It’s been two weeks since Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni led a group of government officials, delegates, and media to offer financial assistance in parts of the South Pacific.
Atutahi Potaka-Dewes (Te Arawa/Ngāti Porou) who went as a reporter to cover the mission, says she was not expecting to do that trip this early in her journalism career.
“I was so lucky, I was so blessed, I don’t know how it happened."
Potaka-Dewes, who was Miss Rotorua in 2020, is now a news reader and reporter.
"Two months ago I was a cadet, but here I am sitting in the office, my boss comes to me and says 'hey, look the Pacific mission is going on and we’re going to send you',” she says.
Pacific Media Network, Tagata Pasifika and Radio New Zealand were among media who accompanied Sepuloni along with Pacific Peoples Minister Barbara Edmonds and Climate Change Minister James Shaw.
Lots of mahi
The proud wahine Māori and teine Sāmoa says even though she loved the weather and food in the Pacific Islands, their schedule was packed with events.
"Most days, there were six engagements that we had to go and cover, with only like 10-15 minute travel times in between. In that 10 minutes, you're editing whatever you have captured to send back to New Zealand, hoping and praying that the Solomon Islands data is good enough.
"I think if there’s money that needs to be spent it should be in technology. Let’s help out our whanaunga over there so when I send back videos people know that I’m alive, like my bosses,” she jokingly said.
The Pacific mission visited the Solomon Islands, Fiji, and Tonga and it was the government's first mission since 2019.
'In my heart forever'
It pledged over $80 million to support various initiatives, including climate change, youth initiatives and the Inclusivity of disabilities in the 2023 Pacific Games.
For the Pacific Media Network newsreader, the trip was not only a chance to report but also an opportunity for self-discovery.
“I think something that will be etched in my heart forever, especially working in a Pacific media space and covering the eruption in Tonga a year ago was going to visit Ha’atafu Beach and actually feeling the wairua there. It made me appreciate growing up with a te ao Māori lens.
If I hadn’t had the upbringing that I had where I appreciate whenua, where I appreciate Moana, I appreciate Papatuānuku, Ranginui, all of our atua in between, and appreciate what it means to be indigenous. I think it would have gone right over my head,” she says.
The tour included visits to St Vincent’s Early Childhood Centre in the Solomon Islands and discussions hosted by Tonga's Prime Minister, Hu’akavameiliku in Tonga.
Their downtime was limited but Potaka-Dewes says she observed that media (in general) in Pacific are "so much nicer".
Nicer media
"Let’s be honest whānau, in the media we’re not all nice to each other. Sometimes when we've got a gold grab, we’re not sharing that with anybody. But over there, it’s like 'oh, I'm doing this interview' and they're like 'you need an umbrella or a towel?'
"Everybody is so nice, and it’s because they’re warmer and they have nicer tasting food,” she joked.
It was a trip to remember for the accomplished performer who dedicated 10 years of her life to travelling the world performing kapa haka.
Passionate about Māori performing arts, she also sang a karaoke song at the Prime Minister of Tonga's request during their last night, showcasing her singing skills and surprising many on the trip.