Pasifika Rugby leaders rally for voting rights after narrow defeat

Pacific rugby leaders are considering calling a Special General Meeting to renew their push for formal voting rights within New Zealand Rugby (NZR).

The leaders remain optimistic despite narrowly missing a vote that would have granted official voting rights to the Pasifika Rugby Council in NZ Rugby.

Tauanu’u Nick Bakulich, the co-chair of NZR’s Pacific Advisory Group, says there is still a sense of achievement.

“I'd like to say that we were successful with one of them, where Pasifika now has a place on the Legacy Fund Committee,” Bakulich says.

“That was passed unanimously today [Thursday]. Unfortunately, the resolution that we wanted to get over the line was where the Pasifika Rugby Council would be approved as a voting body.”

The resolution required a two-thirds majority (61.3 votes) to pass, but fell 0.3 votes short during the NZR Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Wellington on Thursday.

Despite the disappointment, Pacific rugby leaders feel encouraged by the significant backing received - 61 votes in favour compared to 31 against - which they see as evidence of growing support within the rugby community.

Former All Black Eroni Clarke believes there is hope for the future.

“Maybe we could certainly move towards a special general meeting, something like that,” Clarke says. “When you think about two-thirds of that vote was in support ... I think that's really important for us to stay positive about.”

Former All Black and NZR Pacific engagement advisor Eroni Clarke. Photo/PMN News

But the group’s efforts have faced challenges. Pauline-Jean Luyten, a lawyer and co-chair of NZR’s Pacific Advisory Group, notes that resistance to change remains a major barrier.

"The crazy thing is, there are so many stereotypes,” she says. “I can honestly say so many provincial unions were the ones who supported us, which is the complete opposite of what people might assume.

“Resistance to change, I think there's a combination of reasons why Pasifika have never had a formal voice.”

Both Bakulich and Luyten stress the importance of ongoing dialogue, particularly with the Māori Rugby Board, which expressed concerns about procedural issues related to tikanga.

During the AGM, Anne-Marie Jackson, the chair of the New Zealand Māori Rugby Board, submitted that they unanimously rejected the proposal.

Pauline-Jean Luyten (left) and Tauanu'u Nick Bakulich. Photo/PMN News

The Board holds two per cent of the overall vote and was the only entity to state its opposition to the motion at the AGM.

“In summary, there is a tikanga protocol for this, and those tikanga have not been followed despite our best efforts of wanting a respectful relationship,” Jackson says.

“There will need to be a tikanga process to repair the damage of this important relationship for the future.”

Jackson declined to comment further to PMN News.

Bakulich and Luyten confirmed that their group had reached out to the New Zealand Māori Rugby Board and held Zoom meetings, as well as maintained enhanced communication via email, to foster dialogue.

Chair of the New Zealand Rugby Māori Board, Anne-Marie Jackson. Photo/PMN News

"We probably need to have some more, but we have reached out,” Bakulich says.

“We've done that over the last 18 months, where we've put the call out for us to come together. So it's not without trying, and we'll keep doing that because we think it's really important.”

While some in the community may view this as a setback, Pacific leaders choose to frame it as a positive development, highlighting the rapid progress made in just 18 months.

“I would say to our community, let's not give up hope,” Clarke says. “Let's keep moving forward. Let's continue to move in our Pasifika values, in our ways of being and applying that rather than us having to change.”

Watch Pakilau o Aotearoa Manase Lua's full interview on Pacific Mornings following his resignation from the NZR Pacific Advisory Group in March 2024.

Bakulich suggests that there might be another opportunity to pass the motion.

"There is another process that we can undertake and that could be triggered or put forward through the Special General Meeting.

“That could happen before Christmas, so that's a positive, knowing that mechanism is available to us.”

For Luyten, the fight for a voice at the table is far from over. “I think we can't give up, that's the biggest thing, we cannot give up at all,” she says.