Bung Wantaim Seminar with Eliorah Malifa, George Gavet & Telusa Tu’I’Onetoa
The Bung Wantaim seminar series brings together Pacific Islander Higher Degree Research (HDR) students and HDR students who study the Pacific to showcase their important research from across the Australian National University (ANU). Bung Wantaim is a Tok Pisin word signifying a “true coming together.
During this series, presentations will be given by a variety of scholars from different perspectives and different disciplines to share their knowledge with the Pacific research community at ANU.
This seminar will be held on Zoom and recorded. There will be a Q&A session after each presentation.
Date and Time
Friday 27 November 2020 2–4PM AEDT
Panellists:
Eliorah Malifa, ANU Department of Pacific Affairs
“Storytelling is our right, filmmaking is a privilege afforded to very few and if you have the ability and opportunity to do so then get over yourselves and get moving” - Merata Mita
Since the inception of film, the Pacific has been documented by outsiders on film and screen, both ethnographically and in narrative. Currently, the Pacific is in demand from Hollywood for stories and locations, however the wider Pacific is under-resourced to supplement the demand. Between 2015 and 2020, not only were there a number of Hollywood films shot in the Pacific, two of Hollywood’s highest earning films of 2018 and 2019 were centred around Pacific protagonists. This research focuses on ways that screen culture could develop in the Pacific region to create sustainable creative economy and create a regional network of screen creatives.
George Gavet, ANU Department of Pacific Affairs
Relocation from New Zealand to Australia to chase the professional rugby league dream is a traumatic experience for many Pacific teenagers. This thesis interviewed, using a life-history methodology, six National Rugby League (NRL) first grade players, two athletes who have not made a debut, seven NRL Wellbeing and Education Managers, and one pair of house parents to determine what factors were thought to influence the relocation experience. The research found that the relocation experience of these young men mirrored that of their parents and grandparents who relocated from the Pacific Islands to New Zealand in the second half of the twentieth century. Five factors - accommodation, culture shock, NRL club, player agents, and preparation for relocation while in NZ – are not currently part of the NRL’s Wellbeing Wheel. Athletes were reduced to labouring jobs to fund their initial years in Australia. Young men who would have pursued a university education or an apprenticeship had they stayed in New Zealand cannot do this in the current NRL system.
Telusa Tu’I’Onetoa, ANU Crawford School of Public Policy
Short-term migration is a key opportunity for personal, community and national development. Migration is often a household decision and based on several factors. Many migration studies argue that migrants are economically driven, where remittances from earnings are both a cause and an outcome of migration, not only benefitting individuals and their households, but also have widespread benefits on communities and the country as a whole. Yet before households decide to use migration pathways, they must consider family roles and responsibilities, not only within the nuclear family but also in the wider community. The changes in roles and responsibilities, through the availability of care for members of the households are crucial factors in the decision-making process. Yet there are limited studies on the multiple care arrangements provided for migrant workers and families in Pacific seasonal labour schemes. This research seeks to develop an understanding of this phenomenon for Tonga, which will contribute to current academic migration literature.
