Foreword Kia orana tātou katoatoa! Fakaalofa lahi atu ki mutolu oti! Tālofa nī! Mālō nī! Ni sa bula vinaka! Malo e lelei! Fakatalofa atu! Kam na mauri! Noa’ia ‘e mauri! Halo olgeta! Halo olaketa! Ekamowir omo! Mogethin! Ran alim! Kaselehlia! Lotu Wo! Ia orana! Aloha mai kākou! Malo lava le lagi e mama ma le soifua maua! Tēnā koutou katoa e rau rangatira mā! I greet you in the languages of the Pacific, Te Moananui-a-Kiwa, from the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, Fiji, the Kingdom of Tonga, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Rotuma, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, the Federated States of Micronesia, Tahiti, Hawai’i, Sāmoa and from our whanaunga Māori relations, the Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand. The Human Rights Commission (the “Commission”) would like to thank all Pacific peoples, organisations, and agencies from private and public sectors that engaged with us through fono and other gatherings, to inform this Talanoa paper. Talanoa is often used to describe when a discussion happens or when talking things through, in Tokelauan, Tuvaluan, Sāmoan, Tongan and Fijian languages. The Commission works in service of all peoples in Aotearoa. It is our pleasure to invite and foster further discussion about the human rights issues presented in this paper. The face of Pacific communities is young, people likely to have been born in Aotearoa New Zealand and connected to language and cultural resources. Since the early 2000s, Pacific peoples have migrated from the major metropolitan centres to establish lives and communities in provincial centres. Pacific people volunteer significantly more hours to community organisations than any other population group. 2 Despite these positives, Pacific peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand are likely to have experienced some form of racial profiling and discrimination. Uncounted and unpaid work among Pacific peoples in homes and communities is invisible. When communities experience further vulnerabilities because of their human rights being infringed upon, they cannot rectify this alone. Duty bearers must take responsibility for these violations with urgency. I am confident that following this paper, we can work with communities, government, local government, businesses, faith-based communities and civil society to address the human rights issues experienced by Pacific peoples. The Commission commits to deliver on its role to advocate on behalf of and to work with Pacific communities in making this real. Ma le ava ma fa’aaloalo lava. Soifua ma ia manuia. Saunoamaali’i Karanina Sumeo Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner New Zealand Human Rights Commission | Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Talanoa: Human rights issues for Pacific peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand