Coco Talanoa — Coco News / Page 12

by Mariner Fagaiava-Muller

Sole parent beneficiaries can claim child support without it being intercepted by the state, the Government yesterday announced.

"To look at a 2-bedroom situation in South Auckland, the rent of that would be about 85% of my benefit."

"I am hoping that the increase to a solo parent's income will mean that there is an increase in a better standard of living for the children."

Currently, the Government can retain child support payments from primary caregivers to recoup the cost of welfare. This will no longer be the case by July.

“This initiative means that child support payments for sole-parent beneficiaries will be passed on directly and charged as income for benefit purposes, as they are for most other beneficiaries raising tamariki,” Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni says.

Sepuloni has opened up before about once having claimed a benefit as a single mum.

“It is estimated that 41,550 sole-parent families will be better off, with a median gain of $24 per week,” she says.…more

by Mariner Fagaiava-Muller

Amidst the backdrop of Covid, war and a cost of living crisis - the Government today unveiled its $128.4 billion budget.

The Pacific Peoples’ package gets a $196 million piece of the pie, an increase of $88m from last year.…more

by Mariner Fagaiava-Muller

It was 15 January when Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai erupted, but only now has it been found as the biggest explosion ever recorded by modern instrumentation.

According to academic journal Science, the Tonga eruption produced a larger amplitude than nuclear bombs conducted after World War II.

Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai generated what are known as lamb waves.

These lamb waves circled the earth at least four times, which has never been done before. At their tallest, they exceeded beyond Earth’s surface.

A disaster of similar scale is the 1883 Krakatoa eruption, in which 70% of the Indonesian island was destroyed - killing 30,000 people.

"Tonga was a truly global event, just as Krakatau was, but we've now got all these geophysical observation systems and they recorded something that was really unprecedented in the modern data," The University of California’s Dr Robin Matoza told BBC News.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Those as far north as Alaska reported hearing repeated booms.
• Tonga’s volcano blast was so colossal it was picked by nuclear activity monitors.…more

by Mariner Fagaiava-Muller

The Samoan/Tokelauan 23-year-old is the first Pacific person to be presented with the award, which has previously honoured the likes of Elton John and Warren Buffett.

The Global Citizen Prize recognises unsung activists in communities across the world, whose efforts towards social change are proven and diligent.

Fruean is among eight changemakers from each continent.

She has contributed several years in the organisation and leadership of climate change activism within the Pacific. At 16, she became the youngest winner of the Commonwealth Youth Award for her contributions to environmentalism.

She currently sits on the Pacific Climate Warriors’ council of elders and its youth representative.

Fruean, also a digital producer for TheCoconetTV and FreshTV, was nominated by executive producer Lisa Taouma.

“I didn’t even know about it,” Fruean says.

“I just got told one day to keep my phone off silent, and there might be a call coming my way. I didn’t expect it at all.”

“The first time I heard about it was in a [work] meeting and [Lisa] announced it.…more

by Mariner Fagaiava-Muller

Pasifika account for nearly half (43.4%) of Covid deaths per 100,000 people since the Omicron outbreak began, TheCoconet can reveal.

87 Pacific peoples with Covid-19 have died since 19 January, according to Ministry of Health data obtained by TheCoconet.

No other ethnic group in New Zealand is dying relative to their overall population more than Pasifika. The entire Pacific population is shortly above 350,000.

Māori stand at 23% of deaths per 100,000 people. The rate for Asians is 6.8%, while European and other ethnicities account for 26.7%.

Elderly Pacific peoples are at much higher risk of death. 73 people aged over 60 have died since the beginning of Omicron, compared to 14 aged 0 to 59.

University of Auckland associate professor of public health, Dr Collin Tukuitonga, says the deaths were expected and preventable - given socioeconomic factors were well looked after.

“Clearly in terms of poor access to health services, poor quality housing, difficult access to healthcare - there is a responsibility on the health system and people within it to have done better,” he says.…more

History was made again with a new Pasifika Member of Parliament joining the largest ever Pacific caucus in Aotearoa's parliamentary history.  It will now have a total of 11 Members of Samoan, Tongan, Cook Island and Tokelauan descent.

Lemauga Lydia Sosene was sworn in at Parliament on Tuesday afternoon.  She joined the Labour Party in 2000 and was the highest-ranked Labour list candidate who was not elected at the 2020 election. She replaces Louisa Wall who resigned recently.

Born and raised in South Auckland, Sosene hails from Māngere and has been a strong advocate for Pacific communities during her 12 year background in local body affairs. She was elected to the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu local board in the 2010 local elections and spent the last 9 years as the Chair.

“My parents dream was that I served my community, to know where I come from and to know where I am going. They both had service backgrounds and they didn’t have much, so to become a Member of Parliament to serve Aotearoa is very humbling,” Lemauga Lydia Sosene said.…more

by Mariner Fagaiava-Muller

Tiana Epati spent four years as president of the New Zealand Law Society, but was held up by security when security wrongly thought she was one of the accused.

The barrister and former crown prosecutor posted about the incident to her Instagram story on Monday.

“So it finally happened. Got mistaken for a criminal defendant this morning when going to enter court,” she wrote.

“Held up by security and asked for my name on the [court appearance] list.”

“Thought I would include a selfie to show I was actually wearing one of my nicest suits too. #nowords”

Epati told TheCoconetTV, “I realised pretty quickly the security guy thought I was a defendant and I said really loudly ‘you know I am a lawyer, aye?’.

“Oh no, so sorry,” the guard replied.

“I wasn’t that rattled.  More at a loss to understand how a well groomed brown woman wearing an Issey Miyake suit and carrying a file could be the defendant.”

“And that a Māori security guard in Gisborne could make that mistake,” she said.…more

'A Boy called Piano' premieres in Auckland this evening at the 2022 NZ International Film Festival playing both tonight and tomorrow morning before it heads south to screen in Christchurch, Wellington and Dunedin over the next couple of weeks.

"This heart-breaking story details Fa'amoana John Luafutu’s time as a state ward. At its core, it is a story about fathers and sons, intergenerational trauma and redemption. Using his voice for the voiceless, Luafutu and Fijian director Nina Nawalowalo vitally bring this story to light. A must-watch for all New Zealanders.  Using his voice for the voiceless, he vitally brings the story to light.  

'A Boy Called Piano' is the product of a long-term collaboration between Nina's theatre company 'The Conch', Fa'amoana John Luafutu and the Luafutu aiga.  The film blends dramatised sequences and powerful interviews with beautiful aerial and underwater photography – translating Nawalowalo’s celebrated visual storytelling to the screen for the first time." - Lana Lopesi.…more

Cover photo - Ma’ara Maeva and Tau’ili’ili Alpha Maiava during the recording of 'Sounds of the Moana'

Coco congrats to the SOUNZ podcast series 'Sounds of the Moana' which has won Gold (the highest category award) at the prestigious New York Festivals Radio Awards (NYFRA).

Entries for this year's awards were received from over 30 countries and some of the global broadcasters shortlisted include BBC, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CBS News Radio, NBC News, RTÉ Ireland, Deutsche Welle (DW), Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and Mediacorp. 

Hon Carmel Sepuloni, Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, says, “Malo lava and a big congratulations to SOUNZ and the ‘Sounds of the Moana’ podcast team for receiving the Gold award at the 2022 New York Festivals Radio Awards. I’m proud that the stories of Moana-Nui-ā-Kiwa and its vibrant history of indigenous sounds have been recognised internationally for its unique beauty. This is an exceptional feat and a big win for our Pacific whānau.”

Gold has not been awarded in the ‘Music Podcast’ category in at least the previous two years, making this a rare win.…more

(TW: mention of mental health and suicide)

In 2020 “Teine Sāmoa” a book about cultural identity and discovery was published by Samoan Author Dahlia Malaeulu. The book received rave reviews and readers awaited a continuation of the story. This year the brother book to “Teine Samoa” called “Tama Samoa” was released by Dahlia and her husband Mani Malaeulu. Just like clock-work "Tama Samoa" repeated the cycle and recieved high praise.

We got to sit down with the writing duo and speak about their book:

What is the message behind Tama Sāmoa?

Mani: Tama Sāmoa holds so many messages for us. The male stereotypes, like having to ‘man up and get over it’ combined with other personal and cultural challenges we face places real pressure on the mental health and wellbeing of our tama Pasifika which I’ve seen and experienced first-hand. This is why we really wanted the messages of connection, talanoa and healing to shine through the book.…more