WITH the Mobilise 2011 just around the corner, the Marist Brothers’ High School Old Boys Association received a timely boost when Air Pacific announced that it would offer them a discount to travel to Australia.

With a large number of former students expected to travel to Brisbane for the annual event, Air Pacific through its affiliated program, has offered a 10 per cent discount on travel rates.

But the special offer can only be accessed through the MOB website for those who want to attend the event on August 29 to September 3.

The Mobilise event is one of the biggest annual events on the Marist Old Boys (MOB) calendar and is attended by former students of the Flagstaff-based school in Suva.

Former student Teddy Fong said last year’s event was held in Fiji and this year the event would be hosted by the old boys of Brisbane in Australia.

“The one week-event mainly focused on how the old boys can support the school,” Mr Fong said.

“Last year around 400 old boys attended here in Fiji and this year we from Fiji will go to Australia and we want to host 2012 event here in Fiji again.”

He said last year’s resolution was to improve the school library and make it a fully computerised system and also improve the science lab.

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Fiji, Samoa, Tonga can expect warm welcome in NZ

Peter Rees

ISLANDS BUSINESS JULY 2011

Ignore the political sideshows and pre-World Cup scaremongering. The possibility of Fiji, Samoa and Tonga ever hosting a Rugby World Cup maybe slim, but New Zealand hasn’t forgotten its Pacific islands neighbours as the country counts down to hosting this year’s biggest international sporting event in September.
There are big plans for the 2011 Rugby World Cup opening ceremony, which will see the welcoming theme highlight New Zealand’s multi-cultural landscape and its location in the Pacific Ocean.
Renowned dance choreographer, Shona McCullagh, has been charged with bringing the ceremony to life and she has promised the cultures of the 19 visiting rugby nations will also be represented in the opening ceremony, which is under tight wraps, and will include over 1,5000 performers and dancers, many from New Zealand’s diverse Pacific community.
Tourist operators and travel agents are also expecting spin-offs for the Pacific islands with over 85,000 tourists expected in New Zealand.
“For many of these travellers, it will be their first trip to the Pacific so we are confident at least half of those who come will stay on a bit longer or even arrive a bit earlier so they can see more of the region and really make the trip worth their while,” Auckland travel agent, Lita Jamieson told ISLANDS BUSINESS.
“After all, Auckland is the travel hub of the Pacific and well connected with many Pacific destinations. It is only a short trip to the neighbouring islands and the fares are relatively cheap too.”

Cultural exchange
If they don’t get on a plane, Jamieson says there is still plenty of Pacific culture to see in Auckland, the world’s biggest Polynesian city with a population of 1.3 million and over 70% of New Zealand’s estimated 270,000 Pacific peoples.
Auckland’s mayor, Len Brown, a close ally of the Pacific community, has wisely timed important events for Auckland, which will host nine of the World Cup games, including the opening game between the All Blacks and Tonga, two of the quarter-finals, both semi-finals and the grand final showpiece on October 23.
The Manukau Festival of the Arts will highlight south Auckland’s rich Pacific arts and entertainment culture and, of course, there is the iconic Otara market which can look forward to a lot of business over the two months.
New Zealand’s biggest fashion event, Style Pasifika, run by former Tongan model/actor, Stan Wolfgramm, will also be held during the World Cup with a World Cup theme for the designers.
New Zealand prime minister, John Key, will also be looking to woo Pacific islands leaders in Auckland at the Pacific Islands Forum meeting, which is also timed conveniently in September. They will get to rub shoulders with other world leaders.
Russia’s Vladimir Putin is rumoured to be among the list of world leaders from outside the Pacific who will visit New Zealand during the World Cup.
Foreign minister, Murray McCully’s visit to Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands in June is a precursor to the Forum where the subject of how to turn Pacific’s untapped potential into prosperity with NZ Aid will be discussed.
“We are determined to use our leadership role constructively and consult widely amongst Pacific nations in the lead-up to the event,” he told the media before his departure.
The presence of Tonga, Samoa and Fiji at the World Cup has also got their local communities buzzing with excitement. A number of events, church and community functions had been organised up to a year out from the World Cup. And many will be involved in the months leading up to the World Cup through fundraising activities to help their teams get to New Zealand.
The bookies are not giving the Ikale Tahi much of a chance of upsetting the All Blacks at Eden Park on September 9, but that hasn’t stopped the NZ Tongan community from banding together to celebrate the occasion with an estimated television audience of three billion set to switch on for the opening game.

Capital exposure
The Tonga Rugby World Cup Komiti was set up in February specifically to capitalise on the Tongan team’s World Cup campaign in New Zealand. Endorsed by the Ministry of Pacific Islands Affairs, the members are Tongans involved in local business, politics, the media, church and government.
“It’s not just about rugby, it’s about Tonga leveraging of the third largest sporting event in the world and boosting its international profile,” says Komiti Chairperson, Rachel Afeaki-Taumoepeau.
“I’m not sure what other countries have planned, but we’re definitely going to be the loudest supporters there,” adds committee member, Emosi Koloto, a former Ikale Tahi player.
In its promotional spiel, the Komiti says the “All Blacks will stare down a gauntlet of Tongans who promise a flurry of passion, noise, and fervour—and that’s just the fans.”
Part of the campaign will be “painting Auckland red”. The group is also behind plans to showcase a flamboyant mix of Tongan art, culture, and tourism during the tournament.
To achieve this, they will get together with Auckland’s Tongan communities. Tongan tourism will also be assisting with setting up billboards and other visual aids to encourage World Cup visitors to visit Tonga.
In a great publicity stunt geared towards drawing more community support, the Rugby World Cup organisers have started an ‘Adopt-a-second team campaign with Auckland’s sprawling suburban communities.
Karangahape Road and Epsom in Auckland central have adopted Tonga as their team and this will see the local business community coordinate cultural activities in their area in support of the team and getting the locals to get behind the Ikale Tahi. The choice of Karangahape Road or K-Road, as it is widely known, is appropriate given the area was the site where many of the first Pacific migrants arriving in New Zealand frequented between the 1950s and 1970s.
Ellerslie in east Auckland has adopted the Flying Fijians and the kava bowls are already being spruced up for the occasion. The Auckland Fijian community is one of the Pacific community’s most active with sporting competitions held annually all over the city in soccer, netball and rugby. The old timers will remember the first World Cup in 1987 when Fiji was one of the most popular teams almost upsetting the French, who went on to play in the final against eventual champions, New Zealand.
Grey Lynn in central Auckland, another location where many of the first Pacific migrants arrived and settled, has adopted the Manu Samoa team.
“We are very excited to have been given Samoa as a second team because it is such a fitting selection. Lynn has a long association with the Samoan community and this link remains very strong today,” says Grey Lynn Business Association RWC Subcommittee Member, Soala Wilson.

Reunions
New Zealand’s local Fijian and Samoan communities will be out in force when Manu Samoa plays the Flying Fijians at Auckland’s Eden Park on September 25, which is already being hailed as a potential Pool D decider with Wales, the other team in the mix for the second quarterfinal spot, and reigning cup champs, South Africa, favoured to win the pool.
With tickets for the game upwards of NZ$60, the cost is prohibitive for many in the community, but many are predicting a near sell-out due to the game’s importance. If that is achieved, it will be no mean feat considering Eden Park’s capacity has increased to 60,000 seats. Both teams will get to feel each other during the IRB Pacific Nations Cup in July, but the coaches will no doubt keep their cards close to their chests with the World Cup the ultimate focus.
The local Pacific community is also bracing to host several reunions planned for the World Cup. Samoan prime minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi was in Auckland in June to launch the Manu Samoa supporters club which will follow the Samoan teams, from its first game against Namibia in Rotorua, to the Wales game in Hamilton to the South Africa and Fiji games in Auckland.
Manu Samoa’s World Cup squads of 1991 and 1995 are also assembling in Auckland for a reunion. Both the 1991 and 1995 teams made the World Cup quarterfinals, the last time Samoa made it that far.
This was confirmed to ISLANDS BUSINESS by 1991 Samoan World Cup player, Filipo Saena. Among the organisers is 1991 Manu Samoa captain, Papaliitele Peter Fatialofa, who is based in Auckland. The idea was mooted last year, says Saena. And it gained momentum between the original team members who have been in contact since.
Pacific rugby has also featured in the pre-World Cup marketing campaigns. Mastercard’s television ad which remembers Samoa’s magical World Cup debut in 1991 has been screening since May and has captured the imagination of New Zealand with its authentic feel.
One of the Pacific rugby’s most celebrated icons is also a big part of the World Cup marketing machine. Former All Black great and Samoan international Michael Jones is one of six World Cup ambassadors and the face of the 5000-strong volunteer army which will work the Cup venues. A statue of Jones was unveiled at Eden Park in May, the image of him scoring a try in the inaugural World Cup hosted in New Zealand in 1987 immortalised by the statue.
All this is good news for the Pacific region. While economics will stop the islands nations from ever hosting the World Cup, having it in New Zealand means the islands will get to share in the spoils and spin-offs through the exposure.

AFP/Apia

Samoa’s prime minister has called for stronger sanctions against Fiji’s military regime, rejecting suggestions that Western nations were dealing too harshly with its Pacific island neighbour.
Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said that Fijian strongman Voreque Bainimarama had held power illegally since staging a coup in 2006 and strong action was needed to restore democracy.
He dismissed suggestions that regional powers Australia and New Zealand, which introduced targeted sanctions after the coup, would make more progress in Fiji if they restored full diplomatic relations with Bainimarama’s regime.
“I think that Australia and New Zealand are too soft, I think they should be increasing their sanctions 10 times,” Tuilaepa told reporters on Wednesday.
“Too many times we in the Pacific have been equated with the situation in Africa.
“People who do not understand the Pacific islands think that sanctions will affect the general population, they do not … the only people who would be affected would be the military who have taken over government illegally.”
Tuilaepa said that he delivered the same message to US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell when he visited Samoa last month.
Washington has said previously that it takes its lead from Australia and New Zealand on diplomacy in the Pacific.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully, in Samoa to promote this year’s Rugby World Cup in his homeland, said that Tuilaepa’s remarks vindicated Wellington’s stance and the Pacific Islands Forum’s expulsion of Fiji.
“For those who have in the past suggested that somehow New Zealand and Australia have tried to lead the Forum on this against the wishes of some Pacific countries, I’d like those people to take note of the prime minister’s comments,” he said.
New Zealand and Australia have introduced limited sanctions against Fiji designed to diplomatically isolate Bainimarama without impacting on ordinary Fijians.
The measures include a ban on all ties with the Fiji military and travel sanctions against members of the military and senior members of the regime.
Since taking power, Bainimarama has suspended the constitution, sacked the judiciary, muzzled the media and been accused of human rights abuses.
He broke a pledge to hold elections in 2009, saying that they would instead be held in 2014, but New Zealand and Australia continue to push for an immediate return to democracy.
Tonga’s Prime Minister Lord Tu’ivakano warned earlier this year that Bainimarama would not respond to bullying, saying efforts to force change could drive Fiji closer to China, which has increased aid to Suva in recent years.
“Just go easy, the more pressure you give, they will just turn (away). It’s good to have dialogue with Fiji,” he told AFP in February.

AS part of its fleet review, Air Pacifc announced this week it would add another B737-800 to its fleet, retiring its B767-300ER, and revising its schedules in order to add more flights to Australia and more seats to Hong Kong and New Zealand.

Fiji’s international airline will be returning its leased B767-300ER aircraft in mid January 2012 and replacing it with an additional B737-800 that is due to arrive in November. “Replacing our 1994 vintage B767-300ER with an almost new B737-800 is the first step in Air Pacific’s fleet renewal process. The additional B737-800 will significantly improve flight schedules to our key Australia market, and it will allow us to put our B747-400 back into Hong Kong, adding much needed seats to this fast growing route,” said managing director and CEO, Dave Pflieger.

The airline is expected to also replace its two B747-400 planes in 2013 when the lease expires.

“Our Sydney customers will be the big winners with this new schedule, as we are moving from seven to 13 weekly flights (10 weekly B737 flights and 3 weekly B747-400 flights). This will not only allow both morning and afternoon departures to Fiji, it will also allow us to offer same day connections from Nadi International Airport to Fiji’s outer island resorts and hotels. Our schedule changes are in direct response to requests from our customers and travel industry partners, and the changes will make travel much more convenient for vacationers who are headed out to see the beauty of the nearby Yasawa and Mamanuca islands; going to resorts in our Northern or Southern islands; or going diving, surfing, or big game fishing on some of Fiji’s smaller islands,” said Mr Pflieger.

The new flights to Sydney will depart Nadi every day except Sunday at 6:30pm to overnight in Australia before returning to Fiji the next day at 6:30am,” said Mr Josef Loew, Air Pacific’s chief commercial officer.

“This means our 737s will arrive back in Nadi at 12 noon, giving passengers more time for connecting flights and more time for their vacations.”

Starting in January, the Hong Kong route will be flown by B747-400s allowing Air Pacific to add an additional 165 seats (22 per cent) per week of capacity into this market. “Since the B747-400 is much larger than the B767-300ER that it is replacing, we will initially revise our schedule to two flights per week; but we look forward to adding another B747 flight to Hong Kong when demand calls for it,” said Mr Loew.

For Nadi-Auckland, the 2012 flight schedule will remain unchanged, but Air Pacific will increase seat capacity on this route by increasing B747-400 service from one to three flights per week.

“Our fleet and 2012 schedule changes will create a much more efficient and effective network that is an essential part of our overall plan to create a better airline for our customers,” said Mr. Pflieger.

Since, the entry of low cost carriers, Air Pacific has lost 51 per cent of its share of the Australian market- Fiji’s biggest source of visitors.

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(AFP)
–
23 hours ago 

SUVA — Fiji have included an army officer in their Rugby World Cup squad, however the New Zealand government remained adamant he would not be allowed into the country.

Leone Nakarawa, a 23-year-old soldier, has been selected in a 35-member squad that will provide the basis of the Fiji team to play the All Blacks next week and contest the World Cup starting in New Zealand in September.

However, New Zealand has banned Fijians with military or government ties from the country as part of sanctions imposed following the 2006 coup when military strongman Voreqe Bainimarama seized control of the Pacific nation.

Fiji team manager Talemo Waqa said they were aware of the travel sanctions but were working with the New Zealand Rugby Union and the International Rugby Board to have Nakarawa play in New Zealand.

“At the moment, we don’t really want to think of any contingency plan whilst that is in the mindset,” Waqa told the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation.

“We believe, we have the best chance to show that we want the best players and we want to go in that mindset.”

However, New Zealand has repeatedly said the sanctions will remain until there is evidence of substantial progress toward the return of democracy in Fiji.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully, speaking in Rarotonga where he is on a tour through Pacific island nations, said there would be no exemption for Nakarawa, a 198 centimetre (6ft 5in) 117 kilogramme (258 pound) lock.

“We’ve been very clear that those to whom the individual sanctions apply will not be given exemptions on this occasion,” McCully told reporters.

“I was advised that the Fijian management had assured us that all of those whose names were being submitted (to go to New Zealand) would comply with our requirements, and I’ve had no advice to the contrary yet.”

Fiji’s 35-man World Cup training squad contains 10 members of the side that reached the quarter-finals of the 2007 World Cup including fly-half Nicky Little who has played in three previous World Cups.

However, two other long-serving players Seru Rabeni and Graham Dewes have both been dropped.

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.
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