DEVELOPMENT GOALS
help launch innovative projects which deliver tangible results.
Building resilience
In such a vast ocean, Pacific nations tend to be very distant from their neighbours and, therefore, far from help when natural disasters strike. New Zealand has a proud history of assisting in such challenging situations. For example, in the aftermath of the 2009 Samoa earthquake, a devastating tsunami destroyed several communities in Samoa and Tonga. We spearheaded the relief operation with military aircraft, emergency supplies, naval vessels, and health workers, providing substantial financial aid during the recovery period.
Recently, New Zealand announced a new partnership aimed at helping Pacific Island nations prepare for and manage natural disasters. The region is particularly vulnerable to tsunamis, earthquakes and cyclones. Over the last three years, our Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency
Management and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade have been working together with Pacific Island governments to help them prepare for natural disasters. This co-operation has
delivered practical improvements in disaster readiness across the Pacific – including the installation of 23 tsunami warning sirens along Samoa’s south coast. A new partnership agreement builds on this investment and will enable us to support the Pacific in other areas. Under the arrangement, our ministries will share expertise, pool resources, and work together on prevention measures and rapid response to disasters.
A focus of this work has been on helping Pacific nations better protect children and young people in the event of major emergencies, allowing island nations to strengthen their own national capability in readiness, response and recovery. We continue to provide expert emergency management support.
Supporting communities This constructive approach can also be seen in other areas of social services, like healthcare. An example is our contribution of $3.8 million to the Fred Hollows Foundation for a new regional eye care centre in the Solomon Islands. Around 80,000 people in the Pacific are blind, and four out of five of these people could have their sight restored through a simple operation. In addition to robbing people of their sight, avoidable blindness also negatively impacts on employment opportunities for individuals and causes hardship for families and communities. The new regional eye care centre will deliver 1,900 eye surgeries a year and allow 11,000 people to have eye treatment for a range of conditions. The centre will also provide training to optical healthcare professionals and develop the local workforce in the Pacific. The building, which opens later this year, has been designed in New Zealand to achieve high levels
NEW ZEALAND:
“By adopting a broker role, New Zealand is able to bring together Pacific states and some of the world largest donors to achieve far more than we could by working alone”
of sustainability, including solar panels which generate more than 90% of its energy needs.
The future
Looking ahead, I have no doubt that New Zealand will continue to place emphasis on practical projects which deliver real outcomes for sustainability in every sense of the word - environmental, economic and social – for our Commonwealth Pacific neighbours and beyond.
Gone fishing – billions of dollars of tuna are harvested in the Pacific each year – but less than 10 % of the value makes its way back to Pacific nations
The Parliamentarian | 2015: Issue One | 21
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