community leader

 

The Pacific Nations cup kicked off in dramatic fashion with an action-filled18-all draw between Manu Samoa and Tonga’s Ikaletah at Apia Park this afternoon.

Manu Samoa was within seconds of victory until Tongan lock Josh Afu, was pulled down illegally from a lineout with a minute of injury time on the clock. English referee Wayne Barnes awarded the try and replacement back Fangatapu Apikotoa calmly slot the difficult 40-meter penalty to draw the match.

Conditions were perfect as the capacity crowd of more than 14,000 came out expecting a much improved performance from their side that was humbled by Japan two weeks ago. Confidence was high for a home-side victory with the injection of senior professional players from Europe and Super Rugby.

But the huge crowd were silenced in the 21^st minute when Tonga’s right winger, Otulea Katoa scooted over to score the first try of the match. First five Latiume Fosita conversion silenced the crowd further as Tonga led by seven points to nil.

But the crowd didn’t have long to wait as Manu Samoa, on the back of some attacking rugby, created a try to its own right winger, Fautua Otto to score with 30 minutes showing on the scoreboard. Tusi Pisi missed the conversion.

With halftime showing on the clock, Tonga launched a forward attack that saw lock Josh Afu cross the line. Latiume missed the conversion and the teams headed to the shed with Tonga leading 12-7 at halftime.

The second half saw two evenly matched team go head to head in a massive arm wrestle. A penalty by Tusi Pisi at the 60-minute mark saw Samoa close the gap to two points. And with 12 minutes to go, Apia Park erupted as Manu Samoa captain David Lemi was at the end of a great move to score. The conversion by Tusi Pisi got Manu Samoa the lead for the first time in the match. And the crowd was in the mood expecting the floodgates to now open

But it wasn’t meant to be as Tonga came back almost immediately to win a penalty. Flyhalf Latiume converted a penalty only two minutes after the Lemi try to even the score.

The final five minutes proved to be frenetic and dramatic with Manu Samoa on attack. They were awarded an attacking penalty and Tusi Pisi converted a penalty that got Samoa the lead 18-15 with only a minute of regulation time left.

But Tonga never gave up. Their fitness and never-say-die attitude was rewarded when Josh Afu won a penalty 40-meters. Fangatapu, who replaced Latiume coolly slotted the kick to equalize.

The result was a fair reflection of the match although Manu Samoa, ranked 9^th in the world, four places above Tonga, will be disappointed to come away with a draw. The quality of the match augurs well for the 2014 Pacific Nations Cup.

Result of a Pacific Nations Cup rugby match between Samoa and Tonga at Apia Park here Saturday:
Samoa 18 Tonga 18
(H-T 5-12)

Samoa – Tries: Otto F, Lemi D. Conversions: Pisi T (2). Penalties: Pisi T (2)
Tonga – Tries: Katoa O, Afu J. Conversions: Fosita L (2). Penalties: Fosita L (1), Apikotoa F (1)

FORWARDS: Sakaria Taulafo, Wayne Ole Avei, Logovii Mulipola, Kane Thompson, Teofilo Paulo, Jack Lam, Taiasina Tuifua.

BACKS:David Lemi, Jeremy Sua, Tusiata Pisi, Fautua Otto, Johnny Leota, Alapati Leiua, Faatoina Autagavaia.

Upcoming IRB Pacific Nations 2014 Fixtures (all times are local)
Saturday, 14 June
15:00 – Fiji v Tonga, Churchill Park, Lautoka, Fiji
19:30 – USA v Japan, Stub Hub Center, Los Angeles, California
Saturday, 21 June 
15:00 – Fiji v Samoa, ANZ Stadium, Suva, Fiji 
15:00 – USA v Canada, Cal Expo Facility, Sacramento, California