NEWSPAGE 27 July
2009

(Photos: Department of Labour)

NEW ZEALAND: Successful SQ & PAC ballotees invited to come forward

(Photos: Samoa Rugby Union)

SAMOA: Corporate governance underscores Modernisation of Samoa rugby
Source: Samoa Rugby Union Press Release

The Samoa Rugby Union has identified accountability and transparency as key elements needed at all levels for Samoa rugby moving forward.

“To gain forward progress and credibility for internal and external stakeholders involved with our national game, there was a need for all concerned to be brought up to speed regarding the integrity and processes within SRU and its relationships with affiliated partners”, says Samoa Rugby CEO, Su’a P. Schuster.

Experience and lessons learned from International agencies highlighted good governance as an important component for organizations like the SRU to grow public support and especially its relationships with business and private sector both in terms of commercial and goodwill partnerships.

“To safeguard the organization and its stakeholders from abuse and our publics losing confidence from the actions of a few, these workshops at all levels of Samoan rugby will help protect the organization and those within from these malpractices”, said Su’a P. Schuster.

The workshops catered to three levels of the Samoa Rugby Union: 1) Board Members; 2) SRU Coaches and Referees; and 3) Executives of Provincial Unions. Resource personnel were Sealiimalietoa Melepone Isara (CEO for Institute of Directors), Tupuola Oloali’i Koki Tuala (Facilitator) and Seiuli Paul Wallwork (Consultant) under the umbrella of the Samoa Institute of Directors.

The Prime Minister, also Chairman of the Samoa Rugby Union took time out to attend all three events. He took full part in the Board Members Workshop and officially opened the Coaching & Referee and Provincial Union Workshops.

“The other two key aspects highlighted in the workshops were the introduction of processes and dynamics involved in strategic planning, work ethics, understanding the financial procedures for the proper management of resources; secondly, assisting stakeholders to develop tools that will achieve the vision and mission of the organization.”

Bilingual delivery by Facilitator, Oloali’i Koki Tuala was crucial in enhancing understanding of the modern best practices of governance concepts to rugby administrators within the Samoan cultural and sporting organisational settings at the workshops.

For many of the participants, clarification of the roles for executive members of Provincial Unions produced many positive head-nodding. Demarcating the roles of Board, technical staff and administrative staff unravelled many past misunderstandings especially relating to preparation for tours and budgeting process.

“At the end of the day, many walked away satisfied with a clear idea of governance in general and reasons for its importance. Accountability, a term tossed around many times was grasped more confidently by many participants which we hope will reduce the amount of emotion or personal opinions when hard decisions need to be made”, says Su’a P. Schuster.

“There are still gaps in the three layers and we would like to hold more workshops on this aspect in the future. And it includes refresher workshops for those who need to be reminded. The whole aim is to create a more tight and effective professional system or infrastructure from where rugby in Samoa can confidently move forward for the well-being of our players, our Manu Samoa team and all rugby stakeholders internally and externally.”

To do that well, added Su’a Schuster, good governance and accountability must be the common denominator underscoring all levels of rugby in Samoa.

Commitment is assured with SRU confirming it will continue to work with the Samoa Institute of Directors to make governance workshops as part of an ongoing programme underpinning organisational reforms to modernise Samoan rugby.

Photo Captions:

Photo 1 - SRU Chairman, Tuilaepa S. Malielegaoi opens the Coaches and Referees Governance Workshop.

Photo 2 - Resource personnel Sealiimalietoa Isara, Seiuli Wallwork, Tupuola Tuala and SRU CEO, Su'a P. Schuster.

(Photos: Greenpeace Australia Pacific / Government of the Federated States of Micronesia)

AUSTRALIA: "Voices from the Frontline" national speaking tour
Source: Greenpeace Australia Pacific Press Release

The Pacific Islands are at the frontline of the climate impacts being felt around the world.

Greenpeace is co-hosting "Voices from the Frontline: Taking Action on Climate Change in the Pacific", visiting Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Cairns across July and early August.

Rising sea levels and tidal surges are damaging crops and contaminating water supplies. Increased temperatures are warming the oceans and destroying coral reefs. Some communities have already been forced to leave their traditional homes.

Come and meet the people at the frontline of climate change in the Pacific and hear their stories of the effects on their homes and livelihoods. Learn about what they are doing to protect their communities and ensure that their cultures live on and, most importantly, find out what simple steps you can take to support their fight for survival.

Speakers:

Reverend Tafue Lusama, Tuvalu
Chairman of the Tuvalu Climate Action Network (TuCAN)
Program Secretary, Department of Peace and Justice, Te Ekalesia Kelisiano Tuvalu (Church of Tuvalu)

The Reverend is from Funafuti, capital of Tuvalu, the world’s fourth smallest country and home to only 12,000 people.

Rev Lusama is the Secretary for Peace and Justice at the Ekalesia Kelisiano Tuvalu (Christian Church of Tuvalu), and is the Chairperson of the Climate Action Network Tuvalu. He has holds a Master of Arts in Religion, and wrote his thesis on Climate Change from a theological perspective

Tafue has been travelling around the world attending meetings where he has spoken and campaigned on climate change issues for several years now.

He says Pacific people will not accept losing their homelands. “Becoming climate refugees is absolutely intolerable to us. We will become homeless people, roaming the face of the globe. We will lose everything our identity is tied to.

“I do believe people are listening, and trying to do what needs to be done. The problem now is the political will. My aim is to convince people to lobby their Government to support a coherent and realistic deal to come out of Copenhagen.”

“People are being left without homes and identities. Our leaders need to know that the people of the Pacific support them taking a strong stand at the Pacific Islands Forum. Our future depends on it.”

Pelenise Alofa Pilitati, Kiribati
Managing Director Kauaoki Foundation Enterprise
Chairperson Church Education Director's Association in Kiribati (CEDAK)

Pelenise is a respected community leader in Kiribati, one of the Pacific nations most threatened by climate change. As Chairperson of the Church Education Director’s Association in Kiribati (CEDAK), she is acutely aware of the impact climate change is having on the future prospects and outlook of young people.

Most of Kiribati is less than 4 metres above sea level and is already suffering from serious impacts from climate change.

Pelenise is passionate about the issues, about her people and the Pacific.

“Some of my friends have migrated to Australia and NZ looking for greener pastures but I refuse to migrate. I chose to return to Kiribati and to stay in the Pacific so that I could help my people. And if helping my people means speaking to all the leaders of the Pacific including Australia and NZ, then I count that my privilege. If it means talking to the whole world, I will gladly do it. If I have to shout it, I will shout the loudest.”

“The future of Kiribati is in our hands - we work very hard each year to support and help students to be successful. But what is the future of our children when our country is being threatened by global warming?”

Marstella Jack, Federated States of Micronesia
Former Attorney General, Federated States of Micronesia

Marstella is the former Attorney-General of the Federated States of Micronesia and the first woman to perform that role. She is a former AusAID and Chevening Scholar, and obtained her Masters of Law from the University of Hull. She has attended Harvard University as a World Council of Women Leaders scholar, and is the first and only Micronesian to have participated in the Washington-based Environmental Leadership Program (ELP).

Marstella will need to draw on all of those skills and experience for her next fight - saving her homeland from literally disappearing.

“People are being left without homes and identities. Climate change has been and will continue to be a major threat to our environment.”

As someone who has seen the inside of many high level international negotiations, Marstella knows the dangers of smaller countries being bullied by threats and bribes from their bigger neighbours. “Our leaders need to know that the people of the Pacific support them taking a strong stand and the Pacific Islands Forum. Our future depends on it.”

“People are being left without homes and identities. Our leaders need to know that the people of the Pacific support them taking a strong stand at the Pacific Islands Forum. Our future depends on it.”

Venues:

Brisbane: 28 July, 6.30pm (doors open at 6pm)
Brisbane Room, Brisbane City Hall
1st Floor, King George Square, between Adelaide and Ann Streets
RSVP by emailing [email protected] or phone 07 3637 4600

Melbourne: 30 July, 6.30pm (doors open at 6pm)
Supper Room, Melbourne Town Hall
3rd Floor, corner Swanston and Collins Streets
RSVP by emailing [email protected] or phone 03 9289 9332

Cairns: 2 August, 4pm
Cairns Esplanade, Western Events Lawn
(adjacent to western end of lagoon)
RSVP not essential but recommended. Email [email protected].

Photo Caption:  The three Pacific Islander community leaders who will be speaking in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Cairns in the coming weeks, as part of “Voices from the Frontline: Taking Action on Climate Change in the Pacific” national speaking tour; Reverend Tafue Lusama, Pelenise Alofa Pilitati, and Marstella Jack.
 

(Photo: George Silk, courtesy Australian War Memorial)

PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels to be honoured by Australia

Source: Herald Sun

Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels, natives who gave vital help to Diggers in New Guinea during World War II, are to receive commemorative medals from Australia today (July 23, 2009).

Australia's Veteran Affairs Minister Alan Griffin on Thursday afternoon will present two medals to two Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels at a ceremony at the Bomana War Cemetery just outside the capital Port Moresby.

The medallions recognise their service and sacrifice during intense fighting along the Kokoda Track where 600 diggers died when forcing back invading Japanese soldiers.

Some 55,000 PNG citizens served as civilians and carried supplies, built bases and airfields and evacuated the sick and wounded during fighting.

PNG villagers spread throughout the country assisted Australian forces in various crucial battles during the war but the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels on the Kokoda Track have become synonymous with that partnership.

Considering the Kokoda battle began in July 1942 and the carriers were around 18 years old, most medallion recipients will now be in their 80s.

It is not clear how many Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels remain to receive the award but the Australian High Commission in Port Moresby is encouraging eligible locals to apply.

The medallions feature the iconic image of a Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel helping a wounded Australian along the Kokoda Track.

Photo Caption: Papuan native Fuzzy Wuzzy angel Raphael Oenbari leading wounded Digger George 'Dick' Whittington of 2/10 battalion in the Buna area during World War II.
 

SOLOMON ISLANDS: Government to further develop Noro
Source: Solomon Star

Work on the development of Noro Industrial in Western province is expected to get off the ground towards end of this year, Parliament was told yesterday (July 23, 2009).

This is the Government’s plan to open developments for business activities there.

Minister for Commerce, Industries and Employment, Francis Billy Hilly revealed this when asked by MP for Temotu Nende, Patterson Oti. He said design and engineering work has already completed. But he said the design would cost $9.6 million.

“We don’t have any money therefore the Central Tender Board could not tender it out for constructors,” he said.
But Mr Hilly said the Ministry was revising some aspects of it and the cost reduces to $4.6 million.

“We think it falls within our $2 million budget so that we can top on top of it,” he said. Mr Oti asked what the Ministry will do with the $4.2 million.

Mr Hill said this will go towards site developments like establishing electricity lines, water and preparatory work.

However, MP for South New Georgia, Rendova and Tetepare, Francis Zama who currently carries out development in Noro asked if Government could consider establishing essential utilities outside the site.

Mr Hilly welcomes the move to support private sectors. However, he said erecting electricity to developments outside the area will depend on the law of Western Provincial Government.

Noro is already home to the country’s two major fishing companies - Soltai Ltd and National Fisheries Development.
 

(Photo: Secretariat of the Pacific Community)

WORLDWIDE: Mental health not getting enough attention in the Pacific
Source: Secretariat of the Pacific Community Press Release

The low priority given to mental health by governments in the Pacific means that specialised mental health care is sorely inadequate in the region, says a mental health adviser.

Margaret Eastgate, Regional Youth and Mental Health Project Coordinator at the Foundation of the Peoples of the South Pacific International, made this statement when she addressed youth delegates during a session on promoting healthy lifestyles at the 2nd Pacific Youth Festival held in Suva, Fiji, recently (11-18 July 2009).

The scarcity of formal statistics on the number of people suffering from mental illness around the region was an example of the lack of commitment to mental health by governments, she said.

‘Even where mental health care services do exist, access is limited due to geographical location and the need for transport to get to these centres,’ Ms Eastgate said.

She said mental health could not be viewed in isolation of the social, economic and political climates of the region. The causes of mental disorders could also be attributed to poverty levels, further exacerbated by unemployment, substance abuse and suicide as experienced by young people in the Pacific.

Youth delegates attending the session were particularly touched by one speaker, Mr Gary Rounds, president of Youth Champs for Mental Health in Fiji, who spoke about his own experience in facing mental illness and depression.

Mr Rounds admitted that when he was diagnosed with severe depression, he was more scared of the stigma attached to the illness than of the condition itself.

‘I thought about how people would approach me, socialise with me or judge me,’ he said.

He recalled how he became severely depressed when he was 19 after a bad breakup and his mother’s death.

‘I tried to brush it aside by drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana to excess,’ Mr Rounds said. ‘I lost faith in myself and thought that alcohol and drugs would take away all my bad thoughts and self-pity.’

He realised he needed help after attempting to commit suicide and voluntarily admitted himself to Fiji’s St. Giles Psychiatric Hospital for treatment.

‘Through the support of my family, friends and workmates I recovered in three months,’ Mr Rounds said.

He believes mental health has been given too little attention in the Pacific and hopes his story will bring about positive change in young people’s lives, especially those experiencing mental illness.

A youth delegate from American Samoa, Taufauomato Tumulialifo, 25, said Mr Round’s presentation had inspired her to encourage young people to speak up about the issue.

‘I’m glad to know that Mr Rounds got help to recover from his condition because back home, mental health resources are limited - we have just one certified nurse and psychiatrist,’ she said.

Tuvalu delegate, Maryanne Kafolau, 19, said she was touched by a poem Mr Rounds recited about the challenges he faced while ill. The poem urges young people to ‘keep on walking’ against the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness.

‘I feel empowered by Mr Rounds being able to speak about his experiences so openly because in Tuvalu we do not have a hospital for patients with mental illness and no workshops of this kind for people to speak openly about it,’ Miss Kafolau said.

Vanuatu delegate, Morrison Daniel, 24, says it was good to hear the experiences of someone who had actually gone through mental illness and recovered from it.

‘I will definitely be encouraging young people to talk about mental illness when I go back to Vanuatu as listening and sharing information with someone who has gone through the experience is different from speaking to a doctor,’ Mr Daniel said.

‘Mr Rounds experience has given us guidance and direction on how to deal with this issue back home.’

Photo Caption: Gary Rounds (right) speaking to a delegate at the Pacific Youth Festival.