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Irish billionaire backs Samoan rugby against New Zealand
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<blockquote data-quote="TPenman" data-source="post: 244830"><p>Why is this issue important to me? Well it has something to do with the NZ in which I hope my kids will grow up in. There are many successesful peoples from immigrant populations in NZ. In fact we are all immigrants really and shaping asense of uinity and oneness where all peples are accepted and feel wanted members of that society is very important to NZ helathy future. Giving society a unified/shared goal is of major importance where 23% of our population were born outside our shores! We only have to go to a few UK towns to see what happens when immigrant populations do not have shared goals etc to see what problems this cuases. Sorry this is a bit rambling.</p><p></p><p>Samoans and Tongas have given much to NZ and most seem to enjoy being both New Zealanders and people fo Samoan and Tongan heritage (or Nuiean, Cook Island, Fijian etc). I do not think it is unreasonable to suggest that Tthe majority of ongans, Samoans, Cook Islanders etc living in NZ see themselves as both New Zealanders and Tongans/Samoans/Cook Islander. Certainly this is my experience. I have cousins who are of Samoan/European extraction and they see themselves as proud New Zealanders and as proud Samoans. And certainly many of the close friends I have had who are of Samoan and Tongan lineage see themselves this way. So attempts by the likes of O'Brin to divide our society and to damage the relatioship between NZ and the Island annoys the hell out of me. </p><p></p><p>Those people that immigrate to New Zealand tend to adopt the positive attributes of NZ society whilst of course maintaining a pride in their family ties. This is vital in terms of building new societies. When I passed through Auckland airport last June it was full of Tongans and Samoans heading back to the Islands to visit relatives or who were heading home after visiting relatives in NZ. The amount of All Black memorabilia seemed to confirm me views that both being Samoan and being NZ live happily aside each other. There seems to be little conflict. Michael Jones has spoken often about this; about his Samoan heritage , about his Welsh heritage and about his pride in being a New Zealander. We are a country of immigrants and to shape a cohesive society you need to steer away from a “them and us†view. New Zeland has been relatively successful here. I think Michael Jones sets this duality out when he says:</p><p></p><p>“As a Pacific Island male, I think there is a void of leadership. I’m very passionate about leadership and my generation needs to pick up the baton. A lot of the true champions for the advancement of Pacifica are women. I’m very mindful of that as a Pacifica man, and as a role model. I take leadership very seriously and want to mobilize more men to be positive influences, to be change agents in their families and communities, in terms of our contribution to our nation. As Polynesians we will be at least one third of the NZ population in 50 years time, and the youth component of that will be nearly 50%. We need to raise a generation of leaders who will be the decision makers for the needs of the broader NZ multicultural family but also be able to lead on behalf of their own community, and in every aspect of society â€" as a consumer, and in education.â€</p><p></p><p>It has also often been suggested that NZ has provided passports to rugby players from the Islands. This is a poisonous lie. Apart from the fact that Internal Affairs (the Home Office) is a Govt body that is highly scrutinised and which adheres strictly to NZ immigration policy there is no evidence in NZ rugby that any such event has ever occured (I would point out the NZ public service comes under greater scrutiny than does its sister structures in the UK and that NZ frequently sits in the top three countries in the world in terms of the honesty of its public service and politicians).</p><p></p><p></p><p>I could go on and on but... I am not blind to the failings of the NZRFU but frankly this old chestnut goes wider than rugby</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="TPenman, post: 244830"] Why is this issue important to me? Well it has something to do with the NZ in which I hope my kids will grow up in. There are many successesful peoples from immigrant populations in NZ. In fact we are all immigrants really and shaping asense of uinity and oneness where all peples are accepted and feel wanted members of that society is very important to NZ helathy future. Giving society a unified/shared goal is of major importance where 23% of our population were born outside our shores! We only have to go to a few UK towns to see what happens when immigrant populations do not have shared goals etc to see what problems this cuases. Sorry this is a bit rambling. Samoans and Tongas have given much to NZ and most seem to enjoy being both New Zealanders and people fo Samoan and Tongan heritage (or Nuiean, Cook Island, Fijian etc). I do not think it is unreasonable to suggest that Tthe majority of ongans, Samoans, Cook Islanders etc living in NZ see themselves as both New Zealanders and Tongans/Samoans/Cook Islander. Certainly this is my experience. I have cousins who are of Samoan/European extraction and they see themselves as proud New Zealanders and as proud Samoans. And certainly many of the close friends I have had who are of Samoan and Tongan lineage see themselves this way. So attempts by the likes of O'Brin to divide our society and to damage the relatioship between NZ and the Island annoys the hell out of me. Those people that immigrate to New Zealand tend to adopt the positive attributes of NZ society whilst of course maintaining a pride in their family ties. This is vital in terms of building new societies. When I passed through Auckland airport last June it was full of Tongans and Samoans heading back to the Islands to visit relatives or who were heading home after visiting relatives in NZ. The amount of All Black memorabilia seemed to confirm me views that both being Samoan and being NZ live happily aside each other. There seems to be little conflict. Michael Jones has spoken often about this; about his Samoan heritage , about his Welsh heritage and about his pride in being a New Zealander. We are a country of immigrants and to shape a cohesive society you need to steer away from a “them and us†view. New Zeland has been relatively successful here. I think Michael Jones sets this duality out when he says: “As a Pacific Island male, I think there is a void of leadership. I’m very passionate about leadership and my generation needs to pick up the baton. A lot of the true champions for the advancement of Pacifica are women. I’m very mindful of that as a Pacifica man, and as a role model. I take leadership very seriously and want to mobilize more men to be positive influences, to be change agents in their families and communities, in terms of our contribution to our nation. As Polynesians we will be at least one third of the NZ population in 50 years time, and the youth component of that will be nearly 50%. We need to raise a generation of leaders who will be the decision makers for the needs of the broader NZ multicultural family but also be able to lead on behalf of their own community, and in every aspect of society – as a consumer, and in education.†It has also often been suggested that NZ has provided passports to rugby players from the Islands. This is a poisonous lie. Apart from the fact that Internal Affairs (the Home Office) is a Govt body that is highly scrutinised and which adheres strictly to NZ immigration policy there is no evidence in NZ rugby that any such event has ever occured (I would point out the NZ public service comes under greater scrutiny than does its sister structures in the UK and that NZ frequently sits in the top three countries in the world in terms of the honesty of its public service and politicians). I could go on and on but... I am not blind to the failings of the NZRFU but frankly this old chestnut goes wider than rugby [/QUOTE]
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