Coco Talanoa — Coco News / Page 1

What was meant to be a celebration of Pacific sport, culture and community in Salt Lake City has highlighted the growing barriers facing Tongan travellers under tighter US immigration rules.

Several Tongan pickleball players were unable to compete in an international tournament in Utah after their US visa applications were denied.

The tournament, held at Glendale Park on Saturday, brought together players from across the United States and the Pacific for a match-up between two predominantly Polynesian teams: Salt Lake City's Die Hard Pickleballerz and Team Kalia, an international club made up of players from Tonga, New Zealand and Australia.

For those who made it, the tournament was about far more than pickleball.

But for several players from Tonga, the opportunity to compete never got off the ground.

Fewer Tongan players able to make the trip

Team Kalia president Johnny Hafoka brought eight players from Tonga to this year's tournament, alongside 10 players from Australia and 10 from New Zealand, as well as several players from other US states.

But that was significantly fewer Tongan players than last year.…more

Pacific workers continue to have the lowest median hourly earnings among New Zealand’s major ethnic groups, with new figures highlighting a significant gap in what Pasifika workers earn compared with European workers.

Stats NZ figures for the year to the June 2026 quarter show Pacific workers had median hourly earnings of $31.17, compared with $37.85 for European workers.

That is a difference of $6.68 an hour.

Asian workers had median hourly earnings of $33.56, while Māori workers earned $33.45.

The figures show that while wages have increased across major ethnic groups, a significant difference remains between Pacific and European workers.

Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Gail Pacheco said rising wages had not necessarily shifted longstanding inequalities in the workforce.

She said longstanding differences in where people worked and in their average or median pay had changed little.

Pacheco's research found Māori and Pacific workers were disproportionately represented in lower-paid sectors and underrepresented in some of the country's highest-paying industries, including professional services.

However, she said the disparity was not only about which industries people worked in.…more

Samoan physiotherapy pioneer Aseta Redican is being celebrated for more than six decades of service to Pacific health, with the University of Otago set to award her an Honorary Doctor of Science this weekend.

Mrs Redican made history in 1964 when she became the first Pacific person to qualify as a physiotherapist in Aotearoa, graduating from the University of Otago’s School of Physiotherapy.

Born in Samoa, she moved to Aotearoa at 13 after receiving a Samoan government scholarship to attend boarding school in Stratford, near New Plymouth. With very little English and only the opportunity to return home every three years, she says the experience helped develop the perseverance that shaped her career.

After graduating from Otago, Mrs Redican returned to Samoa where she established the first physiotherapy department at Apia General Hospital, providing care for patients including people living with paraplegia, poliomyelitis and muscular dystrophy, as well as those recovering from surgery.

She later returned to Aotearoa, developing the physiotherapy department at Masonic Hospital in Auckland before moving into Pacific health leadership.…more

There are 8 Pasifika young women and gender-diverse changemakers among the 25 young people recognised in the 2026 Y25 cohort, celebrating young leaders who are creating positive change in their communities, across Aotearoa and beyond.

The Y25 programme, developed by YWCA Tāmaki Makaurau, celebrates young women and gender-diverse people aged 15 to 25 who are challenging inequity, reimagining systems and building stronger communities.

This year's cohort was selected from more than 165 nominations, with recipients recognised for their work across areas including climate action, Māori and Pacific leadership, education, STEM, health, the arts, Indigenous knowledge and community development.

Here are the nine Pasifika changemakers named in the 2026 Y25 cohort.

Mariner Fagaiava

Journalist, Broadcaster & Pasifika Leader

25 | Auckland / Tāmaki Makaurau

For Mariner, storytelling is an act of service, often expressed through the Samoan concept of “Tautua”.

Of Samoan and Tongan heritage, Mariner is a proud third-generation Tauiwi whose commitment to community has been shaped by the sacrifices of her grandparents, who migrated to Aotearoa in the 1970s.…more

Polymetallic nodules, such as those shown here, can occur on the ocean floor and are of interest for the critical minerals they contain.  (Image credit: NOAA)

Our ocean's future is once more the subject of a global trade for profit. 

Recent announcement that the United States is moving to open waters around American Samoa to deep sea mining have sparked widespread concern among Pacific leaders, scientists, and environmental advocates. News broke that the US federal government will be proceeding with its first proposed lease sale for mining the deep sea on American Samoa’s Outer Continental Shelf. A Federal Register notice announced the plans last week. The proposal would offer over 31 million acres for mining in a sale on November 19, 2026. That area for sale is 632 times the total land area of American Samoa. 

For many Pacific Islanders, this debate is not about minerals, it is about protecting the ocean that sustains livelihoods, traditions and culture.…more

New government data shows Pacific children continue to face some of the highest levels of material hardship in Aotearoa, as unemployment remains double the national rate.

For Pacific families across Aotearoa, the warning signs around poverty and financial hardship have not gone away.

New figures from the Ministry of Social Development's 2026 Child Poverty Report show 31% of Pacific children were living in material hardship in 2025, equivalent to around 54,000 children. While 25% of Maori children and 12% of European children. 

That compares with 14 percent of children overall.

The figures add to concerns raised earlier this year that Pacific families are continuing to face disproportionate pressure from the cost of living, housing and employment.

Pacific children remain over-represented in hardship

Pacific children also make up a disproportionate share of children experiencing hardship.

While Pacific children account for around 10 percent of children overall under the prioritised ethnicity measure, they make up 23 percent of children experiencing material hardship.

The numbers show that Pacific families are not simply experiencing lower incomes.…more

Via Auckland University of Technology

After 25 years of teaching, researching and leading early childhood education (ECE) for Pacific children, AUT’s Pro Vice-Chancellor Pacific, Jacoba Matapo, has become the world’s first Pacific Professor of Pacific ECE following AUT’s 2025 academic promotions round.

Professor Matapo’s influence on the progression of New Zealand’s Pacific ECE sector is prolific and when commenting on the historic milestone, she says it is a huge honour to be building on the visionary work achieved by the pioneering Pacific women who came before her.

“The spectrum of Pacific ECE centres in New Zealand only exist today as a result of the pioneers who started paving the way 40 plus years ago for ECE practices grounded in indigenous Pacific values, philosophies, language and pedagogy.

“As a person of Samoan and Dutch heritage, I feel hugely honoured to be able to play an instrumental role in continuing to build on what they developed for our many different Pasifika communities.…more

Cook Islanders have long played an important role in shaping Aotearoa's Pacific communities, bringing rich culture, language and traditions that continue to thrive across generations.

A new snapshot from the Ministry for Pacific Peoples highlights one area where the community is facing a growing challenge, the use of te reo Māori Kūki 'Āirani.

The report shows the proportion of Cook Islands Māori language speakers has steadily declined over the past two decades.

In 2001, 19 percent of the Cook Islands population living in New Zealand spoke te reo Māori Kūki 'Āirani. By 2006 this had fallen to 17 percent, before dropping to 13 percent in 2013, 9 percent in 2018 and just 8 percent in 2023.

The trend is also reflected across where people were born.

Among Cook Islanders born in New Zealand, the proportion of speakers fell from 5 percent in 2001 to 3 percent in 2023.

For those born overseas, language use also declined, dropping from 47 percent in 2001 to 37 percent in 2023.

Perhaps the biggest concern is among younger generations.…more