Media release
09 December 2009

Pacific Voice In New Auckland Council

Chair of Manukau’s Pacific Island Advisory Committee (PIAC) Mrs Tupou Manapori is extremely pleased that the government has endorsed the establishment of a Pacific Advisory Panel and an Ethnic Advisory Panel within the new Auckland Council.

“This decision not only reflects the important contribution that our people have made toward the development of the Auckland region as a whole, but also the positive role that Pacific peoples will play in the shaping of the region’s future,” said Mrs Manapori.

The Royal Commission on Auckland Governance recommended the establishment of a separate Pacific and Ethnic Advisory Panel which was supported by PIAC in their submission to the Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill, along with the provision of ‘dedicated’ seats for Maori on the new council.

Although details on how the panel will be established or its membership structure are still to be finalised Mrs Manapori indicated that the ideal scenario would be to include representatives from the Pacific advisory committees from Manukau, Auckland, Waitakere and North Shore. In addition, it would also be beneficial to keep these local committees in place to feed into the new Pacific advisory panel to ensure that ‘local’ issues continued to be dealt with at a regional level.

Manukau is home to the largest Pacific population in New Zealand (86,616). At the 2006 Census the total for Pacific peoples stood at 265,974, representing 6.9 percent of the total New Zealand population. Auckland is home to two thirds of New Zealand’s Pacific population making it the city with the largest Pacific population in the world (source Statistics New Zealand, 2006 Census).

-ENDS-

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