Reception for Pacific Co-operation Foundation

May I start by greeting everyone in the languages of the realm of New Zealand - English, Maori, Cook Island Maori, Niuean, Tokelauan and New Zealand Sign Language.

Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni and as it is the evening (Sign)

May I specifically greet you: Neil Plimmer, Chairperson of the Pacific Co-operation Foundation; Vince McBride, Executive Director; Simon Murdoch, Secretary of Foreign Affairs; Dr Colin Tukuitonga, Chief Executive of the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs; Master of Ceremonies Faamaatuainu Tino Pereira, Your Worships, the Hon John  Banks, Len Brown and Andrew Williams, the Mayors of Auckland, Manukau and North Shore respectively; Distinguished Guests otherwise; Ladies and Gentlemen.  To all of you, because of the chemistry of this gathering there need to be added some Pacific greetings:- talofa lava, malo elelei, ni sambula vinaka, namaste, mi likum yu tumas.

As Governor-General and as Patron of the Foundation, it gives me, and my wife Susan, great pleasure to host this reception at Government House in Auckland this evening.

I would like to take an opportunity to outline the importance of Pacific peoples to New Zealand, my connections with the Pacific and the important role the Foundation plays strengthening the relationship between New Zealand and the Pacific.

New Zealand is a nation of migrants. As our much respected and recently deceased Zealand historian, Dr Michael King wrote:  "In a country inhabited for a mere one thousand years, everybody is an immigrant or a descendent of an immigrant."

The resulting diversity from migration is enriching New Zealand's society, culture and economy.  The last Census revealed that more than 22 percent of New Zealanders were born overseas, a significant increase on five years earlier.

A hundred years ago, almost all of those foreign-born New Zealanders hailed from Britain or Ireland.  By last year, that had dropped to 28 percent.

One of the main groups of immigrants have been those from New Zealand's Pacific neighbours, which now account for almost seven percent of our population.  Of the almost 266,000 people who identified as being Pacific origin, most were from six major island groups—Samoa; the Cook Islands; Tonga; Niue; Fiji; and Tokelau.

New Zealand's Pacific peoples are recognised as a vibrant and colourful part of what makes this nation (and this city) so special.  Pacific peoples have made a significant contribution to New Zealand's economy and business sector, its art, literature and creative industries and its sporting prowess. 

That Pacific contribution to our country has been recently been recognised by the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, which recently opened a major long-term exhibition on Pacific peoples in New Zealand— Tangata o le Moana.  The exhibition tells the story of Pacific people, past and present, the contributions they have made to New Zealand and the impact New Zealand has had upon them and their cultures.  The exhibition, which I had the honour of officially opening, has been well received by the public, having been viewed, I am told,  by almost 21,000 people in its first three days.

This should not be surprising as New Zealand is a Pacific nation. The ancestral link of Maori, as tangata whenua of Aotearoa, is to Polynesia and the point is often made that Auckland is world's largest Polynesian city.

Secondly, New Zealand has direct constitutional linkage with Tokelau, Niue and the Cook Islands, which are part of the Realm of New Zealand.  During the first year as Governor-General visits to all three island groups were undertaken as well as community receptions for each group before or after, at either Government House in Auckland or Wellington. 

I have also visited Samoa and held a reception for the Samoan community at Government House in Auckland.  This year is not only the 45th anniversary of Samoa's independence from New Zealand, but also of the Treaty of Friendship between our two nations.  The Treaty is special as neither nation has signed such a document with any other country.

Those events have reinforced to me the strong diplomatic, constitutional, economic, trading, social and cultural ties between New Zealand and the Pacific. 

The Pacific is also special to me for personal reasons as I can be described as  a child of the Pacific as well as New Zealand While I was born here, both of my parents were born in Fiji.  I also have through an uncle having lived and married in Samoa, Samoan relatives living in American Samoa and Hawaii, and my recent visit to Samoa provided an opportunity for a private visit to see them and visit family graves at Satala in Pago Pago.

The Pacific Co-operation Foundation, which was launched at Government House in 2003, plays an important role strengthening New Zealand-Pacific relationships by informing and stimulating debate, acting as a catalyst to bring people together, promoting business linkages and encouraging greater focus on NZ-Pacific issues.  It has a good role model for the catalytic function in the Asia New Zealand Foundation (formerly Asia 2000) which has undertaken the role of thickening relationships of government, business, the press and education since 1994.

The PCF, through its annual lectures, public seminars, databases of Pacific businesses and researchers and awards and grants for academics and the media has, in its first years, made a good  contribution to better understanding between New Zealand and the Pacific.  In particular, it has played an important role in promoting regionalism, a recognition that by working together, New Zealand and the Pacific nations can achieve far more than by working alone. For all these reasons, it was with pleasure that I accepted the request to be the Foundation's inaugural vice-regal patron and I commend the board and staff for their work.

In conclusion, the relationship between New Zealand and the Pacific has evolved and deepened over time. While the world—New Zealand and the Pacific nations included—increasingly looks to Asia, this country will always have an eye firmly fixed on the Pacific.

On that note, I close in Maori by issuing greetings and wishing everyone good health and fortitude in your endeavours.

No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tena koutou katoa