Ōamaru hosted the Tuvaluan High Commissioner to New Zealand on Tuesday as part of his South Island tour.

His Excellency Feue Tipu, is travelling the South Island with First Secretary Niuone Eliuta and Reverend Ioane Peleti as part of their duties to visit the Tuvaluan communities around the country, he said.

The group spent the night in Ōamaru, and met with Tuvaluan community members at the Athletic Rugby Clubrooms to let them voice their concerns about the issues they are facing living in New Zealand.

This is their first trip to the South Island in the two and a half years he has been in his position, and is for multiple reasons, not least just to touch base with the Tuvalu diaspora, he says. 

“Because their presence in New Zealand is . . . sort of representing Tuvalu, you know.”

And, although those from the South Pacific island nation are expected to integrate into the New Zealand way of life, it is also important they maintain their own culture, he says.

“Hence, part of the visit is to ensure that, you know, our people don't forget their roots.

“Down the line, the third, fourth, fifth generation kids would start to lose interest in learning about their history and their roots . . . but we wanted to make sure that we connect with our people here, encourage them to work hard, you know, contribute to the New Zealand economy.”

Mr Tipu says the key to success in any place a person lives is through education.

“We understand that there are a lot of opportunities that the New Zealand government provides, so we’re encouraging our people to make sure that they understand these opportunities and take advantage of them.”

He also wanted to remind the Tuvaluan community in Ōamaru, they are the small country’s “flagbearers” and if they get on the wrong side of the law, the Tuvalu name will be “down the ditch”.

“At the same time, we also are interested in listening to them if they have issues to raise.”

Some of the issues he is aware of are problems that arise under the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) and Pacific Access Category (PAC) schemes, which is how the majority come to New Zealand.

“As this is our first visit to the South Islands, we are really keen to listen to them.” 

Mr Tipu says there are major policy projects going on back in Tuvalu the group wants to share with its NZ community, so that they know what's going on.

“Tuvalu hasn't disappeared under the water as yet, so we wanted to keep that channel open.

“We want to help them as much as we want them to help us.”

There are about 50 Tuvaluan families in Ōamaru. The majority work at meat processing plants, or in aged care.

Before coming to Ōamaru on Tuesday, Mr Tipu, Mr Eliuta and Rev Peleti were in Dunedin, and today they drove to Christchurch to spend the night there, before heading to Blenheim.