Umm, no I didn't.

Apoplogies if I misquoted you.

Church plays an important role in the Samoan and Tongan communities. If you're trying to distribute aid it makes sense to involve church groups. Isn't it worth at least considering?

You're suggesting that church groups are more effective at distributing aid than aid organisations? I find that hard to believe,…

The best contribution is cash.

Kyle suggested rather than sending money people would rather send themselves.

Umm, no I didn't.

I would hope that these people are guided by those co ordinating the relief effort as to what is the best way in which they could help.

In the absence of specialist training or an explicitly-stated need, the best way to help is to donate cash. Failing cash, talk to…

Who would coordinate it?

I nominate Michael Jones.
Kyle suggested rather than sending money people would rather send themselves. A natural response if your friends/family have been thru not only a disaster, almost any tragedy.
I would hope that these people are guided by those co ordinating the relief effort…

Well how about a scheme to help fly those who want to and are able to help in times of emergency back to do just that.

Who would coordinate it? Ensure the people flying back are needed? Ensure that, on their arrival, they're not going to be a burden on…

If we seek to play a part in the Pacific, this would greatly strengthen our position and enable an increased ability for wider remittance payments to the islands, beyond aid.

When we look back to…

Banks just seem to be looking to screw over the islands.

Is this just your opinion, or do you have information that's backs this up.

I would suggest that people who have relatives in New Zealand, possibly working, are probably going to be the ones better off back in the…

get food and essential markets flowing as soon as possible, the demise of a market place is the death of a city.

Or, indeed, a small Nation.

Uh yeah. I'm sure there so many cities in Samoa, Tonga – so, I'm right with you jeremy Eade-

It takes a village,…

frankly I find the initial reaction to this to be a bit of a surprise

You shouldn't, really.

I must apologise Matthew, I had completely forgotten about you.
Merry Christmas.
:-)

frankly I find the initial reaction to this to be a bit of a surprise

You shouldn't, really. He dared to suggest working with religious organisations, and Island ones at that, which in here is just short of suggesting that the Fire Service be compelled to hire arsonists as fire…

Kyle Matthews -no, we're not ignoring "a heap of people on the islands who dont have family in NZ." NZ *as a country* provided substantial aid.

The suggestion was to make money available to relatives here.

If that was how the system worked, then people who didn't have relatives here…

Why then isnt it possible to make money available to relatives here to send via remittances directly to the people. Im sure banks would co-operate. Any organisation will take a cut, even churches, its a matter of finding the best option.

Really?

Then why won't they do this already? Would…

You know money "flows" to the islands in the form of "remittances". Why then isnt it possible to make money available to relatives here to send via remittances directly to the people. Im sure banks would
co-operate. Any organisation will take a cut, even churches, its a matter of finding…

Sorry for not making it clear, I am assuming Hizbollah to have more than two working braincells and be capable of forward planning.

The alternative to your thesis is that they weren't pre-prepared, and it's just possible that David actually made a valid point.

Opportunity for forward-planning does not necessarily…

You've jumped from "had the opportunity to prepare" to "were prepared" without any proof. The fact that Hizbollah knew that a military reaction was likely, isn't proof that they were pre-prepared to deal with the consequences of that reaction on the civilians.

Sorry for not making it clear, I am…

Might I point out that "with our Pacific population all around us in NZ" only applies to parts of the country? And while my whanau will donate to established non-religious aid agencies, we would not, under any circumstance, donate to churches? We do…

Thanks for the many comments that my blog has generated. I want to emphasise a couple of points in reply and hopefully address some the issues.

My key point is we should aim to get emergency aid more directly to those affected and let…

David has just emailed me a post – his registration into PAS doesn't sem to be working for some reason at our end, I'll…

The Israeli bombing campaign did not simply target Hizbollah. It was aimed at the entire infrastructure of Lebanon. So perhaps not such a bad example after all.

Hizbollah fires thousands of rockets at Israel, Israel drops bombs on Lebanon = easily predictable within short time frame. Hizbollah easily able to…

Prediction of earthquakes and tsunamis is not accurate. One might or might not occur over several centuries in the Pacific Islands. No group in Samoa, Tonga or NZ is ever going to be able to provide a seamless response (unless the Ministers really do have a direct line to God),…

Hizbollah were able to predict that those towns were going to be targetted years in advance of the bombing, because they had prior knowledge that a certain militant group (called Hizbollah) was going to use those towns to launch several thousand missiles at Israel.

The Israeli bombing campaign did not…

so it's also about encouraging celebrities to support direct financial aid?

i suspect what's needed is something like city mission, of DCM. People donate to them, but don't donate to the churches…

lack of options for Pacific New Zealanders to send remittances.

I heard a long piece about this issue on Laidlaw's Sunday programme on National Radio a few months ago. Someone was definitely investigating just that. I'm sorry my memory is vague, but I suspect that if you wrote to RNZ…

They were "unformed" because the wider implications of unaccountable funding of overweight Samoan pastors or suicide bomber recruiting Hizbollah fighters have been left…

The bog-standard response that seems to come up here that anything to do with churches is to be mistrusted and avoided isn't very helpful. Lots of aid work already occurs through churches, both locally here in…

Funding churches and families in New Zealand can be the most direct and fastest means of getting assistance to those affected in the islands. Making that flow transparent and accountable should not be difficult.

My hunch is it would be quite difficult, as the first concern of many would be…

More like some unformed general observations on the operational practicalities of aid delivery.

So he's been warming a seat in teh parliament for a few months and his brain has gone and made itself into swiss cheese.
Hows that for a UGO.

"Unformed general observations" .....sheez.
If I want those…

Good thinking from David Shearer.

Crap thinking from David Shearer..

More like some unformed general observations on the operational practicalities of aid delivery.

Hizbollah, the Lebanese organisation

I believe the point was probably "the local organisation".

"The Lebanese organisation, Hizbollah."
Ooh, let me suggest some others:
"The Irish organisation, the IRA."
"The Tamil organisation, the Tigers."
"The Basque organisation, ETA."

The Italian organisation, teh Catholics.

we fund aid agencies which tend to use more circuitous and more expensive processes....

... Funding churches and families in New Zealand can be the most direct and fastest means of getting assistance to those affected in the islands. Making that flow transparent and accountable should not be difficult.

…

David Shearer, you've gone several notches in my estimation. Which means you've lost a large whanau-ful of support-

Ooh, let me suggest some others:

"The Irish organisation, the IRA."

"The Tamil organisation, the Tigers."

"The Basque organisation, ETA."

Dunno how I missed that on first reading.

Furthermore, from here:

"Hezbollah is not the first revolutionary movement to be corrupted by money, and it won't…