Barbara Helen Dreaver is a Kiribati-born New Zealand broadcast journalist.

Biography

Dreaver was born on

Banaba BanabaThe correct spelling and etymology in Gilbertese should be ''Bwanaba'' but the Constitution of Kiribati writes Banaba. Because of the spelling in English or French, the name was very often written Paanapa or Paanopa, as it was in 1901 Ac ...

, a coral

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gr ...

Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...

. Her mother, Lavinia, was from Banaba and her father, Peter, was a schoolteacher from New Zealand, stationed on the atoll as an adult education officer under the

Volunteer Service Abroad Volunteer Service Abroad - Te Tūao Tāwāhi (VSA) a New Zealand-based volunteering agency working in international development. Operations VSA volunteers share skills with people in the wider Pacific. VSA's work is diverse and driven by the ...

scheme. The family moved to the main island of

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

Dreaver studied education at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree. She then completed a Pacific Island journalism course at

Manukau Institute of Technology Established in 1970, Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) ( mi, Te Whare Takiura o Manukau) is a large Category One institute of technology in Auckland, New Zealand. Category One is the highest possible educational rating as evaluated by the ...

, but struggled to find work in journalism in New Zealand. In 1990, she moved to

Rarotonga Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 13,007 of a total population of 17,434. The Cook Islands' Parliament buildings a ...

and began her career in journalism as a reporter with the ''

Cook Islands News The Cook Islands News is a daily newspaper published in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. It is the national newspaper of the Cook Islands. Its print version is published daily from Monday to Saturday. Originally government-owned, it was privatized ...

''. She later co-owned and edited a weekly newspaper, ''Cook Islands Press.'' In 1998, she returned to New Zealand and worked as a business columnist and freelance feature writer for the ''

New Zealand Listener The ''New Zealand Listener'' is a weekly New Zealand magazine that covers the political, cultural and literary life of New Zealand by featuring a variety of topics, including current events, politics, social issues, health, technology, arts, f ...

'', ''

National Business Review The ''National Business Review'' (or ''NBR'') is a New Zealand online news publication aimed at the business sector. It has journalists based in Auckland and Wellington. History The ''NBR'' was founded in 1970 by then-23 year old publisher Hen ...

'' and

Radio New Zealand Radio New Zealand ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known as Radio NZ or simply RNZ, is a New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news and c ...

. In 2002, she started working for

TVNZ , type = Crown entity , industry = Broadcast television , num_locations = New Zealand , location = Auckland, New Zealand , area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the So ...

and in 2003 became the network's Pacific correspondent. In December 2008, Dreaver was detained and deported from

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

after her reporting offended the regime of dictator

Frank Bainimarama Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama (Fijian: ʃoˈsɛia βoˈreŋɡe mbɛiniˈmarama born 27 April 1954) is a Fijian politician and former naval officer who served as the prime minister of Fiji from 2007 until 2022. A member of the FijiFirst ...

. Journalists were subsequently required to seek permission to enter Fiji. The ban was lifted in October 2016. In September 2018, Dreaver was arrested in

Nauru Nauru ( or ; na, Naoero), officially the Republic of Nauru ( na, Repubrikin Naoero) and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Oceania, in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Ki ...

and stripped of her media accreditation for the

Pacific Islands Forum The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation between countries and territories of Oceania, including formation of a trade bloc and regional peacekeeping operations. It was founded in 197 ...

meeting after interviewing refugees held at the Nauru Regional Processing Centre. In 2020, Dreaver created a two-year training programme through the Pacific Cooperation Broadcasting Ltd to support new Pacific journalists across the Pacific region. In 2022, she was appointed a member of the Establishment Board for the Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media body.

Awards and honours

In 2019, Dreaver won two awards at New Zealand's Voyager Media Awards for her coverage of the

2019 Samoa measles outbreak The 2019 Samoa measles outbreak began in September 2019. As of 6 January 2020, there were over 5,700 cases of measles and 83 deaths, out of a Samoan population of 200,874. Over three percent of the population were infected. The cause of the o ...

: Best TV/Video News Item and Best Coverage of a Major News Event. In November 2022, she was named Reporter of the Year at the New Zealand Television Awards. In the

2024 New Year Honours The 2024 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

, Dreaver was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

, for services to investigative journalism and Pacific communities.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deaver, Barbara Living people People from the Gilbert Islands Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit University of Auckland alumni New Zealand television journalists Year of birth missing (living people)