The Pacific Business Trust aims to build a successful future for our Pacific businesses and communities.  PBT, with the support of the Government, is helping Pasifika increase digital capability and access to technology.

John Faitala is the Programme and Services Manager at Pacific Business Trust, he was born and raised on the Rock, Niue and here today to talk to us about Pacific Business Trust’s Pasifika Digital Boost.

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Kate Brown is the Executive Director of the Global Island Partnership, an organisation that enables island leaders and their supporters to take action to build resilient and sustainable island communities. 

Kate is a passionate advocate for islands. She is a valued and trusted international partnership and collaboration leader, with a unique ability to connect dots for issues and people. Kate has extensive experience in all island regions globally, and brings an extensive network of island leaders, blue sky thinkers and people dedicated to supporting islands.

Kate has experience working inside government, non-profits and intergovernmentally as well as a keen sense of the most important elements of the international policy setting space relevant to islands as well as what is needed for implementation to happen. 

A strategic thinker who is able to present clear ideas and set up the right conditions for collaboration to thrive. Kate is originally from New Zealand and lived for eight years in Apia, Samoa.

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Seilala Mapusua is a former professional rugby midfielder who played for the Highlanders in Super Rugby, London Irish in the England Guinness Premiership and Kubota Spears in the Japanese Top League as well as 26 tests in the blue jersey of Manu Samoa.

He was appointed coach of Manu Samoa last year and spent time on his island of birth assessing the local talent.  

He returned home to Dunedin to spend Christmas with his family where he is this morning as he prepares to return to Samoa.  

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Dawn Therese Rasmussen is a retired athlete and sports administrator from Samoa.  Rasmussen was the first physical education teacher in Samoa and trained PE teachers at the Western Samoa Teachers Training College, then at the National University of Samoa.

Rasmussen has represented Samoa in netball, hockey, tennis and athletics, including attending five Pacific Games, beginning in 1963. She later helped establish sports organisations for school athletics, junior tennis, hockey, netball and women’s rugby union.

Dawn Rasmussen got her BA in Sports Studies at the University of Canberra in Australia and In 2010 she completed a master's degree in teaching and learning at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand.  In 2016 Rasmussen was inducted into Samoa’s Sports Hall of Fame.

She as now back at the Faculty of Education at the National University of Samoa as a part-timer teaching - you guessed it - Physical Education.

Last Saturday she received the Lifetime Honorary Award for contribution to sports development in Samoa from the Samoa Marist St Joseph’s Sports Club.

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Dr Corina Grey is a Public Health physician who works at the University of Auckland and also at Auckland DHB as the Pacific Health Data and Insights Lead. Corina was born in Samoa - her mother is Samoan and her Dad European - and she came to New Zealand at the age of five, growing up in Glen Innes. 

Corina holds a medical degree and PhD from the University of Auckland - her PhD was in cardiovascular epidemiology, studying the pattern and trends of cardiovascular disease in New Zealand and some of the equity differences seen in those trends. 

She is on the board of Vaka Tautua, a Pacific provider for older people, those with disabilities and those with mental illness.  Corina was awarded a Healthier Lives and Heart Foundation grant last year to lead a research programme focused on identifying ways to achieve greater equity in the incidence of cardiovascular disease among Māori and Pacific people. 

 

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Vela Manusaute is a Samoan/Niuean director and one half of famous Pacific comedian duo The Brownies.  

He was the first Niuean to graduate from NZ drama school Toi Whakaari.  In 2002 he co founded the theatre and music group Kila Kokonut Krew who’s biggest hit was The Factory a musical based partly on his father’s move to NZ, in 2014 it was reborn as a web series.

More recently he was awarded the Adam NZ Play Award for Best Play by a Pasifika Playwright for his play ‘Sons of Vao’.

 

Vela joins us this morning to talk about his latest award and creative projects he is working on at the moment.

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Tofilau Nina Kirifi-Alai is 58 years old and has worked for 18 years as the Manager of the University of Otago Pacific Islands Centre since 2002, until she took up her new role as Pacific Community Engagement Manager for the University of Otago in January 2021 (based in Auckland). She is Samoan, and holds the high chief title of Tofilau from her village of Iva in Savaii.

 

She is a graduate from the University of Auckland with a BA (Women’s Studies) and an LLB. Tofilau is part of many governance Boards in the community and the University. She is a published poet and is currently working on her first book of poems.

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Lupematasila Misatauveve Dr Melani Anae,QSO is Associate Professor in Pacific Studies, at the University of Auckland. 

Professor Anae was Director of the Centre for Pacific Studies (2002-2007), a recipient of the Fulbright New Zealand Senior Scholar Award (2007) and was awarded the Companion to the Queen’s Service Order for services to Pacific communities in New Zealand (2008). 

In 2014 she was one awarded a Marsden Grant from the Royal Society of NZ, for her project ‘Samoan transnational matai (chiefs)’.  

Dr Anae is the author and editor of several recently published books, including  The Platform: The Radical Legacy of the Polynesian Panthers,… Women, Power and Place: Articulations from Samoa and Aotearoa, …and A Handbook for Transnational Matai (Chiefs): Tusi faitau o matai fafo o Samoa. She is part of a large extended Samoan aiga -she hails from the villages of Falelatai, Apia, Lalovaea and Siumu, and is a grandmother of two and mother of three children.

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When Ray Parker’s sister Amanda was diagnosed with incurable stomach cancer five weeks ago, they booked tickets for their parents to return from Samoa to be with her.

 

However despite the parents being booked on the flight from Samoa to New Zealand last Friday they weren’t allowed to board the flight because they didn’t have vouchers for accomodation at a managed isolation facility in New Zealand.

 

Frustrated with the process of applying for accomodation vouchers for his parents Ray Parker took to social media to make his views known and as a consequence of his post we reached out to him in the hope that further publicity would assist.

 

To provide us with an update on his parents application for accomodation vouchers we have Ray Parker on the line now talofa lava Ray and thank you for making time to talk with us again.

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Dr Colin Tukuitonga is a medical graduate and public health physician with extensive experience in health policy, research, management and leadership in New Zealand, the Pacific region and internationally.  

Since the coronavirus outbreak he has been one of the more vocal Pacific health and community leaders today  he joins us on the line to talk about the latest COVID-19 outbreak in Auckland, vaccine prioritization and travel bubble to the Cook Islands.

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