Tagata o te Moana for 21 April 2018

The evacuation of residents on the ash-covered Vanuatu island of Ambae is finally getting underway, as food supplies dwindle and disease starts to spread; new developments announced at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting underline a move by the British government to re-engage with the Pacific; voters in French Polynesia will go to the polls on 22nd April to elect a new 57-member territorial assembly; A family in Fiji's cyclone hit west has next to nothing left after a small creek swelled into a raging torrent during this month's back-to-back cyclones and heavy rain; Fifteen months ago the then New Zealand foreign minister Murray McCully sparked an uproar when he revealed the Tokelau government had bought two helicopters; new Pacific parliamentarians have been in Wellington, New Zealand to gain insights into effectively navigating the Westminster system of government in their respective nations; Samoa believes a strong performance at the 2018 Commonwealth Games can be a launching pad for sport in the country.