In the wake of the latest Covid outbreak, racist comments directed at Pasifika have prompted health and church authorities to speak out. The current Delta variant outbreak has disproportionately affected the Samoan community, including people exposed at a major church assembly in Māngere in Auckland. “These people were involved in legal activity and were operating Read more
The Government’s Covid economic success story might not be a sparkly for some as it seems for others. Data released by the Government shows Māori and Pasifika have been the big losers since the Covid pandemic struck. Both the Prime Minister Jacinda Adern and Finance Minister Grant Robertson are hinting Māori and Pasifika may be Read more
Hundreds of people have been identified by police as not having a drivers’ licence while attending church services in South Auckland. They have been offering the unlicensed drivers free courses instead of giving them tickets. Police say the campaign is necessary in order to reduce offending rates. More than a quarter of all court proceedings Read more
A report, He Whakaaro, says nearly 15 per cent of Māori students and 12 per cent of Pasifika students said teachers were unfair to them because of their ethnicity in the previous year, but only 3 per cent complained of bullying related to their ethnicity. Continue reading
The Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand has elected the Rev Taimoanaifakaofo (Fakaofo) Kaio as its future leader. He will take up the role of Moderator from 3 October 2018 at the Presbyterian Churchs General Assembly Continue reading
The “greatest story ever told”lit up the stage in a dazzling spectacle at Villa Maria Winery last weekend. And Jesus Christ rose again – in the form of a large Samoan man. They Crucified Him, a Passion play directed by Ross Jennings and co-directed by Terri de’Ath, portrays Christ’s last days on earth but with Read more
The United Nations Climate Change Summit began on Monday in New York. The Climate Change Summit is trying to find agreement on ways to limit further environmental damage. “The people most affected – at grass roots level and on the coastal edge – must be part of those discussions,” says Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand director Julianne Hickey. Read more
In the race to be Auckland’s next mayor Rev Uesifili Unasa is asking voters to embrace the city’s diversity. He told Pacific Scoop his message to voters is to use the mayoral race as an opportunity to think differently about Auckland’s multiculturalism, and to “unite our differences”. He says he stands as an independent mayoral Read more
New Zealand’s persistent income gap between Maori and Pacific people and the European majority has widened sharply during the recession. A quarterly update on vulnerable families by the NZ Council of Christian Social Services has found that European median incomes have risen slightly despite the recession of the past four years, but those of Maori Read more