Technical assistance program for Pacific Islands

The new Pacific Technical Assistance (PacificTA) Programme is funded from the New Zealand Aid Programme and managed by Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ). It coordinates local government staff from across the country to share their expertise with Pacific Island authorities and assist them to develop and deliver their local services.

Pacific Island countries with New Zealand bilateral relationships are eligible for support, including the Cook Islands, Tonga, Niue, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, Tokelau and Kiribati. The island authorities submit a request to work with New Zealand local government professionals with relevant expertise in the areas in which they require support.

Staff from Auckland, Wellington, Porirua, Hawkes Bay and Central Hawkes Bay, Gisborne, Napier and Tararua councils have so far been assigned to different programs, covering waste management, dog control, water storage, property tax review and management and human resources reviews. LGNZ President Lawrence Yule, Mayor of Hastings District Council, noted, “People like helping in the area of work that they are knowledgeable about and helping less advantaged communities.”

For example, Brett Way, utilities manager for Central Hawkes Bay District Council, made two trips to Kiribati advising on waste strategies. The tiny nation is densely populated and facing major pollution issues, so Way is helping them find ways to extend the life of their landfill facilities. This has included:

• providing training on placement and compaction of waste and on health and safety issues;
• finding ways to cover landfills, with heavy coconut palm fronds found to be quite effective;
• identifying a site for a sand bunker to store hazardous waste separately from other waste.

“The emphasis of PacificTA is working alongside the local authorities,” said Way. “You have to step back from what you do in New Zealand and recognise that they have very limited resources, and you have got to work with them on what they have got.”

Meanwhile, Anne Lister, Gisborne District Council’s waste management minimisation officer, worked alongside authorities in Rarotonga on development of waste education initiatives. The request from support came after a group from the Cook Islands visited New Zealand and found Gisborne’s ‘Rethink’ Waste Education Centre. Lister has provided a report for the Cook Island authorities setting out suggestions for how the education centre model could be adapted for Rarotonga.

Graham Bodman, manager licensing and compliance services for Auckland Council; Rochelle Deane, team leader for animal management for West Auckland; and senior animal management officer Lee Exler have just returned from the Samoan capital Apia. Samoa has a significant problem with dogs running loose, causing health and safety and animal welfare issues. The Auckland team has provided a report with four key recommendations to support development of a successful dog control program.

Yule said the program is “a fantastic concept and the government should be applauded for providing the funding that is making it possible”.