WHO will be next regional health leader?
Why is the Pacific Islands region fielding two candidates for the position of World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for the Western Pacific? Tonga has nominated Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala, and Solomon Islands has put forward Dr Jimmie Rodgers. After Niuean New Zealander and former Pacific Community (SPC) boss, Colin Tukuitonga missed out on the role in 2018, experts in health and diplomatic circles suggested a single Pacific candidate would have a strong chance of being chosen this time around. However, there are Whispers that Tonga and Solomon Islands sent their nominations to WHO before regional caucusing could agree on a united Pacific candidate. Dr Piukala and Dr Rodgers (who is also a former head of the SPC) will be vying for the post against fellow physicians Song Li of China, Susan Mercado of Philippines, and Tran Thi Gian Huong of Vietnam. A candidate will be selected in January 2024.
Fight for fisheries funds
Debate continues amongst members of the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) over distribution of a US$60 million economic assistance package pledged by the United States. Some countries such as Fiji, want the funds evenly distributed amongst members. Others want distribution to reflect fishing activity and resource share. At a recent meeting of the FFA Council, Fiji’s Fisheries Minister Kalaveti Ravu referred to a “prodigal son effect”, a reference to Kiribati, which rejoined the Pacific Islands Forum this year after a dispute over its leadership was resolved. Kiribati’s membership of other regional agencies, including the FFA, has remained uninterrupted. “While much can be said of how much we value our ability to co-operate and compromise, I must say that the outcomes of discussions held in recent meetings have raised serious concerns on our ability to think about the implication of our actions on other members,” Ravu told journalists.
Holiday photos
As he toured three Melanesian nations, French President, Emmanuel Macron was accompanied by a large French media contingent (who paid up to 5,000 euros for the privilege). In Noumea, the press pool for some events were restricted to the press pack from Paris, with no local journalists from New Caledonia invited. Much grumbling from the Southern hemisphere journalists about the lack of solidarity from their French colleagues. And even more anger, when local TV stations were told to take out a subscription to Agence France Presse if they wanted pool footage of key events! Anyone might think the President was playing to an audience at home.
Climate security
When it won office in 2022, the ALP government led by Anthony Albanese commissioned a climate and security risk assessment from the Office of National Intelligence (ONI). The intelligence analysts’ report has been sitting with the government for months. Last month, a motion from independent Senator David Pocock (a former Wallaby) called for the release of a declassified version of the report – but the ALP government voted with the opposition Coalition parties to reject his motion. Why the secrecy? Could the report say that climate is Australia’s biggest threat, and the government should be moving harder and faster to address the region’s greatest security challenge? Meanwhile, the AUKUS nuclear submarines are scheduled to cost A$368 billion in coming decades.
Dead air
Tongans were deprived of hearing debate on the Auditor General’s Report for 2021-2022 when funding ran dry to pay for the daily radio broadcast from the Tongan Parliament, local media report. The timing could not have been worse…or better (depending on your interests), given the “litany of weaknesses in many Ministries and … wide extent of inadequate reporting of government expenditures and discrepancies between systems,” reported Tonga Wires. The broadcasts were introduced following the 2010 political reforms. The Auditor General audited 19 ministries for his 2020-21 report, but reported it was difficult to check or access information required for the audit. Six entities were not audited because of a lack of information for the period, including the Palace Office, Parliament’s Office, Public Enterprises, Office of the Attorney General, the Public Service Commission and Tonga Fire and Emergency Services.
Foreigners behind the flags
The practice of foreign representatives sitting behind the flags of Pacific Island nations in the international arena persists. Papua New Guinea’s Northern Governor, Gary Juffa is irked that at a recent climate change conference, “half of our PNG delegation at the conference consisted of foreigners working with or for the Coalition for Rainforest Nations.” Juffa claims of the 25 PNG delegates, 12 were foreigners. He wants to know who appointed them. “What do they know about our country for them to be there to represent our country?” He continued: “Some of them never even came here.” Meanwhile at the International Seabed Authority’s recent convening, The Metals Company continued to sit on the Nauru delegation.
Guam grudge
Is a personal grudge holding up 25 telecom projects in Guam? That’s the assertion of GTA President, Roland Certeza, who has complained to the Office of the Attorney General that the Guam Historic Preservation Office is refusing to approve applications to allow work to proceed because GTA declined to sponsor the Guam Sports News Network’s 10-year anniversary in 2021. A preservation office staffer owns that network. Certeza says the grudge is holding up critical federally-funded work and that the matter has been dragging on for the past two years.
Nuclear inequity
It has been a hard pill to swallow for Marshall Islands. Just days after United States Congress and officials told RMI leaders there was “no more money” for nuclear test compensation, the US Senate passed legislation expanding nuclear compensation to more Americans in the US mainland and Guam. The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act amendments seek to expand compensation to provide for more people who lived near the Nevada Test Site, uranium miners, and people who worked at nuclear sites. It will also provide compensation to people in Guam, and other US jurisdictions affected by nuclear testing. Marshall Islands Speaker, Kenneth Kedi says while they support compensation for American nuclear victims, to tell the Marshall Islands there is no more money for the people who endured 67 of US’s largest nuclear weapons tests ever is “astounding.”
In a remote cave in Fiji’s Lau archipelago researchers have discovered the largest known cave roost of bats in the Pacific region housing thousands of endangered Pacific Sheathtail Bats (Photo: K Helgen)
Whispers is compiled under the supervision of the editors.
