Don Mann
Pacific Cooperation Foundation CEO Don Mann has taken up a new position as CEO of the Pacific Media Network.
Mann, whose father Don Sr was from Neiafu in Vava’u, took over as head of the Auckland-based body at the beginning of 2019.
Speaking to Kaniva News at the time, Mann said PCF’s mandate was to work with 18 countries in the Pacific creating opportunities for business, helping developing leaders and putting people from different sectors together.
He was formerly head of Corporate Partnerships at ATEED.
RSE workers
Tongan RSE workers in New Zealand will return to Tonga this month after the Tongan government announced it will reopen its borders to New Zealand.
The Samoan government has begun bringing its citizens home and ni-Vanutau workers have also begun returning.
Fiona Whiteridge, general manager at Refugee and Migrant Service at Immigration New Zealand, said it was helping seasonal workers to move to other employers or regions if their existing employment was ending.
If RSE workers were experiencing financial difficulty, they were to contact their high commission or consulate for assistance.
Australia
A researcher at the Australian National University’s Development Policy Centre has called on the Australian Government to set up a special migration pathway for Pacific workers.
An estimated 400 Tongans work in Australia on the Seasonal Workers Programme.
Richard Curtain told the ABC’s Pacific Beat that worker shortages were looming for Australia’s horticulture sector.
He said a special migration pathway would enable workers from the region to fill the predicted.
Curtain said farmers across northern Australia were worried there will not be enough experienced labour to pick their crops in the coming the summer months.
New Brisbane service
Brisbane’s Tongan Community has launched what it says is the world’s newest Tongan online media source – Pasifika TV and Radio.
“Pasifika TV and Radio will broadcast music, news, culture, language and stories of our Tongan people from a contemporary, yet unique Tongan perspective,” broadcaster Sulieni Layt said.
“We also want to showcase our local and overseas Tongan businesses and create a platform for our young and rising Tongan talent with an aim for excellence, whilst doing something a little bit different.
Pasifika TV and Radio currently broadcasts at set times through You Tube, Face Book and a mobile app will be released.
ADB grant
The Asian Development Bank has given the Tongan government TP$27.67 million to help pay for the kingdom’s response to the Covid-pandemic.
It will also be used to support the country’s long-term economic recovery.
The money will be released once the government completes a number of policy actions.
The ADB fund will help support vulnerable households and guards against the immediate
