PIAC slams Clydesdale report

Media Release

22 May 2008

PIAC slams Clydesdale report

Manukau’s Pacific Island Advisory Committee (PIAC) has expressed strong disappointment with the recently released Clydesdale report, which states that the Pacific Island population is less productive and less likely to contribute to economic growth.

Pacific People are not underachievers; they are survivors, says Mrs Tupou Manapori, chairperson of PIAC. She further indicated that some of the data used is out-of-date with the current trends.

Manukau has approximately 330,000 residents of which 86,000 are from the Pacific (Statistics New Zealand 2006 Census). Manukau recorded the highest average economic growth rate of 6.6 per cent between 2001 and 2006, according the Quality of Life 2007 Report which compared 12 large cities in New Zealand, including Auckland and Manukau.

Manukau also recorded the highest productivity gain of 1.5 per cent per year, among the 12 cities studied by the report. “This is most likely to be explained by the establishment in these cities of new enterprises, which typically invest in new technology and equipment,” the Quality of Life Survey Report 2007 adds.

Commenting on the Clydesdale report, Mrs Manapori says that the report is predominantly based on migration figures and not all Pacific people are migrants. “Some of our forefathers travelled the massive Pacific Ocean and landed in different areas of Aotearoa.

“The Pacific People of Manukau have worked closely with the council, tangata whenua and other ethnic groups in the development of our vibrant and progressive city.”

ENDS

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