Pasifika@Massey

Week of 14 July

My highlights for the week:

• It was a pleasant surprise to find out on Monday that I had been elected as Vice President of the Pacific Islands Political Studies Association (PIPSA) – a venerable grouping of political scientists and associated social scientists who have in common the study of the Pacific. It is the only organisation of its kind in the world. I can still recall that I read my first ever conference paper to a gathering of PIPSA way back in 1991 at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia;
• I am meeting a prospective candidate for the position of research assistant to me. The post is to be shared with the New Migrants Director. Watch this space;
• For the Vaka Pasifiki conference in Tonga in September, I am submitting an abstract of a paper on the idea of forging group/cultural solidarity as a means of encouraging Pasifika students to strive for excellence in tertiary education. The paper is tentatively called ‘The Dance of Excellence’;
• I am supervising my PhD students, who are Christchurch-based, on Wednesday. It can be a challenge to supervise and prod from afar but technological advancement is such that a range of tools is open to the supervisor – a situation that was impossible to contemplate in ‘traditional’ student-supervisor relations;
• My discussions on the radio and newspaper columns this week focus on: an analysis of the leaders of the main NZ political parties’ effectivenes starting with Green co-leader Russel Norman; the West Papua/Irian Jaya-Indonesia conflict; the place of the ombudsman in Vanuatu and recent problems; Israeli-Hamas conflict; and how democracy and tradition can sit side-by-side;
• Catching up with Dr Katharine Vadura in Christchurch over the possibility of Massey and Canterbury university co-hosting the ‘Human Rights in the Pacific’ conference/symposium in late November/early December;
• The Directors of the Pasifika, Maori and New Migrants Directorates are holding their regular meeting on Friday;
• We will celebrate a certain staff member’s- I won’t divulge their name!- birthday-I won’t reveal their age! on Tuesday;

The Longer view:

• If the ‘Human Rights in the Pacific’ conference/symposium eventuates in late 2014, it seems to me an auspicious time to also hold the first instalment of the Pasifika Lecture Series. I am thinking of a title such as the Queen Salote Tupou III Annual Lecture Series.

Week of 7 July

My highlights for the week:

• An opportunity arose on Monday for our AVC office’s senior management to discuss priorities for the respective units as well as for the office as a whole. Vision and mission were the topics for discussion.
• It was interesting to facilitate a ‘table discussion’ at the Redefining Governance symposium on Tuesday at the Albany campus which was coordinated by associate professors Grant Duncan and Richard Shaw. The symposium was a great opportunity for thinkers on governance (defined broadly) to come together under one roof. The perspectives ranged from views on university governance structures, to water and governance, to political governance in the Pacific, the latter being my own contribution to the discussion. Of course, governance, like democracy, is contested ground in the social sciences with relativism, cultural and otherwise, being one of the challenges.
• I am in Wellington for meetings with the Centre for Citizenship Education, postgraduate Pacific researchers, Wellington Samoan church leaders, Pasifika staff at the Wellington campus and possibly with the Wellington Tonga Council.
• On Friday I am looking to take part in the NZ Tonga Business, Trade and Investment Forum. The Forum is being organised by the NZ Tonga Business Council – a group that is quite active in encouraging collaboration and engagement between NZ and Tongan businesses
• Also on Friday, the first lot of interviews for the Executive Assistant to the Pasifika Director, New Migrants Director and Senior Maori Advisor will be conducted. There is a very good field of applicants from which to choose.

Longer view:

• I am giving some thought to the establishment of the Inaugural Annual Pasifika Lectures, possibly in the latter half of the year. The idea is to invite an eminent personality – a senior politician, statesperson, international figure, renowned academic/scholar, prominent traditional leader, a high profile artist or some such person who will be able to speak on a topical Pacific/Pasifika issue. The event could be externally sponsored, broadcast nationally and regionally and so forth, lifting the profile of Massey as a ‘Pacific institution’. I cannot think of a better way to do this than to use these kinds of big-ticket events to lift our profile. (I am thinking of something similar to the Annual Macmillan Brown Lectures that we used to run at the University of Canterbury.) Let me know if you some ideas around this.

Directorate:

• Everyone agreed that the umu on Monday was the best yet. It cooked well, despite the adverse weather, and the food was enjoyed by all. A big thank you to Ben Taufua and the crew for taking the time to bring staff and students together, faafetai tele lava.

2 July 2014

My week:

• After a week away on leave, it is good to be back, save for the work that is awaiting me!
• While away I worked on a number of things including updating my PhD thesis into a publishable state. Fortunately, two of my recent conference papers were based on the theoretically challenging part of the thesis which meant that in writing the papers I was simultaneously working on the thesis as well
• I also worked on a second edition of my Fakahalafononga booklet, which was published in 2009 in time for the 2010 Tongan general election with the intention of helping voters make informed choices at the polling booth. Progress is being made with additions to the booklet. It should be ready for publication at the end of August
• As well as the ‘routine’meetings and administrative tasks this week, I am looking forward to the Potatala discussion forum, which is a group that meets together every month to discuss intellectual and research matters, ranging from philosophy, pedagogy, economics, law, culture, language to religion
• I try to divide my time between Albany, Manawatu and particularly Wellington which doesn’t have the numbers that Albany and Manawatu do. I am due in Wellington on Tuesday 8 July for meetings, including with Christine Bogle-former New Zealand High Commissioner to Tonga and diplomat, and a meeting with the Samoan Leaders’ Group. It will give me a chance to catch up with Rachael Leafe
• I write two weekly newspaper columns, conduct a radio programme on Planet FM every Tuesday morning as well as providing regular comments on mainstream media. So this week I discussed, among others: the NZ Labour Party list, petrol tax, the MMP electoral system, sustainable development and ‘blue and green currencies’ in PNG, ‘Akilisi Pohiva’s prime ministerial ambitions in Tonga (on Planet FM); the importance of a free and effective media to society (the Independent newspaper); how tradition and democracy can be reconciled (Tongan Weekly); and the upcoming Cook Islands general election (Radio New Zealand International)

The Pasifika Directorate this week:

• We are currently shortlisting the applicants for the Executive Assistant position which was left vacant after Azima Mazid resigned in June. Susanne Dunn, the temp, is doing a great job, and at short notice too
• Preparation is in progress for Albany Orientation Week next weekMonday 7^th July – Saturday 12^th is Orientation week for 2014 second semester Massey University at Albany Campus. Monday 7^th at 10am – 3pm is the Pasifika Orientation at the Atrium Lounge Round Room a chance for Pasifika students to meet Pasifika staff and be made aware of all the support services available on site as well meeting other students. The lunch is a Umu of Pasifika traditional food so come and share the day with us. For further information please feel free to contact: Faye Hunt-Ioane, Pasifika National Recruitment, ph. 4140800 ext. 43253 mob. 0275557581
• The new round of Performance Review and Planning (PRP) is now underway. It is good to see where one was in six or twelve months ago and the progress made. And then to see what the next six or twelve months ought to look like
• Faye Hunt-Ioane and Selu Paea spend part of their week at the Directorate which gives us some much needed critical mass
• Some of our Tongan students are preparing to attend the annual Amatakiloa gathering which is hosted by Unitec and AIS in Auckland
• We are currently endeavouring to put a schedule together for the next leg of our community visits. We have visited all the branches of the United Church of Tonga. We are aiming to visit all branches of the Tongan Methodist Church which is a much larger congregation, with branches up and down the country

Happy reading!

Malakai

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