This recognition is not just about awards. It reflects the collective effort, faith, service, and commitment of so many people who have poured into this work over the years.

Village Response Collective has always been about community. It is built on the shoulders of those who serve quietly, lead faithfully, and continue showing up for our people across youth development, culture, language, family wellbeing, and advocacy.

We honour every person who has walked alongside this journey, from our advisors and volunteers to our partners, family, and community champions. Your wisdom, support, and service have helped shape this vision and bring it to life.

We are also grateful to those helping us tell this story more visibly, ensuring the work happening in our communities is seen, valued, and understood.

This moment belongs to the village.

We remain committed to the work ahead through the One Moana Community Action Plan and through every initiative that strengthens Pasifika communities in Victoria.

All glory to Atua, and gratitude to our ancestors, our families, and our people. This is only the beginning. 🤍

Permalink

]]>UPCOV Community Service AwardsVR_CollectiveThu, 29 Jan 2026 02:59:29 +0000https://www.villageresponsecollective.com.au/blog/invasion-day-the-matrix-and-va646ac73b54753444103966a0:65b06d476f2e0b73eb32f56b:697acc06da9e522aa1c1fd4cIn many organisations, staff are offered flexibility around how they mark 26 January. On paper, this choice appears neutral, yet it often carries unspoken weight in practice. Such arrangements are usually framed as inclusive and flexible. In reality, the availability of alternatives does not remove the pressure of the day. It clarifies it. These moments invite reflection on what systems make visible for people operating within them: what is rewarded, what is made easier, and what quietly carries cost. For those who choose alternatives such as time off in lieu, the decision is rarely dramatic, but it can be revealing.

That realisation brought The Matrix to mind, not as fiction and not as conspiracy, but as metaphor. Not a story about escape, but about choice. The red wire or the blue wire. Neither is forced. Both are offered. What changes is what each option requires someone to hold, to name, or to leave unspoken. This reflection emerged from sitting with that question: how systems present alternatives, and how those alternatives reveal not just preference, but orientation.

Invasion Day has just passed, and once again it functioned as more than a public holiday. It became a moment where history, national identity, belonging, and power were compressed into a single date, and where the cost of participation or refusal became visible. Officially, 26 January is referred to as Australia Day. From a systems perspective, this naming is not incidental. It reflects the dominant narrative the state seeks to normalise. What is often described as division around the day is not confusion or disorder, but a moment when a system does exactly what it is designed to do: apply pressure, privilege one story, and reveal what different choices will cost.

The tension between calling the day “Australia Day” or “Invasion Day” is frequently reduced to a debate over language. In reality, these terms function as two different wires. Calling the day “Australia Day” allows celebration to proceed smoothly. It rewards participation with belonging and normalcy, and it requires that historical cost be absorbed quietly. Calling the day “Invasion Day” does something else. It names dispossession, disrupts celebratory consensus, and requires someone to carry the social, emotional, and political consequences of truth telling. The system does not force either choice. It presents both and makes the price of each unmistakable.

This is why people reach for the language of The Matrix. Not because systems are hidden, but because there are moments when they stop feeling abstract and begin to feel personal. In The Matrix, the system does not make the choice for you. It reveals what each option will cost. Comfort or clarity. Belonging or truth. Silence or consequence. Agency remains, but the terms are exposed. That is what Invasion Day does.

From a systems sense-making perspective, behaviour is not shaped by systems so much as revealed by them. Pressure exposes orientation. When the cost is low, many choices appear easy. When the cost rises, what people are willing to protect, trade, or ignore becomes clear. Systems apply pressure and wait. This is why Invasion Day is clarifying rather than confusing. For many Indigenous Australians, participation in national celebration requires relational amnesia: celebration without consent, unity without truth, belonging without repair. The alternative is refusal, which carries its own cost. The system does not compel either response. It simply reveals what smooth functioning depends on.

This is where Pasifika ideas of va help us see what is actually at stake. Va refers to the relational space between people, roles, institutions, and responsibilities. It is not empty space. It is active, ethical, and alive. From this perspective, the issue is not primarily a date or a name. It is whether relational space is honoured when doing so becomes inconvenient. Pressure does not destroy va. It tests it. When the cost of holding relational accountability is low, most systems accommodate it. When the cost rises, the choice becomes visible. Will dignity be preserved? Will relationship be held? Or will smooth functioning take precedence? Va is not fragile. It is revealed.

Recent history offers a clear example in Aotearoa. When Te Pāti Māori MP Hana Rāwhiti Maipi Clarke tore up the Treaty Principles Bill in Parliament, the act was not disorder for its own sake. It was a moment where the system’s demand became visible. The process could continue smoothly, but only if certain relational truths were absorbed quietly as cost. Once that cost was clear, the choice was made visible. Australia’s own legal history offers a parallel in the Mabo decision. For more than two centuries, Australian law functioned on the fiction of terra nullius, a narrative that allowed the system to operate smoothly by denying Indigenous sovereignty. The High Court was not compelled by chaos, but by pressure. It reached the point at which the cost of maintaining that fiction became greater than the cost of acknowledging truth. Mabo did not dismantle the system. It cut a wire. It made visible what smooth functioning had required others to carry in silence.

Leadership, then, is not about dismantling systems or pretending they do not exist. It is about recognising the moment when pressure reveals the cost of belonging, and deciding which wire to cut. One wire keeps the system running smoothly. The other restores awareness of people, of relationship, and of consequence. That choice is rarely dramatic. More often, it is quiet, internal, and costly. But it is where leadership actually lives.

Invasion Day is not simply an alternative label for Australia Day. It is a moment where systems reveal what they require to remain comfortable, and where people choose differently once that cost is visible. Culture shows us what is happening. Systems reveal why. Pressure reveals who we are willing to be when the price is known.

For clarity, Pasifika is the umbrella term VRC’s uses to refer to communities of Polynesian, Melanesian and Micronesian heritage living in Victoria and across Australia.

For Pasifika families, who already experience disproportionate contact with youth justice, this announcement feels abrupt. Without transparent engagement or visible consultation, the reforms risk appearing as a knee-jerk response rather than a culturally informed, prevention-first strategy. Reform designed about Pasifika communities, without clear evidence of engagement with them, signals a potential blind spot.

Existing Cultural Frameworks Were Already Designed and Delivered

As the architect and principal researcher of both the Pasifika Reintegration Pathway (2020/21) and the Village Response Plan(2020/21), I know that comprehensive, culturally grounded frameworks already exist and were formally delivered to government.

These frameworks provide:

• Culturally anchored pathways

• Relationally attuned prevention logic

• Identity and belonging foundations

• Family-centred supports

• Transitions, rehabilitation and reintegration planning

The absence of these frameworks from the current reform conversation raises an important question:

If culturally grounded solutions were already available, why were they not engaged before the announcement of these reforms?

The Village Response Plan: A Prevention Architecture Ready to Implement

The Village Response Plan (VRP) provides the cultural and community infrastructure required to prevent harm before it escalates. It includes:

• Cultural governance structures

• Early-warning indicators

• Escalation pathways

• Youth navigation

• Family mobilisation

• Relational accountability

• Culturally safe community engagement

Together, the VRP and the Reintegration Pathway form a complete Prevention → Intervention → Reintegration continuum.

Government does not need to build this from scratch, it already exists!

A Risk of Reactive Policy

When major reforms are announced without clarity on whether Pasifika (Polynesian, Melanesian, Micronesian) communities were included in meaningful consultation, the reforms risk being perceived as reactive rather than grounded in cultural intelligence or prevention logic. Given the rising cost of youth detention, and the disproportionality experienced by Pasifika young people, consultation cannot be optional.

A Constructive Path Forward

The Village Response Collective calls for transparency and partnership. We urge the Victorian Government to:

1. Clarify which communities and experts were consulted before announcing these reforms.

2. Engage Pasifika communities immediately.

3. Integrate the Village Response Plan as the primary prevention model.

4. Implement the Pasifika Reintegration Pathway (2020/21).

5. Establish a Pacific Youth Justice Prevention Partnership.

Pasifika communities are not asking for softer sentencing, we are asking for better policy, grounded in cultural intelligence, relational logic and evidence.

We stand ready to partner.

Dr Marion Muliaumasealii

Why We’re Campaigning

The Village Response Collective is launching a grassroots campaign to petition the Government for a dedicated Pasifika Action Plan, similar in scope and intent to the Victorian African Community Action Plan (VACAP).

Our Pasifika community carries immense strength and rich cultural heritage. Yet public perceptions are too often shaped by punitive measures and statistics generated by a system ill-equipped to understand or respond to the needs of a diverse and rapidly growing Pasifika population.

The Current Reality

In Victoria, there are approximately 79,000 people of Pasifika ancestry, with about 28,000 born in Pasifika nations. The largest Pasifika communities live in:

• Casey-11,303

• Wyndham-10,684

• Hume-5,413

• Melton-4,956

• Brimbank-4,215

While most Pasifika families live in Melbourne’s metropolitan areas, many are also spread across regional Victoria. Although precise regional numbers are less readily available in government reporting, community experience tells us these voices are just as vital — underscoring the importance of taking our listening tour across both metro and regional areas.

Despite our strengths, we are over-represented in concerning areas:

• Youth detention: Pasifika youth make up 8.5% of the detention population, while being a much smaller share of Victoria’s population.

• Offending rates: From 2010–2020, offending incidents by people born in New Zealand and Pacific Islands rose by 53%, compared to a 36% rise in the general Victorian population.

These figures highlight deep systemic issues and the urgent need for a dedicated Action Plan.

Beyond Siloed Systems

The current system divides Pasifika communities through funding criteria that frame solutions in siloed and fragmented ways. Instead of enabling collective strategies, these frameworks limit communities to individualised, short-term approaches that do not reflect our cultural strengths or communal ways of being.

Pasifika academic Epeli Hau‘ofa challenged these limitations in his influential essay Our Sea of Islands (1993), arguing that Western worldviews often reduce the Pacific to “islands in a far sea” defined by dependency, isolation, and constraint. In contrast, Hau‘ofa reminds us that Pasifika worldviews are expansive — seeing the ocean as a connector, not a barrier — and that our strength lies in relationships, shared identity, and collective resilience.

This expansive vision is exactly what One Moana (One Ocean) is premised on. It reflects the understanding that our communities are not isolated, but deeply interconnected, and that solutions must be designed to honour that collective reality.

Our Campaign Goals

• Build a community-led campaign team that reflects the breadth of our Pasifika voices.

  • Campaign Coordination Team

  • Steering Committee - formed by key elders and leaders in the Pasifika community -Metro & Regional

  • Regional Hub Champions

• Hold a listening tour to connect with Pasifika communities across metropolitan and regional Victoria, ensuring grassroots voices shape the agenda.

• Meet with Ministers and local councils to garner support, build alliances, and elevate our priorities.

• Table our concerns in Parliament to secure a Government-backed Pasifika Action Plan.

• Join Us

We invite community members, allies, and decision-makers to stand with us, add their voices, and help shape a fairer future for Pasifika communities in Victoria.

Together, we can build a plan that honours our culture, responds to our needs, and strengthens the social fabric of Victoria.

Register here for campaign roles, volunteering, future events and collaboration opportunities.

Contact the team on: info@villageresponsecollective.com.au

References

• Victorian Government (2023). Pasifika Community Profile. Retrieved from vic.gov.au

• ABC Pacific Beat (2024). Pasifika youth over-representation in detention. Retrieved from abc.net.au

• WestJustice (2020). Pasifika Youth Justice Report. Retrieved from westjustice.org.au

• Victorian Government (2024). Victorian Government Report on Multicultural Affairs 2023–24. Retrieved from vic.gov.au

• Hau‘ofa, E. (1993). Our Sea of Islands. In E. Waddell, V. Naidu & E. Hau‘ofa (Eds.), A New Oceania: Rediscovering Our Sea of Islands (pp. 2–16). Suva: University of the South Pacific.

The purpose of our meeting was to discuss a couple of our programs and to see how it could potentially support their Pasifika students, families, and staff but also to find out about the work they’re doing. As Ronique and Poto shared with us the work they and their Pasifika colleagues are doing you could hear and feel their passion for their Pasifika students, families, and community. It was encouraging to hear about the support they receive from the school to create a space for Pasifika. Most public schools struggle to provide extra support, so to know that Craigieburn Secondary

College has provided this space for Pasifika is a testament to the hard work by the Pasifika staff and the school leadership for understanding the needs of their students. The exciting thing for us is that this is the first talanoa of many, and with every talanoa, we continue to learn from one another.

If you’re in Education and working with Pasifika students or would just like to have a talanoa then please reach out by emailing us on info@villageresponsecoellective.coma.u

The Village Response Collective (VRC) is very intentional about creating space for strategic partnerships within our "village," particularly with those who have been the forerunners of change for our people. Sylvia Coombe is a Commissioner with the Victoria Multicultural Commission. President of the Fijian Community Association Victoria Inc. (FCAV) in Melbourne and the Vice President of the United Pasifika Council of Victoria Inc.(UPCOV). Our meeting focused on the outcomes from the Pasifika Roundtable (2023) and VRC's proposal to work arm in arm with UPCOV to implement a Victorian Pasifika Community Action Plan. This key recommendation from the roundtable report seeks to provide the level of engagement and success with government and sector leaders that the Victorian African Communities Action Plan affords its people.

This is no small feat and requires a village approach, which is part of our Pasifika (Polynesian, Melanesian, Micronesian) heritage and cultural capital. This talanoa (dialogue) was the first of many and one that we'd like our Victorian Pasifika community to be part of. If this resonates with you or your organisation, please do not hesitate to message me directly.

We thank you, Commissioner Sylvia Coombe, for the opportunity to connect. We wish you all the best in advancing the cause of Pasifika through your advocacy. We pray and believe that you were placed in this position for "such a time as this!"

Permalink

]]>Meeting with Sylvia CoombeVR_CollectiveMon, 26 Feb 2024 07:09:30 +0000https://www.villageresponsecollective.com.au/blog/5tx1if3xhospkdl3fhc9een4r6i1ef646ac73b54753444103966a0:65b06d476f2e0b73eb32f56b:65dbf3c75eb71d7571cd1639On Wednesday, 21 February 2024, the late Fa’anānā Efeso Collins, a dedicated Green MP, passed away during a charitable event in Auckland. He is fondly remembered for his exemplary leadership and unwavering commitment to community causes, tirelessly advocating for the rights and well-being of Pasifika individuals. VRC, Executive Founding Director, Dr Marion Muliaumaseali’i shares some thoughts in his honour.

Fa’anānā Efeso Collins was a colleague and became a friend. We met facilitating on a leadership programme for Auckland Pasifika students in 2002. My first impression of Fa’anānā, was that he had the gift of the gab. He stood well over 6 feet and coupled with his high intellect, could be misconstrued as overpowering and intimidating but then he’d smile and then mock you. I ‘d smile and mock him too and we’d laugh together.

I left NZ in 2006 to live in South Africa intermittently returning to and from NZ until 2011. 18 months later I received a scholarship at RMIT University and I left to live in Melbourne Australia. Although living overseas I had kept in touch on Facebook over the years. I would follow his journey as a youth advocate, husband, father and local councillor from abroad. it was 20 years to the year of the leadership fono that I was privileged to join the final 6 months of Fa’anānā’s Mayoral Campaign (2022). I volunteered to do grassroots activities and eventually became the operations strategy lead. I had a front seat to Fa’anānā’s life as the “Pasifika people’s champion” and dedicated father to his wife Fia and children, Kapriela and Asalemo.

I was impressed by the growth and maturity of his fearless advocacy for our Pasifika communities. In the debating arena, he was articulate, poised and disarmingly charming. Although he had risen to the echelons of NZ politics he never forsook his beloved upbringing in Otara South Auckland. His passionate and consistent dedication to his community nicknamed him the “Son of South Auckland”. When Fa’anānā made it as a List MP for the Greens Party he and Fia messaged me acknowledging that this success was in part due to the ground work of the Mayoral Campaign team. This gesture was such a gift and a testament of the heart Fa’anānā and Fia have for their people. They understand what it means to build with and lead community.

My last communication with Fa’anānā was him reminding me about his maiden speech. Aotearoa is reeling from the contrasting reality of that being his last week in the Beehive. As I reflect on the man dubbed as “a champion of fairness and equality” by Green Party co-leader, Hon James Shaw, I am challenged, maybe haunted by Fa’anānā’s remarks on what I believe is the foundation of a village response to social change. “There’s a saying in Samoan, “E le tu fa’amauga se tagata” – no one stands alone, no one succeeds alone – and, for me, no one suffers alone”

I have always been moved by his advocacy and heart for PasIfika but these words, his legacy and friendship will be the baseline of the work we do as the Village Response Collective.

Thank you Fa’anānā aka Fes, Efeso, Ephesians. You are missed but not forgotten.

VRC became a place of growth; it required a lot of sacrifices, wearing many hats and going the extra mile to ensure we built a trusted organisation in our community for community. The funding opportunities we’ve received is a testament to this especially the large contribution by Dr Marion Muliaumaseali’i, the visionary behind VRC. I am forever grateful for her sacrifice to get VRC off the ground and thankful for her leadership, guidance but most of our sisterhood.

As I reflect on 2023, I am reminded of the village of people who have supported us along this journey. We know we cannot do this on our own, so with a heart full of gratitude, thank you to my husband for being my constant pillar, my beautiful Mum for her prayers and encouragement and to all those who have supported us and for cheered us on. I am looking forward to more gatherings, collaborations and extending our village in 2024. I wish you all a safe and Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year.

Dealing with Government has been a dance of “ 1 step forward, 2 steps back” This, coupled with a change in Government, 4 VRC members juggling fulltime employment alongside the commitment of VRC, has hindered our follow-through a lot more than we’d like to admit. At least we have taken the all important first step. Government continue to be slow on the uptake of the recommendations but we now have our village response documented and a talking point for future negotiations.