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Artist Kiridox farewelling his mother. Photo: Kiridox Instagram Neueli Mauafu | Reporter “Music is a part of me but it is not everything. At the end of the day I am a son” – Kiridox You don’t have to go far to find out just how catchy and trendy Kiridox’s music is. At the parades where the Samoan and Tongan flags fly loud and proud, you can hear the hook of “PFS” blasting through the speakers or sirens wired onto a car.  PFS has gone on to make 200,000 streams on online platforms, and it is just one of Kiridox’s hits he is rolling out for the summer.  The Kiribati/Tongan artist has been on a roll the past two to three years, both elevating in the music industry through hits and shows, while also creating an increasing following online.  It’s all part of the plan for Kiridox and his team as the results which now...

Pacific artists from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch will come together in Ōtautahi this November for the first Nesian Tide Arts Festival, a two-day celebration of Pacific music, dance and creativity. Presented by Polynesian Pages in partnership with LIMA Productions Trust, the festival takes place on November 20 and  21, bringing visiting performers together with local talent for live music, workshops and opportunity to connect. The programme includes Auckland’s nine-piece Pacific funk-soul band Island Vibes, Wellington creative duo Lemau Creative, and performances from Christchurch’s own Pasifika artists. For organisers, the festival is about more than putting on a show. It’s an opportunity to bring Pacific creatives together, give local artists a platform and build stronger connections between arts communities across Aotearoa. “Our vision is to grow Nesian Tide into a sustainable, biannual festival in Ōtautahi, creating lasting op...

Our Whare Our Fale housing development in Porirua has won a national architecture award for its Pasefika-led design. Photo: Supplied A Pasefika-led housing development in eastern Porirua, Wellington  has been recognised at the 2026 Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) National Architecture Awards. The Central Pacific Collective & transformative development, Our Whare Our Fale (OWOF) took out  the Housing – Multi Unit category in association with architecture firm First Light Studio.  The award recognised their focus to reimagine the Pacific village concept through affordable, intergenerational homeownership centred on community, culture and belonging. The national judging panel described OWOF as “an exemplar for affordable housing in urban Aotearoa. Planned around a malae and common fale, the masterplan places people and community first, strengthening a sense of belonging and helping neighbours look out for one another.” It sai...

New Zealand’s 2026 election has left the make-up of the next government uncertain, raising questions about Pasifika representation in Parliament. Gladys Hartson | Senior Journalist “MMP was the winner, it’s the first time we’ve actually had a proper MMP election… it’s not going to be left and right; National, Labour ruling the roost. And now we’re starting to see people saying we’ve got options, strategic voting has come into play” – NZ First List MP, Alfred Ngaro.   The country took to the polls over the weekend, to decide which political party or parties will form the 55th parliament of New Zealand. The preliminary results did not deliver a clear result.  Until the more than 390,000 votes are counted, no political bloc has been able to claim an outright victory. On top of this, there is the impact of the overhang of seats that coul...

Above: Flashback to 10 years ago – the Upper Hutt Rams after winning the 2016 American Ambassador’s 7s series.  The time remaining in the year is getting shorter and so are these columns. But a few things below this week, which will be added to as news comes in. First a reminder of what’s coming...

Tagata Pasifika | Television Series What does the election mean for Pacific communities? Seinafolava Sanele Chadwick brings together Pacific MPs and commentators to unpack the results, debate what’s next and explore the issues that matter most to our people.