Tuna cannery still in the pipeline in Vanuatu
The outgoing Director General (DG) of Vanuatu’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry, Fisheries and Biosecurity (MALFFB), Moses Amos, has confirmed that the management of Sino-Van plans to set up a small
Pacific workers housed at church soon to have accommodation
More than 400 workers from the Pacific evacuated to a Napier church should be able to return to more permanent accommodation in the next few days. Workers from Samoa, Fiji, Tuvalu and Solomon Islands had stayed at The
PNG Government seeks solutions to fuel crisis
Papua New Guinea acting Prime Minister John Rosso has assured Papua New Guineans, residents and businesses that a short term arrangement has been reached between Bank of Papua New Guinea (BPNG) and PUMA to continue
Fijian Drua confirm signing of Eroni Sau
The Fijian Drua have confirmed the signing of cult hero and damaging winger Eroni Sau. He returns to the Drua after playing a key role in their NRC title campaign in 2018. The 33-year-old will join the Drua this week
New PNG media policy will lead to government control of media
The new media development policy being proposed by the Papua New Guinea Communications Minister, Timothy Masiu, could lead to more government control over the country’s relatively free media. The new policy
PNG: Concerns raised at swift review period for media policy
Concerns for media independence and press freedom in Papua New Guinea (PNG) have been raised following the government’s announcement of a swift 12-day period for public review of the country’s draft National
PNG Chamber concerned about foreign exchange saga
Papua New Guinea’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry is concerned about the ongoing foreign currency constraint saga. Chamber president Ian Tarutia said a consistent supply of fuel and associated products were
Fiji joins Cyclone Gabrielle recovery efforts
New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said New Zealand has accepted international help from multiple countries to support its cyclone recovery efforts, announcing that Fiji will be lending a hand in the coming days.
New Zealand Deputy PM to join Pacific leaders’ special retreat
New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs Carmel Sepuloni will travel to Fiji for the Pacific Islands Forum Special Leaders’ retreat this week. It will be her first opportunity in
Australian government publicise problems with Pacific patrol boats
The Australian government decided to publicly release information about problems with Pacific patrol boats despite a warning from defence officials that this could harm important regional relationships. In previously
The silent fight for equality in rugby: Sereima Leweniqila
While we hear a lot of lip service given to equality for women in sport, especially in rugby, what is it really like for women in the game? Fiji’s Sereima Leweniqila is a former Fijiana captain, Fijiana Drua captain
We hope to co-host 3rd India Pacific Cooperation Forum: Jaishankar
India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Thursday said India hopes to co-host the third summit of the Forum for India Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) in the coming months. “We hope to
U.S. Coast Guard moving cutter to Pacific as regional missions expand
Driven by greater demand for its partnerships and presence in the Indo-Pacific region, the U.S. Coast Guard is growing its operational presence in the vast region that’s unsettled by continuing incursions from
Award-winning play takes NZ Fringe on Pacific waka voyage
Award-winning theatre show My Grandfather is a Canoe is about to take NZ Fringe audiences on a voyage around the Pacific. On stage at the Hannah Playhouse on February 24-26, the show won five awards at the Dunedin and
Marine protected areas don’t help tuna, new paper shows
A new study published in Frontiers in Marine Science has found that Kiribati’s Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA), which banned all fishing in 2015, has not had a significant impact on the skipjack and bigeye tuna
‘We must act now’: NZ Minister of Climate Change
New Zealand’s climate change minister has made a furious speech excoriating parliament for lost decades of “bickering” over the climate crisis, as Cyclone Gabrielle devastates the country. “As I stand here
Australia announces 3,000 visas for Pacific workers
A new visa will allow up to 3,000 people from the Pacific region to migrate to Australia as permanent residents each year, under a scheme modelled on a New Zealand immigration programme. The Pacific Engagement Visa has
Solomon Islands report show ‘internal control failures’ of COVID-19 funds
The Solomon Islands Auditor General’s Office (OAG) has identified a range of internal control failures in its recently released Audit reports into the administration of Disaster Relief Funds during the COVID-19
Hiring of new Bangladesh workers now allowed in Palau
The ban on hiring new workers from Bangladesh in Palau has been lifted under Executive Order No. 478. In 2009, EO 274 prohibited persons from Excluded Countries, including Bangladesh, from entering Palau without a visa.
Australia to build Vanuatu’s national security centre
Australia will build a new national security hub for Vanuatu and beef up its economic support for the Pacific island nation’s key sectors. In a joint statement released after a meeting in Canberra, Vanuatu Prime
PNG PM to launch “constitutional review”
The constitutional law review of the forms and system of Papua New Guinea government for the election of the prime minister by the people will be launched by Prime Minister James Marape. The government has directed the
Moana Pasifika aim for playoffs in second season of Super Rugby
A year wiser and no longer rookies, Moana Pasifika are realistically expecting to finish higher up in Super Rugby Pacific 2023. The Pacific team finished bottom of the table in their debut season in 2022 with two wins
Pacific Island leaders expect Biden visit in near future
The leaders of five Pacific island nations said on Tuesday that U.S. President Joe Biden would soon visit their region for a leaders’ summit, in what experts said would be a significant move in U.S. efforts to push
