PACIFICA Porirua 30th Anniversary celebration, Cannons Creek
Thursday 17 May 2007, 7:58PM
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Our Government wants to build social capital in our communities and our society.
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Ou te fa'atulou atu i le paia lasi lasi i afioga tamali'i, tama'itai ma sa'o ao o le fa'apotopotoga aoao tama'ita'i Pasifika.
Taloha ni, Talofa lava, Malo e lelei, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Ni sa bula vinaka, Namaste, Kia orana koutou katoatoa, Ia Orana, Gud de tru olgeta, Talofa, Kia ora tatau and Warm Pacific Greetings to you all this morning.
Thank you for your warm welcome, and for your invitation to be with you today.
I understand that your celebration today includes workshops and presentations by health and education professional, community lawyers the Red Cross and cultural activities.
The fact that you decide to celebrate your organization's 30 years by doing, learning, and participating in workshops really says something about Pacifica and how hard working you all must be!
At 2 o'clock today my colleague the Honorable Dr, Michael Cullen will deliver his and our Labour-led government's 8th Budget.
Over the past seven years, our Government has invested in our country's infrastructure and especially in our people.
We have focused our attention on investing in the things that really matter: our families, the elderly, our young children and our communities.
We introduced the Working for Families package which is benefiting our Pacific people hugely.
We have invested enormously in health, in schools, in supporting our elderly, in economic development and in making our communities safer.
We have increased the minimum wage 8 times in 7 years, and have increased minimum annual leave by one week.
We have seen the lowest unemployment for our Pacific people in years. More Pacific people are in jobs, and are getting the support they need to stay there and succeed.
We have started to address our poor savings record - on 1 July this year our Labour-led government's Kiwisaver scheme will be introduced to help us all save for our future.
And we are showing leadership in dealing with climate change in our ambitious goal to have New Zealand as a carbon neutral country.
And there is still much to be done.
Today Dr Cullen's Budget will continue our Labour-led government's desire of putting people first.
Our Government wants to build social capital in our communities and our society.
Pacifica is a good example of an organisation that is already enriching our Porirua community by building social capital.
Social capital is the glue that holds our communities together. It connects us to one another. It builds tolerance. It builds a sense of national identity. It builds respect and strengthens the common bonds that make us who we are: New Zealanders.
I know that our Pacific Island communities are not always wealthy and prosperous in terms of money, but we are wealthy and prosperous in terms of our social capital because our Pacific cultures put a high value on living and working together in our communities.
Our young people have the potential to be visionary leaders across all the different sectors, for our Pacific people and all New Zealanders.
As Associate Minister of Pacific Island Affairs, and as a Pacific woman, my role is support Pacific people, facilitate collaborative partnerships and act as a voice for the Pacific community throughout New Zealand, to ensure that we have a vibrant and confident society.
Our Government's vision is for Pacific women to develop a clear economic approach to transform our economic well-being into deliverable actions, which will benefit our families, our communities and New Zealand as a whole.
I have spoken to you before of the new 'Pacific Women's Economic Action Plan' which will be launched this year.
I am personally committed to moving Pacific women from the margins into sustainable, well-paid jobs. In order to achieve this, we need collaborative partnerships between Government, business and communities.
Yesterday evening I had the privilege of speaking at the graduation of 19 wonderful Pacific nurses from Whitireia Polytechnic.
It is really pleasing to see our young Pacific women from our community on their way to successful career after deciding to enter tertiary education.
Pacifica is one of the organisations that has helped many Pacific Island women make the transition from their homelands to this new land.
Pacifica is an organisation that has been run by Pacific Island women for Pacific Island women.
Pacifica has made a wonderful contribution to New Zealand and your organisation is in good heart.
I wish you all the best for your Mini Conference and for the future.
Meitaki Maata.
---------------------------------
Ou te fa'atulou atu i le paia lasi lasi i afioga tamali'i, tama'itai ma sa'o ao o le fa'apotopotoga aoao tama'ita'i Pasifika.
Taloha ni, Talofa lava, Malo e lelei, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Ni sa bula vinaka, Namaste, Kia orana koutou katoatoa, Ia Orana, Gud de tru olgeta, Talofa, Kia ora tatau and Warm Pacific Greetings to you all this morning.
Thank you for your warm welcome, and for your invitation to be with you today.
I understand that your celebration today includes workshops and presentations by health and education professional, community lawyers the Red Cross and cultural activities.
The fact that you decide to celebrate your organization's 30 years by doing, learning, and participating in workshops really says something about Pacifica and how hard working you all must be!
At 2 o'clock today my colleague the Honorable Dr, Michael Cullen will deliver his and our Labour-led government's 8th Budget.
Over the past seven years, our Government has invested in our country's infrastructure and especially in our people.
We have focused our attention on investing in the things that really matter: our families, the elderly, our young children and our communities.
We introduced the Working for Families package which is benefiting our Pacific people hugely.
We have invested enormously in health, in schools, in supporting our elderly, in economic development and in making our communities safer.
We have increased the minimum wage 8 times in 7 years, and have increased minimum annual leave by one week.
We have seen the lowest unemployment for our Pacific people in years. More Pacific people are in jobs, and are getting the support they need to stay there and succeed.
We have started to address our poor savings record - on 1 July this year our Labour-led government's Kiwisaver scheme will be introduced to help us all save for our future.
And we are showing leadership in dealing with climate change in our ambitious goal to have New Zealand as a carbon neutral country.
And there is still much to be done.
Today Dr Cullen's Budget will continue our Labour-led government's desire of putting people first.
Our Government wants to build social capital in our communities and our society.
Pacifica is a good example of an organisation that is already enriching our Porirua community by building social capital.
Social capital is the glue that holds our communities together. It connects us to one another. It builds tolerance. It builds a sense of national identity. It builds respect and strengthens the common bonds that make us who we are: New Zealanders.
I know that our Pacific Island communities are not always wealthy and prosperous in terms of money, but we are wealthy and prosperous in terms of our social capital because our Pacific cultures put a high value on living and working together in our communities.
Our young people have the potential to be visionary leaders across all the different sectors, for our Pacific people and all New Zealanders.
As Associate Minister of Pacific Island Affairs, and as a Pacific woman, my role is support Pacific people, facilitate collaborative partnerships and act as a voice for the Pacific community throughout New Zealand, to ensure that we have a vibrant and confident society.
Our Government's vision is for Pacific women to develop a clear economic approach to transform our economic well-being into deliverable actions, which will benefit our families, our communities and New Zealand as a whole.
I have spoken to you before of the new 'Pacific Women's Economic Action Plan' which will be launched this year.
I am personally committed to moving Pacific women from the margins into sustainable, well-paid jobs. In order to achieve this, we need collaborative partnerships between Government, business and communities.
Yesterday evening I had the privilege of speaking at the graduation of 19 wonderful Pacific nurses from Whitireia Polytechnic.
It is really pleasing to see our young Pacific women from our community on their way to successful career after deciding to enter tertiary education.
Pacifica is one of the organisations that has helped many Pacific Island women make the transition from their homelands to this new land.
Pacifica is an organisation that has been run by Pacific Island women for Pacific Island women.
Pacifica has made a wonderful contribution to New Zealand and your organisation is in good heart.
I wish you all the best for your Mini Conference and for the future.
Meitaki Maata.