In this bulletin:
1. PACIFIC — Micronesia calls for Climate finance, Ocean protection and fossil fuel transition
2. F/POLY — French Polynesia Assembly calls for UN Mission to Tahiti
3. PACIFIC — Pacific must not become consumers of AI: Wahuzue
4. PACIFIC — JAWS returns to PINA after nine-year absence
5. PACIFIC — Digital training puts Pacific newsrooms under the spotlight
6. FIJI — 217 breast cancer cases in Fiji sharpen early detection call
7. PACIFIC — Regional scientists research Pacific Ocean
8. PACIFICZ — Leaders call for mentorship, flexible work for women in Pacific media
9. SAMOA — Samoa steps up national HIV preparedness as Fiji declares State of Emergency
10. PACNEWS BIZ — ADB launches new Country Partnership Strategy to support growth in Papua New Guinea
11. PACNEWS BIZ — Greenpeace stands by Tangaroa protest as Pacific seabed mining fight grows in Aotearoa
12. PACNEWS BIZ — More departures than arrivals recorded in August
13. PACNEWS IN FOCUS — When the sea rises, what happens to home?
PAC – DIPLOMACY: PACNEWS PACNEWS 3: Mon 28 Sep 2026
Micronesia calls for Climate finance, Ocean protection and fossil fuel transition
NEW YORK, 28 SEPTEMBER 2026 (PACNEWS)—The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) has called for stronger climate action, predictable adaptation finance and a faster transition to renewable energy, warning that climate change, ocean degradation and resource insecurity are increasingly threatening Pacific stability.
Addressing the 81st United Nations General Assembly, Vice President Aaron Palik said climate-driven pressures were now affecting security, food and water systems, governance and livelihoods across vulnerable Pacific states.
“Today’s security landscape is not only by conflict, but by climate-driven fragility.
“Extreme weather events, sea level rise and resource degradation are eroding stability across vulnerable regions, especially the Pacific,” Palik said.
Palik called for science-based emissions reductions, stronger national climate commitments and accelerated investment in renewable energy.
He also called for accessible and predictable grant financing for climate adaptation and urged countries to operationalise the Loss and Damage Fund.
“We demand accessible and predictable adaptation grant financing to support investments in resilient infrastructure.
“We must operationalise the loss and damage fund,” Palik said.
Palik said the transition away from fossil fuels was also an economic and security issue for small island developing states exposed to volatile fuel prices and external energy markets.
“Instability in the Middle East and volatile fuel prices are the vulnerability of small island developing states to expensive fuel.
“Shift to renewable energy is an economic necessity,” he said.
Micronesia endorsed the proposed ‘Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty’, while calling for a “just and orderly transition” away from fossil fuels.
“Solar, wind and ocean-based technologies can reduce dependence on external fuel markets, strengthen energy security, and lower emissions in line with science,” Palik said.
“The world must accelerate the transition to resilient, affordable and community-centred renewable energy systems.”
Palik said protecting the ocean was central to Micronesia’s identity, economy and future, and called for stronger ocean governance, sustainable fisheries management and conservation of marine biodiversity.
He said Micronesia was among the first countries to sign the BBNJ Agreement and was working with partner states on marine management tools and marine protected area proposals.
The work aims to translate the commitment to conserve 30 percent of the ocean into protection for areas beyond national jurisdiction.
On deep-sea mining, Palik said Micronesia was taking a precautionary approach.
“We stress the need to consolidate comprehensive knowledge, data and science about the marine environment before any decision is taken on proceeding with exploitation,” he said.
He also called for meaningful consultation with stakeholders, including coastal states, Indigenous peoples and Pacific communities, before decisions are made.
Palik also raised concerns about plastic pollution and marine debris, including microplastics and associated toxic substances accumulating across Pacific islands.
He highlighted the situation in Chuuk, where oil leaking from Second World War-era wrecks led to an emergency declaration last year.
“These impacts impose disproportionate cleanup and economic burdens on small island governments, whose waste management infrastructure is inadequate,” he said.
Micronesia called for greater technical assistance, predictable financing, technology transfer and stronger controls across the plastic life cycle.
Palik also urged countries to complete negotiations on a global treaty to end plastic pollution, including pollution of the marine environment.
With less than five years remaining to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, Palik said climate impacts were already eroding development gains in the Pacific.
“Climate impacts are steadily eroding development gains and placing progress across the goals further at risk,” he said.
He highlighted recent typhoons, severe flooding and increasingly frequent king tides affecting Micronesia’s low-lying islands.
“These are no longer isolated events, but recurring pressures that test the resilience of our communities on the frontline of climate crisis,” Palik said.
He also highlighted Micronesia’s efforts on health, gender equality, youth participation and migration, including the adoption of its National Migration Policy with technical support from the International Organisation for Migration.
Palik called for reforms to ensure the United Nations better reflects the needs of small island developing states.
He supported an expanded Security Council that would include Brazil, Germany, India and Japan as permanent members, alongside permanent representation for Africa and a dedicated permanent seat for small island developing states.
“For countries defined by distance, dispersion and vulnerability, reform cannot be an abstract exercise.
“It must strengthen the UN’s ability to deliver where the needs are greatest,” Palik said.
He also called for the continued presence of the UN Multi-Country Office and Resident Coordinator system in the Pacific.
Palik said digital transformation and artificial intelligence could improve public services, diversify economies, expand market access and support climate-resilient development.
But he warned that inadequate investment, capacity and governance could deepen inequality and increase cybersecurity, misinformation and data privacy risks.
“We therefore call upon the international community to strengthen resilient technical and digital infrastructure with ethical and effective guardrails and governance frameworks,” he said.
Palik said the success of the United Nations should ultimately be measured by practical improvements in people’s lives rather than declarations.
“Success must be measured not by declarations, but by tangible improvements in our people’s lives, security and dignity.
“We call for equitable partnership with small island developing states through accessible finance, technology transfer, strong capacity and a meaningful voice in global decisions,” he said……PACNEWS
F/POLY – DIPLOMACY: PACNEWS PACNEWS 3: Mon 28 Sep 2026
French Polynesia Assembly calls for UN Mission to Tahiti
PAPEETE, 28 SEPTEMBER 2026 (PACNEWS)— The Assembly of French Polynesia has called for a United Nations mission to visit Tahiti and assess directly the political situation and aspirations of the Mā‘ohi people.
The resolution, passed on 24 September with 54 of the 57 members voting in favour, calls for a UN mission to obtain a “direct and objective assessment” of the situation in French Polynesia.
The resolution received support across the political divide, including the three major groups in the assembly — Tavini Huira‘atira, the breakaway A Fano Ti‘a, and autonomist parties.
Support for the resolution comes after previous calls for a UN information mission to French Polynesia were rejected by the French State.
French Polynesia was re-listed on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories in 2013, placing its political status and the right to self-determination within the framework of the UN decolonisation process.
For years, however, France has rejected the role of the UN Special Committee on Decolonisation in determining the future political status of Mā‘ohi Nui.
The latest resolution seeks direct UN engagement and an assessment of the views and aspirations of the Mā‘ohi people as part of the wider discussion over French Polynesia’s political future….PACNEWS
PAC – ARTIFICIAL INTELIGENCE/MEDIA: PACNEWS PACNEWS 3: Mon 28 Sep 2026
Pacific must not become consumers of AI: Wahuzue
By Pita Ligaiula
SUVA, 28 SEPTEMBER 2026 (PACNEWS)— Pacific newsrooms risk becoming consumers of artificial intelligence systems shaped outside the region unless they build their own tools, rules and knowledge base, says Pasifika AI creator and Kanaky Tech founder Kevyn Wahuzue.
Wahuzue told PACNEWS that current AI systems often fail to distinguish between Pacific peoples and languages, while limited connectivity, training and newsroom resources could create another form of information inequality.
“To be honest, these models don’t ‘understand’ anything. They reproduce what they were trained on, and very little of that was written by Pacific people, in Pacific languages,” Wahuzue said.
He said one of the most common failures he had identified was the blending of Pacific cultures and languages.
“In my tests, when I asked for an answer in Cook Islands Māori, some models wrote New Zealand Māori instead.
“Related languages, different peoples. A model trained mostly outside the region treats the Pacific as one culture with one voice.”,” he told PACNEWS.
Wahuzue said Pacific institutions, academies and archives should be used to ground AI systems, rather than relying heavily on information from the open web.
He said Pacific communities should also have the power to correct systems and request the removal of information.
“Ground the answers in sources from the region: our institutions, academies, archives, not the open web.
“Keep each people distinct and named. And let the people who hold the knowledge correct the system, with the power to have something taken down,” he said.
Wahuzue pointed to Te Hiku Media in Aotearoa New Zealand as an example of Indigenous-led technology development, saying it had developed its own te reo Māori speech technology while retaining control of its data.
Wahuzue said AI could create another information divide in the Pacific, but argued that the cost of AI tools was not necessarily the main barrier.
“The tools are getting cheap. Pasifika AI runs on a daily budget of a few dollars,” he said.
He identified connectivity, training, limited newsroom time and, particularly, language as bigger challenges.
“In my tests, most models could not write Samoan, Tongan or Tahitian correctly, and the weaker ones don’t tell you.
“A newsroom publishing in English gets a strong assistant. A newsroom publishing in a Pacific language gets a weak one, or a dangerous one,” he said.
Wahuzue said Pacific news organisations should work collectively to develop AI skills, rules and tools.
“If Pacific newsrooms only consume AI, the decisions about what these systems know about us get made somewhere else.
“The region should pool it: shared training, shared rules, shared tools across newsrooms, the same way PACNEWS pools the news,” he said.
With AI making it easier to create convincing fake images, audio and video, Wahuzue said Pacific journalists needed stronger verification practices.
He identified three basic habits: verify the source, explain the verification process and never publish AI-generated depictions of real people or events as if they were authentic.
“First, verify the source, not just the file. Who sent it, where it came from, can you reach the person who recorded it,” he said.
“Detection tools help, but they lose the race: the fakes get better every month,” he told PACNEWS.
He said journalists should also tell audiences how they established whether material was genuine.
“Tell your audience ‘we reached the person who filmed this’ or ‘we could not confirm this.’ People trust a method they can see,” he said.
Wahuzue also warned against using AI-generated images of real people or events, even when presented as illustrations.
“Never use AI to create an image of a real person or a real event and publish it as if it were real, not even as an illustration.
“Once a generated face sits next to a real name, it travels without the caption,” he said.
He said Pacific journalists could also draw on the region’s close-knit communities when checking suspicious material.
“Pacific audiences have one advantage: small, connected communities. Someone always knows the person in the video.
“Use that network before you publish, not after,” Wahuzue said.
Wahuzue said responsibility for an AI-assisted story ultimately remained with the newsroom.
“The newsroom. Always,” he said when asked who should be accountable when AI-assisted reporting contains false or misleading information.
“The journalist is responsible for what they file, the editor for what they approve, the organisation for what it publishes. That chain doesn’t change because a machine was involved,” Wahuzue said.
He said blaming AI for an inaccurate story should not be accepted by news organisations.
“‘The AI got it wrong’ is the new ‘the intern did it.’ Readers won’t accept it, and they shouldn’t,” he said.
Wahuzue said technology providers should be accountable for claims they make about their products, but that responsibility for published journalism remained with the media organisation.
“The byline and the masthead carry the story. You can outsource a task. You can’t outsource the responsibility,” he said.
He said the same principle applied to Pasifika AI.
“For my own tool, that means my contact is on every guide and corrections come to me.
“If Pasifika AI gets something wrong, it’s my name on it, not the model’s,” Wahuzue said…..PACNEWS
PAC – PACIFIC MEDIA SUMMIT: PACNEWS PACNEWS 3: Mon 28 Sep 2026
JAWS returns to PINA after nine-year absence
SUVA, 28 SEPTEMBER 2026 (PACNEWS)—The Journalists Association of Samoa (JAWS) has returned to the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA), while rejecting claims that the regional media body was removed or “kicked out” of Samoa.
JAWS president Lagi Keresoma said the association’s return to the PINA round-table during the Pacific Media Summit in Savusavu marked a renewed commitment to regional cooperation and professional journalism.
Keresoma reiterated comments made in a JAWS presentation earlier last week that PINA had been “removed and kicked out” of Samoa, saying the history of the organisation needed to be clarified.
“PINA was established and is registered in Samoa,” Keresoma said.
She said PINA conferences were initially held annually, with Fiji hosting the second meeting, after which leaders established the association’s offices in Fiji.
“They were never kicked out,” she said.
Keresoma said Samoa later hosted PINA in 2003, when JAWS attempted to have the organisation’s headquarters returned to Samoa but did not receive sufficient support from member countries.
JAWS eventually withdrew from PINA in 2015, with Ms Keresoma saying the decision was based on concerns raised by its leaders at the time about transparency and accountability.
She said JAWS subsequently worked with other Pacific media organisations before changes within the regional media landscape led to its return to PINA.
Keresoma said PINA remained an important regional institution, providing a platform for Pacific media organisations to share experiences, address common challenges and discuss the future of journalism.
“Our return is not only to speak about our own experiences, but to listen to the experiences of our Pacific neighbours,” she said.
“Our region must have the capacity to tell its own stories, explain its own circumstances and preserve its own history,” she said.
She said JAWS had returned with a renewed sense of responsibility and was ready to participate, contribute and listen.
Keresoma also expressed hope that Samoa could eventually host the PINA family again.
She thanked PACMAS for its financial support, which she said had helped make JAWS’ return to PINA possible…..PACNEWS
PAC – PACIFIC MEDIA SUMMIT: TALANOAOTONGA PACNEWS 3: Mon 28 Sep 2026
Digital training puts Pacific newsrooms under the spotlight
SAVUSAVU, 28 SEPTEMBER 2026 (TALANOAOTONGA)—A two-day digital skills workshop in Savusavu, Fiji has brought together media practitioners from Tonga and five other Pacific countries to explore how newsrooms can better connect with audiences in a rapidly changing digital environment.
The workshop, held 21-22 September at the Koro Sun Resort, was supported by the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS) and ABC, bringing together participants from Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Palau ahead of the 2026 Pacific Media Summit. Solomone Finau (Tonga Broadcasting Commission) and Siosifa Pomana (Talanoa O Tonga) represented Tonga.
The sessions focused on developing different types of digital content, strengthening digital strategy and making newsrooms more responsive to how audiences consume news online.
PACMAS Digital Training Lead James Maasdorp, ABC International Development Digital Transformation Advisor Grant Sherlock and ABC News Digital journalist and producer Daniela Pizzirani led the training.
Maasdorp said the workshop was designed to help previous PACMAS trainees take the next step in developing their content and digital strategies.
The first day examined challenges facing newsrooms and ways to make social media and website content more mobile-first, reflecting the growing importance of audiences accessing news through smartphones. The second day focused on helping newsrooms better understand what their audiences want.
For Tongan newsrooms, the focus is particularly relevant as audiences increasingly encounter news through social media, search and mobile devices rather than traditional news formats.
The workshop also reflects a wider regional shift towards digital innovation. The 8th Pacific Media Summit, being held in Savusavu from 23–25 September, is examining issues including artificial intelligence, digital innovation, media sustainability, press freedom and the challenges facing Pacific newsrooms.
The training comes as Pacific news organisations face pressure from misinformation, disinformation, new technologies and declining traditional advertising revenues.
The summit’s theme “Reaching the Remote: Media and Digital Innovation for a Connected Blue Pacific” puts the focus on ensuring digital developments can help newsrooms serve communities beyond the region’s main centres.
For Tonga, the challenge is not simply adopting new digital tools. It is using them to produce journalism that remains relevant, accessible and trusted while reaching audiences wherever they consume their news….PACNEWS
FIJI – HEALTH: FIJI SUN PACNEWS 3: Mon 28 Sep 2026
217 breast cancer cases in Fiji sharpen early detection call
SUVA, 28 SEPTEMBER 2026 (FIJI SUN)—The Fiji Cancer Society (FCS) registered 217 breast cancer cases from January to the lead-up to its annual five-kilometre walk on Saturday, reinforcing its message that early detection matters.
Speaking on behalf of the society, Inoke Bainimarama said FCS had registered more than 1314 cancer patients across Fiji over the past three years.
Of those, 341 were breast cancer cases.
Bainimarama said the figures were more than statistics, with every diagnosis affecting a person and their family.
“These are not just simply statistics. Behind every number is a person. Behind every diagnosis is also a family whose life changes and that is why the walk matters,” he said.
He acknowledged cancer survivors who took part in the walk, those currently undergoing treatment, families and caregivers, as well as doctors, nurses and other clinicians involved in cancer care.
“To our survivors, we celebrate you and the strength that you represent and to those who are currently undergoing treatment, we stand beside you.”
Bainimarama said families who had lost loved ones to cancer were also remembered during the walk.
He said the responsibility to raise awareness should continue beyond the five-kilometre event.
“The message we want everyone to take home is that early detection matters.”
Bainimarama urged people to know their bodies, recognise changes and seek appropriate medical advice early….PACNEWS
PAC – OCEAN EXPEDITION: ISLANDS BUSINESS PACNEWS 3: Mon 28 Sep 2026
Regional scientists research Pacific Ocean
SYDNEY, 28 SEPTEMBER 2026 (ISLANDS BUSINESS) —Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, will lead a major Pacific Ocean research voyage to better understand how the ocean is changing and what this means for the region.
Onboard Australia’s 94-metre ocean research vessel (RV) Investigator, Australian scientists and Pacific researchers will collect important ocean and atmosphere data as the vessel travels from Fiji to Antarctica.
The voyage from September to December will support Pacific efforts to respond to climate change, as Fiji prepares to host the pre-COP meeting from 05-8 October.
“Our ocean and climate science will fill critical knowledge gaps by capturing ocean data for the region to better understand the influence of climate change. Dr Bea Pena-Molino, CSIRO’s voyage chief scientist
Four early career Pacific researchers, including two from Fiji, will join the voyage through partnerships with the Pacific Community (SPC) and the Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean (POGO).
“Using the latest technology, we will be able to compare data to understand how the ocean is both driving and responding to climate change,’’ she said.
“This includes how the ocean is absorbing extra heat and carbon in the atmosphere, and how it is impacting marine ecosystems.
“Long-term data will provide insights into how our marine environment is changing, so we can better protect the creatures that call the ocean home, from tiny viruses, bacteria and plankton to fish.’’
The ship will dock in Fiji and New Zealand and travel through the waters of Fiji, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Howland and Baker Islands, Tokelau, American Samoa, Niue and New Zealand, before continuing through the Southern Ocean to the Antarctic ice edge.
The Investigator is Australia’s dedicated ocean research vessel and is operated by Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation). It carries equipment to enable a diverse range of science including atmospheric, biological, geophysical and oceanographic research.
Investigator has been designed to accommodate 60 scientists and crew, spend up to 60 days at sea and travel up to 10,000 nautical miles on a single voyage to deliver research from the equator to the ice edge….PACNEWS
PAC – MEDIA: FIJI SUN PACNEWS 3: Mon 28 Sep 2026
Leaders call for mentorship, flexible work for women in Pacific media
SAVUSAVU/SUVA, 28 SEPTEMBER 2026 (FIJI SUN)—-Pacific women media leaders are calling for greater investment in young journalists and stronger support systems to help women remain and progress in the industry.
Tonga Media Association president Katalina Tohi said mentorship and opportunities were critical to developing the next generation of Pacific journalists.
“There is still more to be done and our work is not done,” Tohi said. She said women held senior positions in Tonga’s media, with men also supporting their advancement.
ABC International content director Inga Stunzner said media organisations must address workplace barriers faced by women, particularly after they had children.
Stunzner said paid maternity leave, flexible working arrangements and working from home could help retain women in the industry.
She also said diversity should reflect the communities Pacific media served, noting that about 75 per cent of Radio Australia’s workforce was now of Pacific heritage.
“Let us build a Pacific media that reflects all of us,” Tohi said…..PACNEWS
SAMOA – HEALTH: TALAMUA MEDIA PACNEWS 3: Mon 28 Sep 2026
Samoa steps up national HIV preparedness as Fiji declares State of Emergency
APIA, 28 SEPTEMBER 2026 (SAMOA OBSERVER)—Samoa’s Ministry of Health is strengthening national HIV preparedness and response following the recent declaration by the Government of Fiji of a national emergency in response to the growing HIV situation in Fiji.
The responses include enhanced surveillance, laboratory capacity readiness, prevention, treatment and care pathways, community engagement, risk communication and coordination with relevant partners.
MOH is one of the key Ministries in a Task Force assigned by Cabinet to look into protective measures as Samoa has a direct link through 14 incoming flights a week originating from Fiji.
The Ministry says this preparedness work is a precautionary and proactive public health measure.
“It does not mean that Samoa is experiencing the same situation as Fiji. The Ministry will continue to closely monitor the situation, assess risks and prepare timely updates to the public as our preparedness work progress,” said a Ministry of Health statement.
Reports from Fiji say the HIV epidemic is spreading rapidly through sharing infected blood through needles injections in what is called Bluetooth and latest stats show one in 60 adults are HIV infected.
The Ministry reminds the public that HIV is preventable. The Ministry again encourages everyone to take practical steps to protect themselves and others, including:
*Never share needles, syringes or other injecting equipment. Sharing needles or syringes can transmit.
HIV and other blood-borne infections. Always use sterile, unused injecting equipment and seek appropriate health advice and support.
*Practise safer sex and using condoms consistently and correctly.
*Get tested for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections when appropriate.
*Seek health advice about HIV prevention options and services.
* Do not share items that may be contaminated with blood.
The Ministry also reminds the public that HIV is a health condition, not a reason for fear, blame or discrimination. People living with HIV have the same rights to dignity, privacy, confidentiality and access to healthcare as everyone else.
HIV is not transmitted through ordinary social contact, such as hugging, shaking hands, sharing food or living and working together. Effective treatment enables people living with HIV to live healthy lives and when the virus is durably suppressed, prevents transmission….PACNEWS
PNG – PARTNERSHIP STRATEGY: ADB PACNEWS BIZ: Mon 28 Sep 2026
ADB launches new Country Partnership Strategy to support growth in Papua New Guinea
MANILA, 28 SEPTEMBER 2026(ADB)— The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has launched a new 5-year country partnership strategy (CPS) for Papua New Guinea (PNG) to support stronger public finances, wider transport and energy connections, and better access to health, education, and other essential services.
The 2026–2030 strategy supports PNG’s development goal of building a more diversified economy that creates opportunities and improves the lives of all Papua New Guineans.
“PNG has improved economic stability, but further work is needed to translate its abundant natural resource wealth into sustained economic growth and lasting prosperity,” said ADB Country Director for PNG Takafumi Kadono.
“Over the next 5 years, ADB will invest with the government and our development partners in building a more diversified, inclusive, resilient, and productive economy that delivers higher living standards and greater opportunities.”
Investments and policy support will strengthen public financial management, improve oversight of the resource sector, and make it easier for businesses to invest, operate, and grow. These actions aim to help increase government revenue and direct public resources toward development priorities, including the delivery of essential public services.
ADB investments in transport, energy, and agriculture logistics will help connect more people and businesses to markets and public services and create jobs and economic opportunities for underserved groups.
Support for secondary education, skills development, health systems, access to water and sanitation, and social inclusion will increase productivity, equip people with job-ready skills, and diversify the economy.
Across its work in PNG, ADB will build on efforts to prevent and respond to violence against women and sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment, expand digitalization to improve access to services, deepen regional and global cooperation and trade, actively engage the private sector, enhance resilience to natural hazards and disasters, and boost nature conservation.
ADB’s support for private sector development will focus on infrastructure investment, improving private sector competitiveness and access to finance, and positioning PNG in responsible resource, agribusiness, and resilient value chains.
ADB will use programmes like the ADB Wayfinder (Pacific) Programme and ADB Frontier Seed (Pacific) to help prepare and finance projects…..PACNEWS
PAC – DEEP SEA MINING: PMN PACNEWS BIZ: Mon 28 Sep 2026
Greenpeace stands by Tangaroa protest as Pacific seabed mining fight grows in Aotearoa
WELLLINGTON, 28 SEPTEMBER 2026 (PMN)—Greenpeace says it has no regrets about boarding a New Zealand government-owned research ship as the group steps up its opposition to deep sea mining in the Pacific.
Five activists were removed from the RV Tangaroa by police in Wellington Harbour on Saturday after boarding the vessel, which had just returned from a 65-day survey of seabed minerals in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the Pacific.
Police are considering whether to lay charges.
Speaking on Pacific Mornings, Greenpeace campaigner Juressa Lee said the protest was aimed at stopping deep sea mining and challenging Aotearoa’s involvement in mineral exploration linked to an American company.
“I guess, ultimately, we are trying to oppose deep sea mining.”
Lee said Greenpeace was particularly concerned about the United States pushing ahead with deep sea mining outside the International Seabed Authority process.
“And we’re just going to go ahead and do it despite what all these other nations think.”
Greenpeace says the Tangaroa’s survey work was carried out for UK Seabed Resources, a subsidiary of U.S company Glomar Minerals, which has said it intends to begin commercial exploitation of the seafloor as early as 2027.
Lee said the issue was bigger than one protest or one research vessel. “We’re watching that mineral grab already trying to happen. We’re seeing this geopolitical tug of war happening between non-Pacific superpower countries, basically.”
She said Greenpeace had raised its concerns directly with Earth Sciences New Zealand, the state-owned organisation that operates the Tangaroa but had not received a response.
“We have written to Earth Sciences, which is formerly NIWA. A few weeks back, we’ve had no response to either of those letters.”
But Resources Minister Shane Jones has defended the vessel’s use for mineral research.
He told RNZ the Tangaroa is run by an independent board and can be used for both domestic and international work.
“Tangaroa is run by an independent board and a government-owned agency obviously driven to generate revenue as a part of its scientific mandate.
“From time-to-time, I’ve no doubt the Tangaroa is used for both domestic and international purposes: no one should be surprised by that.”
Jones said the scientists working on the vessel should not be caught up in the protest.
“I think Greenpeace are trying to scare and catastrophise and intimidate Kiwis. Kiwis are about to vote and they’re going to vote for resource development within guardrails.”
Earth Sciences New Zealand has also defended its role, saying it provides independent scientific research to national and international organisations and has expertise in deep ocean environments, marine ecology and marine geology.
It said its surveys collect data to better understand deep sea environments and potential impacts, which allows regulators and other stakeholders to make decisions based on scientific evidence.
Greenpeace says the survey data could help support future deep sea mining while the US government has also launched Project Vault to build supplies of critical minerals for military and industrial purposes.
Those links are part of Greenpeace’s argument that New Zealand should not be involved.
Lee said the five activists understood there could be legal consequences for boarding the ship.
“They feel so passionately about it that they want to make a stand either way. Many of our activists will put their bodies on the line because they feel so strongly about this.”
For Greenpeace, she said, protecting the ocean is ultimately about protecting the communities and generations that depend on it.
“They all do and they also understand that there’s a need to protect it, not just so that they can continue to enjoy it, so that many people after us can continue to enjoy it and live from it because it sustains life on Earth.”
Lee also rejected the argument that deep sea mining is needed to secure minerals for future technology and a low-carbon economy.
“There is evidence that we don’t need to mine the Moana in order to access minerals and metals for our future.
“But what we can’t do, if we want that kind of future for us, is divert any minerals and metals to purposes such as making weapons of war.”
New Zealand has supported a conditional moratorium on deep sea mining in international waters since 2022.
The Tangaroa protest has now put a sharper focus on the role of Aotearoa’s publicly owned research vessels in deep sea mineral exploration and what that could mean for the Pacific as the push to mine the ocean floor continues….PACNEWS
TONGA – VISITOR ARRIVALS: TALANOAOTONGA PACNEWS BIZ: Mon 28 Sep 2026
More departures than arrivals recorded in August
NUKU’ALOFA, 28 SEPTEMBER 2206 (TALANOAOTONGA)—More people left Tonga than entered the country in August, while air visitor arrivals rose sharply compared with the same month last year.
Figures from the Tonga Statistics Department show 11,191 international departures and 10,817 arrivals during August 2026 — a difference of 374 movements.
The department’s monthly migration statistics track overseas arrivals and departures by air, cruise ship and yacht, using information from Customs and Immigration’s border-management systems.
The number of air visitors reached 7,369, up 19.1 percent from August 2025.
However, returning residents travelling by air fell to 3,162, down 4.5 percent from a year earlier.
Overall arrivals were therefore 9.9 percent higher than August 2025, despite being 14.7 percent lower than July.
Air departures also increased compared with August 2025. Departures by non-residents rose 20 percent to 8,212, while departures by Tongan residents fell 6.6 percent to 2,888.
The Statistics Department describes migration data as an important source for planning and decision-making, including population estimates and projections.
Holiday and vacation travel accounted for 5,288, or 71.8 percent, of all air visitors during August.
Visiting relatives and friends was the second-largest category at 1,141 visitors, or 15.5 percent, followed by training and conferences at 485, or 6.6 percent.
New Zealand was the largest single source of air visitors, with 2,222 people, representing 30.2 percent of the total.
Australia accounted for 1,365 visitors, the United States 1,273 and Fiji 278.
The August figures show both sides of Tonga’s international movement: visitor arrivals are recovering compared with a year earlier, while the number of people travelling out of the country remains higher than the number entering.
The gap was not unique to August. The Statistics Department’s historical data show that Tonga recorded more departures than arrivals in several years before the COVID-19 border disruption, including 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
The August figures measure movements across Tonga’s borders, not the number of unique people permanently migrating. They therefore should not, by themselves, be interpreted as a measure of permanent population loss.
Future monthly migration figures will show whether the August gap between departures and arrivals continues, while the upcoming 2026 Population and Housing Census is expected to provide a broader picture of Tonga’s population and demographic changes.
The census will be held at the end of November….PACNEWS
PACNEWS In Focus
The views expressed in PACNEWS are those of agencies contributing articles and do not necessarily those of PINA and/or PACNEWS
When the sea rises, what happens to home?
NEW YORK, 28 SEPTEMBER 2026 (UN NEWS CENTRE) —For Fiji’s Ambassador to the United Nations, rising seas threaten more than coastlines. They threaten the bonds between people, place and identity — and his country’s experience offers lessons in protecting them.
Filipo Tarakinikini knows what it means for a community to leave home.
Long before he became Fiji’s Ambassador to the United Nations, he grew up hearing stories about the floods that forced his own community to move.
In the 1950s, Delailasakau and Naseuvou — the two villages that make up his community in Fiji’s Waidina River valley — were relocated. But the memories of what was left behind endured.
“I grew up with the stories of what it cost our elders to leave the land where their ancestors lay,” he recalls.
Today, communities along Fiji’s coast face a similar choice as seas rise. Seawalls are failing. Saltwater is reaching gardens. Graves are being exposed by the tide.
And the question is no longer simply where people can move. It is what they risk losing when they do.
River flows through lush valley in Fiji.
More than a place
Speaking in a virtual interview with the UN Department of Global Communications on 18 August 2026,Tarakinikini describes a connection to land that cannot simply be rebuilt somewhere else.
For Indigenous Fijians, or iTaukei, identity is bound to the vanua — the land, the people and their ancestors together.
“When I go home to Fiji, I return to a place that reminds me who I am and why I left to work abroad.”
What happens, then, when people can no longer live there?
“The question many Pacific people now carry is what becomes of our tradition and culture if that place is gone.”
It is a question with growing relevance far beyond the Pacific.
Around 770 million people worldwide live less than five metres above the high tide line. Rising seas are already bringing saltwater into freshwater and farmland, damaging schools and hospitals and disrupting fisheries and tourism. The effects reach into health, livelihoods and cultural heritage.
The science points to an accelerating problem. As the planet warms, seawater expands and melting glaciers and ice sheets add more water to the ocean. Between 2014 and 2023, the global sea level rose by an average of 4.7 millimetres a year. In 2024, the rise reached 5.9 millimetres.
Some further sea level rise is already unavoidable, but cutting emissions can limit how much more occurs.
What does the threat mean for people?
For Tarakinikini, that is the essential question.
Before entering diplomacy, he spent 22 years in Fiji’s military and another 22 in UN security service, working in places including Darfur, Yemen, Libya and Pakistan.
“That earlier work taught me to judge threats by what they do to ordinary people, not by how they look on paper.”
The same principle guides his thinking about communities threatened by rising seas.
Relocation, he says, should be a last resort, after other ways of adapting have been exhausted. And when moving becomes unavoidable, communities need to be at the centre of the decision — with information, time and the right to say no.
“Moving a village is not a construction project. It is about protecting lives while preserving culture, identity, livelihoods and a community’s bond with the vanua.”
Fiji has been trying to put those principles into practice. The country adopted Planned Relocation Guidelines in 2018, established a Climate Relocation of Communities Trust Fund and approved Standard Operating Procedures in 2023.
Tarakinikini says work on a cultural checklist and a framework for free, prior and informed consent aims to give culture and community voices a stronger place in relocation decisions.
But Fiji has also learned from what did not work. Some early relocations, carried out before the guidelines existed, are still being put right.
“We learned that moving houses is the easy part. Maintaining livelihoods, land rights, water, schools and the bond between people and place is the hard part.”
Can a country survive if its land cannot?
For some low-lying island nations, rising seas pose an even more fundamental question: what happens to a country if its territory becomes uninhabitable — or disappears beneath the sea?
The answer matters for nationality, self-determination and preventing statelessness.
The International Law Commission and the International Court of Justice have identified strong support among States for the continuation of statehood in the face of rising seas.
There is another issue beneath the waves: maritime rights.
Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, maritime zones are measured from baselines generally drawn along the coast at the low-water line. If those lines were required to move as coastlines retreat, countries’ rights over fisheries and other marine resources could be affected.
Both UN bodies have clarified that the Convention does not require States to update baselines or the outer limits of maritime zones once established in conformity with it.
For Tarakinikini, these legal debates ultimately come back to people.
“We are not asking for new rules for ourselves. We are asking that the law continue to protect us as the sea rises.”
From sympathy to action
And yet, laws alone will not protect communities on the front line.
Tarakinikini calls for practical support: grants that arrive when they are needed, simpler funding applications that small administrations can manage, and investment in early warning systems and local expertise.
The Pacific region is also developing its own response to that financing gap. The Pacific Resilience Facility is the first climate and disaster resilience financing institution led, owned and managed by Pacific countries themselves. Hosted in Tonga, it is designed to get grants directly to communities for locally chosen projects — including climate adaptation, disaster preparedness and responses to loss and damage.
Fifteen Pacific Islands Forum Leaders signed the treaty establishing the Facility in September 2025, and it entered into force in May 2026. The region is now working towards an initial capitalization of US$500 million by the end of 2026, with a longer-term goal of US$1.5 billion.
For communities faced with saltwater intrusion, failing seawalls and, in some cases, relocation, the challenge is often not a lack of plans but finance that arrives too late or through processes that are difficult for small administrations to navigate. The Facility is the region’s attempt to close that gap.
“And we need debt relief that recognises you cannot adapt while still repaying the costs of the last disaster.”
These questions will be in the global spotlight at the General Assembly’s high-level meeting on sea level rise on 24 September .
What does the Ambassador want the meeting to deliver?
“Clear political commitment in place of sympathy.”
That means commitments on maritime zones, continued statehood and the protection of affected people — backed by finance, data and adaptation.
For the communities he represents, the stakes are intensely personal. The decisions being made today will help determine not only whether people can remain safe, but whether they can hold on to the relationships, livelihoods and traditions that turn a place into home.
“The sea does not negotiate, but we can.”
And his final message is not only for people living on small islands.
“To the public, I would say: do not treat this as a distant island story. It is the story of every coastline, and it is arriving everywhere at different speeds.” ..PACNEWS
