New Zealand

This is Deputy Secretary, Pacific and Development Group, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) Jonathan Kings’ message to the 22 NZ Scholarship students taking part in the AUT MFAT NZ Scholarships Programme Completion Celebration.

Years of hard work, dedication and sacrifice have been celebrated at Tuesday’s gathering at AUT, hosted by the University Scholarships Office – an event which also recognises scholars’ achievements while on award.

Ever since star forward Jason Taumalolo, and later several other players, made the shock decision to play for Tonga rather than the Kiwis, the clash between the two nations at Waikato Stadium has been billed as the must-see match of the Rugby League World Cup group stages.

'Moana Pacific Storytelling' featured stories from Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Cook Islands and Tuvalu, including the Samoan myth 'Sina and the Eel'.

Project manager of the Pacifica Arts Centre Tuaratini Ra'a, organised the event, which is part of the Pacific Heritage Arts Fono 2017.

Ms Ra'a said storytelling in the Pacific, apart from being entertaining tales, was also a vehicle for the language and culture.

"It's an opportunity for those to turn up to observe that and they are not telling the stories to entertain the audience.

Shaw is already working on allowing Pacific people to migrate to New Zealand if climate change forces them to flee their homes.
 
Shaw and Pacific Peoples Minister Aupito William Sio are attending the COP23 climate change meeting in Bonn, Germany, and also heading to Rome, Italy, for a meeting between the Pacific Island Forum leaders and Pope Francis.
 
COP23 lead by Fiji, and focus on the threat rising seas pose to low-lying nations such as Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, Fiji and Vanuatu.
 

No tier two nation has ever defeated a tier one team at the competition, but Tongan hooker Sione Katoa believes they have what it takes to succeed.

"We're just worried about ourselves, as we know the Kiwis are going to come out firing," he said.

"It's just a case of treating it like every other match, because if you go in trying to change your game plan that's when you start to make errors.

"For us we've got to keep it simple and focus on what we do best and the points will come."

The Kingdom repelled Polynesian rivals Toa Samoa 32-18 at the weekend to confirm their place in the knockout rounds and avoid a potential quarter final clash with Australia.

A win over the Kiwis at Waikato Stadium, in a match to determine top spot in Group B, would also avoid a last-eight matchup against England.

Tuimoala Lolohea said they were reminded by the coaching staff after the match that a tier two nation has never beaten one of the big three.

A deal was struck last year between Canberra and the administration of former president Barack Obama to take up to 1250 of the refugees, but so far only 54 from Manus and Nauru have been accepted.

On Sunday, the Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said he would wait for the deal to play out before considering New Zealand's offer to resettle up to 150 of the refugees.

It was extended by his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern when the pair met in Sydney on Sunday.

Having drawn last year's Four Nations clash with the Bravehearts, David Kidwell's troops hit the ground running in Christchurch and were near-untouchable.

They ran in 14 tries to one, with Peta Hiku and Te Maire Martin scoring hat-tricks.

Tinakula volcano in the country's remote Temotu province had what local disaster officials describe as a minor eruption eleven days ago.

On some nearby islands, including in the Reef group, significant volcanic ashfall covered crops and contaminated water supplies.

According to Australia's High Commission in Solomon Islands, an estimated 11,500 people's primary water sources such as tanks, wells and ground water were contaminated.

Refugee conventions don't recognise climate change victims but efforts are being made through the Nansen Initiative to create a new status for people displaced by disasters.

Last week, the New Zealand Immigration and Protection Tribunal rejected applications by Tuvalu families wanting to stay because of climate change.

But Mr Shaw said he was looking at a possible new visa category.