The Panel with Madison Burgess-Smith and Martin Bosley Part 2
RNZ / Dom Thomas
This half hour the panel hears from Graeme Wright, general manager at Barnes Wild Bluff Oysters who have decided to end their season two months early. Plus they talk to Stuart Campbell, a Queensland tradie who started on an expected dance journey that led him to open his own dance studio.
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Photo: ABC / Dinah Lewis Boucher "Ballroom is made for the confident girls," Ella Ganza said on the mic as music started to blast and participants eyed the runway, preparing to walk. As the reigning Miss Samoa Fa'afafine and Mother of the House of Alexander, she guides Samoa's youth through the world of ballroom, a deeply personal mission to uplift her community. "To see the youth, my younger sisters and brothers, be authentic, feel safe, and be celebrated in a way that's just completely them…I cried almost every night after the workshop," she told ABC Pacific. The introduction of ballroom to Samoa is a recent development, with events and workshops aimed at empowering and creating safe spaces. Photo: ABC / Dinah Lewis Boucher "It's not just about the performance - it's about nurturing a space where our young ones feel safe, celebrated, and completely themselves. "This is a calling. 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Photo: ABC / Dinah Lewis Boucher Across the Pacific, the acronym MVPFAFF+ is used to honour the region's unique and diverse gender identities. The term, coined by community activist and worker Phylesha Brown-Acton, stands for Māhū (Tahiti and Hawaii), Vaka sa lewa lewa (Fiji), Palopa (Papua New Guinea), Fa'afafine (Samoa and American Samoa), Akava'ine (Cook Islands), Fakaleiti or Leiti (Tonga), and Fakafifine (Niue), with the "+" signifying other gender identities still evolving within Pacific communities. Before colonisation and Christianity swept through the region, identities such as Fa'afafine were respected and woven into community life. Today, while many MVPFAFF+ individuals continue to hold cultural significance, many face discrimination. Runway, is one of the categories in Ballroom. Photo: ABC / Dinah Lewis Boucher "Cultural norms can shut down their potential, but events like this let them shine, and show what makes them unique," Rosie told ABC Pacific. "I just want them to be able to let loose, enjoy the night, and finally experience this freedom for themselves. "It means a lot to them. And it means a lot to me." Slay on the runway. Photo: ABC / Dinah Lewis Boucher Samoan human rights activist Maluseu Doris Tulifau of Brown Girl Woke is the event's key organiser, but said her role wasn't to take up space, it was to make space. "I just want the space for them," she said. "The third gender has always existed in Samoa - but it was washed away by colonial lies." Doris Tulifau, organiser behind bringing Ballroom to Samoa. Photo: ABC / Dinah Lewis Boucher One of the biggest challenges, she said, was that many MVPFAFF+ individuals still felt they had to leave the country to be free. "A lot of our love, support, and funding is coming from the diaspora - because many who left knew there wasn't a space for them here," she said, but stressed the goal wasn't to simply exist, but to thrive. For Ella, bringing the ball to Samoa was about creating a space where Pasifika youth can be seen, celebrated and safe. Photo: ABC / Dinah Lewis Boucher "We're building spaces that don't just allow LGBTQ+ youth to survive, but to thrive, right here at home. We don't want performative allyship. We want mentorship. We want advocacy. We want them to stay. "If everyone keeps leaving because of shame, silence, and fear - how will anything ever change?" Ballroom culture aims to provide a space where Samoa's youth are not just seen, but celebrated. Photo: ABC / Dinah Lewis Boucher Now, Ella is focused on modelling confidence, care, and the kind of visibility she didn't see growing up. "Being a chosen mother, the mother of my house - this is my own way of leaving a legacy. I may not have children biologically, but this is still my way of creating family," she said. "Confidence is how you walk into a room, but it's also how you uplift others. That's what I want to teach. That's how we progress. "I want to be what I wanted to see growing up. I wish I could've walked into a community like the one I see now." - ABC
RNZ News
3 days ago
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Phoenix to be challenged for support in game against popular Wrexham
Wrexham AFC's Ollie Palmer poses for a selfie with fans, Melbourne, 2025. Photo: MARTIN KEEP / AFP Saturday, 19 July From 5pm Sky Stadium, Wellington Follow the live blog on RNZ The Phoenix will be challenged for support when they play their first pre-season game in Wellington on Saturday. The A-League club will meet Wrexham in a friendly with the Welsh side on a pre-season tour of their own down under and the "Red Dragons" supporters will be out in force and voice for the game. After they were bought by Hollywood pair Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, the club rose to worldwide fame when they were featured in the television programme Welcome to Wrexham. The club has also risen up the ranks with three successive promotions from non-league football to the English Championship. Paula Smith is the co-ordinator of the local Wrexham supporters group, which has a couple of thousand followers in Australia and New Zealand. Smith is from Wrexham, but has been living here for 17 years and has been a keen follower of the television series as for a long time as she was unable to see them play. "The first job I ever had was in the butcher's market in Wrexham, so in one of the episodes they did a little tour and it made me a little homesick," Smith told RNZ. "Being able to point out to the kids places I use to go, it has been a little bit surreal." Wrexham captain James McLean, who has been with the club since 2023, admits its been a great ride to have been on. "Where the club has gone in the last few years has been unimaginable," he said. "I'm loving every second of it and the rest of the lads are as well and not just that but it has been a successful one and long may that continue." Wrexham AFC's players before the football friendly against Melbourne Victory, 2025. Photo: MARTIN KEEP / AFP Many football and non football followers have joined that ride, however, Phoenix defender Lukas Kelly-Heald has only ever watched a couple of the Welcome to Wrexham episodes. He said this game is a great opportunity for them. "It's a great platform for us. New Zealand is kind of tucked away in the world so it is great that we're having a well sort after team over and hopefully we can put on a good performance," he said. While there will be extra interest globally in the fixture, the Phoenix's English keeper Joshua Oluwayemi said it is just another game for him. " You just take it on like every game is a game so you are going to give it your all," Oluwayemi said. "You are going to give it your all whether it is a final or a preseason friendly." While the Yellow Fever fans are known for their signing at Phoenix games, the Wrexham supporters have promised plenty of their own tunes. Those attending the game will also be able to enjoy the taste of Wales with a replica of the Turf Pub to be set-up at Sky Stadium. The pub sits next to Wrexham's Racecourse Ground and owner Wayne Jones has brought some of his memorabilia down under with him. Welsh Dragon, Hamilton. Photo: PHOTOSPORT Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
