Sorry, we got

no specials, too

By Karen Mangnall

THE chance to put the first Pacific Islander into Parliament in New Zealand was left hanging in the balance on election night. Labour’s can didate in the South Auckland seat of Otara, Taito Phillip Field, lost by 1300 votes on the night.

But the Samoan union officials has not conceded the seat to his National op ponent, Trevor Rogers. The seat hinges on 3000 special votes cast in the electorate about 2200 of them cast in the Polynesian-dominated Otara township and only 800 cast in the larger, European area of Howick.

Field says the special votes “look promis ing” for Labour. He hopes once the specials are counted sometime after November 6 the majority cast in Labour’s stronghold will allow him to

“scrape in”.

If Rogers should hold the seat, Field doesn’t believe the controversial former Auckland City councillor is adequately qualified to represent the needs of the

mainly Polynesian, Otara township quarter of the electorate.

“He hasn’t shown any interest previously in help ing Polynesian people,” says Field. “And his views on other racial issues, in

particular the Springbok tour, are well known.” Field believes a multicultural, multi-language electorate like Otara de mands an MP with a similar background.

“I’m multicultural, he’s not. I’m bi lingual, he’s not.”

Rogers, not surprisingly, rejects any such

suggestions. He believes the interest of the Otara and Howick sections of the elector ate are “surprisingly similar”. They all want jobs, good education for their children, and to feel safe in their homes and on the streets. Rogers says one of his first tasks as MP will be to set up two advisory groups one in Howick and the other of Polynesian leaders from Otara to tell him what needs doing.

Although Rogers forsees a lot of his time as MP being devoted to helping constitu ents particularly those in the Otara township area exercise their rights to Government services and benefits, he’s

also a strong advocate of changes to the services upon which many New Zealand Pacific Islanders depend, such as health and welfare.

Despite a concerted effort from a small but influential group of Samoan leaders, the National Party does not seem to have enjoyed any significant boost in support from Pacific Islands voters. In Otara township itself, the National vote dropped. National’s Samoan ginger group was also very active in the Roskill electorate, where Education Minister Phil Goff lost his seat. They have begun publishing a weekly Samoan newspaper, with National ads prominent in its pages.

Even before National’s victory, there was considerably anxiety among Pacific Islanders as to what roles these Samoan supporters would play in a future Govern ment. Several have made it clear they expect appointments to various statutory bodies dealing with Pacific Islands con cerns.

National has pledged to keep the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs and its business development loans board, but the board members are likely to be purged and at least one Samoan election campaigner has made it clear he wants a senior job in the Ministry. It is not clear who will get the Pacific Island Affairs portfolio, but the network of Island advisory groups is likely

National does not seem to have enjoyed any big boost in support from island voters

to be either disbanded or replaced with National stalwarts.

On a wider policy level, many of the Samoan community leaders who have National’s ear now in Government have

shown themselves to be opposed to Pacific Islanders receiving any kind of overt “positive discrimination”. They believe Pacific Islanders must help themselves and compete within the palagi system, rather than expecting “hand-outs” or

special incentives.

Many Pacific Islanders who have borne the brunt of unemployment and other ills under Rogernomics fear the painstakingly installed infrastructure for their own people in education, immi gration, business, labour and welfare risks being dismantled. And in a more general way, these National advisors seem less likely to put up arguments against econ omic policies such as low inflation, cuts to government spending on health and welfare, asset sales which are likely to impact most heavily on Pacific Islanders in New Zealand.

For the nations of the Pacific, dealing with the new National Government is likely to

be business as usual. New Prime Minis ter Jim Bolger has already made it clear National will not allow foreign nuclear capable vessels or aircraft to enter New Zealand territory. But Bolger has stated he wants to renegotiate a security arrangement with the United States.

Overseas development assistance to the Pacific is likely to remain at the same low levels, although National’s foreign pol icy states the Pacific is a major area of interest for New Zealand. Immigration is most likely to suffer changes. National favours a skills-based entry criteria rather than one which lets New Zealand act as a “safety valve” for traditional allies, like Western Samoa and Tonga.

This will probably encourage the “brain drain” from the Pacific, as is evidenced by Trevor Rogers’ suggestion that New Zealand recognise tertiary qualifi cations in disciplines like medicine and nursing, gained from the University of the South Pacific.

The Pacific Islands communities in New Zealand may also find themselves in the firing line once again. National’s police spokesman John Banks claimed the increase in Auckland’s Polynesian population will turn the city into one of the most violent in the world. □