Role of media in building partnerships > PACIFIC ISLANDS NEWS ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE/WORKSHOP

To the Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat and your executives PINA Executive and your member delegates from around the Pacific Supporting partners – Forum Secretariat, and SPREP representatives Sponsors of the PINA Conference and Workshop Special guests Kia Orana,
First of all, allow me this opportunity to formally welcome you all to the Cook Islands. This is the first chance I have had to speak to you all as a Regional media body – and I do wish to extend to you our traditional hospitality of the Cook Islands, and my best wishes for a successful gathering.
I understand that all our visiting Pacific Islands journalists are already off to an excellent start by receiving the beautiful black pearl that you were promised before you arrived here! That particular black pearl is from our Avaiki premium range – so let’s hope that it works its Northern Group magic, and provides you a special memento of your time with us.
I’m sure that you will agree – as many politicians and perhaps Leaders will – that the media and media relations can present a complicated mix of interests. And we all know how difficult it can be, in managing the dynamics of working under the pressure of deadlines, the sensitivities of affairs of State, and the social mores and beliefs peculiar to our Pacific Islands’ communities.
Many outsiders see us as peoples with simple lives. But sometimes we sure know how to complicate things – one of the many paradoxes at work in the Pacific!
Our experience in the Cook Islands is marked by a long history of press freedom. Twenty-three years ago, one of our former Leaders, the late Sir Geoffrey Henry, was instrumental in shaping the local media into what it is today – initially pursuing privatisation of the print media and eventually extending these freedoms to broadcasting.
And although this history may well be portrayed as checkered, patchy, or uneven, what has remained important to us over the years is that the pillar of the ‘Fourth Estate’ continues to be an essential ingredient in our maturity as a country.
In addition to our press freedoms, the Cook Islands has also instituted an Official Information Act – a key legal requirement for Government to be responsive to the community’s need to be informed.
In fact, these responsibilities to uphold such freedoms in the flow of information are ‘shared responsibilities’. The weight of our freedoms is a burden for us all – elected officials and the media alike. In balancing the ‘need to know’, particular consideration must be paid to the way this commitment is managed.
The process is very much a ‘two-way street’ and perhaps this is why the flow is often disrupted and marred by the erratic ‘driving’ of interests. The ‘need to know’ is therefore very much balanced with the ‘need to be responsible’.
For many of us in the Pacific Region, achieving the right balance in contending with development needs and challenges often relies on fostering the right partnerships.
In fact, we often talk about nurturing these linkages and securing partnerships as the key to overcoming obstacles.
Strangely however, very little is said about developing partnerships between the media and governments. Are our interests so at odds that the divide cannot be bridged? I don’t think so. Partnerships have an inherent commonality and these are worth exploring and allowing them to gain value.
This coming week, you will be hearing a lot about the importance of such partnerships from Pacific Leaders. A number of announcements will be made in the days ahead, which have direct relevance to our theme for this year’s meeting: Large Ocean Island States – The Pacific Challenge.
These partnerships engage the Forum Island Countries in ways that tie us together in terms of our maritime boundaries; our need to preserve and safeguard our ocean and its resources; and in the way we must work together to secure basic needs like water supply and sustainable, climate-proof infrastructure.
I am sure that there will be many questions over such pressures throughout the week, but I take this opportunity to commend PINA – in partnership with the Pitt Media Group – on taking a strong approach to ‘work-shopping’ the issues through and developing a deeper appreciation and understanding of the challenges we face in our Region.
You have my support and encouragement in providing our peoples with the information and news of the Pacific Islands Leaders’ Forum and other meetings; and for building the types of partnerships that will be conducive to advancing the role of the media in the Pacific.
Kia Manuia

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