From being the headline to creating them, Moana Maniapoto has walked a rather rocky road of swinging between both sides of the media.
Known for her award-winning current affairs show Te Ao with Moana on Whakaata Māori, and the 1990s cover of Black Pearl, the lawyer-by-trade doesn’t keep her advocacy a secret.
Her first introduction to news was at the tail end of the 1980s when she was relaxed in the guest seat at Aotearoa Radio — Auckland’s first Māori radio station — but her kōrero hit a nerve.
“I said something the host considered radical,” she said.
“He quickly distanced the station from my remarks and that got the phones ringing.”
It became a race for listeners to punch numbers into the telephone, the first person to get through was New Zealand filmmaker, producer and writer Merata Mita, who ripped into the host.
“How dare you talk down to her like that,” Maniapoto recalled. The very next day she answered the call to host that show from then on.
No training, no worries
Aotearoa Radio was her first real job working four hours per day, spinning yarns five days a week — no training, no worries.
“Oh, they tried to get us to speak a bit flasher, but no one could be bothered. It was such a lot of fun, a great bunch of people working there. It was also nerve-wracking interviewing people like Erima Henare (NZ politician Peeni Henare’s father), but the one I still chuckle about the most was Winston Peters.”
She remembers challenging Peters over a comment he made about Māori in the media: “You’re going to have to apologise to your listeners, Moana. I never said that,” Peters pointed out.
They bickered in true journalist versus politician fashion — neither refused to budge, until Maniapoto revealed she had a word-for-word copy of his speech.
All Peters could do was watch Maniapoto attempt to hold in her laughter. A prompt ad break was only appropriate.
But the Winston-win wasn’t enough to stay in the gig.
“After two years, I was over it. It was tiring. Someone rang up live on air and threatened to kill me. It was a good excuse to resign.”
Although it wasn’t the end of the candlewick for Maniapoto, it took 30 years to string up an interview with Peters again.
Short-lived telly stints
In-between times she had short-lived telly stints including a year playing Dr Te Aniwa Ryan on Shortland Street, but it wasn’t for her. The singer-songwriter has also created documentaries with her partner Toby Mills, their daughter Manawanui Maniapoto-Mills a gunning young actress.
Moana Maniapoto has featured on the cover of magazines. Image: RNZ
Maniapoto has featured on the cover of magazines, one in particular she remembers was Mana magazine in 1993.
“Sally Tagg photographed me in the shallow end of a Parnell Baths pool, wrapped in metres of blue curtain net, trying to act like it was completely normal,” she said.
Just 10 years ago she joined Mana Trust which runs the online Sunday mag E-Tangata, mentored by Gary Wilson (co-founder and co-editor) and print journalist Tapu Misa who taught her how to transfer her voice through computer keys.
“Whakaata Māori approached me in 2019, I was flattered, but music was my life and I felt wholly unequipped for journalism. Then again, I always love a challenge.”
Since jumping on board, Te Ao with Moana has completed six seasons and will “keep calm and carry on” for a seventh season come 17 February, 2025 — her son Kimiora Hikurangi Jackson the producer and “boss”.
It will be the last current affairs show to air on Whakaata Māori before moving the TV channel to web next year.
Advocating social justice
Her road of journalism and music is winding. Her music is the vehicle to advocating social justice which often landed her in the news rather than telling it.
“To me songwriting, documentaries, and current affairs are all about finding ways to convey a story or explore an issue or share insights. I think a strength I have are the relationships I’ve built through music — countless networks both here and overseas. Perfect for when we are wanting to deep dive into issues.”
Her inspiration for music grew from her dad, Nepia Tauri Maniapoto and his brothers. Maniapoto said it was “their thing” to entertain guests from the moment they walked into the dining room at Waitetoko Marae until kai was finished.
“It was Prince Tui Teka and the Platters. Great vocal harmonies. My father always had a uke, gat, and sax in the house,” she said.
Born in Invercargill and raised in Rotorua by her māmā Bernadette and pāpā Nepia, she was surrounded by her five siblings who some had a keen interest in kapa haka, although, the kapa-life was “too tough” for Maniapoto. Instead, nieces Puna Whakaata, Mourei, and Tiaria inheriting the “kapa” gene. Maniapoto said they’re exceptional and highly-competitive performers.
ONO songwriters Te Manahau Scotty Morrison, Moana Maniapoto and Paddy Free. Image: Black Pearl/RNZ
Blending her Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, and Tūhourangi whakapapa into song was no struggle.
The 1990s was filled with soul, R’n’B, and reggae, she said, singing in te reo was met with indifference if not hostility.
‘Labelled a radical’
“If you mixed in lyrics that were political in nature, you were labelled a ‘radical.’ I wasn’t the only one, but probably the ‘radical’ with the highest profile at the time.”
After her “rare” single Kua Makona in 1987, Moana & the Moahunters formed in the early 1990s, followed by Moana and the Tribe which is still going strong. Her sister Trina has a lovely singing voice and has been in Moana & The Tribe since it was formed, she said.
“I’m incredibly proud of it. So grateful to Paddy Free and Scotty Morrison for their skills. Looks pretty too on vinyl and CD, as well as digital. A cool Xmas present. Just saying.”
The microphone doesn’t seem to be losing power anytime soon. All albums adequately named one-to-six in te reo Māori, one can only punt on the next album name.
“It’s kinda weird now morphing back into the interviewee to promote my album release. I’m used to asking all the questions.”
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Interview by Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist
The man being touted by the opposition as the next leader of Papua New Guinea says the first thing his administration would do is put more focus on law and order.
East Sepik governor Allan Bird is being put forward as the opposition’s candidate for prime minister with a vote on a motion of no confidence likely in the last week of May.
Bird is realistic about his chances but he said it is important to have such a vote.
“I think the first thing we would do is just restructure the Budget and put more focus on things like law and order, bring that right to the top and deal with it quickly,” he said.
He spoke about what he aspires to do if he gets the chance.
Don Wiseman: Mr Bird, you had been delegated to look at the violence following the 2022 election, and it is clear that resolving this will be a huge problem.
AB: Not necessarily. It’s currently confined to the upper Highlands part of the country, but it is filtering down to Port Moresby and other places. I guess the reluctance to deal with the violence is that I’d say 90 percent of that violence stems from the aftermath of the elections.
From our own findings, we know that many leaders in that part of the world that run for elections actually use these warlords to help them get elected. And obviously, they’ve got like four years of downtime between elections, and this is how they spend their spare time. So, it’s hardly surprising.
I think our military and our police have the capability to deal with these criminal warlords and put them down. How shall I say it – with extreme prejudice. But you get a lot of interference in the command of the police and the Defence Force. I suspect that changes the operational orders once they get too close to dealing with these terrorists.
DW: Police have been given the power to use lethal force, but a lot of commentators would say the problems have more to do with the the lack of money, the lack of opportunity, the lack of education.
AB: The lack of education, opportunity, and things like that will play a small part. But again, as I said, I come from a province where we don’t have warlords running around heavily armed to the teeth. I mean, you have got to remember an AR-15, or a 4M, or anything like that. These things on the black market cost around 60,000 to 70,000 kina (NZ$20,000-25,000).
The ordinary Papua New Guinean cannot afford one of those things and guns are banned in public use — they’ve been banned for like 30 years. So how do these weapons get in? Just buying a bullet to operate one of these things is hard enough. So you got to ask yourself the question: how are illiterate people with perhaps no opportunity, able to come into possession of such weapons.
DW: The esteemed military leader Jerry Singarok compiled, at the request of the government about 15 years ago, a substantial report on what to do about the gun problem. But next to nothing of that has ever been implemented. Would you go back to something like that?
AB: Absolutely. I have a lot of respect for Major-General Singarok. I know him personally as well. We have had these discussions on occasions. You’ve got smart, capable people who have done a lot of work in areas such as this, and we just simply put them on the backburner and let them collect dust.
DW: The opposition hopes to have its notice for a motion of no confidence in the Marape government in Parliament on 28 or 29 May, when Parliament resumes. It was adjourned two weeks ago when the opposition tried to present their motion, with the government claiming it was laden with fake names, something the opposition has strenuously denied. Do you have the numbers?
AB: Obviously we’re talking with people inside the government because that’s where the numbers are. Hence, we’ve been encouraged to go ahead with the vote of no confidence. The chance of maybe being Prime Minister per se, is probably like 5 percent. So it could be someone else.
I say that because in Papua New Guinea, it’s really difficult for someone with my background and my sort of discipline and level of honesty to become prime minister. It’s happened a couple of times in the past, but it’s very rare.
DW: You’re too honest?
AB: I’m too honest. Yes.
DW: We’ve looked at the law and audit issue. What else needs fixing fast?
Well, we’ve got a youth bulge. We’ve got a huge population problem. We’ve got to start looking at practical ways in terms of how we can quickly expand opportunities to use your word. Whatever we’ve been doing for the last 10 years has not worked. We’ve got to try something new.
My proposal is actually really keeping with international management best practice. You go to any organisation this is what they do. I think New Zealand does it as well, and Australia does, which is you’ve got to push more funds and responsibilities closer to the coalface and that’s the provinces.
If I could do one thing that would change the trajectory of this country, it’s actually to push more resources away from the centralised government. We actually have a centralised system of government right now.
The Prime Minister [Marape] has so much control to the point where it’s up to him to authorise the building of a road in a particular place worth, say, 5 million kina. The national government is the federal government, if you like, is looking after projects that are as low as say, 2 to 3 million New Zealand dollars in value all the way up to projects that are $500 million in value.
So the question is: there’s got to be better separation of powers, better separation of responsibilities and, of course, clearly demarcated roles and responsibilities. Right now, we’re all competing for the same space. It’s highly inefficient with duplicating a lot of things and there’s a lot of wastage of resources. The way to do that is to decentralise.
DW: What concerns do you have about MPs having direct control over significant amounts of these funds that are meant to go to their electorates? Should they?
AB: Well, I don’t think any of us should have access to direct funding in that regard. However, this is the prevailing political culture that we live in. So again, coming back to my idea about ensuring that we get better funding at the sub-national levels is to strengthen the operational capability of the public servants there, so that once they start to perform, then hopefully over time, there’ll be less of a need to directly give funds to members of parliament because the system itself will start functioning.
We’ve killed the system over the last 20 or 30 years and so now the system is overly dependent on one individual which is wrong.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Barbara Dreaver is a familiar face on Aotearoa New Zealand television screens, beloved to some, and feared by others who have been exposed by her work across three decades.
Dreaver has been named an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Years Honours list, for services to investigative journalism and Pacific issues.
Speaking after pulling a late night finishing news stories, Dreaver says it is hard to find the words.
“Completely overwhelmed, really honoured . . . I’m really pleased because my family are super thrilled.,” she says.
“That’s really what it’s about, is when the people who you love and mean so much to you, when they’re so proud, that means the world.
“It does feel awkward . . . to be talking about myself, and as Pacific people we find that a bit hard as well . . . because they don’t want to stick their head out of the water, they just do what they do, and now I’m getting a good taste of my own medicine.”
Dreaver was born in Kiribati, her mother’s homeland and grew up on the island of Tarawa, she also has close family in Fiji, Tonga, the Cook Islands and Solomon Islands. She says receiving the accolade will be momentous for her family, as well as honouring her parents and those who have gone before her.
“My Dad said he’s going to go and buy a new suit, and my Mum said to him, [being from] Kiribati, ‘you could hire one’, and he says, ‘my daughter is getting a medal, I will buy a new suit, and I don’t care how much it costs I’m going to save up and buy one’.
“So to have them beside me in their later years and to be blessed with that, when it’s the time of our lives when we have to appreciate every single day with the people you love, so while I love my family so much, it’s Mum and Dad who mean so much to me.”
A history of telling stories Dreaver’s journalism background includes co-owning a newspaper in the Cook Islands, working at Radio New Zealand, before carving out a space for herself at TVNZ working her way up to being Pacific correspondent, a role she has held for 21 years.
“My job has always been about allowing Pacific voices to have airtime, or to be there and to be represented, because that’s what’s seriously lacking, not just in New Zealand, but also internationally, it’s getting Pacific voices to be heard.
“I just play a role and am one of the many parts of the jigsaw.”
Barbara Dreaver with camera op Paul Morrissey on one of many trips to the Pacific. Image: Pacific Media Network
“Instead of trying to hide an issue and pretend that it’s not really happening, I believe that we have to show the big stuff and show the problems that we have to address it.
“You can’t just hide things under the carpet because it will come out at some point. Let’s do it our way. Let’s get it out there now.
Dreaver says being truthful isn’t hard, but sometimes goes against the grain of how Pacific communities and politicians like to be portrayed.
“Sometimes we like to just say we’re all just amazing, but things don’t change if we don’t’ speak up, if we don’t put those issues to the fore, things never change, and I think that’s wrong.”
In 2008, Dreaver was locked up in Fiji then banned from returning for eight years, after questioning the then-Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama.
“That was because I challenged the military commander who was pretending to be a prime minister at the time.
“Democracy and freedom of speech is everything to a journalist, so I was yelling questions to him and challenging him and it was really only a matter of time before a military dictator wants to lock up that journalist.”
Behind the scenes of a live TV cross in Vanuatu, March 2023. Image: Khalia Strong/PMN News
Dreaver designed a journalism training programme in the Pacific, but says there is no blanket approach, remembering a workshop she ran for the Pacific Cooperation Broadcasting Limited (PCBL).
“Melanesia is complicated, you open one layer and then there’s another layer and that’s the way I conduct myself and journalism, I never pretend that I know it, because inevitably, the minute you think you know, something happens.
“I gave some advice about door stopping someone and they said to me, ‘well, what if we get stoned?’ and was like ‘we’re going to have to rethink this’.”
An ongoing conversation, and media mission Dreaver says the reality of TV journalism isn’t glamourous, with constant deadlines and a never-ending news cycle.
“There is no work balance, it’s extremely long hours, in fact last week I had about three hours sleep when travelling with Winston Peters on a 24-hour trip to Fiji.”
Dreaver says the Pacific’s relationship with other countries is becoming more important with global superpowers scrambling for influence in the Pacific, evident at last year’s Pacific Islands Forum in the Cook Islands.
“There were 21 countries, Saudi Arabia, Norway, all there vying for influence, and I’ve been going to the Forum since the 1990s and to see this was really disturbing to me.
“Some of the big leaders were saying ‘it’s really great because it shows interest in the Pacific’, yes, but it also shows they want something from the Pacific, so the Pacific needs to be smart about how they do this and not give in to big powers throwing around money, we’ve got to stay true to ourselves.”
Hopes for the future Despite New Zealand’s new coalition government having no Pacific representation, Dreaver is optimistic about the future of Pacific journalism.
“Pacific journalists in this country are very strong and they’re just going to keep doing their job.
“Winston Peters . . . there’s lots of controversies around him and some of them are well deserved, but he does like the Pacific and he upped the funding for the Pacific when he worked under Jacinda Ardern’s government, so let’s see what happens there.
“But whatever happens in this government, this is why journalism is important, and it’s people like me, like you, and it’s people like our colleagues who will hold them to account.”
Barbara Dreaver was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to investigative journalism and Pacific communities. Khalia Strong is a Pacific Media Network journalist and this Public Interest Journalism article is republished with permission.
Google images of a country or region can offer a wealth of information about the people and cultures that live there. Some images accurately portray reality while others present camouflage, attempting to deceive or twist our perception.
From a marketing standpoint, it’s all about selling the national identity, brands and products.
When you type “West Papua” or “West Papua genocide” into Google Image search, you are immediately confronted with some of the grossest human rights violations on Earth.
Images of other Melanesian island countries, conversely, display pristine, exotic beauty, presenting them as an ideal vocational playground for first-world self-exhausted tourists.
West Papua is a region where its public image is produced and controlled by those who want West Papua to mould to and represent their modern, capitalist ideals.
On the one hand, we have images of West Papua representing a hidden heaven on earth, with majestic glaciers, mountains, lush lowlands, mangrove swamps along the coastline, and coral reefs with a rich biodiversity.
On the other hand, we see images of Indonesian soldiers torturing, killing, bombing, and destroying ancestral homelands; we see images of West Papuan freedom fighters in their jungles with modern machine guns, performing their cultural rituals while declaring war on the Indonesian military.
Freeport’s gigantic hole – a graveyard for Papuans At the centre of this tragic display of contradiction is the image of a giant gaping hole right in the middle of West Papua’s magnificent ancient glacier — a sacred home of local indigenous people.
The Grasberg mine in West Papua is the largest goldmine in the world and Indonesia’s biggest taxpayer. Image: Free West Papua.org
Local elders say that this hole has become “a graveyard for Papuans”.
This hole was created by the discovery of a strange-looking, greenish-black rock on Gunung Jayawijaya (Mount Carstensz) by Dutch geologist Jean Jacques Dozy in 1936.
It took some 20 years before the discovery was brought to the attention of American geologist Forbes Wilson in 1959, who was the vice-president of Freeport Minerals Company at the time.
From 1960 to 1969, the Papuan people lived through a century of great historical significance. It began with a sense of hope and optimism as the Dutch prepared Papuans for independence in 1961.
This independence dream was taken to New York in 1962, only to be abandoned at the mercy of the United Nations, and then to Indonesia in 1963.
The controversial UN sponsored “Act of Free Choice” in 1969, which Papuans called “Act of No Choice”, ultimately sealed the fate of Papuans’ independence dream within Indonesia. It may seem that the world and UN have forgotten Papua’s dream, but Papuans have never lost sight of it and continue to die for or because of it.
The US-based Freeport-McMoRan was given the green light to begin digging this hole behind the scenes during that decade, during which Papua’s fate was controlled by world leaders in their cruel puppet show. For the newly created state of Indonesia, this was an economic blessing, but for Papuans it was a death sentence.
Over the past 60 years, this hole has taken the lives of many Papuan mothers, fathers, and children, creating an endless world of grief and mourning.
Papuans not happy, says Governor Enembe
It was these decade-old wounds and grievances that caused Governor Lukas Enembe, the current governor of Papua’s province, to erupt on February 7, 2022.
“Papuans are not happy. Papuans are not happy in all of Papua. Papuans are the most unhappy people on earth. You take note of that,” he said in a recent video posted by senior journalist Andreas Harsono on his Twitter account.
Gubernur Lukas Enembe: Kehidupan orang Papua tidak bahagia. Orang Papua tidak happy di seluruh Papua. Intan Jaya menangis, Puncak menangis, Nduga menangis, Pegunungan Bintang menangis dan Maybrat menangis. Orang tidak hidup aman di negeri kita sendiri https://t.co/VOsuJNOkpepic.twitter.com/HvTVYo5yXx
Papuan Governor Lukas Enembe in the middle: Twitter image
The governor also said that some areas such as Intan Jaya, Nduga, and Star Mountains “cry” with the harsh conditions experienced by the Papuan people.
“Papuans do not live in happiness. Intan Jaya is crying, Puncak is crying, Nduga is crying, The Stars Mountains are crying, and Maybrat is crying. People are crying. People [Papuans] do not live safely in our own country. We were not born for that,” he said.
“We want to live happily. We want to live and enjoy happiness. Papuans have to live happily, that’s the main thing,” Governor Enembe said in a statement he made in a speech circulated on a video on Tuesday, February 8, 2022.
These areas, where the governor is referring to, are among the most militarised in West Papua.
Victor Yeimo, a prominent Papuan, said that over the past three years, Jakarta had sent 21,369 troops to West Papua, some of them referred to as “Satan Troops”, as reported by Arnold Belau on Asia-Pacific Report.
Sadly, this overwhelming military presence in West Papua is not a new phenomenon. Indonesia has been sending military troops equipped with western-made and supplied war machines since 1963.
The West Papua National Liberation Army of Free Papua Movement (OPM-TPNPB) is actively engaged in an ongoing war with Indonesian forces, which is being ignored by the international media.
The grace of Papuan mothers
In spite of the tragedies, grievances and the haunting images that Google displays, one story is rarely shown — The story of Papuan mothers. They are known for their resilience, courage, and indomitable will to live and work, despite the odds being stacked against them.
They are hard-working, compassionate, and strong — the backbone of Papuan society. They sacrifice everything to send their children to school and welcome foreigners with open arms.
There was a recent Tiktok video clip circulating in West Papua and Indonesia which received thousands of views and comments. The video footage featured a young Indonesian migrant weeping while singing in Papuan, the language of the Lani people of the highlands. Her name is Julitha Mathelda Wacano. She works in Tolikara, one of the newly created regions in the highlands of West Papua.
The young Indonesian woman singing in the local Papuan language of the Lani people. Video: Tiktok
The following lines are translations of what she wrote on the video below:
I cannot hold this song anymore.
I am a migrant, my hair is straight,
my skin is white, but in Tolikara,
after I return home from office,
food is already prepared on the table.
Who cooks this?” she asks. Then she replied “Mama gunung dorang…” meaning the “mothers from the mountains”.
Julitha Mathelda Wacano
The emotional video depicts the experience of a young Indonesian migrant girl being cared for by people deemed “enemies” by the state in some of the most demonised and militarised areas in Indonesia, due to constant negative representation in media coverage.
She opened a window to the world of Papuan mothers, for others to see the kindness of Papuans in the face of a society segregated by racism and caste.
The video of Julitha singing in the local Lani language has received more than 1500 comments, many of which share their own experiences of the goodness of the Papuan people. Many praise the love and kindness of Papuans, while others praised God and Allah for her story.
Papuan mothers still face so many challenges
Despite their unwavering love for others, Papuan mothers struggle to compete with the might of migrant economic dominance and their modern entrepreneurial skills.
In the eyes of Indonesians, Papuans do not produce anything of value to be traded or sold on either the national, regional, or global market.
Most Papuans produce fresh food, which has its own value and merit for those seeking a healthy lifestyle.
Papuan mothers spend their days sitting in the rain, in the dirt, alongside busy dusty roads. Meanwhile, migrants sell their imported products and gadgets in high-rise buildings, malls, kiosks, and shops, with comfort and convenience.
At sunset and sometimes into the night, if the mothers don’t sell their produce, they have no place to store it — no cool room or freezer– so they either give it away or take it home to be eaten. They have to start it all over again the next morning.
Many of these mothers are torn between taking care of their children, attending constant funeral services for family members, and finding money to send their children to school to participate in the education system that fails them and demonises their identity at every turn.
All roads lead to Rome – West Papua economics
A total of Rp 126.99 trillion (more than US$20 billion) has been distributed to the provinces of Papua and West Papua since Jakarta passed the so-called Special Autonomy Law in 2021. The details of how this figure was distributed throughout the period 2002-2020 are summarized here by Muhammad Idris and Muhammad Idris on compass.com.
Fiscal figure of this type, or any reports provided by those who seek to promote the state’s interests, can be difficult to verify independently, owing to the nature of the mechanism in place by Jakarta to carry out its settler colonial activities on Papuan Indigenous lands. Nevertheless, this type of report gives us some rough insight into what goes on in the region.
Despite such an amount, the poverty rate in these two provinces is nearly three times higher than the national average. Infant, child, and maternal mortality rates are among the highest, and health services and literacy rates are among the lowest in Indonesia.
There is an “all roads lead to Rome” economic system operating in West Papua, to which no matter how much money Jakarta gives to Papuans, it will all end up back in Jakarta, with migrants, security forces, foreign companies, misfits and opportunists.
Unfortunately, Papuan mothers’ hard-earned money ends up in the same hands that control and maintain this brutal settler colonial system.
A mama-mama Papua (market for Papuan mothers) in Jayapura. Image: bumipapua.com
As part of the efforts to empower Papuan mothers, President Jokowi in 2018 toured the five-story building which he ordered to be constructed two years earlier in Jayapura, the capital city.
As it was dedicated to Papuan mothers, it was named “Pasar mama-mama Papua” (Market for Papuan mothers).
The building can accommodate up to 300 traders. Each floor has been allocated for “mama mama Papua” to sell their produce and to display cultural artifacts. The building also houses a school for Papuan children to learn.
Papuan mothers have unimaginable willpower and determination to compete with Indonesian settlers, who have almost total control of the economic system in West Papua.
Their lives and work are shaped by the realities of constant violence and inequality in one of the most heavily militarised regions in the world.
No matter what the odds are, Papuan mothers overcome them with grace and compassion.
This sacred power broke the heart of that young Indonesian woman living in the highlands of the Lani people.
Papuan mothers and their international students
Unfortunately, the majority of Papuan international students whose scholarship funds were threatened to be cut by President Jokowi’s administration are the sons or daughters of these mama-mama Papua.
The students who are now spread across different continents and countries, from North America, Russia, Asia, Europe and Oceania, have united under the name International Alliance of Papuan Student Associations Overseas (IAPSAO) and strongly condemn any slight alteration in the scholarship package that would have a crippling effect on their education.
Some of the West Papuan students in Aotearoa New Zealand pictured with Papua provincial Governor Lukas Enembe (front centre) during his visit in 2019. Image: APR
These students overcome so many obstacles, from connecting to the right people within the brutal system, to leaving home, learning new languages, and adjusting to a new cultural system.
The constant loss of their family members back home takes a heavy toll on their studies.
Ali Mirin is one such student who is pursuing a master’s degree in International Relations at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia.
Mirin came from the Kimyal tribe of Yahukimo region of West Papua. He came to Australia on a student visa in 2019 to study at Monash University in Melbourne but struggled to meet the English requirements.
The university placed him in an English language course before enrolling him in a master’s programme. In the end, he was trapped between international student agencies such as International Development Programme (IDP), university and immigration departments since his two-year required study visa had almost run out, though he had yet to complete his master’s degree.
It was not clear to them why he was not in a master’s programme, but he was struggling to make sense of all the information he was receiving from these various parties.
The combination of covid-19 lockdown, passing of family members in West Papua, frustration with adjusting into a new culture, along with inconsistency in scholarship funds nearly cost everything that his mother worked for to help him achieve this level of education.
Additionally, he had to find a part-time job in Melbourne just to survive and pay rent, which nearly led to his study visa being revoked.
Ali Mirin at Flinders University, Adelide … “tip of the iceberg in terms of the challenges faced by Papuan students.” Image: YK
Mirin’s case is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the challenges faced by Papuan students studying overseas. Almost all Papuan students have dramatic and traumatic stories to share about the obstacles they faced just to receive a scholarship, let alone the difficulties of studying abroad.
Studying in first world industrialised countries like USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Germany requires tremendous amounts of money, which the parents of these students will likely never be able to afford in their lifetime.
The governor knows and understands what it is like to be Papuan (especially from the highlands) and study in Indonesia, let alone overseas.
With all these tragic circumstances Papuans have endured for decades, when the Jakarta government withdraws scholarship funds or changes its policies, Papuan students are shattered.
Papuan mothers, who Jokowi calls “mama-mama”, are the ones most affected by the news of deported or failed Papuan students who are studying abroad.
A new policy needs new minds and hearts in Jakarta
The central government in Jakarta should listen to what students have to say as they clearly stated in Asia Pacific Report on January 27.
Indigenous Papuan representatives should oversee Indonesian and foreign agents and agencies that deal with students’ affairs. Because as long as they are not Papuan, whether Indonesian, American, Australian, or British, it will be difficult for them to fully comprehend the mental trauma and cultural issues that each of the students suffer due to the conditions at home.
Papuan students fail their studies or struggle with them, not because they are unintelligent, but because they are deeply traumatised by the abuse and persecution that their families endure at home.
Most of these result from decades of violence, torture, and denigration of their human value under Indonesia’s settler colonial system in their own homeland.
Whatever the number of expert reports on success and failure stories of education in West Papua, if students’ deepest issues are not being listened to or understood, how can we help them or hope to change things for the better?
The politicisation of these students will continue to cloud Jakarta’s judgment about West Papua as it has for 60 years. Elites in Jakarta forget that these people have no agenda to colonise the island of Java, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Ukraine or build nuclear weapons.
They simply want to live peacefully in their own land and pursue their education.
Jakarta’s policies in West Papua are largely influenced by fear, and worst of all, wrong ideas and misguided judgments. They should be more concerned about a potential global nuclear war between the Western Empire and its allies, and the emerging Chinese-led eastern empire, which poses an existential threat to everyone and everything on this planet.
Indonesians target the wrong people and attack the wrong places — West Papua is not your enemy.
Images of ‘Wonderful Indonesia; and West Papua torture
I wonder if Jakarta searched images of West Papua on Google if they would like what they see. Would they see the truth — the horror, torture, abuse, murder, and exploitation of Papuans at their own hands?
Or would they see their ideals reflected back to them, the current state of terrorism that they manufactured in stolen lands.
These images do not represent the true nature of West Papua and its people, it is Indonesia that is reflected in these images.
Indonesia’s famous national promotional image of “wonderful Indonesia” that has been marketed throughout the world can be best authenticated when it uses the situation in West Papua as a mirror in which to see what Indonesia really is.
Wonderful Indonesia … The programme promoting Indonesia as a country “blessed with countless wonders”. Image: Wonderful WI screenshot PMC.
This hallmark of Jakarta’s nation-building image of Indonesia, which has been marketed around the world, can be best comprehended when it uses West Papua’s reality as a mirror to show the reality of Indonesia. In any case,
It may represent Bali or Java, but for West Papua it is just an elaborate ploy to deceive people about the terror image they have been projecting in the region.
Yamin Kogoya is a West Papuan academic who has a Master of Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development from the Australian National University and who contributes to Asia Pacific Report. From the Lani tribe in the Papuan Highlands, he is currently living in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Several hundred more cases of covid in Solomon Islands … Kiribati records first covid death …nearly 12,000 in isolation in New Caledonia … French Polynesia records first covid death in nearly four months … Federated States of Micronesia calls a halt to flights from neighbouring Guam … a partial border re-opening in the Northern Marianas … and Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape says he is “doing well” while self-isolating at home from a covid-19 infection.
One death has been recorded — the first since October, taking the death toll to 637.
More than a third of the covid-19 cases are the omicron variant.
Four people are in hospital and one person in ICU.
The proportion of the population vaccinated is 78.6 percent.
FSM halts incoming repatriation flights The Federated States of Micronesia has indefinitely stopped all incoming repatriation flights from Guam.
FSM’s Covid-19 Taskforce said the move was in response to the high number of coronavirus infections in the US Territory.
In a statement, the taskforce said it was essential for FSM to improve its vaccination rates before restarting flights to bring back citizens stranded in its neighbouring Guam.
The government said it would provide assistance for citizens who are stuck in Guam, but not provide further details at this stage.
Covid-19 vaccines are mandatory on the islands of FSM — meaning all citizens residing in the FSM must be vaccinated.
FSM’s public health emergency has been extended until the end of May.
Partial border reopening in the CNMI The Northern Marianas has reopened its borders for fully vaccinated people.
The changes to the border protocols were made possible with 99 percent of CNMI’s eligible population now fully vaccinated, and 53 percent having had booster shots.
CNMI’s Covid-19 Taskforce said all travellers entering the territory by air or sea would no longer be tested on arrival.
Unvaccinated travellers, however, will be required to quarantine at home and get tested at a community based testing site five days after arrival.
All visitors to the Northern Mariana Islands will also need to complete a mandatory health declaration and upload their vaccination status.
Authorities say the health and safety of residents remain the top priority of the government.
The CNMI has recorded more than 6300 cases and 23 deaths.
Marape had to cut short his visit to China after he tested positive for coronavirus in Beijing last week.
In a statement yesterday, Marape said “there is nothing seriously wrong with me” and that “vaccination has really helped”.
He said he would be taking a second covid-19 test tomorrow and depending on results would provide an update on Friday on when he would resume his responsibilities.
His deputy Sam Basil is acting prime minister while Marape recovers.
The prime minister is urging fellow PNG citizens to get vaccinated.
PNG has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the world, with less than 3 percent of the population covered.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Nearly two years since the start of the covid-19 pandemic, its global socioeconomic “headwinds” have blown many countries far off course from the aims of the climate 2030 Agenda, says the Fiji prime minister.
But fierce as those winds may be, they are “a whisper” next to the intensifying crisis brought by changing climate.
Fiji Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama made these remarks in his official opening address at the Virtual SIDS Solution Forum yesterday.
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are a distinct group of 38 UN member states, including Pacific countries.
Bainimarama referred to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. Saying that without drastic cuts to emissions, the prime minister noted how the report had stated “we are on track to blow past the 1.5-degree temperature threshold, confirming our worst fears that our low-lying neighbours in the Pacific, Kiribati and Tuvalu, face an existential threat over the coming decades”.
“And it means all of us must brace for storms and other climate impacts unlike anything we or our ancestors have ever endured,” Bainimarama said.
“That is why, when we go to COP26 together, our rallying cry must be to keep 1.5 alive.
Temperature threshold
“It remains the only temperature threshold that guarantees the security of all SIDS citizens, and we must leverage every ounce of our power and moral authority to fight for it.”
Bainimarama said the terrifying scale of those global challenges “give us no recourse but collective action”.
“I believe we can meet this moment with innovation — indeed, we already are. Just one week ago, Fiji launched a micro insurance scheme for climate-vulnerable communities.
“We are supporting local farmers with climate-resilient crops and funding adaption efforts through creative financial instruments.”
He said that by harnessing the hope that such innovation offered, small island states could recoup the economic losses of the pandemic and reset course towards zero hunger, clean oceans, quality education, and sustainable cities.
The states could also realise the other noble aims of the 2030 Agenda, towards more sustainable agri-food systems, and more resilient societies.
Timoci Vulais a Fiji Times reporter. Republished with permission.
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
New Zealand’s Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins has revealed that 14 close contacts of the Northland community case have returned negative test results.
Yesterday he announced two close contacts – her husband and hair dresser – were negative.
In his tweet, Hipkins described the news as “encouraging”.
However, New Zealand should be ready to move alert levels if there is an outbreak of the new covid-19 South African variant, says a leading modeller of the pandemic.
Auckland University professor Shaun Hendy said more data on the Northland community case was expected soon.
He compared the Northland community case with the Auckland August cluster but said the new covid variants were more transmissible meaning if an infected person could infect two more last year, this year they might infect three.
Accummulating evidence There was accumulating evidence that the new variant spread far more easily, he said.
“That just means the sort of restrictions we used last year in August in Auckland wouldn’t be as effective in containing the outbreak.”
However, Dr Hendy said with this case it was “highly unlikely” the country would need to move alert levels the same way; partly because the source of last year’s transmission was not identified.
The positive case of the Northland woman can be traced back to the MIQ facility.
“The chances of there being a large number of cases at this stage that we don’t know about or that we’re unable to track are quite slim.”
He said it was not inevitable that there would be leaks at the border.
‘We need to be prepared’ “We need to be prepared for another Auckland August situation.”
Dr Hendy suggested another test five days after a person left an MIQ facility.
New Zealand’s Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins has revealed that 14 close contacts of the Northland community case have returned negative test results.
Auckland University professor Shaun Hendy said more data on the Northland community case was expected soon.
He compared the Northland community case with the Auckland August cluster but said the new covid variants were more transmissible meaning if an infected person could infect two more last year, this year they might infect three.
Accummulating evidence
There was accumulating evidence that the new variant spread far more easily, he said.
“That just means the sort of restrictions we used last year in August in Auckland wouldn’t be as effective in containing the outbreak.”
However, Dr Hendy said with this case it was “highly unlikely” the country would need to move alert levels the same way; partly because the source of last year’s transmission was not identified.
The positive case of the Northland woman can be traced back to the MIQ facility.
“The chances of there being a large number of cases at this stage that we don’t know about or that we’re unable to track are quite slim.”
He said it was not inevitable that there would be leaks at the border.
‘We need to be prepared’
“We need to be prepared for another Auckland August situation.”
Dr Hendy suggested another test five days after a person left an MIQ facility.
Former PM Sir Mekere Morauta … as Papua New Guineans come to grips with the void left by his death on December 19, the impact of his decisions at the turn of this century will continue to be felt decades into the future. Image: Loop PNG
OBITUARY:By Scott Waide in Lae
For many Papua New Guineans, Sir Mekere Morauta will be remembered as the straight shooting politician and the reformist Prime Minister, whose work came to be appreciated more than a decade later.
Up until the 1990s, Mekere Morauta’s public life was rather low key.
He thrived behind the scenes, helping to develop, shape and implement important government policies.
He was the first graduate in economics from the University of Papua New Guinea and with it came important responsibilities both for his people and the country.
In 1971, he began a career in the public service as a research officer with the department of Labour. A year later, he took up a job as economist in the Office of Economic advisor.
When Papua New Guinea became self-governing in 1973, the government of Chief Minister Michael Somare sought out its best and brightest to help run the young democracy.
At 27, Mekere Morauta was thrust into a position of power and responsibility with his appointment as Secretary for Finance – a post he held for nine years.
Important influencer He was always an important influencer in the banking and financial sector of Papua New Guinea.
In 1983, he was appointed managing director of the Papua New Guinea Banking Corporation. He held the position for another 9 years until his upward transition to a new job as the Governor of the Bank of Papua New Guinea.
It was during this short stint as the central bank Governor that he shot to prominence as an outspoken enemy of the corruption that was infecting PNG government institutions.
Sir Julius Chan was Prime Minister then and in a foreign documentary about corruption in Papua New Guinea, Mekere Morouta spoke out describing the rampant corruption and “systemic and systematic.”
He was removed one year into the job.
Scott Waide reflects on his association with Sir Mekere Morauta, former #PNG prime minister who died earlier this week. “The ease with which Sir Mek explained economic theory brought it to life. He was a guru, a brilliantly articulate economist politician” https://t.co/XAhDvtyTdM
The period from 1994 to 1997 was politically turbulent.
The international attention on government institutions and the corruption highlighted by key figures in Papua New Guinea, including Sir Mekere, caused many Papua New Guineans to demand a change in leadership and management.
The seeds had already been planted.
South African mercenaries In 1997, when the government of Sir Julius Chan opted to bring in South African mercenaries to end the Bougainville crisis, PNGDF commander Brigadier-General Jerry Singirok called for the prime minister to step down and riots broke out.
It was months before the elections and when Sir Julius was voted out of office, a new group of political leaders, including Sir Mekere Morouta were voted in.
For the next three years, the country faced deep economic trouble.
The decade long closure of the Bougainville mine, a severe drought and high unemployment and government institutions in desperate need for reform… this was the scenario in 1999 when Sir Mekere took over from Bill Skate as prime minister.
In the next three years, Sir Mekere had the most impact on Papua New Guinea’s political and economic future.
In 2000, the Mekere government introduced sweeping reforms in the finance and banking sector. He introduced legislative reforms that strengthened the superannuation funds and banks, effectively eliminating much of the political interference that these institutions had long been burdened with.
Through the reforms, Nasfund and other superfunds which were on the brink of collapse, were revived and strengthened
In the political sphere, constitutional changes were made to strengthen political parties and other institutions of state.
As Papua New Guineans come to grips with the void left by Sir Mekere’s passing on December 19, the impact of his decisions at the turn of this century will continue to be felt decades into the future.
Scott Waide is a leading Papua New Guinean journalist and a senior editor with a national television network. He writes a personal blog, My Land, My Country. Asia Pacific Report republishes his articles with permission.
