What we do
The Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs
- Assists and guides the work of other government departments, agencies and private sector organisations on matters that affect Pacific peoples;
- Provides government with policy advice and information to support the Minister of Pacific Island Affairs
- Provides a bridge between Pacific peoples in New Zealand and government, ensuring that good information flows both ways.
This section gives an overview of our roles and the work we undertake to fulfil them.
OUR ROLES AND FUNCTIONS
The Ministry has two main roles – POLICY ADVICE and COMMUNICATIONS
Our Christchurch and Auckland offices
In addition to staff in Wellington, those in our Christchurch and Auckland offices provide vital policy advice, communications and information services for the Ministry and for Pacific peoples in their regions. They monitor and advise on emerging issues in communities in their areas and liaise with central, regional and local government agencies and organisations.
Find out more about some of our work with local authorities.
Other roles that the Ministry fulfils include the following:
The governance role
The governance role is to oversee fulfilment of the Ministry’s and the Chief Executive’s performance agreements (such as the Statement of Intent) and formal reporting obligations (such as the Annual Report). It includes providing advice and information to the Minister and individuals (in briefings, draft replies to correspondence, Ombudsman’s enquiries, Parliamentary Questions, and Official Information Act requests); and servicing the Minister’s Advisory Council.
Board Nominations
The Ministry maintains a database of Pacific peoples who are available for nomination to boards and governance bodies throughout New Zealand. Our goals are to ensure that Pacific peoples have a voice in a range of public sector bodies whose decisions impact upon Pacific peoples; and to encourage greater participation by Pacific peoples in regional and national affairs.