Tala Samoa, Samoan News, Auckland
Pacific Fashion Stylist Sammy Salsa: the new age Polynesian man. Courtesy of Coconet.tv
He's one of New Zealand's sought-after fashion and celebrity Stylists and is quickly making his mark worldwide.
31-year-old Sammy Salsa Style has now been appointed as the internationally renowned MiNDFOOD magazine's full time Fashion Editorial Stylist for Mindfood Style.
The popular Magazine has a vast following in both Australia and New Zealand and has been running for over 8 years.
It's a rare position for the Pacific stylist who is one of few Polynesians in the European dominated industry.
"It's a huge opportunity for me, especially being polynesian and male," said Sammy
"Our aesthetic and our way of thinking is quite different from the european kind of style."
The creative stylist, otherwise known as Sam Cowley Lupo, traces his Pacific roots back to Vaigaga, Manase in Savai'i, Samoa and Avetele in Niue.
In his own personal style, the former TV music host of Pacific Beat Street, has pioneered the look of the new age polynesian man and gained respect from some of the fashion industry's heavyweights as well as his worldwide loyal followers on social media.
He represents an increasing number of Pacific Islanders who are bravely breaking away from the traditional gender stereotypes of pacific female/male attire.
"I've always had a different taste to most of my male cousins," he laughs.
"Society stereotypes us and they think Pacific Islanders are a specific breed and I've been lucky enough to break down some of those stereotypes."
31-year-old Sammy Salsa Style has now been appointed as the internationally renowned MiNDFOOD magazine's full time Fashion Editorial Stylist for Mindfood Style.
The popular Magazine has a vast following in both Australia and New Zealand and has been running for over 8 years.
It's a rare position for the Pacific stylist who is one of few Polynesians in the European dominated industry.
"It's a huge opportunity for me, especially being polynesian and male," said Sammy
"Our aesthetic and our way of thinking is quite different from the european kind of style."
The creative stylist, otherwise known as Sam Cowley Lupo, traces his Pacific roots back to Vaigaga, Manase in Savai'i, Samoa and Avetele in Niue.
In his own personal style, the former TV music host of Pacific Beat Street, has pioneered the look of the new age polynesian man and gained respect from some of the fashion industry's heavyweights as well as his worldwide loyal followers on social media.
He represents an increasing number of Pacific Islanders who are bravely breaking away from the traditional gender stereotypes of pacific female/male attire.
"I've always had a different taste to most of my male cousins," he laughs.
"Society stereotypes us and they think Pacific Islanders are a specific breed and I've been lucky enough to break down some of those stereotypes."
He has styled artists such as Stan Walker, Ladi 6 and Hollie Smith and credits those gigs to helping further his career.
"I've been lucky enough to have a few doors open for me over the last 4 years"
"Especially working with key people in the entertainment industry who have really uplifted the platform that I'm on today."
The renowned Auckland-based stylist said he didn't know how to pursue his passion for fashion at first.
"As you get older and wiser you start making career choices and following different paths,"
"One day I got to a point where I thought - stuff that, I'm going to follow what I really want to do."
He says the motivation behind his success, is his family and his upbringing.
"I come from the struggle, my dad was in a gang and in the early days, there was quite a lot of abuse in my parents relationship," he said.
"A lot of that stuff has really motivated me to be a good role model for my four younger brothers."
The pioneering stylist says the struggles he's been through add value to his craft and his art.
Now his work continues to break the mould in an industry where there are few Pacific faces.
"That excites me and motivates me to delve more into it," he said
"To make a name for not just myself, but Pacific people in general."
"I've been lucky enough to have a few doors open for me over the last 4 years"
"Especially working with key people in the entertainment industry who have really uplifted the platform that I'm on today."
The renowned Auckland-based stylist said he didn't know how to pursue his passion for fashion at first.
"As you get older and wiser you start making career choices and following different paths,"
"One day I got to a point where I thought - stuff that, I'm going to follow what I really want to do."
He says the motivation behind his success, is his family and his upbringing.
"I come from the struggle, my dad was in a gang and in the early days, there was quite a lot of abuse in my parents relationship," he said.
"A lot of that stuff has really motivated me to be a good role model for my four younger brothers."
The pioneering stylist says the struggles he's been through add value to his craft and his art.
Now his work continues to break the mould in an industry where there are few Pacific faces.
"That excites me and motivates me to delve more into it," he said
"To make a name for not just myself, but Pacific people in general."
Three Wise Cousins movie release so successful now to be released in Australia
The New Zealand box office success of a movie which showcases Samoan culture and humour, has helped secure the film a cinema release in Australia.
The self-funded, grassroots comedy, 'Three Wise Cousins' has made about US$200,000 in just two weeks. It came in at number 7 at the New Zealand box office its first week, despite being shown at just eight cinemas throughout the country. The film's director, Stallone Vaiaoga-Ioasa, said he had a lot of requests from the Pacific community in Australia to also see the film. "The exhibitors, such as Event Cinemas and Hoyts have sort of come to the party and seen the figures here in New Zealand and based on I guess how previous island films in particular have done, such as The Orator, they've managed to have a quite a widespread [release]. So it will be showing in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, and we might even head out to Perth as well, for the few islanders way out there." Stallone Vaiaoga-Ioasa said they plan to premiere the movie in Samoa on February 24, with the cast of the movie expected to attend. Samoan families in Auckland need your support to get free Solar power for 10 years. All you have to do is vote online.By Teleiai Edwin Puni
Talofa Lava, Eight Pacific families are in the running to WIN the use of a 130 high-tech Vector solar power and battery systems for 10 years. But we need to VOTE to ensure they are in the top 100 in order to WIN one of the FREE Vector solar systems. Three other Pacific families that we are supporting as a group have made it to the top 100! Vector is asking people to nominate and vote the most deserving individuals, families, community groups and state-integrated schools by going to their website: www.vectorfutureofenergy.co.nz With your VOTE we can support more Pacific families in Auckland to WIN this amazing technology. Yes, anyone anywhere can VOTE. Please VOTE for each of the Pacific families below: 1. ROSS & ANNA BAILEY (Ranked # 188): Click on link http://vectorfutureofenergy.co.nz/page/rossannabaileymteden to go to their voting page. 2. CHRISTINA ATOA TAPU (Ranked # 186): Click on link http://vectorfutureofenergy.co.nz/…/christinaatoatapumangere to go to their voting page. 3. TAGALO ENOKA & BENITA PUNI (Ranked # 157): Click on link http://vectorfutureofenergy.co.nz/…/tagaloaenokabenitapuniw… to go to their voting page. 4. SO’OALO SETU & TALEI SOLOMON-MUA (Ranked 137): Click on link http://vectorfutureofenergy.co.nz/…/sooalosetutaleisolomonm… to go to their voting page. 5. VILIAME TISELI (Ranked # 109): Click on link http://vectorfutureofenergy.co.nz/page/viliamitiseli to go to their voting page. 6. JENKISN TESESE (Ranked # 61): Click on link http://vectorfutureofenergy.co.nz/page/jenkinstesese to go to their voting page. 7. TIM & NAOMI SAUNI (Ranked # 60): Click on link http://vectorfutureofenergy.co.nz/page/timnaomisauni to go to their voting page. 8. TELEIAI EDWIN PUNI (Ranked # 4): Click on link http://vectorfutureofenergy.co.nz/p…/teleiaiedwinpunimanukau to go to our family page and VOTE. Here are 3 good reasons why you should support this campaign: 1. “TO GO FAR, WE GO TOGETHER”: This is a real opportunity for 100 deserving families and community groups in Auckland (north of Papakura, Manukau & Auckland) and 30 state integrated schools to win. With a just a minute of your time to VOTE, you will make a difference to one of our Pacific families. 2. EVERY VOTE COUNTS: It’s a proof of concept that we can make a difference with our ‘collective’ vote. With 4,733 Facebook friends, we can take the number one spot currently at 452 votes. The same impact of a 'collective' vote can be exercised at local board elections, even general elections. Imagine the impact of our 'collective' buying power if we work together! 3. WE ARE A GLOBAL FAMILY: Yes, anyone anywhere can vote. Remember families and good friends support each other as per the Samoan saying, ““A e iloa au i Siulepa, ou te iloa foi oe i Togamau.” Literally translates, if you know me in Siulepa, I will remember you in Togamau. Meaning if you be kind to me at my time of need, I will remember to reciprocate the good deed in your time of need. There is just 9 more days to go before the Vector competition closes on midnight 30th August. My family is aiming for the # 1 spot but we are short of 115 votes. If you have not voted, please click on link http://vectorfutureofenergy.co.nz/p…/teleiaiedwinpunimanukau to go to our family page and VOTE. Remember, anyone with an email address or Facebook account can vote. A big FA"AFETAI from Teleiai, Rosa, Aitaua and Fa’atoina to the 401 people who took the time to VOTE for us. Wishing you a peaceful weekend with your loved ones….. Teleiai Edwin Puni How the Tatau changed a young man's life reaffirms the need to continue our traditional cultural valuesTHERE'S nothing unusual about a young man walking through the streets of Wanganui wearing tattoos.
But 24-year-old CJ Stowers is starting to get used to people staring at him and his tattoo. That's because CJ wears the malofie [also known as the pe'a], the traditional Samoan tattoo that covers two-thirds of his body. A stunning piece of art, with a rich cultural and personal meaning, the malofie covers CJ from the middle of his back to just below his knees. It takes in his buttocks, his lower abdomen from his belly button, covers his thighs and knees completely, but avoids the genital area. It's made up of heavy black lines, particularly in the thigh area, and more delicate dots and arrows arranged in patterns through and alongside the lines. It took 30 hours to complete, in sessions lasting between 90 minutes to six hours, and it was carefully hand-tapped into CJ's skin using a set of serrated combs called the au, by a master tufuga, or Samoan tattooist. Considered a rite of manhood for Samoan men, a malofie is not for the faint of heart. CJ's journey to his malofie began at the age of five. The only child of a Pakeha father and a Samoan mother, Wanganui-born CJ has always been very close to his Samoan family - grandparents, aunties, uncles and cousins - and visited Samoa regularly. When he was five, his father committed suicide, and not long afterwards his mother began a long battle with breast and brain cancer. For years, CJ watched his mother suffer. "After my father passed away, it was just me and my Mum, and I was the man of the house. I saw all the pain that she went through - she was sick and weak and she had radiation and surgery." But as he got older, CJ "fell in with the wrong crowd" and got in trouble with the police. Just before his mother died three years ago, she discovered he had been arrested. The thought that his mother died worried about him nearly broke CJ. "I was really tortured by it - I felt guilty that I hadn't done enough, that I'd acted in a way that my mum wouldn't approve of." While he couldn't undo what he'd done, CJ took his mother's death as an opportunity to sort himself out and get his life back on track. "I used to say to her, 'I wish I could take your pain' and after she passed I started thinking to myself about how I could actually do that. And suddenly it occurred to me - I could go get one of the most painful tattoos in the world. I'm of Samoan descent so I fitted the match." A Samoan man cannot receive the malofie without the blessing of his family. So he spoke to his aunty and her husband about the idea, and they were supportive - on one condition. "They told me I must complete it, that if I came back without it finished because I couldn't handle the pain, I would bring shame on the whole family." CJ Stowers, 24, displays his malofie, a traditional Samoan tattoo which covers two-thirds of his body. PHOTO/STUART MUNRO CJ Stowers, 24, displays his malofie, a traditional Samoan tattoo which covers two-thirds of his body. PHOTO/STUART MUNRO In February CJ travelled to Auckland to meet with the master tufuga, Su'a Peter Suluape. The Suluape family is famed for the quality of their traditional tattoos. Because CJ is only half-Samoan he felt it was especially important that he research the meaning and history of the malofie carefully so the tufuga would know he "wasn't just doing it for vanity reasons". "If he'd thought that's what I was doing, he would have denied me right then and there. "Every little piece on the malofie means something. I told him my story and he designed the malofie based on what I'd told him. It's not just about my family and my village, it represents Samoan culture and the Samoan way of life. "Imagine that someone wrote a book about Samoan culture - well, the malofie is that book in picture form. It's saying that you're Samoan and this is your place in the world." Patterns differ, but the basic shape of the malofie remains the same.
Every day for two weeks, in a shed in South Auckland, CJ lay on a mat-covered floor - with a sheet over his head to deal with the pain and male family members sitting nearby for support - while the tufuga and his assistants tapped away at CJ's skin. At night his uncle or cousin would help CJ, weakened by pain and nausea, take cool showers so he could wash the blood and ink off his skin. The work was completed after a mammoth six-hour session that included the most painful area - the belly button. "The tufuga stopped, and everyone in the room started clapping, and it was such a relief - oh, thank God." During the time he was being tattooed CJ was tapu. This meant he couldn't shave, have sex, drink alcohol or take drugs, or sleep in a bed. Once the malofie was completed, CJ went through a sama ceremony, where the tapu was lifted and his new status as a soga'imiti [someone who wears the malofie] was celebrated. Gifts were also offered to the tufuga by CJ's family during the ceremony. Three months on, CJ's skin is still healing, although he's able to play rugby again and is feeling well. And he feels like a different person. "I felt like my Mum was with me the whole time [while getting the malofie], and the more it went on, the more she forgave me. I forgave myself, but I felt her forgiveness too. At the end, I felt clean and although I was in pain, I felt euphoric. "Every morning when I wake up and see it I feel like my debts have been paid, and I'm reminded to be a better person and do things my Mum would be proud of." http://www.nzherald.co.nz/wanganui-chroni…/news/article.cfm… Prince Harry in New Zealand. Watch Video.The Pasefika Festival moves to a new location after 23 years of operationBy Viopapa Taeleifi-Euta, photos by Viopapa Taeleifi-Euta.
Hayman Park in Manukau was the place to be this past weekend as the 2015 Pasifika Festival took off on Saturday, March 14 and Sunday, March 15. Known to all participants and followers of the festival, it is the largest of its kind in the world and the 23rd year of the Pasifika Festival was no different as hundreds of stalls of cultural food, crafts and products were opened to thousands of curious and familiar people. 2015 marked the first time the Pasifika Festival was held in Manukau, South Auckland temporarily because of the discovery of the Queensland fruit flies in the Grey Lynn area where Western Springs Park had been home to the festival of past years. This did not deter the enthusiasm of the crowds swarming Hayman Park in the duration of the event. Groups representing the Cook Islands, Fiji, Niue, Aotearoa, Hawai’I, Kiribati, Samoa, Tahiti, Tuvalu, Tonga, Tokelau and Melanesia all took part presenting live performances and workshops including exciting activities such as island dancing, flax weaving, Pacific designed tattooing, ukulele playing lessons, drumming, wood carving and many other pursuits of the Polynesia culture. Interview with Mayor Brown on the new location of the Pasefika festival.
This Pacific event is an event looked forward to by many not only in Auckland, but attracts those from New Zealand’s other major cities and also of people who have learned of this event from many parts of the world.
Attendance numbers dwindled much to the dismay of the festival’s organizers due to two other major functions, the Cricket World Cup match at Eden Park and the Eagles concert at Mt Smart Stadium. To dampen the mood of others, critiques have been known to state that the festival is becoming too commercialized and the essence of the true cultural event is beginning to fade. However, all in all, the Pacific people are known to make things happen and one of those is to continue to display the Pasifika pride and beauty to the rest of the world. |
PRODUCTION BEGINS ON TUSI TAMASESE'S NEW FILM ‘ONE THOUSAND ROPES'By SUGA Magazine / Published on Monday, 09 Nov 2015 08:13 AM / No Comments / 2109 views
One Thousand Ropes is the new film from internationally acclaimed writer and director Tusi Tamasese (The Orator). A powerful character drama, One Thousand Ropes is an emotional story about Maea a Samoan father reconnecting with his daughter Ilisa. Maea, a former middle weight boxer, uses his hands to massage pregnant women and to knead bread at a bakery: he is gifted in both arts. Despite these talents, he was once a volatile man. Now older, Maea navigates the push and pull of connections to the land, people, past and destiny. His daughter’s timely arrival has a lasting effect on both of their lives. New Samoan actress on the scene SUGA Lagi Farani takes on her first official feature film role | Photo: Cecilia Sagote ManagementThe film stars a talented local cast including Frankie Adams (Shortland Street) in her feature film debut, Uelese Petaia (Sons for the Return Home), Beulah Koale (Last Saint, Shortland Street), Sima Urale (Apron Strings), Ene Petaia (Sione’s Wedding) and Anapela Polataivao (Night Shift, The Market). They star alongside some fantastic new discoveries including Lagi Farani (Naomi, Mau and the Visitor) who has recently returned from Acting training in Los Angeles; Pauline Sauvao (Fatu Na Toto), Asia Tumama, Gabby Solomona and Quizel Franheim. One Thousand Ropes is the second feature together for Tamasese (director and writer) and Catherine Fitzgerald (producer). Tamasese comments “I am very honoured to be working with such a generous and experienced crew, many of whom we worked with on The Orator and with an exciting cast.” Tamasese’s first feature film The Orator premiered at the Venice Film Festival 2011 and achieved international and local acclaim. It was New Zealand’s first-ever entry into the best foreign-language film category for the Academy Awards and was celebrated on the international circuit including Sundance and Berlin film festivals. Tusi Tamasese directed Award Winning film ‘The Orator’One Thousand Ropes is a Blueskin Films production in association with the New Zealand Film Commission and Fulcrum Media Finance. International sales are managed by Mongrel Media. New Zealand and Australian distribution managed by Transmission Films. For media enquires contact Kylie Leggoe Trigger Marketing & Publicity. 022 643 4439 [email protected] NZ chocolate company uses Samoan cocoa and Tongan vanillaA New Zealand chocolate company has released a new range of chocolates using ingredients from the Pacific, cocoa from Samoa and vanilla from Tonga.
The Whittakers new Artisan collection was released this week, including the 'Single Origin Samoan Cacao' block, which is made using cocoa from the Vaai Family Plantation in Samoa. Whittaker's Hawke’s Bay Braeburn Apple with Heilala Vanilla chocolate. Another 100g block, 'Hawke's Bay Braeburn Apple with Vanilla', uses pure Heilala Vanilla beans from Tonga. Sofaia Latu works for the New Zealand owned Heilala Vanilla company on Vava'u and says she's excited to take the blocks of chocolate back home to show her family. "I think they will be real proud of having that chocolate, because they work hard at the plantation, but it's very different if they know that the Heilala Vanilla is around the world, in the chocolate. I think they will be proud of that and they will feel special."
Sofaia Latu says the vanilla bean work helps feed her children and family, and the company helps provide water and power to the village. PESETA SAM LOTU-IIGA reappointed to the prestigious NZ Cabinet position of Minister of Ethnic Communities, Minister for Pacific Peoples and Minister of Corrections.From National Party website
Peseta Sam was born in Apia, Samoa and moved to New Zealand with his family when he was a child. He grew up in Mangere and was educated at Mangere Central School and Auckland Grammar School. He graduated from the University of Auckland with a Masters in Commerce (Hons), Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Law degrees. After graduating, he joined Russell McVeagh McKenzie Bartleet & Co. as a solicitor, working in the area of corporate and commercial law. He later moved to England, where he worked for Bankers Trust as a financial analyst. While in England he graduated with an MBA from the University of Cambridge (Queens College). He has worked as an executive consultant with Macquarie Bank in Sydney before returning to New Zealand to work as a management consultant and advisor. In 2008, Peseta Sam was elected as the MP for Maungakiekie and has held the seat since. He is an active leader in the Pacific community and holds the high chief (alii) title of Peseta. Locally, Sam is patron of the Maungarei Cadets, the Dolphin Theatre and the Onehunga Bowling Club. He is an active member of the Royal Oak Baptist Church and belongs to the Rotary Club of Penrose. Prior to parliament, Peseta Sam was elected to the Tamaki-Maungakiekie seat on the Auckland City Council and was appointed Chairman of the City Development Committee. In January 2014, he was appointed as Minister of Pacific Island Affairs and Associate Minister of Local Government. Peseta Sam is currently the Minister of Corrections, Minister for Ethnic Communities and Minister for Pacific Peoples (formally Minister of Pacific Island Affairs). He is also the Associate Minister of Health. Peseta Sam lives in Onehunga with his wife Jules and daughter Hope. By HAMISH RUTHERFORD
Since entering Parliament in 2008, Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga has risen quickly through the ranks. Already the chair of the social services committee, the former financial analyst and Cambridge graduate was tipped as a minister in waiting since the last election, before being made a minister outside Cabinet. Mr Lotu-Iiga was born in Apia in Samoa in 1970, moving to New Zealand with his family in 1973. His upbringing was humble by his own account. But his education, which he described as "the key to unlocking so many of the opportunities that I have enjoyed in life", has been impressive. After attending Auckland Grammar, Mr Lotu- Iiga studied law and commerce at the University of Auckland, before being employed at top law firm Russell McVeagh. He then travelled to London where he worked as a financial analyst for the Bankers Trust while completing an MBA at the University of Cambridge. From there he worked as a consultant for Macquarie Bank in Sydney, before returning to Auckland, where he was elected to the Auckland City Council in 2007, representing the Tamaki- Maungakiekie seat. In the general election a year later he won the seat of Maungakiekie for National with a margin of 1942 votes. In 2011 he was re-elected with a 3021-vote margin. During his maiden speech, Mr Lotu-Iiga thanked members of his family, as well as controversial political strategist Simon Lusk, praising him for his "shrewd counsel". He described Maungakiekie (also known as One Tree Hill) as "middle New Zealand', an electorate in which 149 different ethnic groups were represented and schools ranged from decile one to decile nine. "The Maungakiekie electorate is at the heart of Auckland's diversity, with the iconic Maungakiekie as its jewel. It spans the Auckland isthmus from the Manukau Harbour in the west to the Tamaki River in the east." He credits his parents for instilling in the family "Christian principles, and a diligent work ethic". As well as being conferred the Samoan high chiefly title of Peseta, Mr Lotu-Iiga has served in a variety of roles, from coach of the Auckland under-14 rugby team to being a board member of the Primary Health Organisations of New Zealand. His policies are not always in line with those of his party. Late last year he launched a private members' bill that would make it compulsory for under-15s to wear life jackets on small boats, two years after the Government ruled out a general move to make life jackets compulsory. Below is an open letter to the honorable Minister from Tuifaasisina Meaole Keil which speaks to the magnitude of this position from a Samoan's perspective as he is the highest political official from the Pacific Islands community in New Zealand. OPEN LETTER: AFIOGA PESETA SAM LOTU-I’IGA – AGENT OF CHANGE?
Tuifa’asisina Meaole Keil Afioga e, Congratulations on your reappointment as Minister of Pacific Islands Affairs, although I note that title has changed to Minister for Pacific peoples. It may be a small change but I hope I’m correct to infer that it now carries more responsibility, that apart from just “Pacific Affairs” that it now includes “Pacific well being” plus everything else that’s good for the Pacific? But of even greater import is the fact you are now a Minister inside Cabinet. You are a core member of the Legislative Assembly’s executive branch. You now sit and provide interventions, points of views and advise to the most powerful and influential group of people in the country. Your voice becomes part of all final decisions made that will affect and impact every New Zealander over the next three years and well beyond that. The only other Samoan that made it to that table was Vui Mark Gosche. And look at the impacts his voice had on Labour’s Housing policy and other key areas. But you, like Vui are also unique in that cabinet. Amongst your cabinet colleagues, you must know that only John Key shares a unique bond with you. It is only the two of you that have been bestowed matai titles. But there is one significant difference. John Key’s To’oolesavili is an honorary title, while yours, the title Peseta, is the genuine deal that comes with all the history, heritage and honorifics. In case you may not know, there is a connection between the matai titles Vui and Peseta. Both of you are Sa Tuala – but I will stop here as this is an important topic that needs a dedicated article to lay out the layers of Samoan culture, tradition and protocols. To detail the hierarchy and status of the fa’amatai in Samoan society. It is an important article as it will inform and educate the non-Samoan members in your Cabinet as well as parliament. Something they will have to take note of simply because of the fact that you are a Cabinet Minister endowed with all the authority, status and regalia it brings. You and your heritage are now too important to simply ignore because where you go, your heritage as a Samoan is an inseparable part of you. For now, I’m assuming that you will be over the newness of your cabinet post and the accolades that are part and parcel of it. You must now be used to your massive desk, top of the line computer and digital accessories and extra staff at your beck and call – if you’re not – then I’d be concerned. One thing you can be excused to still be getting used to, is your Parliamentary Limo and Driver. But as of this week, I would say you’re ready to knuckle down to action some serious work. Those are my assumptions anyway. Looking well into the future, you will also know that as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, your time as a Minister will end. And as clear as the sky is blue on a bright summer’s day, what you do from now on will determine what legacy you will leave behind, what you will be known for. And let me add here that people like your friendly journalists and columnists at Pacific Guardians will be the few that will write your legacy. Let us hope there will be no John Banks or Judith Collins episodes they will have to write about. So, as you get used to your status inside cabinet, I urge you to think about what you want to achieve while you are there. Think about what people may say to your children when you have retired from politics. Ma lo’u fa’aloalo lava (with all respect due), here’s something you may want to reflect upon as you start your journey as a Cabinet Minister in New Zealand’s 51st parliament. Your Pacific people are in the group that has the highest unemployment rate in this country. So, when you make statements about how the National Government has grown the economy and how many new jobs it has produced, our people do not understand you because they simply don’t see those things in their lives. You sound to them like a Palagi who has a six figure salary and Parliamentary Limo service who has no idea whatsoever about the the reality of their everyday lives. As we have seen before, the jobs the majority of our people are employed in are in the services and manufacturing sectors. These jobs are the first to go when the economy takes a downturn and the last to recover when the economy grows. Those realities have taken place in your six years in government, so you know the reality and impacts on our people – we are the first to be sacrificed in a downturn, and the last, if at all, to benefit even when told the economy is a ‘rock star’. Also do not lose sight that even when our people do get jobs, your National Government does not favour increasing the minimum wage to a Living Wage, for fear that jobs will be lost. And then add insult to the question by saying why not pay people $50.00 per hour or some other outrageous amount. You may ask why I use the word insult. Well consider the same comment from another angle, “we can give everyone a job if the wages are as low as say $5.00 per hour like some States in the US.” The reality is both statements are ridiculous and insulting to people’s intelligence and a blatant disregard to our people’s reality which is: misery, poverty and indignity of having to rely on the state for hand-outs to survive. The reality is that middle income NZ, supposedly the highly skilled and professional portion of the work force dominated by the Palagi can only afford a decent standard of living if their incomes are supplemented by welfare payments. This is a serious indictment of your Government’s policies. What the research and statistics are now showing is that higher education is for the richer portion of the population, and it is no longer for every child. It is also my response in anticipation of your party line statement: “Education is the way forward for our people.” As a Cabinet Minister the care and welfare of all citizens is your duty. And that is something you have been saying, it is something your leader John Key highlighted in his victory speech. So it is no secret that you and the National Government know your duty is to govern for all New Zealanders. But the problem is that these have been just words. And so my dear uso Peseta, that is my challenge to you. It is your duty that yours and your leader’s words, “to care for all New Zealanders” are carried out honourably, with integrity, honesty and truthfully. By honourably I mean that you don’t get ministry officials to recommend to you what you want to hear, even though they know what they are saying is false. This is what happened to the MSD recommendation about ‘In Work Tax Credit’ that was revealed earlier this week. You see, modern politics now more than ever dictate to politicians that they prioritise the wishes of those that supported/contributed to their campaign for power. The National Government, like other Right wing political parties do get most of their campaign funding from the Corporate/Business Sector. And their constituents are the ones earning $60,000-plus per year. The majority of our people earn $30,000 or below annually and therefore cannot match the rich donors’ financial contributions to National. Even that $30,000 per annum is set to decrease as the trend over the last six years show that more and more of our people are working in casual jobs. Even our children with university degrees come out to no jobs while carrying on their backs huge student loans that need to be paid back. Our children come out and instead of looking towards a brighter future, are enslaved to their student loans which for many years keeps them from helping to improve their family’s economic situation. That is why our people question you everytime you say, “Education is the way forward for our people.” Our highly educated children like the Palagi kids now have to look overseas for better jobs. This surely cannot be our future? This cannot be NZ’s future? Our young and brightest leaving the country? Pacific people most likely did not vote for National. Furthermore it is most likely that a large portion of Pacific Islanders did not even bother to vote or register to vote. Which then raises the question: Will our people benefit from your time in Cabinet? Will our people be able to work secure jobs that pay a Living Wage? Will our parents be able to show, by example, to their children that hard work is rewarding? That there is dignity and respect in hard work? When Paula Bennett, in Parliament, goes into one of her child poverty supposedly funny diatribes on how to define child poverty, the stats point to us PIs as one of the worst affected groups yet you appear to be enjoying the stand-up comedy act which is cheered on by your National party colleagues. I would like to think that you are the one who will change the way they view us. That in your time as Minister you were strong enough to stop the bash and blame rhetoric that some of your fellow Ministers enjoy pumping to the media fueling the wrong impression that we PIs are lazy and rorting the welfare system. That you petitioned those in your Government to show respect to the defenceless and vulnerable. The mark of a great man Peseta is shown by what he does for the weak and vulnerable, not by what he does for another big man. Even greater is the man who, when shown the truth changed his ways to serve the greater good of the people. Remember the story of Moses? How he gave up being a prince of Egypt to lead the chosen people to the promised land? Your legacy cannot go wrong if you look to develop policies with our communities. Many of our people will come to you with solutions to their needs. If you back them, work with them, then they in turn will back you, unite behind you to make whatever initiative or project a success. And for me, that is what I wish to see happen over the next three years because that’s how governments are supposed work – to govern for the people. Peseta, if that vision is how things bloom for our communities in the future, I guarantee that you, my Samoan uso, will certainly leave a legacy. A legacy that when people see your children after you retire from politics, will go up to them and say, “Tell your father he raised our Pacific flag with pride.” The American Football Auckland Awards Ceremony a huge successThe American Football Auckland (AFA) 2014/2015 Prize giving awards were held Saturday evening March 7, 2015 beginning at 7pm. The event celebrated and recognized the achievements of the players, coaches and administrators who have been participating in playing American football in Auckland.
This group has been together since 1982. They have 3 grades of competition. The Juniors under 16s, the Colts under 19s and the Senior Mens. The Metro Lions were big winners at this event with trophies awarded to their Juniors and Colts teams. These are photos of the Metro Lions celebrating their awards ML4L. The AFA President is Lani Ekepati, the Secretary is Toa Sagapolutele, and Treasuer is Dorothea Ieremia. According to Toa Sagapolutele who played for University of California Berkeley's football team, "The future looks bright for the AFA and the Metro Lions due to the Auckland Football Association's close working relationship with the National body (NZAFF) or New Zealand American Football Federation. They are looking forward to an international match between the Auckland under 19's vs Australia and hope to play in the 2016 American Football Junior World cup in Mexico.
According to all who attended it was a great night at the Auckland American Football Awards. The evening featured an excellent finals video highlights of the Metro Juniors & Colts teams by Joe Faga. Keep your eye on this organization. They definitely have potential to get some players into the College and NFL pro ranks in the near future. When Pacific Islanders were raided in their bedsIn a few days, Auckland hosts Pasifika! and ASB Polyfest, celebrating our Island culture. But, as Suzanne McFadden shows, things were not always so rosy.
By Suzanne McFadden They would strike in the dead of night at Auckland's affluent heart. Armed with powerful spotlights and loud hailers, the Polynesian Panthers - incensed by the police's dawn raids on Pacific Island families in Ponsonby and Grey Lynn searching for overstayers - joined other anti-racism groups to give politicians a taste of their own medicine in the 1970s. One of the original Panthers, pioneering reggae musician Tigi Ness, remembers the night they went to the home of Bill Birch, then a senior figure in Robert Muldoon's National government. National had inherited the raids from the Labour government but stepped them up in frequency and intensity. "We were calling out on loudhailers at three o'clock in the morning: 'Bill Birch, come out with your passports now!'" Ness says. "We were highly incensed. They did that in South Africa to black people with the apartheid system, they did that in America to black people, they did that all over the world to coloured people. Now they were doing it to us." The dawn raids began in 1974 when the Labour government, faced with an economic downturn, clamped down on people overstaying their working visas. Samoans and Tongans - welcomed into New Zealand with open arms in the 1950s and 60s to relieve a huge labour shortage - were the main targets. Police with dogs burst into homes at dawn; Pacific people were randomly stopped in the street. A study a decade later showed Polynesians had made up only a third of overstayers but more than 80 per cent of all prosecutions for overstaying. The distressing and divisive raids ended in the late 1970s but they damaged the relationship between Pacific Islanders and New Zealand, tarnishing its image of a rich, multicultural society. But despite those dramatic days, and nights, Auckland today is the undisputed Polynesian capital of the world - with almost 195,000 people identifying themselves with a Pacific ethnicity. The city has an irrepressible Pacific identity that could not be ignored and which has been steadily embraced. Ness - the "father of reggae" in New Zealand and also father of hiphop legend Che Fu - was born in central Auckland in 1955, not long after his parents came from Niue to the "Land of Temptations". Entire Niuean villages left their atoll, fleeing tropical cyclones and seeking a more modern life in New Zealand. Today there are 1600 people in Niue, and almost 24,000 here. He wasn't alone. In 1945 there were just 2200 Pacific Islanders living in New Zealand; with the post-war industrial boom, New Zealand looked to the Pacific for workers. People from the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau - as New Zealand citizens - had freedom of entry. Samoa had strong links with New Zealand, having been under its administration since the start of World War I, when New Zealand troops seized control of the German radio transmitter tower in Apia and forced out the Germans. Looking for better opportunities for their children, Samoans began arriving in Auckland in earnest in the 1950s. The Tongan community was slower to move, most coming in the 1970s as unskilled workers on temporary permits. Most found homes in Parnell, Newton, Ponsonby and Grey Lynn - in derelict villas and worker's cottages where no one wanted to live. It wasn't easy settling into the city way of life but they clung to sports, music, family and their faith. Churches became like villages for the new immigrants. In 1947, New Zealand's first Pacific Islands church was built in Newton - the Pacific Islanders' Congregational Church (PICC) was home to a blend of Samoans, Cook Islanders, Niueans and Tokelauans. Now rebuilt, the church in Edinburgh St still serves as an important gathering-place. The church is near a corner of Karangahape Rd - another popular meeting point, especially on late-night shopping Thursdays. When the inner suburbs were gentrified, many Polynesian families were forced to the city's outer suburbs of Mangere, Otara, Henderson, Te Atatu and Glen Innes; new Pacific communities grew. Today, the weekend markets at Otara and Avondale have the same magnetism K Rd once had. Tigi Ness calls himself a "Traffic Islander" - raised by a Niuean mother who spoke little English and educated in a large city in the New Zealand way. He excelled at primary school but was expelled as a sixth former from Mt Albert Grammar for refusing to get his afro-style hair cut. A year later, Ness joined the fledgling Polynesian Panthers movement. They were based on the Black Panthers, who fought racism and oppression in the US. The Auckland-based Panthers organised rent strikes for those paying big rents for shoddy housing around Ponsonby, Newton and Parnell. Pacific groups kept their culture alive in language nests and pre-schools. "Landlords were profiteering off Pacific Island people and poor white people in rat-infested houses, taps that didn't work, toilets that didn't flush," Ness said at an Auckland Museum Smart Talk panel discussion. Dressed in black leather and berets, the Panthers saw themselves as revolutionaries. They tried to shy away fromviolence, instead promoting Polynesian culture and human rights, wanting to make a better life for Pacific people trying to fit into their new communities. They set up homework centres and distributed legal rights pamphlets. Ness was appointed the Polynesian Panthers' "Minister of Culture" and immediately set up a library. There were sit-ins, demonstration marches and protests, standing side-by-side with Maori nationalist movements, like Nga Tamatoa, at Bastion Pt, Waitangi and the Springbok tour protests in 1981. Ness was arrested and jailed for nine months for his involvement with the Patu Squad that confronted police outside Eden Park. But he found a "less aggressive way" to reach out to Pacific people - through music with his reggae band Unity Pacific. For today's Pacific generations, Tigi Ness says "the struggle is the same" but his advice is to embrace who they are. "You must go back and find out your roots, and bring them back here and make it a better place," he says. |