New Zealand

New Zealand's Labour Party will see its largest ever Pacific caucus after claiming a landslide victory of 64 seats in Parliament. Last term's four existing Pasifika MPs, Carmel Sepuloni for Kelston, Jenny Salesa for *Panmure-Ōtāhuhu, Aupito William Sio for Māngere and Poto Williams for Christchurch East, all comfortably won their electorates. Aupito said he was grateful to receive such strong support within his electorate and to see that support across the country.

Otara's largest Pacific health provider has partnered with Pacific churches in Auckland to offer support to families. The South Seas Healthcare Clinic in Otara said the on-going effects of the pandemic continues to impact the Pacific community.

More than 22,000 Pacific people have tested for Covid-19 in recent weeks, as the community has rallied in the face of the latest surge of the coronavirus. At a news conference for Pacific media on Friday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the director-general of health, Ashley Bloomfield, paid tribute to the community for the way it had responded to the call to get tested.

The 2021 Pasifika Festival will see a new twist to the layout of the villages, with some island countries combining in a shared space. Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) has announced that Hawai'i, Tahiti, Tokelau and Tuvalu are the countries affected by its 2021 refresh plan. In short, the four islands, or villages as the event refers to each country, will share one stage but have their own separate sections within the shared space at Western Springs.

The government has announced that New Zealand's hosting of APEC in 2021 will go ahead using virtual digital platforms. Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says the global disruption caused by Covid-19, including the border restrictions had been a major factor in the decision. He said given the current global environment, planning to have a large volume of high-level visitors in New Zealand from late this year is impractical.

New Zealand is set to channel more aid money into supporting Pacific countries' health systems and economy because of the impact of Covid-19. The man overseeing the New Zealand Aid Programme, Jonathan Kings, said the virus had made it focus on aid in different ways. He is calling it a 'pivot.'

New Zealand's Aid Programme is looking to pivot its assistance to the Pacific due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Deputy Secretary of the Pacific at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jonathan Kings, said he was proud of the way the aid agency was able to provide initial support, but that now it needed to take a longer-term look.

A tertiary provider has helped Māori and Pasifika students access computer equipment and broadband to learn from home during Covid-19. Auckland University of Technology conducted a survey which indicated six percent of its students didn't have a laptop, tablet or PC at home they could use for study. Seventeen percent of students didn't have broadband at home.

A newly-registered Tongan midwife in New Zealand says Pacific midwives need to get paid more to better reflect the extra work they do. Currently just over two percent of all midwives in the country are of Pacific descent but many more islanders are needed to service the fast-growing Pacific population.

The Black Caps have fallen agonisingly short of claiming New Zealand's first one-day series win in India, after they were beaten by six runs in a thrilling third and final match in Kanpur. New Zealand needed 15 runs off the final over to chase down a 338-run victory target, but a nerveless Bumrah conceded only seven while picking up his third wicket of the match to help India prevail in the runfest.