Different agendas at play, NRL researcher says
Different agendas are at play with Australia’s support of Papua New Guinea’s push to have a team in the National Rugby
The National/Pacnews
PNG producer lobbying to get more out of kava
A Papua New Guinea kava supplier, Ocean Kava Limited is lobbying for Fiji's government to change its kava import
Solomon Islands, Vanuatu discuss shipping registry
Solomon Islands Minister for Infrastructure Development, Manasseh Maelanga, held a productive meeting on Tuesday with his Vanuatu counterpart Minister Marc Ati, in a bid to strengthen bilateral ties in the maritime
‘Financial insecurity the biggest threat to pacific media freedom’ says PIMFI report
Financial constraints are the most formidable challenge to media freedom in the Pacific Islands, according to the Pacific Islands Media Freedom Index (PIMFI) released at the 2024 Pacific Media Summit today. Robert
‘To the backbenchers’: Party tells Minister Prasad
Fiji Labour Party is now calling on Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad to move to the
Where are the women?
How much of the outcomes from Pacific women leaders' meetings were brought to the Forum Leaders table for discussion this
Forum debates French colonialism, China and climate change
As Presidents, Prime Ministers and Premiers assembled in the Kingdom of Tonga for the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting (PIFLM), the region’s Blue Pacific agenda was overshadowed by geopolitical jousting and
USP Council summoned as dissent creeps into student body
Dissent has broken out between the USP Students’ Association and students supporting sacked academic Dr Tamara
Living costs take centre stage in Palau debate
Palau’s Presidential hopefuls debated this month before a live and online audience in Koror in a much more Pacific
Whispers
Dispatches from Tonga The ubiquity of mobile phones is a growing issue at the Pacific Islands Forum. At last month’s leaders’ meeting in Nuku’alofa, every ceremony and event was captured on phones, with selfies
Kava: Protecting our lifeblood
Kava is of immense cultural significance to peoples across the region: yaqona in Fiji, malogu in Vanuatu, 'ava in Samoa, 'awa in Hawai’i and sakau in the Federated States of
The “Palauan Dream”
Palau’s tourism industry may be slowly recovering, but there are concerns that its young people are not participating in the
Building for tomorrow
Local architects are exploring sustainable building methods to create climate-resilient communities.
Women driving change in Fiji’s construction industry
Women in Development and Trade Fiji’s initiatives are driving a significant shift in the traditionally male dominated Fijian construction
Kiribati ‘a one-party state’: Former Opposition Leader Lambourne
Kiribati is becoming a one-party state while the delivery of basic services is near collapse, according to a former opposition
Palau’s ancient builders
A project to understand and map Palau’s ‘green pyramids’, is bringing attention to a largely unknown period of early
PNG districts fail to submit financial acquittals
Community advocacy group ACT NOW reveals just 24 out of 96 Districts have lodged their financial acquittals for 2022 or
Fiji to join high ambition coalition on ending plastic pollution
The Fiji Cabinet has decided the nation will join a ‘High Ambition Coalition’, a group of nations working together to end plastic
Pacific artists collective focuses on cultural recovery
Rako Pasefika, a collective of Pacific Island artists from the island of Rotuma, is emerging as a powerful force of cultural
Briefs
American Samoa American Samoa's Senate has passed a bill that will increase fees paid to jurors for the first time in 44 years. The bill acknowledges the “important role in the criminal legal system” jurors play and
Movers and Shakers
Pacific government, business and community appointments and in memorium from Islands Business' September 2024
Indonesia, New Zealand deny paying Papuan rebels to free pilot
Jakarta and Wellington on Monday denied claims by a Papuan rebel spokesman that Indonesian authorities had paid a guerrilla commander to free a New Zealand pilot from 19 months of captivity. Egianus Kogoya, who
Tonga Supreme Court overturns Reserve Bank order to remove Development Bank’s CEO
The Tonga Supreme Court has ordered that the CEO and executive of the Tongan Development Bank are to remain in place. The court has ordered that the Development Bank not engage in any economic development activities
