NEWSPAGE 07 November
2011

(Photos: eventpolynesia.com)

(Photos: Royal Australian Navy)

SAMOA: Samoa Police rugby team wins bronze in international competition
Source: Royal Australian Navy Press Release

The Samoa Police rugby team recently did their country proud by finishing third in the International Defence Rugby Competition against some of the best defence force teams in the world.

Following an initial loss to the British Army, Samoa defeated both the combined French Armed Forces team and the Royal Navy in Australia. The team then moved to New Zealand and was unfortunately beaten in the semi-finals by the Australian Defence Force team before winning a hard-fought match for third place against the Tonga Defence Service.

Samoa played their first game on 1 October in cold conditions in Canberra against the eventual champions British Army, where they were defeated 33-10. However, that game was a good learning experience for the team and they fought back and beat the combined French Armed Forces team 13-12 in their second game of pool matches, which gave them an entry into the quarterfinals against the British Royal Navy.

Samoa’s quarter final match, in Sydney against the Royal Navy, was a surprisingly easy 54-3 win, which won them a berth into the semi finals in New Zealand. Samoa Police captain Faletoese Talapusi said the team had not thought it could win that easily against the Royal Navy:

“The Royal Navy had a big team and they started the competition well, but the thought of playing a semi final and maybe a final in Auckland whilst the Rugby World Cup was on helped us focus. The RN really got stuck into us physically from the start, but we managed to hold them out and our focus on remaining strong in the rucks allowed our outside backs to run the ball”

The semi final in Auckland was a tough game against a full-time Australian Defence Force team. Samoa fought hard, but experience in the scrums and good use of field position won out in the end for Australia. Although Samoa fought back to even the scores at 10-10 with just ten minutes to go, Australia escaped in the end to win 23-10.

The third place playoff was played on 22 October against Tonga, who were one of the hot favorites to win the competition and who had earlier knocked out the New Zealand Defence Force. The game was tough, with big hits and the lead changing hands several times. There were some displays of great running rugby from both teams, but in the end the Samoa Police won the day with their discipline and resolve, winning 22-17.

The IDRC grand final was won by the British Army over Australia 62-17, and the plate final was an easy win by France over China 73-17.

This successful competition once again proves the dominance of South Pacific Rugby, with two of the top four teams in the world from this region and the victorious British Army’s team was over half Fijian players.

Samoa Police head coach Taulapapa Siaosi Toilolo was very pleased with his team’s efforts, and described the win and an international third placing as “a tremendous result”. He also thanked the Australian and New Zealand Defence Forces for hosting the event:

“Samoa Police appreciated the assistance of the Australian Defence Force and the New Zealand Defence Force, who funded our team’s flights, accommodation, food and training facilities. Australia also helped our team by providing all visas free of charge. It was a terrific event which was very well hosted and brought together defence force rugby teams from all over the world”.

“The team would also like to extend their sincere thanks to all of our sponsors and to the people of Samoa for their prayers and support during the competition”.

The next International Defence Rugby Competition will be held in England and will coincide with the 2015 RWC.

Photo Captions:

Photo 1 - Faletoese Talapusi in action against Tonga.

Photo 2 - The victorious Samoa Police team celebrates.

(Photo: Samoa News)

AMERICAN SAMOA: Moana TV to offer live, on demand and pay per view services

BlueSky Moana Television has signed an agreement with a U.S. based Content Transport Provider which allows the delivery of just about any U.S. channel live and in high quality to the territory.

This new venture utilizes the Submarine Fiber Optic Cable to transport these channels. The remaining tape delay channels will now be delivered live and high resolution. This agreement also enables the ability for video on demand and pay per view services to be made available to Moana Television customers.

Some of the new channels that will be added to Moana Television customers are NFL Network and National Geographic among others. The target date to complete this project is the end of this coming December. In a second announcement, BlueSky Moana Television shared expansion plans for its 2-Way Broadband service.

"We reiterate our commitment to continue to improve our cable television services to the territory which have been at prices significantly below U.S. market average as reported by the FCC in its recently released 2009 report on cable industry prices. We have a lot in store for our customers. This is all part of Blue Sky's ongoing pursuit to leverage the power of technology to improve quality of life in the territory," said Montenegro.
 

(Photo: Cook Islands News)

COOK ISLANDS: Aitutaki prepares for trochus harvest
Source: Cook Islands News

Harvesting of Aitutaki trochus is expected to take place between November 28 and December 5.

The harvest, which is Aitutakis first since 2003, is expected to generate about $140,000 for the community.

About 20 tonnes of dried and cleaned trochus shell will be sold and is likely to be made into buttons.

Already there is interest from potential tender companies.

Shells should be ready for sale the week following close of harvest.

The last harvest eight years ago was successfully tendered for by an Italian company and generated almost $200,000 for Aitutaki.

The Ministry of Marine Resources (MMR) surveys Aitutakis trochus population size and health annually, announcing a harvest when there is enough and the going market price is high.

MMR Aitutaki Marine Research Centre station manager Richard Story says the harvest amount is only ever about 30 percent of the total population.

Trochus are a protected species in Aitutaki, but not in Rarotonga.

At present dried trochus shell is worth about $7 per kilogram on the international market.

Story says the Aitutaki council will get about $2 for each kilogram and local harvesters who are allocated a trochus quota by the council for harvesting take about $5 per kilogram.

Each Aitutaki family interested in doing the harvesting registers their interest with the council, which divvies up the total amount to be harvested.

Those families and individuals are then responsible for collecting trochus from the reef, taking its meat out of the shell and cleaning and drying the shells.

They keep the meat in addition to their share of the profit.

Council members are organising a consensus among constituents to determine how many want to be involved in the harvest, which is monitored by the MMR.

Story says only trochus measuring between 9cm and 12cm in diameter (at the base of the shell) are harvested because at that size the shell is an ideal thickness, strength and lustre.

Even during harvest MMR bans the taking of trochus from the reef in certain areas, to ensure the population recovers.

Story says a 20 tonne harvest is a good amount, in part because that is what fits in one standard shipping container.

Photo Caption: Trochus shells ready to be cleaned during harvest.

FIJI: Students to learn how to save and spend
Source: Fiji Times
 
Within the next 24 months, all primary schools in Fiji will be learning how to save, spend wisely and invest, the Pacific Financial Inclusion Program said.

"The ability to manage money is an essential life skill for all students in Fiji regardless of their age," the statement said.

"With exciting and innovative methods of teaching financial education, 12 regional primary school teachers, Ministry of Education officials and staff from the ministry's Curriculum Development Unit underwent a four-day workshop in Suva to do just that.

"The educational games - Beware the Money Snakes, Time Saver - very similar to snakes and ladders and monopoly board games were designed to teach students how to understand the use and perform money calculations, differentiate between needs and wants and be able to accurately track and record their income and spending.

"It is believed that educational games promote logical thinking and problem solving. By acquiring their own skills and recognising their own values, students will learn to build and better their own financial understanding."

"The real beauty of financial education board games is that they can be played many times, over the financial education learning time, and when students track their progress they can celebrate their success," lead facilitator, Sharron Buer, Young Enterprise Trust NZ said.

"FED games provide an authentic and fun way for students to apply the knowledge and skills they have gained from their financial education learning, and explore financial values and attitudes. These are important component in developing financial competency."

Through this range of dedicated activities, the FinED project is integrating financial education into the existing school curricula in all levels from Class One to Form Six. A similar workshop for secondary teachers will be held in Suva later this month.

FinED Project is funded by the Australian Aid Program in Fiji and is jointly managed by the Ministry of Education and the Pacific Financial Inclusion Program.

Young Enterprise Trust of New Zealand, are the providers of specialist and technical services to the project.
 

(Photo: Gideon Tiroba / Secretariat of the Pacific Community)

WORLDWIDE: Pacific nations discuss climate change impact on food, drinking water
Source: Secretariat of the Pacific Community Press Release
 
Heads of government, ministers and ambassadors from 22 Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs) and Australia, France, New Zealand and the USA are meeting in Noumea, New Caledonia for the 7th Conference of the Pacific Community, which starts today.

The theme of the two-day conference is ‘Climate Change and Food Security - Managing the Risks for Sustainable Development’.

Delegates will discuss the impact of climate change on food production and drinking water - one of the most critical issues facing the Pacific region today.

‘Managing risks to food security and reducing exposure to extreme weather events are arguably the most pressing climate change issues confronting Pacific nations,’ says SPC Director-General Dr Jimmie Rodgers.

‘The conference will discuss how to deal with the impacts of climate change on sources of food and drinking water.’

Representatives from regional and international development agencies and international aid donors are also attending the conference.

The Pacific region’s oldest and largest development agency, SPC addresses climate change through all its technical programmes, including those in agriculture, forestry, aquaculture, fisheries, water and sanitation, and disaster risk reduction.

The Conference of the Pacific Community, which meets every two years, is SPC’s governing body.

SPC’s members include the 22 PICTs it serves: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna, plus its four founding members: Australia, France, New Zealand and the USA.

Photo Caption: Collecting farmed seaweed, Solomon Islands.