Kia Orana, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Malo e lelei, Taloha ni, Bula Vinaka, Talofa lava. A special greeting and welcome to you all. It gives me great pleasure to be here in Blenheim tonight.

First of all I would like to acknowledge our Reverend Ministers and community leaders who are here tonight.

There are three main reasons for our meeting: Firstly it is to help make Pacific people more aware of the services that are available to you here in the Blenheim region. Secondly it is to give you a chance to meet representatives from a number of different government agencies tonight and thirdly to help strengthen our relationship with you. I understand my colleague Luamanuvao Winnie Laban was here in Blenheim a few months ago.

And tonight we are here!!!

Over the past 18 months there have been similar visits, throughout the country Ministry staff have been visiting the smaller towns and cities where there are small but growing numbers of Pacific people. The Ministry’s visits have included Invercargill, Dunedin, and Blenheim. Only last Wednesday, I met with Pacific community leaders in Nelson, supported by Ministry staff.

There have been similar visits in the North Island especially to areas such as Tokoroa and the Hastings where in the past the Ministry has had regional offices before it was directed by Government to concentrate on Policy development.

Some of you may be wondering what is Policy Development? Essentially it is about developing different ways to successfully address the many issues that are important to, and which seriously affect our communities.

Population

Over the past ten years the Nelson/Tasman region’s Pacific population has increased by almost 50 percent to where it is today at around 1500 people throughout the region.

In 2001 there were 411 Pacific people in Blenheim. 50% of these were under 25 years of age. However we also know that the number has increased significantly over the last few years. I understand that many have come to Blenheim because of the opportunities for work offered in the vineyards and orchards.

At a recent visit with one of in Blenheim, we were advised that there were 80-90 Pacific families in Blenheim. Most of these families, I understand are Tongan.

Housing in Blenheim

We have been advised of the lack of suitable rental accommodation in the area as the region is facing a housing shortage. We don’t have figures about Private home ownership by Pacific people in this region but we suspect that it is likely to be not many, if any at all.

But more on home-ownership later.

Pacific Capacity Building

As some of you may know the Ministry has recently completed its Pacific Capacity Building pilot which was very successful. Through that the process the Ministry was able to advise the Government on what Pacific communities saw as their priorities in the Government’s the key priority areas of Health Housing, Education and Employment and how these could be addressed.

The result was eight Programmes of Action for the each of the eight pilot regions that were identified for Pacific Capacity Building.

More than four hundred initiatives (441) that would help to build the capacity of Pacific communities to achieve their aspirations were agreed to by Cabinet.

Examples of these include: to have more licensed Early Childhood Centres, to have more targeted public education campaigns for Health such as to reduce Diabetes and to increase the rates of immunisation for contagious diseases like the successful meningococcal campaign.

I am pleased to say that almost all of these initiatives have been completed. All the government agencies represented here tonight have been part of that process.

So how does this relate to you here tonight?

In some regions like the Hawke’s Bay, Pacific communities have mobilised themselves with assistance from the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs to put together their own Programme of Action, in line with the Government’s Objectives, with government agencies and the local city council.

Perhaps this is something that BLENHEIM’s Pacific communities may like to consider with the Ministry helping to facilitate the process to make it happen.

Targeted Funding

You may have seen in the papers or heard on the news a lot of debate about Targeted Funding – the Needs verses Race initiatives. Yes there have been some changes such as in Health with the funding for Private Health Organisations now based on mortality and morbidity rates….but this Government has always funded and will continue targeted policies based on Need.

Why??? It’s quite simple really, because the Needs are there.

The facts speak for themselves. For example in Health - Pacific and Maori people generally have a lower life expectancy that is four years lower than for the total population. For Pacific males it is only around 71 and a half years and Pacific women it is around 76 and half years.

This is almost five years lower for men and four and a half years lower for women than the life expectancy for the total population.

Put simply – our people die younger.

There are other examples such as in Education with the focus for promoting increased Participation in Early Childhood Education moving to low-decile catchments with low Early Childhood Participation rates – this means to those who don’t earn a lot of money! Pacific people earn less money.

61% of the Pacific population earn less than $20,000 per annum compared with 53% for the general population. (NZ Census 2001)

Commitment to those in Need

Our commitment to helping those in Need can be seen in the recent Budget 2005 which provided a variety of initiatives that should be seen as an investment in New Zealand’s future in Health, Education, Industry, Economic Development and Families.

The Working for Families package

The Working for Families package is a good example of this. It has been given a $47 million dollar boost for programmes aimed at the children and families who need it most. This includes Pacific families many of whom do not know that this assistance is available for them to apply for.

The Working for Families package is designed to help make it easier for people to work and raise a family. This means greater financial support is available for almost all families with children, earning under $45,000 per annum.

The package will assist families, who may be eligible to receive help with housing and childcare costs, and increases to Family Assistance. This will include many Pacific families particularly when you consider that the median income for Pacific Households was $45,200 compared with $47,800 for the total population. (NZ Census 2001)

The Accommodation Supplement

The Accommodation Supplement has also been increased which means Housing will be more affordable. This may be of some assistance to low income families in Blenheim.

The Supplement is now available to more working families and many people without children. There is also more help with childcare costs. Subsidies for pre-school and out-of-school care have increased significantly and are available to more parents earning higher incomes.

In the Housing sector, there will be 1,300 more state homes over the next four years for those in need. The extra homes, together with those previously announced, will see Housing New Zealand Corporation add 3,288 properties through its state and community housing build buy and lease acquisition programme by 2009.
This will help to reduce waiting lists and waiting times in areas where there is a high demand for state housing, particularly in Auckland. Nearly three-quarters of Housing New Zealand’s increase in properties over the next four years will be in Auckland.
KiwiSaver
The Budget also included a voluntary, work-based savings scheme called KiwiSaver, which is designed to help New Zealanders save. This is good news for first home buyers including Pacific peoples who have a comparatively low level of home ownership of 38 percent compared with 68% for the general population. (NZ Census 2001)

After three years of saving, KiwiSaver offers a first home deposit subsidy of $1000 per year of membership in the scheme, up to a maximum of $5000 for five years. KiwiSaver is due to start in April 2007 subject to the legislative process.

Pacific radio network, Niu FM

The Buget also assured the future of the pilot national Pacific radio network, Niu FM will receive $12 million over the next four years. This means that nationwide, Pacific communities will continue to have a strong voice in New Zealand's broadcasting sector, be able to be more informed. It also means that Niu FM will continue to make a positive contribution to New Zealand’s identity as a Pacific nation.

I understand that some areas of Blenheim you can receive Niu FM directly via free to air radio or you can receive Niu FM through SKY Digital on Channel 103.

These are just some of the ways in which this Government is making a difference for Pacific people and other New Zealanders.

I could go into more detail but that is why the representatives of the various government agencies are here to answer any questions that you may have informally.

I wish you all well in building and strengthening your relationships with each other and working together for the overall benefit of the Blenheim community.

Ia Manuia Tele