Samoan Government Reception

Ladies and Gentlemen, I greet you in the languages of the realm of New Zealand - English, Maori, Cook Island Maori, Niuean, Tokelauan and New Zealand Sign Language.

KiaOra, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni and (Sign).

May I specifically greet you: Your Highness  Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi,  Honourable Members of Council of Deputies Afioga Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa and Masiofo Faamausili; Prime Minister, the Hon Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, and Faletua Gillian, Honourable Members of the Cabinet; Honourable Chief Justice Falefatu Sapolu and members of the Judiciary; Respected Members of the Churches; Members of the Diplomatic Corps; Distinguished Guests otherwise; Ladies and Gentlemen. To you all may I also say: Talofa lava.

Thank you for inviting my wife, Susan and I to attend this reception and for the warmth and hospitality we have been shown since we arrived in Samoa on the weekend in order to begin our official visit today.

This is not my first visit to Samoa, and nor is it my first visit to this beautiful nation since I was appointed Governor-General in 2006.  In a country where acknowledgement of place and family are important may I also mention in my extended family, two aunties both Samoan, one from Upolu from Salemoa and cousins whose father (my uncle) was Indian and whose mother Samoan, as I say. 

As may be known, two months ago, I attended the State Funeral of His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II along with the New Zealand Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Helen Clark, and a substantial delegation from Aotearoa New Zealand. 

Let me publicly resonate respects and condolences expressed to the Head of State and Prime Minister earlier today for the country's great loss. Malietoa Tanumafili II was one of the fathers of Samoa's independence and was held in great respect both at home and abroad particularly in the Pacific.  His was an extraordinarily distinguished record of service and he will be sorely missed. 

In the light of his contribution to Samoa's independence and its Constitution, it is fitting to note that this year marks not only 45 years since Samoan independence but also 45 years since the signing of the Treaty of Friendship between our two nations.

The Treaty symbolises our strong and deep relationship.  Neither New Zealand nor Samoa has concluded a Treaty of Friendship with any other country.

But as we know from our own daily lives, words on paper have meaning only if they are backed up by deeds. The United States politician of the modern era Hubert Humphrey had it that the letter of the law means nothing unless close behind it stands warm living public opinion.

In this case, both New Zealand and Samoa have worked assiduously to ensure that the Treaty remains a living and meaningful document.  Recent initiatives, including the New Zealand Prime Minister's Fellowship, the Artist in Residence Programme and the Joint Ministerial Council meetings held in Apia in March 2005 and Wellington in November last year have reinforced the relationship.  There are many other joint governmental initiatives in areas as diverse as education, health, justice, defence and police.

The foundation for all these initiatives rests on the close ties between the peoples of our two nations. More than 130,000 people of Samoan descent now live in New Zealand and many Samoan leaders, including Your Highness and you, Mr Prime Minister, had some facets of your education in New Zealand.  And Your Highness's contribution to scholarship of Samoan traditions and history are well known from your publications and fellowships with New Zealand places of learning.

The Samoan family in New Zealand has enriched our country's diverse cultural mix and added its own vitality to our economy and society.  From literature to art and music, Samoan New Zealanders such as Albert Wendt have contributed much, not only to New Zealand but also to Samoa.  The Samoan comedians Mario Gaoa, David Fane, Shimpal Lelisi and Oscar Kightley have produced the successful animated comedy, Bro'Town that is much enjoyed in New Zealand.  Following on from appearances by our own Prime Minister and the Prince of Wales, I will also be making a cameo appearance in the forthcoming series screening next month.

Samoan New Zealanders have also contributed much to New Zealand's political and community life.  People such as the late Rev Leuatea Iusitini Sio, QSO, CNZM, did much for all Pacific immigrant groups from the 1950s until his death in 2005.

The presence here this evening of the Luamanuvao Hon Winnie Laban, New Zealand's Minister for the Community & Voluntary Sector and Associate Minister of Pacific Island Affairs, the first Pacific woman MP in New Zealand's Parliament, is further evidence of that contribution.  Many other Samoans serve on local councils and school boards of trustees in New Zealand, particularly in Auckland and Wellington.

As a lawyer and later as a Judge and an Ombudsman, I have also seen at first-hand the contribution that Samoan lawyers have made to New Zealand's legal system.

And in a similar vein it can be said that many New Zealanders have made significant contributions to this country.  I mention just two and only incidentally because they were known personally to me, the late Sir Guy Powles and the late Dr Colin Aikman, who both received Samoa's highest honour, the Order of Tiafau, for their work in aiding Samoa's path to independence.

Of course, Samoans have given much to New Zealand sport, and in particular to New Zealand rugby.  Players such as Michael Jones, Olo Brown and Tana Umaga are just a handful of those who have transformed the New Zealand game.  I also know first hand, from several years experience in football administration with New Zealand Rugby League, how much Samoans have excelled in that code as well.

As one of the most successful All Black captains, Tana Umaga is seen as a national hero and his joint presentation with our Prime Minister is widely credited with clinching for New Zealand the rights to the Rugby World Cup in 2011.

The strength of Samoan rugby was on show when Samoa won its first ever cup title, beating Fiji in the 2007 International Rugby Sevens Tournament in Wellington this year—a feat that was repeated in Hong Kong in April.  That Samoa finished the series in third place, only a few points behind New Zealand and Fiji but many ahead of South Africa is significant achievement for which all involved can be rightly proud.

I have focused on Rugby but know also how valued New Zealanders feel about the contributions in their respective areas of Beatrice Faumauina and Rita Fatialofa.  Samoan sporting prowess and Samoa's famous hospitality will also be on display during the South Pacific Games, which is being hosted later this month.  I wish you all the best for what I am sure will be a successful games.

With the 2007 Rugby World Cup to be played in France in two months' time, I am sure Manu Samoa will again make its mark with a display of versatile and skilful rugby.  I trust your team enjoys a success similar to its win in the Sevens in Wellington—with a reservation as to that only in the event of facing New Zealand in the final!

New Zealanders can understand the pride that Samoans feel when their national rugby team wins because, like Samoa, we are a small country.  While a country of more than four million people might seem large compared to a nation of Samoa's size, the reality is that compared to many other nations that border the Pacific, we are just a minnow.

But history shows that when small nations band together, they can achieve far more than if they had acted alone.  It is for this reason that the success of the Pacific Islands Forum is so important to our countries.

In particular, both Samoa and New Zealand have supported the Pacific Plan, endorsed by Pacific leaders in October 2005, which aims to enhance regional co-operation and integration.  Good progress is being made in implementing the Plan through the work of the Council of Regional Organisations and the Forum Secretariat.

I wish to stress that New Zealand values the contribution that Samoa has made to supporting a regional solution to the issues that are currently challenging the Pacific region.  I will not go into detail, as they are well known to us all.  Samoa's  participation in the Regional Assistance Mission in the Solomon Islands is one such example.  New Zealand values Samoa's commitment to a regional approach and the  recognition that such an approach has the ability to deliver superior outcomes for all. 

There will be no quick fixes.  Addressing these issues will require long-term solutions. To that end, the implementation of the Regional Institutional Framework report presented to Forum leaders in Nadi last year will be vital for progressing enhanced regionalism in the Pacific. During my visit, for example, I will be visiting several projects that have been supported by NZAID which are further examples of regional co-operation.

Finally, Your Highness, I wish to thank you, Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi and the Government of Samoa, for the hospitality that has been extended to me and my party during our visit so far. Fa'afetai tele lava.

I began speaking in all the New Zealand realm languages.  May I close by speaking in Maori issuing greetings and wishing you good health and fortitude in your endeavours and particularly for the South Pacific Games.