NCCA hosts as Pacific Islander church communities pledge to work together
An ecumenical meeting was held on Monday 27 May 2019 which brought together Pacific Islander church leaders, representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and Vanuatu Government and Vanuatu Christian Council Officials on a fact finding mission to see how community and church outreach to Vanuatu workers in Australia can be improved.
Co- chairs for the meeting were Liz Stone, NCCA and Rev Alimoni Taumoepeau. Participants represented a variety of partners; Act for Peace (AfP), The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), Anglican Board of Mission (ABM), Assemblies of God (AOG) Fiji, DFAT, Fiji Sydney Catholic Chaplaincy(FSCC), NCCA, Seventh Day Adventist Church (SDA), Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) and the Vanuatu Christian Council (VCC)
Key areas of concern discussed included
- Australia's Pacific Labour Mobility programs
- DFAT Pacific Church Partnerships
- VCC's and other church leaders' engagement with ni-Vanuatu labour mobility workers
Participants pictured above are:
Rev Alimoni Tauoepeau seated front right and NCCA Interim General Secretary Liz Stone, seated far left with: (in no particular order) Alison Rahill (Catholic Archdiose of Sydney), Janet Cousens (AfP), David Cram (ADRA), Lina Magallanes (ABM), Rev Apisalome Rolobaro and Rev Peni Vagadai (AOG Fiji), Libby Roqica-Qalo (Brisbane Church Community Advisor), Patrice Kuautonga (Dept. Labour Vanuatu), Frederic Jeanjean, Julia Wheeler, Hannah Kausiama and Tammy Malone (DFAT), Josheph Vuicakau (FSCC), Litiana Turner and Usania Barai (SDA), Mark Zirnsak and Rob Floyd (UCA), Rebecca Vuti and Shem Tema (VCC) and Saloate Vosavakaoloa.
