Taloha ni, Talofa lava, Malo e lelei, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Ni sa bula vinaka, Namaste, Kia orana koutou katoatoa, Ia Orana, Gud de tru olgeta, Talofa, Kia ora tatau and Warm Pacific Greetings to you all this morning.
Ae ou te le’i tautala i se upu, Tulou! E muamua lava ona ou fa’atulou tulouna le paia ma le mamalu o Samoa ua aofia I lenei taeao matagofie, E’e ia fa’atama-sa le au faigaluega a le Atua ma o outou faletua, aemaise le loaloa o tupu ma tamali’I, faletua ma tausi, sa’oao se’I o’o lava I alo ma fanau – Ia taoto fa’amaene o tai loloto le paia maualuga o Samoa ua potopoto.
O le ā ou lē a lei i le lau-ā-manu, ae ou te tuli-mata’i le fa’amuli o atu. Pe sala la’u gagana – tulou! O faiva lava o lima tautala.
Lenei ua tatou oa oa i faleseu, ina ua sili mea o le seuga sa fatu fa’asolo iai le fa’atautaiga. Ae tau ia o sa’u fa’afetai tusa o le valaauina o a’u.
Fa’afetai ua Fa’amalo tautua, o lenei ua pale, ua ula ua ula, ua titi ua titi lava toa “O le upu moni o Samoa o tagata filifilia e pei o le nu’u o Le Atua – I a tatou tu ma aganu’u aemaise le talalelei ia tatou tifitifi ma ninifi le alofa ma le fa’asoa a le Atua, I a tatou feau ma galuega.
Fa’amalo le tofa tatala, Fa’autaga mau fa’a fale upolu, aua sa tu ma tilotilo le tamaloa Lealataua. O la’u fa’afetai lena
Ou te mua’i fa’atalofa i lau afioga Tuiataga Fa’afua Leavasa Tautolo le ta’ita’ifono o le SA’ASIA po’o le Sosaiete Aoga Amata Samoa I Aotearoa – nofo a tofi o le SA’ASIA, aemaise o sui o le mafutaga a SAASI’A, susuga i Faiaoga aemaise malo asiasi mai. Talofa, Talofa lava.
E momoli atu la’u fa’amalo ma la’u fa’afetai I la outou galuega faifai pea, auā le soifua manuia o alo ma fanau o Samoa mo a taeao. O le autu o le tatou fonotele I lenei tausaga o le “Saili malo auā fanau o Taeao” – “Seek success for future generations”.
E ese le tāua o lenei folasaga aua o tatou fanau o le lumana’I lea o aiga, nu’u, ma atunu’u. E lē faigofie la outou galuega, ae ou te talitonu o la outou galuega o le fa’afailēlēina o alo ma fanau ua fesoasoani tele lea I olaga o le to’atele o tatou fanau, auā o lo’o faia la outou galuega ma le agaga alofa, ma le loto fesoasoani ma le lagona tauivi. Fa’amalo!
O le a’oa’oina o alo ma fanau I totonu o Niu Sila ua fa’atāuaina tele e le malo Niu Sila, ma e lagona lava le fiafia ona o lenei avanoa āua ua aumai e mafai ona ou fa’apupula atu nisi o fesoasoani ma atina’e lelei ua faia e le malo aua le soifua a’oa’oina o alo ma fanau aemaise lava I totonu o aoga amata, o le mea lea ua fa’aaoga fua ai alo ma fanau laiti ua tolu ma fa tausaga mo le lua sefulu itula I le vaiaso, o le fa’anaunauga a le malo, ia fa’amalosia matua e fa’aaoga a latou fanau.
Ou te talitonu o le to’atele o mātua tatou Tamā ma Tinā na tuua o tatou aiga I Samoa ma malaga mai I lenei atunu’u ina ia maua se lumana’I manuia o alo ma fanau.
E momoli atu la’u fa’afetai tele I le tatou atunu’u Samoa mo le fa’atāuaina o lenei fa’amoemoe ua si’isi’i ai i luga le numera o alo ma fanau o lo’o a’oa’oina i aoga amata.
Ae le’I taumafai atu se upu I le gagana fa’aperetania – E fa’ai’u la’u tautalaga I lenei taeao ise fa’aupuga ma tusitusiga a le Tuaā o lo’u Tinā, e fa’atāuaina tele ia te a’u
“E lë täua muä’au fa’alele,
Ae täua le tu’i o mulipapaga.
E lë täua le paepae tupe mua,
Ae täua le töfä.
E lë täua pö ula,
Ae täua le fesilafa’I o Aualuma.
E lë täua le ta’i,
Ae täua le Fa’amuli Tapua’i.
E lë täua Tofi,
Ae täua lou Fa’amaoni.”Samoa e, o lo’o I tatou aao le manuia o alo ma fanau, ia maua pea le soifua manuia ma le lagi e mama e fa’ataunu’uina ai feau ma tiute. O lo’o tofu tatou ma fa’amanuiaga mai Le Atua. Ia manuia tele fuafuaga o lo’o totoe o lenei fa’amoemoe.
I’m pleased to be here at the Sosaiete A’oga Amata Samoa I Aotearoa Conference.
The educational goals that you have for your young people and your community are shared by the government, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to explain what we have been doing to help Pacific education and in particular, early childhood education.
Education underpins all the goals we have for New Zealand’s future, and the goals we have for all people in New Zealand.
Many Pacific people came to New Zealand because of education; because we wanted our children to have a better education, and the best opportunity that we could offer them.
All parents want the best for their children. It is the Labour-led government’s job to support those goals, and help make them a reality.
Everything the government does in relation to education for Pacific peoples is underpinned by the Pasifika Education Plan, which the Minister of Education, Hon Steve Maharey, launched earlier this year at Auckland Girls Grammar.
Supporting the achievement of Pacific people in education means more than helping them in school. It provides strategic direction for all levels of Pasifika education: early childhood, primary and secondary school, as well as tertiary and life-long learning.
The Pasifika Education Plan is government’s strategic plan for achieving education outcomes for Pasifika peoples in Aotearoa/New Zealand.The Plan sets goals and targets across early childhood, compulsory and tertiary education and education sector-wide.
The process of developing and reviewing the Plan’s goals and targets incorporates the latest research findings on Pasifika students presence, engagement and achievement.
The Ministry of Education has developed a monitoring and evaluation cycle for the Pasifika Education Plan to ensure that it remains relevant and continues to step up gains across education.
The first monitoring report to the Plan was released by the Minister of Education on the 31st of July and shows that, in most areas, we are moving in the right direction to achieving the Plan’s goals and targets.
The next monitoring report will be released in February 2008 and it will match up evidence on how we are going nationally with evaluative data on specific policy areas.
But of course your real interest in Pasifika education is in early childhood education.
We now know how important it is for very young children to take part in early childhood education.
Over the past five years the number of Pacific children taking part in early childhood education has grown faster than for any other group. That’s an achievement that we should all be very proud of.
We have put a focus on early childhood education because we know the benefits continue through school and right throughout life.
The evidence on this is really clear now.
The New Zealand Council for Educational Research published its Competent Children at 8 report in 1999.
Exposure to early childhood education was a huge influence on the competencies of eight-year-olds – even more than family income. The more early childhood education they had, the better they did. The higher quality is was, the better they did. The earlier they started, the better they did.
And since we’ve been in government, we’ve been working on all of those things – raising the quality of early childhood education, tearing down the barriers to participation, helping make sure kids can access early childhood education and can access more of it.
We’ve funded new centres, funded innovation, funded training, funded scholarships, and funded access.
But although things are getting better, we have further to go.
Despite the improvements, there are still too many Pacific children who aren’t in early childhood education.
I know you are continuing to work at this, and I know you are encouraging it in your community.
I want to thank you for your efforts which will make such a difference to the future of the Samoan community and our young people.
The Labour-led government is committed to our Pacific people and is doing what it can to help.
You will know all about 20 hours Free Early Childhood Education per week for 3 and 4 year olds. We know that cost is a barrier for some families, and we believe it shouldn’t be.
So we’ve done something about it.
More than 68,000 three and four year old children are receiving up to 20 hours Free Early Childhood Education in around 1850 services across New Zealand.
We’re continuing our work to bring more providers into 20 Hours Free Early Childhood Education.
Our latest information is that 66 Pasifika Early Childhood Education Services intend to offer Free Early Childhood Education.
Three-quarters of Pasifika children attending licensed early childhood education services are at mainstream services, and many of their families will be benefiting from this policy as well.
We recognise the importance of Pacific culture to education.
There are around 120 early childhood education services that use Pacific languages: Samoan, Tongan, Fijian, Niuean, Tokelauan, and Cook Island Maori. Some are immersion services, and some use English as well. All are important in making early childhood education accessible to Pacific communities.
New Zealand is a Pacific country. The Pacific is our home. Pacific culture and language are increasingly important in the way New Zealanders see themselves.
We’re working to build on the great work already occurring in Pasifika early childhood education, and reflecting that emphasis on Pasifika culture in schools.
Over the last couple of months we’ve launched new school curriculums for the teaching of Niuean and Tongan languages, joining the Samoan and Cook Island Maori curriculums.
In last year’s budget the Minister of Finance, Michael Cullen, announced a $4.5 million increase over four years for teaching Pasifika languages.
This is a milestone which I’m also very proud of.
We are getting better at bringing education to Pasifika children, and teaching them about the Pacific cultures – and your services are at the forefront of this.
There’s an old African saying: “It takes a village to raise a child.”
That’s true in Africa, and true in Apia, and true in Auckland. Parents need to read to their children; ask them what they did at their early childhood education centre; help them with their homework.
This will matter as much to the success of our young people as anything the government can do. I know you are there on the ground working with parents and children, and that you understand the importance of this, and I want to thank you for that work as well.
By virtually any measurement Pasifika participation and achievement in education is growing, and that bodes well for the future of our communities.
Our Labour-led government is proud of this success. You should be proud of it too. Working together, with our shared dreams for our children’s future, this will only get better.
Congratulations on holding this conference, and thank you for your ongoing work to make a difference for Pasifika children and their families. I hope the rest of it goes well.
Thank you for having me.
Meitaki Maata.