To strike or not to strike: The repercussions of being a 'big mouth' who cares.

So today I participated in a New Zealand Tertiary Education Union protest around seeking a better deal for Professional Staff at my place of work - notably for those who are paid lower than the current living wage for the incredible amount of work that they do.

Because I participated in this protest, I and other colleagues will have an hours worth of our salary deducted from our next pay round to reflect what I am being made to feel is considered civil disobedience lol.

I just laughed at that but really I am baffled. Working in the tertiary sector is not what I imagined it to be. It's not a 9 -5 job. You can't just leave work at work. I bring work home every day. I miss out on so many family/friend moments because I'm constantly doing work. It's not a 9-5 job because my students also work full time. They send me work at 11.00pm. In my bid to build and maintain an international profile (one of the requirements) I am up skyping and emailing at ungodly hours. I know for other people in other sectors this is also true.

The tertiary sector is in a constant state of endless change. Although public investment in tertiary education in NZ is high (in comparison to the OECD average) much of that goes to students as loans and grants than as direct funding to institutions which means Universities have to act more and more like businesses to stay afloat - at least that's what I'm told. One of the benefits of today's protest was the opportunity to talk to other union members about the ever increasing workloads, the lack of appreciation for the over-and-beyond (what we get paid) service to further the character, aims, goals, aspirations and public profile of the institution. Not to mention the collective sense of surprise and disappointment at the uncalled for reaction of the employer - given the incredible amount of unpaid work we all contribute in our various roles.

The last time this protest happened, the reaction was the same. I beamed with pride as other colleagues collectively noted their dissatisfaction with the response from the ivory tower, coupled with anecdotes of the over-and-beyond service this place so much depends on in order for it to be the best it can be - for our students.

Although I don't earn as much as my other colleagues :'( I was happy to sacrifice what little I had in support of this cause. I then went back to my office and finished late again because at the end of the day - the work still has to be done. Four Universities were engaged in some form of collective action today I was told.

And here I am at home, on my laptop, about to respond to emails and work on other projects I have due. And the fight continues. #TEU

The Emancipation of Pati & the Validation of Me.

On finishing my copy of "Out of the Vaipe", I felt a strange sense of completeness. A bewildering peace took over, and I suddenly realised this is the first time I have felt like this in a long time. The first time, I, as a Samoan, living in NZ felt validated, felt I was finally visible within a piece of literature! I felt real. I wanted to write and profusely thank the professor. I wanted to give him a gift of thanks. But what could I give? And what words could I draw upon that would rightfully acknowledge my whole hearted appreciation of this latest piece of work, and of him, and the impact it has had on me?

I begin humming. 'Butterfly'. Most people who know me know I worship at the temple of Ms Carey. I know what you're thinking. Mariah Carey and Albert Wendt - how absurd. I did worry how the Professor would take being compared to Mariah - on the surface level - to many a pop star, but an artist in her own right.

There are however some connections that can be made. The two of them represent the best in their fields.  Mariah, the number 1 selling solo/female artist of all time, and Pati - the Pacific's greatest literary hero - of all time. Sure the thematic focus of their work is markedly different - however those of you who are able to look beyond the glitz and glamour of the 'Touch My Body' - Mariah will appreciate the depth of her work, and understand how her pain and life experiences feature ever so melodically and soberly in works like 1991's 'Vision of love', 1995's 'I am free', 'Looking In', 1998's 'Outside', 'Butterfly', 1999's 'Petals', 'Can't take that away', 2001's 'Reflections',  2002's 'Through the Rain', and 'My Saving Grace', 2005's 'Fly Like a Bird', 2008's 'I wish you well'.

These to me were/are more than mere pop singles - they are anthems that a lot of people have connected to in different ways. Music is an art form that is able to express and understand that which social conversation often shuns and ridicules. The power of validation can thus take shape in many different forms. 

It's true what they say about indigenous people who struggle in education systems that rob them of their cultural identity, glossing over indigenous stories as Wendt highlight's in 'Vaipe'. I had similar experiences in the NZ education system, gripped with the same anxiety, self doubt and hopelessness as a result and what I suspect was the purpose of the entire system at the time. I too had no stories that I could connect to. I learnt about the American Wild West - how settlers begun their lives in their new lands, constantly plagued by the Natives who lived there. We learnt about Australian ore mining in geography (zzzzzz), Shakespearean literature in English, and very little about Aotearoa's history - history from the perspective of it's indigenous peoples. 

At the same time, mainstream media and society were promulgating extremely negative perceptions of what it meant to be a Pacific islander in NZ. The forever present and growing gaps in academic achievement, the predominant focus of high rates of crime and poverty in low socio economic areas where most of us lived. There was no escape. And although I loved learning and gaining insights from different aspects of the Western World, I struggled as a younger version of myself, to balance a strong cultural identity and way of living at home, with an education system and society that basically whitewashed and sought to exterminate everything we knew, and everything we were.

I immediately drew upon Carey's extensive catalogue for solace, comfort, and hope. At the time, she was the only person I felt who was speaking clearly to those who did not conform to mainstream social stereotypes of gender/race. Mariah, through her art spoke of the struggles of being Bi Racial in a largely racist America, the identity crisis brought on by the obsession of other's and their need to feel superior and constantly question difference (Outside). I connected quite easily to messages of hope, serenity and the drive to break through and to break free (Butterfly). I dreamed of a future where Pacific people in NZ would no longer have to be treated and viewed in this way (Vision Of love/ Heavenly). It was Mariah and Me. She was my 'hero' from afar. 

My parents were my local heroes, but their lived experiences and journeys were markedly different from mine. Complaining about how unfair the world was thanks to capitalism and how western education systems diminish indigenous identities and cultures appeared pretty rich for someone who schooled in the land of 'milk and honey' and did not have to 'walk miles barefoot on rocks in the sweltering sun and monsoon-like rain with no lunch to get to school'! Got it every time :) They did what any good Samoan parent would do, which was to 'encourage' (in the broadest sense, sometimes by force) their children to get on with it :)

Having finished 'Vaipe', I felt a strong connection to Professor Wendt's life and story. Another not so far away hero. Although we are not connected by blood, I felt connected to him as a fellow son of Samoa - spending much of his life outside of the homeland. At the book launch  I felt at ease knowing that even at this stage in his prolific career, he still get's nervous about things like public speaking. I felt a strong connection to the reality of this great man, stripped bare for all to see. I connected to his love for family and friends, his passion for learning, and an ever present feeling of self-doubt and nervousness. I too eagerly awaited 'fagogo' from grandma Mele, smiled in acknowledgement of his scholarship. I also felt his dread and fear as he departed Samoa for Taranaki. I cried when he received that fateful letter about his mother. 

I entitled this piece 'The Emancipation of Pati' because of the sense I got from both the book launch and from reading this book, that it's production and completion represented a sense of emancipation. A great achievement of sorts which captures ever so poetically different moments of the Professor's life. A life which he said he 'carefully sifted through' in order to produce for public consumption. He alluded to other stories remaining untold, and the potential for those stories to hurt those he loved. Initially I was curious to know what those stories are. I then continued to read and that curiosity vanished. I respect his answer. The Professor makes it rather clear that he and his experiences are only part of the puzzle that is life. His wonderfully articulate and clear conceptualisation of the 'va', and the significance of relational space(s) to him affirms this.

I am not sure what else an Emeritus Professor and Great Chief would have left on his list of things to do/achieve at this point in his life - but I hope he can lay to rest all those anxieties and fears he felt over the years, and enjoy his emancipation; and join in the celebration of his legacy. I am certainly enjoying my validation :)

You can get your copy of 'Out of the Vaipe' right here!

#TPPANoWay

Yes this was the most exciting thing to take place on a Tuesday night! And the most important! The first of the #TPPADontSign tours/public meetings took place in the Auckland Town Hall tonight. 

I wanted to learn more about what other great atrocities this government continues to commit, and so I watched enthusiastically tonight to listen and learn from the voices and insights of the experts, Professor Jane Kelsey from the University of Auckland and fellow International TPPA expert Lori Wallach followed by commentary from political party representatives in NZ opposed to the TPPA.

If you don't know by now, the TPPA stands for the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement. Background information on the TPPA, who it involves, and what it means for ordinary citizens like you and I, is nicely summarised here http://itsourfuture.org.nz/what-is-the-tppa/

Essentially, the gist is that our rights as citizens, our democracy and freedom of choice are being undermined. Sold off to Multi National Corporations (MNC's). In addition, the process to which NZ has signed up and 'consulted' on this agreement has been terribly flawed. The National Government have all but lied, and kept in secret the true intentions of such an agreement. Professor Kelsey highlighted how the recent National Interest Analysis (NIA) (a document required ahead of parliamentary selection committee inquiry) is yet another set of lies, 'devoid of independent insight', by a government desperate to sell the TPPA as a winner.

Marama Fox of the Maori Party put it bluntly when she declared that the audience (country) was now experiencing what Maori had experienced (and continue to experience) over 175 years ago, having their sovereignty ripped away! The Maori Party came out quite clear and strong outlining where they stood on the issue! Anything that jeopardizes the the Treaty will be opposed by them! Marama also rightly asserted that what work's for Maori - works for the rest of us.

The Green's Meitiria Turei was the only political party (leader present) representative who boldly claimed that if in Government, the Greens would work to pull NZ out of the agreement and that any such future agreement would require a fair and transparent process that considered the impacts on both the people and the environment. Labour's Grant Robertson spent the first half of his 8 allocated minutes romanticizing over Labour's legacy and impact on trade historically, also attempting to promote Labour's housing policy. While it was clear from Robertson that Labour were firmly against the process this government has taken on the TPPA, it was not all clear that the Labour party would vote against it. Robertson then finished by unconvincingly stating that the Agreement did have some economic benefit, before running out of time.

NZ First's Fletcher Tabuteau agreed that there would be some increase in GDP, 1% to be exact and that it would only benefit MNC's already trading in NZ. NZ First was quite clear in it's stance against the agreement.

Expert papers have been drafted which consider the impact of the TPPA over 5 broad key areas which you can access here including: 

• democracy and the rule of law (sovereignty)
• Investment
• Maori Rights and Te Tiriti o Waitangi
• Enviornment
• Economy

All is however not all lost. Once the agreement is signed on 4th February in Auckland, it will still need to be ratified in Parliament. And it will not go ahead until each of the 12 partner members to the TPPA ratify this on the ground level. We have an opportunity to continue fighting this and stopping it in it's tracks!

If you're free come along to the Public Protest Feb 4th 12.00pm on Queen Street

If you're based outside of Auckland check out the other public meetings scheduled here: 

• Wellington
• Christchurch
• Dunedin

#TPPANOWAY

Superdiversity; a lecture delivered by our very own superwoman

Tonight, Ahmed (Mohammed Mohammed) and I attended a public lecture that the wonderful Mai Chen gave on 'Superdiversity' and the implications of 'demographic disruption' for business, social relationships and the ongoing development of New Zealand's identity as a nation.

I've raved on about Mai in the past, having attended her book launch 'the Public Law Tool Box' in 2014, the work she did with the Bilingual Leo in petitioning parliament to have Pasifika Languages recognised, with ample resourcing in early childhood education. Today I also learnt about the fantastic work she does as the chair NZ Asian Leaders (could a Pasifika model ever work? - which I pondered as I marvelled at what this woman has achieved over her 30 year career in law).

Anyways, I am still trying to process what I heard tonight. Mai's intellect and passion for her work is phenomenal and she said a lot of things that got me thinking about identity, space, place and time and (super) diversity in this country and how NZ's social and financial success really depends on how we nurture and enhance the 'diversity dividend' by making sure that our laws and policies and business practices reflect superdiversity in our society.

Mai will later this year be releasing a book jointly with The University of Auckland; a 'Superdiversity Stocktake', which will look at the importance of:

• Understanding that New Zealand is already a superdiverse society, and that trend will accelerate over the coming years;
• Securing the ‘diversity dividend’ by making sure that our law and policy and business practices are fit for purpose in a superdiverse society;
• Identifying the eight key law and policy and business challenges posed by superdiversity; and
• Undertaking a stocktake of our current law, policy and business settings to manage the transition to superdiversity.

She spoke a lot about 'demographic disruption' and the significant influence migrants and non Anglo Saxon communities play in this i.e. 50% of Auckland being Maori, Pacific and Asian by 2020 and the inherent challenges these communities currently/will face, and why NZ as a whole needs to respond to superdiversity to survive. She did not frame her talk using terms like 'equity' and 'social justice', and If I heard correctly she refrained from pursuing that path and preferred to appeal to peoples self interest saying - 'at the end of the day we all want to do well'.

Another thing I noticed was that she didn't mention or talk about any of the issues she highlighted from a gender perspective..... nor was gender issues/diversity a primary focus or concern in her summary.

Anyways the book is being launched at the end of the year I will keep those who are interested posted lol.

Randomly, here is a picture of the wonderful Mai. You know how you can have academic crushes - like be totally in love with someone's brain - I think this is my first lawyer crush.

Little progress for New Zealand’s Pacific children

The government's latest budget has been deemed by many as: budget. Grocery snobs will be familiar with the concept, although the difference is, you can usually get some high quality products through the budget brand.

Unless you are from the world of business or part of the "one per cent", the 2014 Budget offers very little quality, and even less hope for genuine progress in the area of child poverty for Pacific communities.

Longitudinal research by Professor Peter Crampton from the University of Otago highlighted that Maori and Pacific peoples still represent the poorest of people in New Zealand, and that the situation has not improved over the course of a 20-year research project. Released a week before the budget, it set a rather gloom and doom tone in anticipation of a forward future thinking and progressive budget.

Unfortunately, Maori and Pacific people will have to continue to wait a bit longer for such a budget to appear.

I learned early on in my studies to appreciate the fact that poverty is multidimensional. Poverty is manifested and affects different people in different ways. It is no surprise then that the authors of the Salvation Army's first State of the Nation report on Pasifika people in New Zealand have argued that Pacific communities have made "modest and tenacious" progress in some areas, whilst struggling in others, and in some cases their situation has worsened.

Genuine progress in the area of child poverty requires more of a concerted and holistic effort by the government. For far too long, the current and previous governments have ignored the interconnections between housing and health, education and finance.

Poorly thought-out policies within these individual policy areas often interact and are interdependent and have a destabilising impact on the ability of Pacific families to progress from their current situations.

A forward-thinking and progressive budget would look to tackle key issues for Pacific children and their families in the area of housing, health, education, finance and welfare support. It would not require the government to do a lot of creative thinking. Extensive research has identified what the issues and possible solutions are. What Pacific children in poverty require is action!

Although the very important advocacy work we do as Child Poverty Action Group Youth will focus a lot on the role the government can play, this indeed needs to be supplemented by a change of thinking within Pacific communities.

My friend Josephine Nickel-Leaupepe talks about expectations embedded within some of our Pacific cultures and the way in which this can often contribute to, and worsen cases of poverty for families.

Pacific communities also need to think carefully and critically about the effectiveness of our engagement in local and national decision-making processes. The last few elections saw a consistently poor voter turn-out, particularly amongst Pacific peoples (youth and adults).

One recent blog post, from Pacific Guardians, would have us all believe Pacific people are "waiting" in church to be saved by Pacific-friendly policies by the government.

Although the accuracy of much of the article is questionable, it does however hit one of the issues on the head; the need to mobilise Pacific communities in contributing to processes and discussions that will determine the quality and outcomes of life we all aspire to in this country.

Darien Fenton describes an epidemic of "downward envy", where people who see themselves as battlers feel they are missing out on something given to others who aren't as deserving or hard-working.

This view, which is rampant in mainstream media/New Zealand and also evident in parts of Pacific communities, needs to be abolished if we are ever genuinely going to work towards the eradication of poverty in this country.

A more positive approach would see that the progress of Pacific children and families in poverty will be beneficial for the country as a whole.

Genuine progress in policy is important. Genuine progress also needs to be well supported by a shift in ideology within mainstream New Zealand. It must be led by a government with a plan (and budget) that is far more ambitious and is critically aware of the situation on the ground, and a New Zealand public (inclusive of Pacific) committed to ensuring all its citizens do well.

* Published in the New Zealand Herald on 22nd May 2014 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/element-magazine/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503340&objectid=11259653

It started off with an article on climate change.....

Works been so busy lately that I haven't had time to post any articles, or do my rants about the government  (yes I can hear the sighs of relief lol)

And I haven't written in my blog lately, so I thought i'd vent here instead of writing essays on my FB status. So here it is my first entry for 2013. And on such a positive note lol....

But as I'm reading this article I am critically questioning NZ and it's role as a supposed leader in the Pacific, and wonder if most people know that this government, has pulled NZ out of the second stage of the Kyoto Protocol. (Probably wouldn't have because of the holidays). Purely based on the fact that "well Australia and the USA haven't signed up so why should we". National Government logic has done wonders for our public service. Just look at how perfect Education and Welfare are doing.....

I wonder how this makes people feel, especially our Pacific people. Especially given that a lot of us have witnessed first hand the terribly significant devastation natural events have caused to our homelands in the Pacific, which have no doubt been further intensified by processes of global warming and climate change. And yet we have a situation here where developed nations (including NZ) are refusing to commit to do their part to reduce their carbon footprint/levels of emissions basically because it isn't economically viable to do so. When it comes down to it, it's always about money and power!

But we're not talking just money here, we're talking about the state of our planet, we're talking about the kind of world we want our future generations to inherit, but we're also talking about current peoples lives. We don't have to look far to see how this is impacting on our people. We only need to look at what is happening with Tuvalu sinking, increasingly consistent and severe droughts in Samoa, Kiribati having to buy land in Fiji to relocate it's entire population in anticipation of the inevitable. Then there is the story of one women, Ursula Rakova, and her mission to save the people of the Carteret Islands (which up until this point I knew never existed) from rising sea levels. You'll notice that all of my links are not mainstream media links, why would they even bother. 

But you start to see a general pattern emerging. And the sad thing is, the stories are becoming more frequent. The government needs to be held accountable. And we as the people need to be asking the hard questions! The government does after all represent us (however I want to make it clear I did not vote for any of these fools), and therefore what our government does, we  bare some of the responsibility for the actions of our country.

 I saw and heard a whole lot of my own people, yapping away after Cyclone Evan, complaining that they were not going to donate because of all the corruption, misuse of funds that occurred during the Tsunami Relief effort in 2009.

I even heard one person say they wanted receipts for everything Samoa purchased through financial aid. At first I thought SHUTUP! I still do. But then I thought about it again, and was amazed at how quick the Samoa NZ community jumped to immediately condemn, and then demand transparency from the Government and people of Samoa. 

Interestingly though, we're not as quick to demand accountability and transparency from this government on most matters. And especially on such a critical issue of global warming/ climate change, given what we know about it's devastating impacts on our islands. 

I don't have the answers. It continues to baffle me today.

But I'm hoping that by writing this, that it will get people to start taking this issue seriously. Or even just to get some people thinking about it. That would be a start.

Marriage Equality; an attempt at a balanced view of both sides of the coin.

Actually, it's not really an attempt to produce a balanced a view between those in support, and the naysayers. I can clearly distinguish for myself the difference between  the spiritual dimension of marriage from the temporal dimension - which are the legal rights that are granted to couples once married. I see much of the debate being surface level, as it currently stands, and of a philosophical nature, with the potential to go on and on and on, because of the way in which it has been framed.

The discussion and debate around Louisa Wall's Marriage Equality Bill has caused quite a stir in the 'Pacific Community'. For those of you who haven't seen the discussion pop up (the Olympics distraction and what not) here is a very short summary of the basics; thanks to friend and lawyer Reece Autagavaia who tells us:

" The legal implications of the bill will mean same-sex couples can have civil marriages, or religious marriages if the celebrant accepts to conduct the ceremony. No celebrants will be forced to conduct marriages against their belief. One of the moral implications, as many Christians will argue, is the fundamental changing of the definition of marriage, which is meant for a man and a woman."

Like most people I assumed that this issue had been sorted by the Civil Union Act 200. But, as it appears, it falls short of giving those who choose to have a Civil Union the same rights as those who choose to be 'legally' married, particularly around the area of adoption. The obvious issue that initially strikes me is the desire for equal rights. We live in a day and age where human rights protect the freedom and diversities of the many people, families and communities that make up this world, from what ever creed, race/ethnicity, color, religion and so on, to live their lives freely and happily sans discrimination. 

I did not want do get into the entire debate. I understand this is an important issue, but I honestly feel that in the context of things, there are just as many more important issues (potentially even more so) that currently hinder this society from progression, that require just as much discussion, impetus and input from all peoples of this country. The Economy, Education, Health, Welfare, Housing, poverty, these are all very pressing issues which require the urgent attention of everyone in this country if we are going to create the kind of society we all want for future generations.

I am only now just speaking out about this, because I'm worried that a lot of people take for granted the fluidity and diversity of our communities, and make a whole series of judgments on a few assumptions, or on the view of the few. I'm all for freedom of speech/thought, but I am also for the freedom of ensuring that what you speak and think is well researched, critically considered, and throughly thought out first.

People talk about the Pacific community like we're one big homogenous group. Most times, its a deficit lens approach. We beat our children up. We fail in school. We commit crime. And other times it's positive (borderline patronizing), we're all really talented, we can all sing and dance, we all play rugby, and we're all Evangelical Christians who share the same views. Having said that, there are many things that unite us. Our cultural values, we share mutual goals, have similar aspirations, but have very different ways/understandings/views and beliefs in terms of how we should go about achieving this. One only needs to look at the constant struggle of SOME (key word some) parents accepting the idea, that their child is not pursuing the life that they had ever so carefully planned out. It happens a lot in our community. It could be a child's choice of education, occupation, or, as in this case, love interest.

Our Pacific community is diverse in itself, made up of men, women, elders, church goers, non religious people, boys, girls, fa'afafine/fakaleiti, youth, lawyers, doctors, teachers, artists, single mothers, solo parents, the sick, the disabled, the unemployed and the list can go on and on.

Labour MP Sua William Sio last night, wrote a status on his Face Book page that he would not be voting on the Bill because he represents the conservative view of the Mangere Electorate, and that this could potentially hurt the community and cost him and the Labour  party the next election (see here). He was rather straight forward with his position, and wanted to make it clear, rationale and all, so people understood where he was coming from. I found his position a tiny bit odd, mostly about the reference to representing the views of the entire Mangere Electorate. I say a bit odd considering there were no surveys in my mailbox asking me what I or others thought about the issue. His stance does make sense though. I think about the large amount of community work he has to do, the Church Leaders and Elders he keeps in contact with, and serves. In fact he referenced it was the concerns of this particular section (the conservatives) of the Mangere Electorate which has lead him to not support the Bill. They are entitled to their views and I respect that. Having grown up as a Samoan around the Church, such views are embedded and entrenched within you. Interestingly, his opening statements however, indicate that personally he has nothing against it. 

I do however feel that the critical voice of our youth has been somewhat left out in Sua's equation. In fact, when I think about a lot of the reforms this government has made this appears to be a major issue,  and I make the point in referencing the last election; the lowest voter turn out rate since the Second World War, and an ever declining rate of youth participation, and in particular the highest non voting rate of Maori and Pacific Youth. This I feel is a real issue. 

Back to my point about the fluidity of our communities.I don't believe that EVERYONE in Mangere thinks the same. I also do not believe that every Pacific person is as conservative as they are assumed to be (and if they are, good on them.)  However, the problematic thing about this particular issue is in how it has been promoted and discussed. It's all in the way it has been framed. As an outspoken young Pacific person, I cannot claim to represent the view of all youth. However, many of the young people I talk to agree with the need for equal rights, in terms of the entitlements and rights people are accorded when married. Most of the time anyways, and only, and especially when the discussion is framed around the discourses of equal rights.

You put 'Gay' and 'Marriage' together and all of a sudden you have everybody (well most Church going conservative people in my community anyway) quoting every Bible passage they can think of, in a bid to protect [the spiritual dimension] of marriage. And rightly so. It is as much their right to protest this from their understandings and beliefs as it is the right of anyone else to reference every Human Right Act they can think of in support of 'Marriage' Equality.

What the Member and Parliament should have done was a thorough analysis of  alternative options and models available; thought critically and genuinely about the way in which this should have been framed, and then canvassed the public to see what their thoughts are on the issue which I believe would have depoliticized the issue, or at least minimized the amount of blind and uninformed hate which is currently all over my news feed. The Civil Union Bill was able to achieve this because it was promoted as ensuring basic rights to all people who chose not to get married, and passed with a minor flurry of protest.

I understand the process for Members Bills are different, but I think if this was such a priority issue for the Member and certain sections of the party, more work should have gone into how this was framed and an impact analysis should have been conducted. Mr Autagavaia tells me that,

"One solution, used in parts of Europe, is for the State to not regulate marriage, and make it purely a civil contract. After registering their civil contract with the State, couples, whether same-sex or heterosexual, can then go and perform whatever ceremony they want. That way the State doesn't need to define marriage, and couples are free to celebrate their union however they want."

I also think that the argument that this will be the 'straw that breaks the camel's back', in relation to the relationship between the Labour Party and the 'Pacific Community', or will cost the Labour Party the next election is somewhat narrow minded. Many more of us are actually more concerned about how the party seeks to urgently address key issues around the Economy, Education, Health, Poverty, Welfare and Housing, when and if, it will go on to form the next government.

Hold the Pisupo! Let's not celebrate just yet

Yesterday New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key announced a $5 million dollar package in Education Aid to pay for the school fees of more than 16,000 high school students in Samoa. While most of my friends on Facebook were celebrating what on the surface level appeared to be a very generous and kind hearted gesture to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Treaty of Friendship between the said countries, I held back from peeling open that can of pisupo (I ran out of wine, shush) in celebration of the said gesture.



I've posted a few articles I have found which confirm my suspicions, and not that you need a PHD in Puliliness to understand it; you either have to be interested/ passionate in/about these sorts of issues or have done some random paper at University which briefly covered the topic (Pac 204, anyone?).

My initial reaction was that this was a well timed PR gimmick,  typical National Party show and tell, but it reminded me of some of the more poorly informed, backward reforms this government has made in relation to Aid, or Overseas Development Assistance. 


Not only was this act a facade, highlighting so many things wrong this particular administration, it does show that they are good at one thing: blinding the public with a whole lot of gimmicks - and people lap it up - naturally given preference for feel good stories with only a sound bite of background information- no one wants to get into the nitty gritty of at all.  


However, in situations like this, it is important that we do. For several reasons. The main one (for now) being that we don't jump up and down screaming 'Hercules, Hercules', when there is much more to the story than meets the eye.


The $5 million dollars was part of an already existing Aid Budget, which NZ provides to Samoa and other countries in the Pacific through it's Overseas Development Assistance (ODA).

Short story, real Aid from NZ, whilst it has confusingly increased in this terms Budget, has decreased in real terms, and has a very bleak future.


In 2002 NZ, with most of the international community were party to the Monterrey Concensus (and several other international agreements) in which developped countries would commit 0.7 of it's GNI (Gross National Income) to Development assistance, as part of the international bid to eliminate poverty by 2015. I'm sure we've all heard of the Millenium Development Goals. 


In typical National fashion, their friends in the Business community of New Zealand have dictated their policy, where they would rather the government reduce it's ODA budget, and help them by  “removing barriers and smoothing the way” to offshore investment. Neo-colonial rape anyone? 


In response National has slashed $133 million over three years of the Aid Budget, putting us even further behind other countries in the OECD. By 2014 New Zealand will only be committing 0.24 of GNI, the lowest amount it has committed in the history of NZ overseas development assistance. Great friendship huh? This comes at a time in which we've seen remittances from NZ drop, a weak demand in Samoan exports and the excruciatingly high prices for imported food.


These are very real things we need to be concerned about. So tell me again why are we celebrating?


On the other side, the Treaty provides grounds for dialogue on ways in which the friendship can be improved. But it will take all of the might of our people, in both Samoa and NZ, to push these issues, and to not jump up and down everytime the (former) master throws us a biscuit.


Tim Baice
Pulili News.