E lagona lou faanoanoa talu ai nisi o mataupu faatigaloto na tulai mai i lenei vaiaso.

Muamua ua oo mai ia te au se faasea faapea ua faapipii se laupapa i le taulaga i Aukilani e le pisinisi o le Hell’s Pizza e tusi ai le faamatalaga faapea; “At least our brownies won’t eat your pet dog.”

O lea faaupuga ua faifai mai i le aiga Toga lea na BBQ le latou taifau. O lenei tulaga ua fai ma mea ula a Papalagi ma ua ta’ufa’atasi uma ai tagata Pasefika. Sa ou tali i nei tulaga ma unai o nei faaletonu ua mafua mai ona o le le gaioi o le faigamalo a Key e fesoasoani io tatou aai. O lenei ua toatele tagata ua leai ni galuega talu ai le tapuni o falefaigaluega ma faigata ona maua ni tupe e tausi ai aiga. Ae ua o foi le aiga Toga ma tali i le TV, e leai ua mafua ona faaaoga le maile i latou meaai ona ose meaai taua tele i Tonga, ma ua musu le fafine o le aiga e tausi le maile. Peitaiane, o lea ua manino nei o le taumafa o le maile e leo se taumafa taua i Tonga, ma ua le fiafia le tele o tagata Toga i lenei aiga, ona ua tauvalea uma atu ai Toga.

E faatigaloto lenei mataupu ona ua aliali ai foi le faailogalanu o nisi e faasaga i tagata Pasefika.

Sa ou taua i sau lauga i le Palemene, e mafua mai lava uiga faailogalanu o tagata Papalagi.

O lea foi ua teena e le Malo a le National nofoa faapitoa mo Maori i le Super City i Aukilani talu ai lava le faailogalanu. Ua latou teena ona faapea latou te le taliaina ni nofoa faapitoa ona o le lanu Maori (race-based seats). Ao le vaai a Maori, o latou lava ia o tagata na mua i fanua i Aotearoa. E leo vaai i lo latou lanu o latou o ni tagata eena.
O le mea pito i sili ona faatigaloto i lenei taumafaiga ona o lei uma sailiiliga a le Komiti faapitoa a le Palemene o loo iloiloga le Super City, ao lenei ua faia le faaiuga a le Malo e teena maori. Ua aliali ai, ua leva ona uma ona faia le latou faaiuga, ae taufaase’e le tulaga lea na talo ai fonotaga e saili ai finagalo o tagata Aukilani aua o le tele o finagalo na faaali ai le lagolago o le toatele i le iai o ni nofoa faapitoa mo Maori.

Ona o lenei foi la ua latou teena le auai o sui o Maori i le Super City, ua manino ai foi ua latou teena le auai o tagata Pasefika, ma tagata Asia i le Super City.
O lau faasea i le Palemia ma lana faigamalo, e aliali ai i nei fuafuaga e leai lava se vaai mamao mo le taumafaiga ina ia amanaia ma faataua le sao o tagata Pasefika.
Ou te luitau foi i a tatou tama taaalo o loo lagolago malosi i le faigamalo a le National, faapea o tatou sui o loo iai i lenei faigamalo, e faamanino atu le tele o le sao o tagata Pasefika i le atinaeina o le tamaoaiga o Niu Sila.

O leisi 50 tausga oi le lumanai, o lea aliali ai le toatele atu o tagata Pasefika, Asia ma Maori i lo le au Papalagi. Ona ou fesili lea iai poo lea nei so latou lagona pea oo atu i le lumanai ua toatele atu tagata enaena o loo pulea Aukilani? Poo lea so latou lagona pe afai ae tagi mai Papalagi i so latou avanoa i totonu o pulega.

O le vaiaso foi lenei na ulufale ai se tasi o alii i luga o le pasi sa iai tamaiti aoga o loo agai i St Pauls. Faimai le tala a le ave pasi, Mr Ian McGee, e lei umi ona nofo i lalo le alii, ae fesili atu ia te ia, poo lea le taimi e o ese ai ia tamaiti pisa mai le pasi.

E lei umi ona alu le latou malaga, ae vaai atu le ave pasi, ua tu i luga le alii ma faaali lona ita i tamaiti, ma palauvale iai ma faapea oi latou o ni tagata uli ma tele iai nisi faaupuga e aliae ai lona faailogalanu i nei tamaiti aoga.

Ua taofi loa le pasi ma alu atu iai le ave pasi e ave i fafo le alii lea. Peitaiane na liliu mai iai le alii ma faaoolima loa i le avepasi. O nai tamaiti aoga o St Pauls lea sa i le pasi, na o ma laveai i le avepasi ma tuli ese lenei tagata leaga.

Faimai le avepasi o Ian McGee, matua faafetai lava i tamaiti aoga, ona o le latou toa ma fesoasoani ia te ia.

E momoli atu lau faafetai i le avepasi i lona puipui o tamaiti. E le gata i lea ou te faafetai foi i tamaiti i le tulai e faia le mea tonu ma le mea sao i le puipuiga lea ose tagata matua, poo se tagata vaivai ua moomia se fesoasoani.

Faafetai o loo iai ni tupulaga o loo latou naunau e fai le mea sao e ui e tele ni faaupuga faaletonu sa fai atu e faasaga iai latou e lei taui ma sui iai.

This morning I spoke with Ian McGee, a Mangere resident and bus driver who retold to me the story of how he was punched and beaten by a passenger who got onto the bus he was driving. He said that if it were not for the boys on the bus that came to his aid, and pushed the angry man away from him, he doesn’t know what would’ve happened to him.

Mr McGee like me is so appreciative of the courage displayed by these boys. Their courage reflects the important values of protecting an elder of our local community. Their unselfish actions reflect their desire to do the right thing. To stand up and protect those who are weak. To stand up for those who are being wronged. These boys are such a credit to the Manukau community. They are a credit to their families. They are a credit to their schools. They are a credit to their generation. They are a credit to Aotearoa New Zealand.

I am so proud of these boys and hope that all our sons and daughters emulate their actions in all they do. Their determination to stand up and protect Mr McGee without regard for their own personal safety makes me so proud to be a representative of Mangere. They make me so proud to be a resident of Manukau City, and although I have not yet made contact with their school and with their families, which I will in due course, I want to take this opportunity to shout from this newspaper article, how proud I am of them.

You are true heroes in my eyes. I salute and congratulate you all. I will be looking to organise in the next few days to meet and thank you personally.

I also want to use this article to declare publicly my sincere appreciation to Mr Ian McGee for his strong desire to protect our school children.

It seems that the man who assaulted Mr McGee, once he was on the bus, began to get angry with the school students, saying, “when do these noisy ……… kids get off the bus?”

Later, Mr McGee heard him shout and use obscenities, calling the children vicious & racial names. Mr McGee said the children didn’t respond at all to the man’s name calling. Fearing for the children’s safety he immediately stopped the bus and ordered this man out. That’s when the assault began.

To Mr Ian McGee and his family, I thank you on behalf of all the people of Mangere for your desire to protect our children. We are deeply hurt by the assault you received in doing the right thing, and I hope that you will get better quickly.

I am happy that the police will prosecute this criminal. Whatever his problem was, he had no right to call our kids the vicious & racial names he did. He had no right to punch Mr McGee, and if it is found that he has mental problems, then I call on the authorities to make sure he gets the medical help he obviously needs.

Why do I make a big deal of this? Well why not? And who will recognise the good deeds citizens of our local community do, if we don’t.

Too often the media perpetuate a perception of our local community that just is not true.

Too often the decisions made by people living outside our regions reflect their stereotypical attitudes towards our communities in the Southside.

I am angry at the culprit who called our children racial names and beat up Mr McGee. I am angry that in this day and age of enlightenment and the new millennium so many attitudes, the cause of so many wrongs of past generations are still alive today.

This week has not been a good week for race relations for New Zealand. First there were the questionable decisions made by the rugby authorities with severe suspensions for Kelston High School versus bias treatment of Auckland Grammar boys.

We learn how an Auckland business relished in highlighting a billboard which reads, “at least our brownies don’t eat their pet dog” referring to a Tongan practice of eating dogs.

Then the National Government after indicating that they may agree then decided to declare for all to hear that they were opposed to Maori seats in the Super city, after Mr Hide threatened to throw his toys out of the cot, if they didn’t say no.

What does that say for how they think about different people? What does that say for how they think about Pacific, Asian and the other 165 different ethnic groups that live in Manukau and make up New Zealand society today and into the future?

Racism is not good for any country and we must do all we can to stamp it out once and for all.

Thank you to Mr McGee and the students of St Pauls for reflecting to the rest of us how we must live together in peace, in harmony and with respect, despite the odd criminal.

That is the kind of country that I will be looking to build for the future. I hope you’ll join me in expressing our gratitude to Mr McGee and his boys in a community event in the near future.

The National Government’s decision to oppose Maori seats is in direct opposition to the majority of submissions to the Auckland Governance Legislation Select Committee, says Labour’s Associate Local Government and Associate Pacific Affairs Spokesperson Su’a William Sio.
“Saying ‘No’ to Maori seats shows that the Prime Minister John Key has no long term vision for an inclusive New Zealand.
“Those submissions were from people and organisations from all walks of life, cultures and all sectors of our society, including some traditional National voters, and they overwhelmingly said ‘yes’ to Maori seats.

“Why? Many saw it as a way of moving New Zealand forward. Ignoring the majority view suggests that the National Government had no intention of listening to the people, after all.
National’s denial of Maori seats makes the Supercity look like it will be a gathering of the old boys network.
“When he was put under pressure by ACT, the one percent party, Mr Key falls to his natural default position of behaving like a gatekeeper, which is not an inclusive approach.
“Shame on this Government for failing to listen to the people. Sadly their decision relegates Maori to the back of the bus again. It smacks of the old boys club.

“Pacific people supported Maori seats because it was the right thing to do for New Zealand now and into the future. We put in abeyance our own ambitions in order to advocate and support Maori, because we believed if we don’t get things right for Maori, the establishment won’t get things right for the rest of the minority groups, who now make up New Zealand society. ”
New Zealand is not an inclusive society if the National Government deny a voice to the indigenous people of the land who ask for a seat at their own table. Maori should not have to beg or protest for it in their own land.

I rise to make a contribution to the estimates debate, and I say to the members of the House that councils should be about communities, not corporations. Mr Hide’s Local Government Act reform is about gutting local government and clearing the way for the privatisation of income-generating assets and services. Those assets and services were built up by ratepayers over many, many years. Many people in Māngere would find the words used tonight by the Minister in the chair, the Hon Rodney Hide, in referring to accountable and transparent councils, to be hollow, when we consider that the Auckland reform disestablishes the eight local councils in Auckland and instead establishes the Auckland Transition Agency, made up of people who are not elected by the people but appointed by the Minister and accountable only to the Minister.

Local Government New Zealand is critical of Mr Hide’s suggestions about core services, and we ask Mr Hide how he defines core services. We ask whether housing for the elderly is a core service or whether social housing is a core service. We ask whether community art is a core service. We ask whether social well-being or cultural well-being is a core service. We ask whether economic and environmental well-being is a core service. We ask about Māori participation, Asian and Pacific participation, and, indeed, youth participation. All of those things currently exist in local government throughout Auckland, and it appears that the Minister is attempting to get rid of those things.

Yesterday Radio 531 PI invited callers to express their views when a caller complained about an Auckland billboard that states: “At least our brownies won’t eat your pet dog”. Pacific callers were outraged at the insensitivity and racism that those remarks portrayed. This is 2009, we say, and still some people in New Zealand—and I have to say, with the greatest respect to this House, they are mainly Papalagi—cannot seem to live in one of the world’s biggest multicultural cities without making derogatory remarks about people’s race or the colour of their skin.

Then again, we heard that Mr Hide was prepared to throw his toys out of the cot because he could not support race-based seats. Yet Māori see themselves as New Zealanders, as Kiwi, not as a race. Māori are mana whenua, tangata whenua. We have Māori of Samoan ancestry, and Māori of Tongan, Cook Islands, Niuean, Indian, and Pakistani ancestry. We even have Māori of Dalmatian, Scottish, Welsh, and English ancestry. Some of them are good-looking; others on the other side of the Chamber may not be. All of them see themselves as home-grown Kiwis who are proud to be New Zealanders. Those are the people who make up local government in Auckland. All of them share a vision of being inclusive. They recognise that we each have great strengths, and that we would be a better country if we accepted that Māori have a special place in our history and in the culture of Aotearoa, but, more important, they recognise that if Māori are not included in local government decision-making processes in this country, then we perpetuate the minority view that what is European is best.

I say to members that is not the view held by the majority of the people who live in the Greater Auckland region. Pacific people are united in our support for Māori and for Māori seats on the Auckland super-city. Manukau was one of the first local councils to establish Pacific advisory committees, and they exist today. That was followed by the establishment of such committees in Waitakere, Auckland central, and North Shore. Those advisory committees exist today, and they desire to be part of the future Auckland super-city. We know that if Europeans were able to recognise the strength of Māori, then they would be more open to recognising the strength of Pacific and Asian people in all facets of New Zealand decision-making. The Pacific Island advisory committees of Manukau, Auckland central, Waitakere, and North Shore all advocated strongly for there to be Māori seats on the Auckland Council. Organisations and individual submitters who represented people from the Cook Islands, and from Samoa, Tuvalu, Niue, and Tonga all supported the establishment of Māori seats. Pacific people were prepared to sacrifice their own ambitions regarding the super-city in order to ensure that Māori were treated with the mana and dignity that they deserve to be treated with in their own land.

Sadly, this is not to be. One wonders about the mana-enhancing relationship that the Māori Party has with the Government. Many people in my electorate are asking whose mana has been enhanced by the decision to deny Māori a seat on the new super-city. This decision is very short-sighted. It reflects the lack of long-term vision the Prime Minister has for the building of strong and inclusive cities in New Zealand.

I gained no sense at all that the previous speaker, Jackie Blue, believed a single word of her speech in opposition to the Local Government (Protection of Auckland Assets) Amendment Bill. That member would have heard from the people of the Greater Auckland region, from young people, from Māori, Pacific, and Asian communities, and from organisations that they do not want their assets to be sold. This bill unmasks the true intention of this Government.

About 2 years ago, Reader’s Digest  published a list of who New Zealanders currently trust in New Zealand, covering the most trusted people, brands, charities, and professions. Top of the list of 75 of New Zealand’s most trusted people was the name of the late Sir Edmund Hillary, a name respected by New Zealanders and even revered in some parts of the world. At the top of the list of 25 most trusted brands was Cadbury’s chocolate, followed by Tip Top and Sanitarium. That is reflected in the size of some of the MPs in this House. At the top of the list of New Zealand’s most trusted charities was the Cancer Society of New Zealand, followed by the SPCA and the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind. At the top of the list of 40 of New Zealand’s most trusted professions were firefighters, ambulance officers, and pilots. Sadly, as professions go, politicians were at the very bottom of the list of the 40 most trusted professions.

The feedback I have received from my constituents, from members of the Manukau community, and indeed from throughout the Auckland region is that National, in its 9 months of being in Government, has contributed to increasing the number of people who hold the perception that they cannot trust politicians. Although some MPs come to this House with good intentions and are genuine in their desire to serve the public good, from time to time some MPs make mistakes. Those MPs who commit big mistakes pay dearly and ultimately suffer the demise reserved for unwanted politicians: they are sent from this place and never return. I note there is an exception in this House, but, nevertheless, bad behaviour contributes to the public perceptions about politicians. Perhaps the biggest contributor to the public perception that politicians are not trustworthy is when politicians or political parties say one thing and then do something else without owning up to their changed position. Alternatively, they may say one thing today and then say something else tomorrow. The public have a difficult time understanding what their real position is.

In the past several months, people have had a difficult time accepting what has been said by members of this Government. The public have begun to keep a running count of the broken promises made by this Government. National promised to maintain and build New Zealand’s asset base, by not selling Kiwibank or any other State-owned asset. Then Mr Key said that he had never said he was philosophically opposed to the sale of State-owned assets in some form, and that it was never off the agenda for ever. The first thing he did was appoint “Mr Privatisation” himself, the Hon Rodney Hide, to be the Minister of Local Government, in order to start the bidding process for the selling off of Auckland’s valuable assets. The Minister of Local Government rammed the Auckland reorganisation bill through this House, setting in motion the devolution of democracy, removing power from elected councillors and giving it to a handful of unelected ministerial appointees.

The Government super-city wraps up $28 billion worth of Auckland assets under one organisation instead of eight councils. It makes privatisation that much easier to be attempted. We know that business has a keen interest in getting hold of these assets. Their interest should send a clear message to the Government that these assets are worth protecting. We know that when key infrastructure assets have been sold in the past, they have mostly ended up in the hands of foreign owners with the resulting profits going offshore. The Minister of Local Government is a big fan of privatisation. He said on Campbell Live  that he personally favoured privatisation and that he makes no secret of that. He said that he would like to make the case for the people of Auckland to privatise Ports of Auckland. On Q+A  on 19 July, Mr Hide said: “Of course I’m in favour of privatisation … I love privatisation …”.

Aucklanders should be concerned that their assets are at risk. I am aware that one or two National MPs share this concern, and I invite those MPs to vote in support of this bill. The reality is that even the limited provisions currently in the Local Government Act 2002 that protect some assets are in danger of being reduced and dismantled. We know that the Minister of Local Government will introduce changes to the Local Government Act and he has signalled that he believes there are too many consultation requirements over potential privatisation.

I join my colleagues in the Labour team in supporting this bill and I acknowledge the work of the Green Party member Sue Bradford in introducing the Social Security (Benefit Review and Appeal Reform) Bill. This bill reflects the desire by the Labour Party, in support of the Greens, to support working-class families as many of them struggle as they experience what members opposite term as the sharp edges of the economic recession. On average an additional 1,100 people a week are signing up to the dole. It is a reflection of the fact that families throughout New Zealand are hurting. As more and more people sign up to the dole—some of whom are doing so for the first time, after working 15 or 30 years in the same job—they find that they would like to appeal some decisions that they do not agree with.

When the Government introduced its Budget on 28 May, New Zealanders in general gravitated to the TV in anticipation of some kind of support for those New Zealanders who were feeling hardship as a result of the economic recession. There was high expectation that the Budget would be about job creation, industry support, investment in research and innovation, and investment in skills development. It should have been a Budget that would enable people to meet their normal daily expenses of food, rent, mortgages, petrol, medical needs, and the needs of schoolchildren. Unfortunately that was not the case. That is not what the Budget produced. In fact, it resulted in families feeling the recession as they have never before.

In my own constituency of Māngere there are many more examples today of families where sometimes for the very first time in their working life people have lost their jobs. Under Labour these people would have had meaningful jobs and earned good incomes. People had a strong sense of confidence then. They had little worry and could sleep well at night. Many of them were able to manage their financial affairs with both mum and dad working. There was food aplenty for the young children. In the past 3 months my electorate office in Māngere has had more and more dealings with people who have lost jobs. In the first week of July I was advised that one local company had had to lay off about 20, mainly Pacific, workers. They all lost their job, with only 1 week’s notice. They were not members of any union and there was no redundancy agreement. These people had been working for this particular company for many, many years—some for about 4 years but others for about 25 years. The company could not keep these workers. These men wanted to work. They were scared for their families. These were grown men, some of whom cried. They were desperate because they no longer had an income but their bills still needed to be paid. The household bills did not stop.

I have had people from families come to me and say that while they were both working they could manage their financial affairs, but now that one spouse has lost his or her job they were extremely stressed out. When rich people get stressed out they go on holiday to Hawaii—like some in this House—or to wherever their fancy takes them. When working-class people are stressed out by the onslaught of the economic recession, with lay-offs and loss of income, they generally go without some of the essentials. Some will turn to their families, their church, or the Salvation Army for support, but mostly they go without. Believe it or not, they go without breakfast and lunch and will have only the evening meal. The evening meal makes it easier for them to sleep during the night. They go without heaters and humidifiers to save on electricity costs. Some of them will get sick or catch the flu as a result. They go without medicine or visits to the doctor in order to save money. These are the lucky ones; others will turn to booze and drugs and it will take a long time before they come out of it. If one spouse is earning a high income, the spouse who lost his or her job can get only minimal additional support from Work and Income. In one case it was only an additional $50 a fortnight.

This is the kind of gut-wrenching experience that many families now face. One particular man was angry that after paying taxes for most of his life, when he needed support from our welfare system for the first time, his experience was far from good. That family felt as though it had done something wrong. It had no control of the business decisions made by Work and Income.

Sa ou fesiligia le Minisita o le Matagaluega o le Soifua Maloloina pe aisea ua le talia ai fautuaga a le aufaigaluega a le matagaluega o le soifua maloloina i Manukau. Faimai le aufaigaluega i Manukau afai ae tipi e le Malo tupe mo polokalame e fai ai siaki mo tagata mai suka, o le a faateleina tagata i Manukau o le a afaina i lea gasegase, ma le maua ise taimi vave ni togafitiga mo lea gasegase.

Na alo le Minisita mai le taliina o lea fesili. Na sosoo isi au fesili na aliali ai lona sainia muamua o le faatonuga e tipi le $4.875 miliona mai tupe fuafua e faatupe ai le siaki o le gasegase suka i Manukau ona alu lea pue lona ata ma le aufaigaluega i Manukau ma ataata ai e pei e leai se mea o tupu aua o loo fiafia uma le matagaluega a le soifua maloloina e le o iloa fuafuaga a le alii minisita ua sauni e faatino .

Na musu le alii minisita e tali le fesili aua ua aliali ai lona faagutugutulua i lona faafoliga o loo lagolago i le aufaigaluega i le tapue faatasi o lana ata ma le aufaigaluega, ao ia nana ana fuafuaga e tipi lenei vaega tupe tele mai i polokalame a le matagaluega o le soifua maloloina i Manukau.

Sa matua musu lava e tali ia fesili ma faamatala mafuaaga ua tipi ai le $4.875 miliona mai le pakeki a le matagaluega o le soifua maloloina i Manukau.

Ona sosoo lea ma le faalauiloaina e le Malo o lana polokalame fou mo le unaia o tamaiti aooga e auai i taloga. Sa tapue faatasi mai ata o le Palemia ma tamaiti aoga mai le aoga Bairds Mainfreight i Otara.

Faimai le Palemia e $82 miliona ua fuafua e tufa i aoga ma faalapotopotoga o taaloga ina ia galulue ai e unaia tamaiti ina ia auai i taaloga.

Ao lea ua manino, ua maua lea $82 miliona ona ua tipi foi e le Malo tupe sa masani ona maua e aoga mai pitonuu e vaivai le tamaoaiga e pei o aoga i Manukau mo le faatinoga o a latou polokalame taaloga.

Faimai le pule aoga o le Kolisi o Papatoetoe e $8000 ua aveese mai i le latou pakeki sa masani ona maua mai i le Malo mo polokalame o taaloga a tamaiti aoga.

O le kolisi o Tagaroa o Otara ua tipi e le malo le $7500, ao le Kolisi i Otahuhu ua tipi e le Malo le $6000.

Faimai le pule aoga o le Kolisi o Papatoetoe o le suiga ua iai nei tupe maua a aoga i manukau, “ua gaoi mai e le Malo tupe mai aoga matitiva, ae foai mo aoga mauoa.”

E le gata i lea ao lenei ua aliali foi i isi vaega tupe ua faaitiitia e le Malo ina ia maua lava le $82 miliona mo le polokalame fou lea o taaloga ua latou fuafuaina. Ua aliali mai ua faaitiitia foi e le Malo tupe sa fuafua mo le matagaluega o le soifua maloloina e fesoasoani ai mo i latou e lapopoa ma ona maua i le gasegase suka, gasegase e mafua mai i le tapaa, ma le gasegase o le fatu.

E foliga mai ua aveeseina e le faigamalo a le National le tele o polokalame sa fesoasoani malosi i tagata lautele o loo afifio i pitonuu e vaivai le tamaoaiga, ae faaalu lenei tupe e faatino ai fuafuaga mo le lelei atili o i latou e mauoa ma malosi le tamaoaiga.

O gasegase e mafua ona o le lapoa, e pei o le gasegase o le suka, gasegase o le fatu, faapea gasegase e mafua ona o le tapaa, e toatele nisi o o tatou tagata o loo afaina ai.

A faaitiitia tupe mo ia polokalame, o lona uiga ua tuulafoai loa i latou ua afaina i nei gasegase ua le toe maua siaki o nei gasegase sa masani ai, ma e ono lamatia ai o latou soifua.

Ou te talitonu o le a tele le afaina o o tatou tagata talu ai polokiki leaga a le faigamalo lea ua amata ona aliae i ana fuafuaga ua agai nei iai.

Ia e taua le tatou galulue ina ia tausi le soifua maloloina lelei. Ia lelei mea taumafa ia tele fualaauaina e malosi ai le tino ma ia taumafai ia faaavanoa se taimi e fai ai faamalosi tino.

O le mafuaaga lea o lou faatauaina o polokalame faamalosi tino e pei o polokalame o loo faatinoina i le Maota o le Ekalesia AOG i Robertson Road i taeao o aso Toonai faapea afiafi o aso Gafua i Magele.

Ua tatau ona tatou tinou e auai i ni polokalame faapenei aua o lea ua manino mai i fuafuaga a le Malo, o le a tele se suiga i polokalame sa masani ona tatou maua e fesoasoani i le tausia o le soifua maloloina lelei.

On Sunday I attended the morning service at the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga on Favona Road to convey to Reverend Mosese and his congregation my sympathies and condolences for those families whose loved ones are missing as a result of the tragic ferry disaster in Tonga.

One of the church elders said to me there could be more people missing. When I ask why he thought this, he said, because children travel for free and wouldn’t be recorded, and then you have those who “jump on” for the ride home.

According to media reports, there were about 143 people on board the inter-island ferry Princess Ashika before it sank. So far, two have been confirmed dead, 54 survivors, while 93 people, mainly women and children, are missing or unaccounted for.

With the help of New Zealand Royal Navy divers and their sonar equipment the possible location of the sunken ship has been pinpointed. Although there is no visual confirmation, the sonar information indicates strongly that it is the ship. However because the sunken vessel is sitting at a depth of about 110 metres, the divers are unable to reach it. The divers can only work at a depth of about 50 metres.

In the evening of the same Sunday I attended with my Labour Party colleagues the special service for the victims of this tragedy held at the Lotofalei’a Tongan Methodist Church on Orly Avenue, Mangere.

About 1000 people attended this service to offer prayers & solidarity support for those who have lost their lives and those who have lost loved ones through this tragedy.

Candles were lit by those who have loved ones who were on travelling on the ship. Other candles were lit for mothers, fathers, and children. Another candle was lit on behalf of a Niuean police officer who is included as one of the unaccounted bodies. She was part of the United Nations police presence in the Pacific and was visiting friends in Tonga for her holiday.

There has been strong and emotional criticism from some in the Tongan community in New Zealand including the New Zealand Tongan Society for Political Reform in Tonga who released a press statement calling for a “full and transparent investigation to reveal the cause of this tragedy and who was at fault.”

The group also state they are “incensed that at such a critical time, the King decides to take his extended holiday”.

The Prime Minister of Tonga, Dr Feleti Sevele defended the King saying he was fully briefed of the tragedy and supported the King travelling as his itinerary could not be changed at such short notice.

Some in New Zealand who have been affected, after hearing of the tragedy took the first flights out to Tonga, to be close hoping for news of closure, one way or another.

Unfortunately it is unlikely that this will be achieved anytime soon until divers can reach the 110 metre depth and hopefully recover the missing bodies that are likely to be inside the hull of the sunken vessel.

Until those families who have loved ones still missing and unaccounted for get closure, this is a time for prayers, mourning and tears. This process needs to be allowed to proceed. It is not a time for finger pointing, blaming and condemnation. It is too soon for that.

The resignation of Tonga’s Transport Minister Paul Karalus is an interesting development and brings very little comfort to those who grieve for the loss of family and loved ones.

The Royal Commission convened by the Tongan government to investigate this tragedy is welcomed news but it will be the final outcome of this investigation which will have meaning to families affected by this catastrophe.

There will be many questions in the hearts and minds of families affected.

Who is responsible for allowing this vessel to take cargo and passengers out to sea knowing it was not seaworthy? Is it the Prime Minister and his government? Is it the responsible Minister? Is it the relevant government department or is it the captain?

Why is it that there was not sufficient warning time before bad weather struck? Is there adequate contemporary equipment available for forecasting the weather situation on an island dependent on sea and air travel?

It was reported that one crew member said if the tragedy occurred during the day they could have done something to save the others. Why did the ship travel at night and not during the day? Is it normal for the ferry to be travelling at 11pm at night?

Finally, what should be done to those responsible or contributed to this tragedy and what about the families of those lost at sea? No amount of money can compensate for a life, but how do we make sure that those in power who make mistakes pay for their mistakes?

ends.

The National Government’s latest funding cuts to Counties Manukau’s health programmes will create more inequalities for Manukau’s communities and put people at greater health risk, says Mangere MP Su’a William Sio.

“Cutting $4.875 million a year from the Diabetes check budget, as the Health Minister Tony Ryall did, shows a complete lack of commitment or concern about the health needs facing Manukau’s communities.

“Diabetes is widely acknowledged as a growing epidemic in our communities, yet the Health Minister cut this budget ignoring a warning from Counties Manukau DHB frontline staff that these health cuts will reduce participation in health programmes by most at-risk groups.

“To add insult to injury, in Parliament yesterday, when questions were put to the Health Minister, he failed to provide any straight answers as to the justification for the current cuts.

“Tony Ryall has demonstrated his complete lack of commitment to the people of our area by refusing to guarantee that he will not continue to cut frontline health services. I asked the Minister in Parliament about the warning that Counties Manukau frontline health staff have issued that his health cuts will stop those most at risk from accessing health programmes. He simply shrugged off that warning.

“I asked him about what I see as complete hypocrisy in another Counties Manukau issue. As Minister of Health, Tony Ryall has cut $4.875 million a year from the Diabetes Lets Get Checked budget, and yet he was happy to have his photo taken with diabetes and renal staff at Counties Manukau District Health Board.

“Yet it is people’s lives we’re talking about, and my constituents will be among those most affected by these cuts to services.

“This Minister seems to lack any empathy for our communities and these cuts will hurt those who need health screening programmes to detect diabetes before it takes their limb, their sight and ultimately their lives,” Su’a William Sio said.