11. Question No. 11—Pacific PeoplesTEANAU TUIONO (Green) to the Minister for Pacific PeoplesQuestion No. 11—Pacific Peoples11. TEANAU TUIONO (Green) to the Minister for Pacific Peoples: What messages if any has he received from the Pacific community in Aotearoa relating to the impacts of climate change?Hon AUPITO WILLIAM SIO (Minister for Pacific Peoples): It is no surprise I've had a number of conversations with Pacific communities in Aotearoa and the biggest message from them is that climate change is real. It is the single biggest threat facing our Pacific neighbours. It is of significant concern to the Pacific community in Aotearoa particularly Tuvalu Tokelau Marshall Islands and Kiribati communities. It is also something that is of significance for my international ministerial colleagues including the Hon Nanaia Mahuta and the Hon James Shaw. As the Minister for Pacific Peoples I play a strong role in advocacy for the Pacific and we've had a number of important discussions on climate change in the Pacific. In the last month I have attended a number of virtual engagement and take opportunities to amplify climate change in the plight of the Pacific region. These include the Franco-Oceania summit the Friends of Mekong Foreign Ministers meeting and the ministerial Pacific regional fisheries meeting. I don't necessarily want to namedrop but the France-Oceania summit was chaired by the French President Emmanuel Macron and he asked me to pass on to our Prime Minister his best wishes. The Friends of Mekong Foreign Ministers meeting was chaired by the US and they expressed again to Aotearoa–and the ministerial Pacific regional fisheries meeting was chaired by Fiji. He gave me a beaming smile—SPEAKER: Order! Order! Order! I am going to interrupt the Minister and remind the Minister that the portfolio under which he's answering these questions is a very narrow portfolio which refers to Pacific peoples in New Zealand.Teanau Tuiono: Is it his view that urgent climate action by New Zealand is strongly in the interest of New Zealand's Pacific community in light of last night's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report suggesting the loss of entire Pacific countries could occur within this century?Hon AUPITO WILLIAM SIO: Yes and as I said in my primary answer the community here and abroad is concerned by climate change and as Ministers we continue to work with the Pacific to support them—SPEAKER: Yeah. Order! Order! Order! The question was probably out of order but in any case the Minister has answered it.Teanau Tuiono: Does he believe that the New Zealand Government has a duty of care in the Pacific neighbourhood and that a failure to take strong climate action will be a failure to support our families and friends who are most vulnerable?Hon AUPITO WILLIAM SIO: Yes. That's why the Minister of Foreign Affairs as well as the Prime Minister continue to engage in the Pacific and supports them through a variety of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade programmes including the Official Development Assistance programme.SPEAKER: Order! Order! Again if the Minister was answering in his previous capacity that would all be in order but he's not and therefore it isn't.Teanau Tuiono: Point of order Mr Speaker. The connection between diaspora Pacific communities and communities in the Pacific is different from other communities. I mean there is literally no disconnect. And so I feel that the ability to answer that question is relevant.SPEAKER: I absolutely understand the facts of the matter and the relationships of the matter. Unfortunately for the member this Minister's responsibilities are quite prescribed and therefore there are some areas he has responsibility for in this portfolio and some areas that he has responsibility for in his other portfolio. And because of the way that the question was addressed and the Minister to whom ministerial responsibility to which it was addressed the line that both the questioner and the Minister are going down is out of order.Teanau Tuiono: How is he working with others in the New Zealand Government to uplift the Pacific voices and communities fighting climate change the impacts of which the Pacific community is already experiencing ahead of the rest of the world?Hon AUPITO WILLIAM SIO: Yeah so as Minister for Pacific Peoples I pass on the views I hear from the Pacific community to my ministerial colleagues including the Hon Nanaia Mahuta and James Shaw—and we've had a number of important discussions on this topic. I'm also keenly aware that New Zealand continues to support the Pacific COVID-19 vaccine roll-out and I know that there is no vaccine for climate change.