Directions: Journal of Educational Studies Vol. 21 No. 2 Dec. 1999
Making a Difference for Pacific People in Aotearoa-New Zealand:
Links Between Policy Advice and Delivery of Services1
Annette Lole Karepa
In order to address the links and dovetailing between the policy
makers and those who work at the operational level, I need to
contextualise the role of the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs (MPIA)
– where it has come from, where it is now, and where it is possibly
heading in the future. Within this context, I will then discuss one
specific priority stream that the ministry has identified – that is,
the education sector, where the main focus of my work as a senior
policy advisor is. This discussion paper does not profess to have
all the answers, and neither does the Ministry of Pacific Island
Affairs, However, it does bring a fresh approach to addressing
some long term disparities and gaps between Pacific and non-Pa-
cific people that continue to undermine Pacific peoples’ well-being
in Aotearoa and have not been successfully addressed through
mainstream government agencies or ministries.
The Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs
The Ministry underwent a cabinet review recently and was directed
to withdraw from the delivery of educational and employment fo-
cussed programmes. The rationale for this was that the Ministry
had become too focused on the operational side, at times duplicat-
ing services provided by other government agencies and depart-
ments. In effect, the Ministry could benefit more Pacific people
through a strategic approach that was national, as opposed to as-
sisting a fragmented number of small communities in Aotearoa.
There was also minimal work in the policy area being accomplished
again reinforcing the lack of representation from the Ministry at the
strategic level. In 1997 the Ministry structure looked like this:
1 Paper presented at the Pacific Teacher Educators’ Conference held at the Univer-
sity of the South Pacific, 18-22 January, 1999.
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Directions: Journal of Educational Studies Vol. 21 No. 2 Dec. 1999
Fig. 1 Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs 1997 - Relationship Chart
MINISTER
PACIFIC ISLAND
MINISTER’S
CHIEF
EMPLOYMENT AND
ADVISORY
EXECUTIVE
SOCIAL
COUNCIL
DEVELOPMENT
ADVISORY BOARD
POLICY DIVISION
OPERATIONS DIVISION
Wellington
Auckland
Tokoroa
Hastings
Porirua
Nelson
Christchurch
The Ministry in 1998 looked quite different and currently has a
much stronger focus and capability in the policy arena.
Fig 2 Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs 1998 - Relationship Chart
MINISTER
MINISTER’S
ADVISORY
COUNCIL
CHIEF
EXECUTIVE
WELLINGTON
Policy
AUCKLAND
Liaison Pilot Projects
CHRISTCHURCH
Liaison Pilot Projects
Policy
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Directions: Journal of Educational Studies Vol. 21 No. 2 Dec. 1999
The new look Ministry has a new vision and mission:
MINISTRY OF PACIFIC ISLAND AFFAIRS VISION:
Achieving Pacific aspirations – health, harmony and prosperity.
MINISTRY OF PACIFIC ISLAND AFFAIRS MISSION:
To be the leader in public policy advice to improve outcomes for
Pacific peoples in New Zealand.
The ministry is working towards achieving the mission by:
• Providing advice on key policies and issues,
• Disseminating information and consulting with Pacific commu-
nities,
• Piloting innovative responses to issues affecting the socio-eco-
nomic status of Pacific peoples and communities,
• Encouraging other government agencies to take responsibility
for improving outcomes for Pacific peoples,
• Influencing and monitoring the development and implementa-
tion of government policies that affect Pacific peoples.
Strategic Alliances
Monitoring mainstream agencies’ effectiveness in addressing nega-
tive statistics within their sectors is a key role of the Ministry and
to enable us to fulfil that role we have developed and signed sev-
eral formal relationship agreements with other key mainstream min-
istries and departments and will continue to explore others. One
that is especially relevant here for this conference is the protocol
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Directions: Journal of Educational Studies Vol. 21 No. 2 Dec. 1999
between MPIA and the Ministry of Education (MOE). Through the
protocol both ministries are able to access and share information
and contribute to policies and programmes that are responsive to
Pacific cultural values and aspirations. Each year a joint work
programme is agreed to – this is the current one.
MINISTRY OF PACIFIC ISLAND AFFAIRS AND MINISTRY OF
EDUCATION JOINT WORKPLAN
1998/1999
1 .
Pacific Teacher Supply Project
2 .
Pacific Island Polynesian Education foundation (PIPEF)
3 .
Pacific Islands Early Childhood Education Policy
4 .
Ko e Ako ‘a e Kakai Pasifika (The education of Pacific Is-
lands people in New Zealand)
5 .
Languages Policy
6 .
Withdrawal/Transfer of MPIA educational programmes
7 .
Social Workers in Schools Project
8 .
MOE Pacific Island Advisory Group
Another agreement that is significant is the relationship agreement
between the MPIA and the Te Puni Kokiri (the Ministry of Maori
Development) in December 1998. In Aotearoa, Maori are the tangata
whenua, the indigenous people, people of the land, they are also
our whanaunga, our kin. I would go further and say that Maori are
our teina (young brother/sisiter) given that they are Pacific people.
It is often acknowledged by koro and kuia, the old people, that
Hawaiki nui was the homeland. So our relationship with Maori has
a whanau (family) base.
Those who work for the MPIA walk a fine line and often have to
balance their own values and beliefs with policies and strategies
proposed by government. As a government ministry we are
accountable to the government and are committed to giving our
minister the best possible advice. However, hand in hand with this
is our responsibility to the Pacific population in Aotearoa, for without
them there would be no Ministry. It is not an easy task at times,
managing this balance, ensuring that the policy work is more visible.
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Directions: Journal of Educational Studies Vol. 21 No. 2 Dec. 1999
Expectations of the ministry are also difficult to meet at times,
both from Pacific communities and from Pacific people working
within mainstream agencies. However the ministry is in a much
better position than it was even twelve months ago to advocate
and provide the Pacific ‘voice’ that has been missing for so long at
the policy making level.
Policy Work Programme
In order to be the most effective and to ensure that we are ‘making
a difference’ for Pacific people, we must prioritise our work. It
would be very easy to slip into the reactive mode, given the wide
range of disparities and gaps in service delivery facing our people.
The challenge we face is in the advice we give government in order
to ensure that the government formulates and implements policies
to improve Pacific peoples’ position in all aspects of life in Aotearoa.
The MPIA has developed a tool to assist other government
departments and ministries in their role of policy analysis and
development. The Pacific Analysis Framework is hot off the press,
having been formally launched just four weeks ago. The policy
team within the ministry has identified several broad but key areas
of work. They are:
MPIA Policy Priorities 1998/99
• Business/economic development
• Education
• Health
• Justice
• Labour market
• Welfare
I would now like to focus on some of the work in the education
sector. We have only one person working full time on education
policy, and one analyst who probably spends half of her time on
education, with the remaining pool of analysts being available to
assist when their work loads permit. The sector has been
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Directions: Journal of Educational Studies Vol. 21 No. 2 Dec. 1999
categorised into early childhood education, compulsory education,
and post compulsory education.
Early Childhood Education covers both Pacific and mainstream
centres and includes the licensing and chartering of the centres,
qualifications of the teachers and educators, and participating on
the committee that allocates funds for renovating or building new
centres. The ministry role is one of monitoring, advising and being
a ‘watch dog’.
Compulsory Education covers both primary and secondary schools
and Post-compulsory Education encompasses the tertiary sector
(polytechnics, universities, other providers such as private training
establishments) and the National Qualifications Framework. The
main role for the ministry in these two sectors is the same as in the
early childhood sector.
Statistical information and data play a major role in informing policy
developers and analysts when defining or responding to a problem
and seeking options or solutions. There is a general lack of data
and information about Pacific people in Aotearoa. Knowledge and
information are empowering and to this end the ministry has been
gathering and developing its own resource base to address this
gap, initially for the internal work for the ministry. Two-way
communication with Pacific people is vital for the ministry to achieve
its role successfully, and early this year the ministry plans to release
status reports that indicate the current situation for Pacific people
in key areas such as economics, employment, health, and education.
These reports will play an important role in setting the scene for
the international conference that the ministry is hosting in July this
year. In the meantime, I would like to share with you some statistics
we have on file to date. They concern the Pacific peoples of New
Zealand and their ethnic origins.
Pacific Peoples in New Zealand
Pacific peoples are culturally and ethnically diverse. It is estimated
that Pacific peoples living in New Zealand represent over 20 different
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Directions: Journal of Educational Studies Vol. 21 No. 2 Dec. 1999
Polynesian, Melanesian and Micronesian cultures, speaking an even
greater number of languages.
Pacific peoples comprise 6% of New Zealand’s total population,
numbering 227,000 out of a total population of approximately 3.8
million. However, the Pacific population is projected to increase
to 12% of New Zealand’s population by the year 2051. Figure 3
shows the actual Pacific population over a decade and how the
projected Pacific population will increase over the next half century,
and Figure 4 shows the composition of the Pacific population,
according to Statistics New Zealand and the 1996 Census data.
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Directions: Journal of Educational Studies Vol. 21 No. 2 Dec. 1999
I would like to spend the last part of this presentation show-casing
two projects that are currently part of this year’s work programme,
the Pacific Teachers Supply Project and the Pacific Language Policy.
Pacific Teachers Supply Project
Last year the government undertook several major policy reviews in
the education sector through MOE covering; teacher education,
tertiary education, the national qualifications framework, assessment
in the primary sector. One of the issues that emerged from
consultation on the teacher education review and was also
highlighted in the MOE’s plan Ko e Ako ‘a e Kakai Pasifika was the
supply of Pacific teachers. This was seen as one of the major
barriers in relation to achievement and success for our young Pacific
students because there is a significant mis-match between the
number of Pacific students (see Table 1) and the number of Pacific
teachers (see Table 2).
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Directions: Journal of Educational Studies Vol. 21 No. 2 Dec. 1999
Table 1 Number of Pacific primary and secondary students 1992-1997
Year
Primary
Secondary
All
1992
28639
15055
44298
6.9%
6.6%
6.8%
1995
31791
14537
47255
7.1%
6.6%
6.9%
1997
n.a.
n.a.
51236
7.3%
Pacific students account for 7.3 percent of the combined
population of primary and secondary schools as at 1997. This is
an increase from 6.8% as at 1992. Most of this increase has
occurred in the primary sector.
Table 2 Pacific Teachers - Statistical Profile
1 9 9 0
1 9 9 6
No.
%
No.
%
Primary
2 9 0
1 . 5
4 9 5
2 . 1
Secondary
1 4 8
1 . 0
2 4 0
1 . 4
TOTAL
4 3 8
1 . 3
7 3 5
1 . 8
.
During June and July last year, the MPIA and MOE consulted
together through focus fono, community fono and speaking with
individual Pacific teachers, educators and providers to assist officials
in formulating some policy perspectives to increase the number
and percentage of Pacific teachers in the primary school sector.
Negotiations with treasury are underway this week, so it is exciting
knowing that this strategy could soon be a reality. This is where
policy and those who implement the policy or deliver a service
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Directions: Journal of Educational Studies Vol. 21 No. 2 Dec. 1999
based on a policy decision must communicate and have access to
proposals and strategies. Mainstreaming will continue to be
ineffective for minority groups if these links are not made and
strengthened. One very positive aspect of this project is the fact
that the MPIA was approached before any policy perspectives or
analysis began. Both ministers were able to plan a joint consultation
action plan, share the costs, and have input into the final consultation
report released in September last year. This is an example of a
protocol that is ‘alive and working’ and not just sitting on a shelf
somewhere gathering dust. We will, of course, be participating
fully in ongoing policy developments for this project.
Pacific Languages Policy
For all Pacific groups, the language ability of people under 25 years
of age is lower than the average for all age groups. This suggests
language loss between generations. As language is a major cor-
nerstone of culture, this may become an increasingly important
issue for Pacific peoples. Cook Island communities may have al-
ready reached a crisis point, with the proportions of Cook Islands
Maori speakers under the age of 15 being in single figures. The
language bar graphs show the status of the 6 main Pacific ethnic
groups’ language ability according to Statistics New Zealand and
the 1996 Census data.
Although I acknowledge that the Samoan language has had signifi-
cant resources to assist its ongoing maintenance in Aotearoa, the
survival of the Fiji, Niue, Tokelau and Cook Island Maori languages
remains a critical issue. This challenge must be addressed by the
Government if the future demographic projections for Pacific people
are to be adequately planned for.
Ongoing work with MOE and their officials who are formulating
policy for languages in the curriculum will be a high priority for the
MPIA this year. The Cook Islands Government has given our min-
istry its support and official approval in our work on Pacific lan-
guages and in particular Cook Island Maori.
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Directions: Journal of Educational Studies Vol. 21 No. 2 Dec. 1999
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Directions: Journal of Educational Studies Vol. 21 No. 2 Dec. 1999
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Directions: Journal of Educational Studies Vol. 21 No. 2 Dec. 1999
The MPIA now needs to go out to Pacific communities and consult
in order to ensure that the links are effective, everyone is informed,
and decision making is inclusive of both the ‘planners’ and the
‘builders’.
Challenges Ahead
There are many challenges that face Pacific people in Aotearoa
both currently and in the future, as there are for the MPIA and the
government. Some of the key issues for Pacific education are:
• Promotion, survival and maintenance of Pacific languages and
bilingual education,
• Quality teaching and assessment provided to Pacific students
by all trained teachers,
• Supply, demand, and retention of Pacific teachers,
• Professional development including training for staff, manage-
ment and parents,
• Culturally appropriate and adequate research on Pacific educa-
tion,
• Adequate ongoing resourcing with long term co-ordinated goals,
• Raising the level of achievement of all Pacific students.
There are many other issues facing the Pacific population such as
poor health, poverty, inadequate and unaffordable housing, unem-
ployment, and over-representation of Pacific people in the criminal
justice system. There is much hard work to be done but it can be
done, although possibly not all at once. There is a Maori whakatauki
(proverb) that expresses the positive attitude that I wish to leave
you all with. It says:
He moana pukepuke e ekengia e te waka.
(A choppy sea can be navigated.)
Do not become overburdened with negative thoughts and feelings
but keep positive, persevere and focus on the successes already
achieved and those yet to come.
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