Tofilau Nina Kirifi-Alai (with red hat) pictured at one of this month's rally events encouraging Samoans to make a submission. Photo / Mau o le Sitiseni NZ
Tofilau Nina Kirifi-Alai (with red hat) pictured at one of this month's rally events encouraging Samoans to make a submission. Photo / Mau o le Sitiseni NZ
Efforts to get as many submissions through ramped up this week, withmembers of the public - particularly the Samoan community - advised to make submissions via a laptop or cellphone this week, as a written submission sent in the mail may not arrive in time.
Campaigners from the Mau a Samoa i le Sitiseni 2024 group also based themselves at shopping centres and community hubs around South Auckland and West Auckland to help people wanting to make submissions but did not have access to the internet or digital devices.
There is such a station at the Māngere Shopping Centre today. Submissions close just before midnight tonight, at 11.59pm.
The Restoring Citizenship Removed by Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 Bill is in the name of Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono, who has spent two years promoting the bill that could reverse a decades-old law many deem to be a historic wrong against Samoans.
Tuiono’s bill would remove a law that was quickly passed in 1982 by the then Muldoon Government that overruled a Privy Council decision that deemed Samoans born between 1924 and 1948 were British subjects at the time.
‘Samoa mo Samoa’
Samoans are rallying to support a bill that would see a decades-old law reversed. Photo / Mau o le Sitiseni NZ
That meant that they and their descendants had also become Kiwi citizens when NZ citizenship was established on January 1, 1949.
Before what was then known as Western Samoa became independent in 1962, the country was under NZ administration.
Tuiono’s bill would create a direct pathway to NZ citizenship for a group of Samoan mātua (elderly) born between 1924 and 1948. It would not flow to their descendants, however.
It is thought about 5000 people are affected - the youngest of them now aged 75 years old.
Samoan youth are being encouraged to help their elderly parents and grandparents have their say. Photo / Ben Campbell
Community leader and supporter Tofilau Nina Kirifi-Alai said this week: “We need to remove that racist law. All those Samoans were denied a wonderful future...they could’ve earned a living and did something different for their descendants.”
She acknowledged that the Samoan community not just in New Zealand, but those around the world, had come together to help push for the bill to get over the line.
“Who else will do it, if not us? Samoa mo Samoa - Samoans for Samoa,” Tofilau said.
Samoan Translation
Fa’asilasilaga tau fa’asalalauga: Vaega - Governance and Administration Committee.
Fa’aali sou manatu i le Restoring Citizenship Removed by Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 Bill.
Ua tatala e le ta’ita’ifono a le Governance and Administration Committee avanoa e tu’uina mai ai manatu e tusa ma le Restoring Citizenship Removed by Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 Bill.
O le tulafono tau fa’aofi e soloia ai le Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982. O le a mafai ai fo’i e tagata na fa’aleaogaina sitiseni Niu Sila i lalo o le Tulafono 982 ona talosagaina aiatatau e maua ai sitiseni Niu Sila.
Vaimoana Mase is the Pasifika editor for the Herald’s Talanoa section, sharing stories from the Pacific community. She won junior reporter of the year at the then Qantas Media Awards in 2010 and won the best opinion writing award at the 2023 Voyager Media Awards.
