As 2025 comes to an end, I’m reflecting with pride on what we’ve achieved together at the Ministry for Pacific Peoples.
This year has seen us support practical, community-led work, from building homes to strengthening health services, and continuing to celebrate Pacific languages - all so Pacific peoples and communities can thrive across Aotearoa New Zealand.
Our work in housing has had a tangible and immediate impact: Over 20 houses have been built for Pacific families, and just under 500 households have received critical interventions through the Pacific Healthy Homes Initiative, to make their homes warmer, drier and healthier.
More than 600 Pacific peoples participated and completed financial capability training, after the programme was extended. Of these, over 250 participants were supported with tailored home ownership plans, representing practical steps toward financial security and home ownership.
We know that good quality housing and confidence managing money can give families safety and dignity and help them thrive in other areas. These are real, bricks-and-mortar outcomes that improve lives, provide the tools to build intergenerational wealth and lift health outcomes.
In health, our housing and wellbeing initiatives are already lifting outcomes by addressing the issues that matter most to Pacific communities. We continue to support Pacific businesses to build their capability and expertise, and to create meaningful jobs for Pacific peoples.
In education, we awarded 325 Toloa scholarships to help young Pacific students pursue their science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) dreams. We’ve seen recipients of these scholarships go on to achieve remarkable things over the years, and we love to invest in the next generation of leaders and innovators.
Language and culture remain at our heart, and we are proud advocates for maintaining and sharing the phenomenal linguistic diversity of the Pacific. This year we supported over 50 community-led language projects through the Pacific Languages Community Fund and Moana Reo Media Fund.
We also introduced Vanuatu Bislama to the Pacific Language Weeks series, meaning these now celebrate 12 languages. These weeks are amazing celebrations of our languages, culture, heritage and traditions, and on social media alone we see hundreds of thousands of people sharing and embracing them. Seeing how these weeks give our young people a platform to share their languages with confidence never fails to excite me.
Our new Strategic Intentions 2025 to 2029 set a clear, outcomes-focused course with a strengthened monitoring framework to track progress and impact. I am pleased with the Ministry’s performance and want to thank our staff for their tireless efforts.
Fakaaue lahi, fakafetai lahi lele, meitaki ma'ata, mālō 'aupito, vinaka vakalevu, ko rabwa, fạiåkse’ea, tenkyu, taggio, fakafetai lasi, fa'afetai tele, ngā mihi, and thank you to our communities, providers and partners who continue to share this journey with us - and to the Pacific communities we are so honoured to work for every day.
We’ll keep building and celebrating Pacific success across Aotearoa New Zealand into 2026 and beyond.
- Gerardine Clifford-Lidstone, Secretary for Pacific Peoples