Posted: February 9, 2010 | Author: PacificEyeWitness.com | Filed under: Analysis, Breaking News, Business, Community, Current, education, Fono Notices, Jobs In The Pacific, NZPacific, Opinion & Commentary, Politics, South Pacific Region | Tags: adults only, Apia, Arrival, bankruptcy, Bronagh, Bronagh Key, celebration, ceremony, Close-up, color image, copy space, dawn, Diplomacy, food, Georgina Te Heuheu, government, Head of State, Highness, hold, Hon Georgina, horizontal, Human Hand, Human Interest, ideas, indoors, inside out, interest, joblessness, John, john key, Kava Kava, key, labour party, lifestyles, Maori and Pacific jobseekers, Maori unemployment, midsection, national party, new zealand, no money, NZ European unemployment, one man only, One Person, Pacific unemployment, People, phil goff, photography, Pita Bread, pita sharples, pocket, Politics, poverty, Prime Minister, prime minister nz, samoa, serving, Sharples, statistics NZ, Traditional Culture, Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi, UE rate, unemployment, visit, Waitangi, watch, welfare, Whare Runanga, work policies, worst hit by recession |
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=unemployment&iid=5285562″ src=”6/d/5/b/Hand_holding_out_d925.jpg?adImageId=10045614&imageId=5285562″ width=”500″ height=”333″ /]
No pretty picture here. Statistics NZ shows the unemployment rate has risen again for Maori and Pacific job seekers. They represent the worst hit groups normally resident in New Zealand. The unemployment rate for Pacific has almost doubled from 7.8 percent unemployment (December 2008) to 14. percent, as at December 2009.
Unemployment among Maori has risen from 9.8 at 15.4 percent. This does not include the figures for European/Maori which is 13.6 percent. Asian unemployment stands at 9.2 percent. The unemployment rate for those who identify as European is 4.6 percent.
MP for Mana Luamanuvao Winnie Laban says the rate should shame the Government into action.“Just over three months ago unemployment rates among Pacific Islanders was 12.3 per cent and we were being promised by the Government it was working to get people back to work, “she says.
The Labour Opposition Spokesperson for Pacific Island Affairs says this latest increase shows their policies are not working. “In just one year, 5000 additional Pacific Island people have lost their jobs. Pacific Island people, who are overrepresented in lower paid jobs, were also bitterly disappointed at the miserly rise in minimum wage announced last month.”
Luamanuvao says many in the Pacific community are saying they are disappointed with a lack of action from the Minister of Pacific Island Affairs Georgina Te Heuheu.
Te Heuheu, who is the second Maori woman to gain election to the National Party, is widely criticised within the Pacific community for her lack of action on Pacific issues.
Luamanuvao on Te Heuheu:
“She is virtually invisible in the portfolio and offering no support or ideas. I am deeply saddened that the Government is failing so many families and that the Minister of Pacific Island Affairs has sat back and done nothing.”
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=georgina+te+heuheu&iid=5330621″ src=”0/3/0/5/John_Key_Embarks_207b.jpg?adImageId=10046208&imageId=5330621″ width=”500″ height=”353″ /]
NZ Pacific Affairs Minister Georgina Te Heuheu(right), during a visit to Samoa with the Prime Minister John Key(next to her) and Maori Affairs Minister Dr Pita Sharples (left), July 7, 2009 in Apia, Samoa.
Opposition Leader Phil Goff says unemployment in New Zealand is now at the highest level it has been in 16 years and is growing at the highest rate in a decade.
“168,000 Kiwis are now unemployed. The total number of jobless is more than 275,000,” says the Labour Leader.
“The Government’s stimulus package has produced just 2300 jobs. That is a lot less than the 3500 people who queued for hours last month for the chance to grab just 150 jobs at a new South Auckland supermarket.”
Goff, who is highly critical of Prime Minister John Key’s Job Summit for producing few results to help those who need it the most, says more and more people are struggling to make ends meet, with the young, the less well off, Maori and Pacific communities and other ethnic groups especially hard hit.
Source: Statistics NZ
Single/combination unemployment rate (unadjusted) by ethnic group |
| Ethnicity |
December 2008
quarter (percent) |
December 2009
quarter (percent) |
| European only |
3.2 |
4.6 |
| Māori only |
9.8 |
15.4 |
| Pacific peoples only |
7.8 |
14.0 |
| Asian only |
6.3 |
9.2 |
| MELAA only |
10.7 |
17.1 |
| ‘Other ethnicity’ only |
4.1 |
3.3 |
| European/Māori |
7.0 |
13.6 |
| Two or more groups not elsewhere included |
6.5 |
14.1 |
| Note: MELAA = Middle Eastern/Latin American/African |
|
|
Posted: February 5, 2010 | Author: PacificEyeWitness.com | Filed under: Analysis, Breaking News, Business, Community, Current, education, NZPacific, Opinion & Commentary, Politics, South Pacific Region | Tags: annette king, Arrival, Attempted, breakfast, Cherington Hiku, competition, conflict, dawn, demonstrating, filing, group, Haka, hone harawira, horizontal, Human Interest, interview, john key, king, King Tuheitia, Kingi Tairua, labour, leader, leaves, left, line, Listening, Maori MP, MP Annette King, MP Parekura Horomia, Nautical Vessel, new zealand, ngapuhi, Ngapuhi Kaumatua Kingi Tairua, oposition, paddle, parekura horomia, People, phil goff, police, Politics, Prime Minister, Protestor, senior adult, serving, shore, Show, silence, Sitting, slient, talking, TeTii Marae, Titewhai Harawera, Traditional Culture, Treaty Grounds, Tuheitia, Upper Marae, vertical, violence, Waitangi, waka, Walking, watch, welcome |
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WAITANGI, NZ, 5th Feb 2009: Silent marchers walking on Treaty Grounds at Waitangi.
The biggest controversy at Waitangi last year was the assault on Prime Minister John Key by two members of the crowd, who were later arrested and charged. What is almost always missed at Waitangi, from the media coverage, are the calmer scenes of the day. This year promises to be an interesting news day at Waitangi: it will be the first time in as many years that a number of international dignitaries will return to Waitangi for the day; Hone Harawira and the Maori Flag; and the Tongan followers of Josh Liava’a mislead into seeking refuge with Ngapuhi over their immigration status. Meanwhile, back to 2009, a lo0k back at the stories that made the front page and the lesser known scenes of the day. Photos by Sandra Mu/Getty Images.
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WAITANGI, NEW ZEALAND – FEBRUARY 05: Hone Harawira, a Maori Party MP listens as New Zealand Prime Minister John Key is welcomed onto Te Tii Marae on February 5, 2009 in Waitangi, New Zealand. Waitangi Day is the national day of New Zealand which is a public holiday held each year on February 6 to celebrate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand’s founding document, on that date in 1840. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: February 3, 2010 | Author: PacificEyeWitness.com | Filed under: Analysis, Breaking News, Business, Community, Current, NZPacific, Politics, South Pacific Region | Tags: gerald otimi, greeting, horizontal, Human Interest, immigration, iwi adoption, John, josh liava'a, key, Kingi Tairua, maori iwi, new zealand, ngapuhi, Ngapuhi Kaumatua, Ngapuhi Kaumatua Kingi Tairua, overstayers, pacific immigration, pacific islanders, Politics, polynesian, Prime Minister, scam, TeTii Marae, Traditional Culture, vertical, Waitangi |
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=ngapuhi+waitangi&iid=3858973″ src=”0/5/9/c/Prime_Minister_John_4990.jpg?adImageId=9881538&imageId=3858973″ width=”500″ height=”348″ /]
PHOTOS TAKEN A YEAR AGO AT WAITANGI, NEW ZEALAND FEBRUARY 05, 2009: Ngapuhi Kaumatua Kingi Tairua welcomes New Zealand Prime Minister John Key onto TeTii Marae.. Waitangi Day is the national day of New Zealand, which is a public holiday held on February 6 each year to celebrate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. The treaty is New Zealand’s founding document, signed on February 6, 1840. (Photo by Sandra Mu/Getty Images).
Another immigration scam, involving adoption into a Maori tribe, pops up again in the Land of the Long White Cloud. It was only last year that Gerald Otimi, who’s presenting before the court on charges, and his band of merry followers allegedly scammed Samoans and Tongans.
This time, different faces, same song. Josh Liava’a, a former police detective, of Tongan descent, is promoting a scheme, that can only be described as a scam, whereby Ngapuhi will adopt Pacific people who have overstayed their visa into their iwi in order to gain New Zealand citizenship. His scam, which he had initially sort to charge $1000 a passport, is aided by an agreement to welcome Pacific people into a Maori iwi (tribe), namely the Ngapuhi tribe of Northland.
Liava’a is no stranger to controversy involving the Tongan royal family and closer to home in New Zealand.
The Maori elder named is Ngaphuhi Spokesperson Kingi Taurua, a highly respected kaumatua (elder) of Ngapuhi. He also happens to be an award-winning te reo Maori broadcaster. He currently hosts a weekly current affairs show in te reo Maori on Radio Waatea, a Maori language radio station based in Auckland. Since the story broke on TV One by Pacific Correspondent Barbara Dreaver, Taurua has refuted Liava’a’s claim for payment.You have to wonder if Dreaver, as per other stories, has jumped to a convenient conclusion to beat up a story, without checking all the facts. Journalism isn’t a perfect art or science so we’re still keeping an open mind until we see all the evidence.
At this stage, it is not clear whether those monies were going direct to the Ngapuhi broadcaster or solely for the benefit of Liava’a , without the knowledge of Taurua.
Time will reveal it, sooner or later. Still, we would be very surprised if in fact Taurua is complicit in this. He’ is highly respected in his circles of influence. This latest revelation will dent it though. Let’s see what the evidence shows over time.
As for Liava’a, the public record shows this is not the first time the former police detective ,now acting as an mmigration consultant ,has sought financial compensation from the Tongan community in some way.
Read the rest of this entry »
Archives to March 2010 - PEW 
Unemployment Highest Among Maori and Pacific Job Seekers; Still Worst Hit By Recession
Posted: February 9, 2010 | Author: PacificEyeWitness.com | Filed under: Analysis, Breaking News, Business, Community, Current, education, Fono Notices, Jobs In The Pacific, NZPacific, Opinion & Commentary, Politics, South Pacific Region | Tags: adults only, Apia, Arrival, bankruptcy, Bronagh, Bronagh Key, celebration, ceremony, Close-up, color image, copy space, dawn, Diplomacy, food, Georgina Te Heuheu, government, Head of State, Highness, hold, Hon Georgina, horizontal, Human Hand, Human Interest, ideas, indoors, inside out, interest, joblessness, John, john key, Kava Kava, key, labour party, lifestyles, Maori and Pacific jobseekers, Maori unemployment, midsection, national party, new zealand, no money, NZ European unemployment, one man only, One Person, Pacific unemployment, People, phil goff, photography, Pita Bread, pita sharples, pocket, Politics, poverty, Prime Minister, prime minister nz, samoa, serving, Sharples, statistics NZ, Traditional Culture, Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi, UE rate, unemployment, visit, Waitangi, watch, welfare, Whare Runanga, work policies, worst hit by recession | Leave a comment[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=unemployment&iid=5285562″ src=”6/d/5/b/Hand_holding_out_d925.jpg?adImageId=10045614&imageId=5285562″ width=”500″ height=”333″ /]
No pretty picture here. Statistics NZ shows the unemployment rate has risen again for Maori and Pacific job seekers. They represent the worst hit groups normally resident in New Zealand. The unemployment rate for Pacific has almost doubled from 7.8 percent unemployment (December 2008) to 14. percent, as at December 2009.
Unemployment among Maori has risen from 9.8 at 15.4 percent. This does not include the figures for European/Maori which is 13.6 percent. Asian unemployment stands at 9.2 percent. The unemployment rate for those who identify as European is 4.6 percent.
MP for Mana Luamanuvao Winnie Laban says the rate should shame the Government into action.“Just over three months ago unemployment rates among Pacific Islanders was 12.3 per cent and we were being promised by the Government it was working to get people back to work, “she says.
The Labour Opposition Spokesperson for Pacific Island Affairs says this latest increase shows their policies are not working. “In just one year, 5000 additional Pacific Island people have lost their jobs. Pacific Island people, who are overrepresented in lower paid jobs, were also bitterly disappointed at the miserly rise in minimum wage announced last month.”
Luamanuvao says many in the Pacific community are saying they are disappointed with a lack of action from the Minister of Pacific Island Affairs Georgina Te Heuheu.
Te Heuheu, who is the second Maori woman to gain election to the National Party, is widely criticised within the Pacific community for her lack of action on Pacific issues.
Luamanuvao on Te Heuheu:
“She is virtually invisible in the portfolio and offering no support or ideas. I am deeply saddened that the Government is failing so many families and that the Minister of Pacific Island Affairs has sat back and done nothing.”
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=georgina+te+heuheu&iid=5330621″ src=”0/3/0/5/John_Key_Embarks_207b.jpg?adImageId=10046208&imageId=5330621″ width=”500″ height=”353″ /]
NZ Pacific Affairs Minister Georgina Te Heuheu(right), during a visit to Samoa with the Prime Minister John Key(next to her) and Maori Affairs Minister Dr Pita Sharples (left), July 7, 2009 in Apia, Samoa.
Opposition Leader Phil Goff says unemployment in New Zealand is now at the highest level it has been in 16 years and is growing at the highest rate in a decade.
“168,000 Kiwis are now unemployed. The total number of jobless is more than 275,000,” says the Labour Leader.
“The Government’s stimulus package has produced just 2300 jobs. That is a lot less than the 3500 people who queued for hours last month for the chance to grab just 150 jobs at a new South Auckland supermarket.”
Goff, who is highly critical of Prime Minister John Key’s Job Summit for producing few results to help those who need it the most, says more and more people are struggling to make ends meet, with the young, the less well off, Maori and Pacific communities and other ethnic groups especially hard hit.
Single/combination unemployment rate (unadjusted) by ethnic group
quarter (percent)
quarter (percent)