A group of Auckland Law School students have launched a forum giving Pacific law students a voice.
An Auckland Law School association of Pacific Island students celebrated the launch of phase one of the MALOSI Project (Project or the Movement for Action and Law to Overcome Social Injustice), a project aimed at strengthening Pacific communities.
Phase one is a blog, giving students a platform to critique the law, in particular, the socio-economic, housing and employment injustices impacting Pacific people.
“Often in the media we see pacific issues, whether it be inequality, homelessness, poverty be told through a different lens, through a non-pacific lens,” co-president of Pacific Islands Law Students Association Dylan Asafo told NZ Lawyer.
“It’s allowing Pacific voices to raise awareness about Pacific issues.”
It’s a project attempted a number of times throughout the history of the Pacific Island Law Students Association but has this year officially come to fruition.
“Currently we have about 40 members signed up all the members come from the wider Pacific Island Law Students Association, that’s where we get our pool of students from,” Asafo said.
“[It enables] Pacific law students to use their skills, legal reasoning and analysis to help fight against injustices in the law that are pressing for the peoples of New Zealand at the moment.”
Asafo said the association hopes the blog will raise the discourse not only within Pacific communities but non-Pacific audiences as well.
Founding patron and New Zealand’s first female Pacific judge, Judge Ida Malosi, gave an address at the launch last week, urging students and academics in attendance to stay true to themselves.
“Being patron of the MALOSI Project is one small way to pay it forward, and hopefully inspire some of you to do likewise,” she said.
