Prime Minister Hon. La’aulialemalietoa Leuatea Polāta’ivao Fosi Schmidt today began his official visit to New Zealand in Hawke’s Bay, meeting Samoan Recognised Seasonal Employer [R.S.E.] workers employed by Mr Apple.
The Prime Minister’s visit, leading a government delegation, recognises the vital contribution of Samoan seasonal workers to their families, communities and the national economy, while reaffirming the enduring partnership between Samoa and New Zealand under the R.S.E. scheme.
The official visit had originally been planned for January and later February this year. However, due to the official commitments of both Prime Minister Hon. La’aulialemalietoa and the Minister for Commerce, Industry and Labour, Hon. Fata Ryan Schuster, their schedules could not be aligned until now.
Welcoming the delegation, Belinda Brans, Head of the R.S.E. Programme at Mr Apple, described the Prime Minister’s visit as a significant milestone as the partnership between Samoa and Mr Apple approaches two decades.
Ms Brans said the Prime Minister’s presence reflected the long-standing relationship between Samoa and Mr Apple while recognising the Samoan workers who have been central to the programme since its inception.
Gary Jones, Regulatory Affairs Specialist at Mr Apple, also acknowledged the nearly 20-year partnership, describing it as a relationship built on trust, mutual respect and shared success.
In his address, Prime Minister Hon. La’aulialemalietoa reflected on the early days of the RSE scheme, noting that the programme was first introduced nearly 20 years ago.
“𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑.𝐒.𝐄. 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐨, 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐙𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬. 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰.”
The Prime Minister said Samoa’s seasonal workers remain among the country’s greatest ambassadors.
“𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐮𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐚’𝐬 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐝𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐨.”
The Prime Minister also reminded workers that their wellbeing and safety remain a priority.
“𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐰𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲. 𝐒𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲, 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬. 𝐈 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬, 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬.”
Looking beyond the immediate benefits of the R.S.E. programme, the Prime Minister outlined the Government’s long-term vision for sustainable opportunities for returning workers in Samoa.
“𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑.𝐒.𝐄. 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬—𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞. 𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬, 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭’𝐬 𝐒𝐀𝐓$𝟐 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞, 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐙𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐟𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐚.”
Over the past two decades, Mr Apple has grown into one of New Zealand’s leading apple exporters. Samoan R.S.E. workers have played an important role in supporting the company’s seasonal workforce and in sustaining one of New Zealand’s successful horticultural export industries, while creating economic opportunities for Samoan families and communities.
The Hawke’s Bay programme marks the beginning of the Prime Minister’s official visit. The delegation will continue engagements with Samoan R.S.E. workers and employers before travelling to Wellington for bilateral discussions with New Zealand Prime Minister Rt Hon Christopher Luxon. The visit will conclude in Blenheim, where the delegation will meet more Samoan workers, employers and members of the Samoan community.
The visit reflects the Government’s commitment to supporting Samoans wherever they are, strengthening Samoa’s partnership with New Zealand, and ensuring that the skills, knowledge and experience gained overseas help build stronger families, communities, and a stronger Samoa.
