Award-Winning Artist Lisa Fa'alafi Brings Dangerous Goods to Aotearoa
“Every time we come back with work, it just means so much more. Seeing people who look like us in the crowd…it’s incredible.”
Part circus, part drag, part burlesque, and part live concert, Dangerous Goods brings together powerhouse vocals, aerials, theatre and comedy to explore themes of power, resistance, and joy.
Internationally acclaimed, award-winning Sāmoan-Australian artist, performer and director Lisa Fa’alafi has spent more than 25 years creating bold, boundary-pushing work that has captivated audiences worldwide.
Fresh from a sold-out season at the Edinburgh Fringe, she’s now bringing her latest production, Dangerous Goods, to Auckland’s iconic Civic Theatre as part of the Auckland Live Cabaret Festival.
For Fa’alafi, though, this is much more than another stop on an international tour.
“It feels like coming home.”
Born in Aotearoa before growing up in Australia, returning with her work always carries extra meaning.
“Every time we come back with work, it just means so much more.…more
Alofa Tunoa Ta'amu Becomes the First Samoan Ever Drafted into the NHL
When people think of Samoan athletes, sports like rugby, American football and boxing usually come to mind. Ice hockey? Not so much.
But that's exactly what makes Noa Ta'amu's achievement so special.
"It's pretty cool that I get to represent the Samoan community in hockey, but I am not the only one for sure. There are more coming up."
History has officially been made after Alofa Tunoa "Noa" Ta'amu became the first player of Samoan heritage ever selected in the NHL Draft, with the Winnipeg Jets picking the defenceman 199th overall.
It's a breakthrough moment, not just for Noa and his family, but for Samoans around the world, proving our people can make an impact in just about any sport.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, the 18-year-old has taken a unique path to professional hockey. Standing at 6-foot-2 and weighing around 228 pounds, Ta'amu spent the past season with the Edmonton Oil Kings in the Western Hockey League, where he earned a reputation as a tough, physical and dependable defenceman.…more
Pacific Artists Nominated in 2026 Pacific Music Awards
The Nominees for the 2026 Pacific Music Awards have been annoucned - and this year honours many of our beloved artists.…more
Final Whistle: Moana Pasifika's Super Rugby Dream Comes to an End
Moana Pasifika will not feature in the 2027 Super Rugby competition after efforts to secure new ownership were unsuccessful.
The club entered liquidation in May after its former owners, Pasifika Medical Association, announced they were no longer in a position to financially support the franchise beyond the 2026 season. The team's final campaign came to an end last weekend, with liquidators revealing debts of around NZ$8.2 million.
New Zealand Rugby (NZR), which holds the competition licence, said it considered several proposals from potential investors in an attempt to keep the team alive. However, none of the bids met the financial and commercial standards needed to ensure the franchise could survive long term.
As a result, Super Rugby will continue with 10 teams in 2027.
Moana Pasifika Coach Tana Umaga
Despite the setback, NZR says the possibility of a Pacific Islands-based franchise returning in future remains alive. Chief Financial Officer Chris Kinraid said the organisation is committed to supporting the idea if the right investment and business model can be secured.…more
WOMEN OF THE ISLANDS: LUANA GORDON
SAMOAN / NEW ZEALAND EUROPEAN
SINGER-SONGWRITER
Please introduce yourself and tell us about your Pacific heritage.
My name is Luana Gordon and I am a singer-songwriter from Ōtāhuhu, Auckland. I am of Samoan and New Zealand European descent.
Tell us about your journey into music.
I grew up the youngest of three in a musical family. My brothers and I all took piano lessons from a young age before picking up second instruments. Mine was the violin. I also loved to sing and taught myself guitar to accompany my voice.
I studied violin at university and, after graduating, started writing original songs, which my brothers helped me record and produce.
How has growing up in South Auckland shaped you as a musician and as a person?
From age six until I got to university, all of my music tuition took place in very humble South Auckland schools with cheap instruments, limited teaching resources and very few opportunities to connect with others in the music community.…more
Meet Aquila Peleseuma, the 11-Year-Old Sāmoan Footballer Turning Heads in France
At just 11 years old, Aquila Peleseuma is already achieving something many young footballers only dream about.
The Wellington-born Sāmoan has been offered a pathway into one of France's leading football development systems after signing with Paris FC, a club that competes in the top tier of French football.
Aquila, the youngest of three siblings, discovered his love for football while playing with friends near the family's home in Rouen, France. His talent was spotted by the father of one of his friends, who encouraged Aquila's parents to enrol him in a local football club.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Aquila's father, Opetera Peleseuma, who moved to France in 2017 to pursue rugby opportunities, admits football was never a sport the family expected their son to fall in love with.
"We didn't actually know he was playing soccer," Opetera told RNZ Pacific. "His best friend's dad came knocking on our door and asked if Aquila was already playing for a club.…more
Pasifika women still face breast cancer inequities - researcher
A New Zealand oncologist and researcher says the country's health system needs to be easily accessible and culturally safe to help narrow inequities in breast cancer care.
Dr Olivia Perelini is leading a study looking at timely detection and treatment and closing the breast cancer gap for Pasifika women in Aotearoa.
She told Pacific Waves many Pacific women are affected by breast cancer, and despite advances being made, the gap is not closing as fast as they would like.
"Pacific women are more likely to develop breast cancer at a younger age, and they're also more likely to develop advanced breast cancer, more aggressive breast cancer. We also know that Pacific women are 52 per cent more likely to die from breast cancer compared with non-Māori and non-Pacific women," she said.
"That's a huge burden for our Pacific women and their families.
"Recently there's been changes, and we've got the faster cancer treatment guidelines in place, we've got Breast Screen Aotearoa program, Te Aho o Te Kahu reforms, but we're still seeing these stats.…more
Growing Hope in Remote Savai'i: How Auala is Transforming Food Security Through Hydroponics
By Lagomauitumua Elizabeth Ah-Hi
Lettuce is not something you expect to find thriving on volcanic rock.
Yet in the village of Auala on the western coast of Savai'i, rows of bright green lettuce rise from a hydroponics system that has transformed an unlikely patch of land into a thriving community garden. In a place where rocky terrain has long limited vegetable production, the project is helping to strengthen food security while creating new opportunities for local youth.
For Reverend Motusaga Lesa, however, the story began with something much simpler: a love of gardening.
When he and his wife arrived in Auala eight years ago to serve the local EFKS congregation, they quickly discovered that one of the most ordinary parts of life back home in Upolu was far more difficult here.
Gardening had always been second nature, but Auala's rugged lava fields and limited arable land made growing vegetables a challenge.…more
Solomon Islands Filmmaker's Award-Winning Sepik Documentary Claims Another Major Festival Honour
A powerful Melanesian story about protecting land, culture and community continues to make waves on the international stage, with Solomon Islands filmmaker Matasila Freshwater adding another major accolade to an already award-winning documentary.
Just weeks after taking home the prestigious Sustainable Future Award at the Sydney Film Festival, Sukundimi Walks Before Me has now been awarded Best New Zealand Director at the 2026 Doc Edge Festival in Auckland.
Directed by Matasila Freshwater and Lachlan McLeod, the documentary earned praise from the Doc Edge jury, who said the filmmakers' directorial choices "all speak to the powerful directorial vision behind this film."
The latest honour adds to the film's growing list of achievements and further cements Freshwater as one of the Pacific's leading documentary storytellers.
For Freshwater, whose acclaimed short film HIAMA earned international recognition, the success is about far more than awards. It's another milestone for Pacific stories being told by Pacific people, on their own terms.
The documentary follows communities living along Papua New Guinea's Sepik River, one of the largest and most culturally significant waterways in the Pacific.…more
Cook Islander Makes History as New Zealand’s First Pacific Female Orthopaedic Surgeon
For Dr Ailsa Wilson, becoming New Zealand’s first Pacific female orthopaedic surgeon is more than a personal achievement. It is a proud moment for her aiga, her community, and her Cook Islands roots.
Now working in the Orthopaedics Department at Tauranga Hospital, Wilson has reached a milestone few achieve, after years of study, training, sacrifice, and determination in one of medicine’s most demanding specialties.
Her journey into orthopaedics started early in her medical career when a surgeon at Middlemore Hospital saw something in her and encouraged her to consider the field.
"My first ever run as a junior registrar was alongside Dan Lemanu and Renus Stowers, who are now respected Pacific orthopaedic surgeons. They were two Pacific doctors with similar backgrounds and values to myself who became my friends. They inspired me and gave me confidence that this was a path I could also pursue," she said.
Wilson was awarded the Pasifika Medical Association's Dr Joe Williams Scholarship in 2022, right at the beginning of her orthopaedic training.…more