Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few.
"Aotearoa is a Pacific nation. The interconnectedness of our whakapapa and history across Te Moana nui a Kiwa is as extensive and deep as the moana itself," says Green Party's Pacific Peoples Spokesperson, Teanau Tuiono.
"When Pacific peoples, communities, and cultures thrive, Aotearoa thrives.
"For many years, the Ministry of Pacific Peoples has helped strengthen the family, community and cultural connections between Pasifika peoples living in Aotearoa and the islands.
"MPP has done this with the blessing and collective support of our community, and by empowering Pacific communities to be at the decision-making table, driving and leading innovative solutions - contributing across all government agencies to ensure Pacific voices are heard.
"Now this government is hell bent on severing that connection. And for what? So this government can cobble together the money it needs to pay for tax cuts that benefit the wealthy few.
"Tagata Moana are more likely to be locked in to low wage work, live in cold damn unfit homes, or be homeless. Our Pacific whānau are more likely to live in poverty and die prematurely from preventable illness and disease. This is a result of the systems that have failed to support them, for generations.
"The Ministry for Pacific Peoples was established as an opportunity to right these wrongs. To address the needs of Pacific whānau and provide guidance and advice to the government through a Pacific lens, supported and enabled by Pacific staff.
"It is crucial that our 'aiga feel comfortable to access the care they are entitled to, we know that people are more likely to seek support from people they can relate to, people that look and talk like them and can understand their unique struggle and cultural dynamics.
"Slashing 40% of staff for the Ministry of Pacific Peoples is nothing less than a direct attack on the livelihood and well-being of Pacific Islanders who call Aotearoa home.
"Tagata Moana and Tangata whenua have shared whakapapa, our connections are as vast and deep as Te Moana Nui a Kiwa, The Pacific Ocean itself. The Government must recognise the huge contributions that Tagata Moana have made to our society and adequately resource and support The Ministry for Pacific Peoples to continue this vital mahi," says Teanau Tuiono.
