PNG eyes Coates for NRL bid
State of Origin star Xavier Coates has been earmarked as the face of the franchise if Papua New Guinea’s bid for an NRL club is approved. Papua New Guinea is in a battle to become one of the newest teams, with Perth
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New Caledonia and Vanuatu withdraw from FestPAC amid deadly unrest
A festival planner announced Monday that a Pacific country and an island territory of France have withdrawn their participation in the 13th Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture. The announcement comes as Hawaii is
Opinion: PNG’s gold bill implications for the central bank
PNG’s proposed National Gold Corporation Bill 2023 has attracted lots of debate, objections, and protests. Just last week, the government agreed to amend the immensely long bill (currently over 500 pages!) and consult
Opinion: Why is New Caledonia on fire? According to local women, the deadly riots are about more than voting rights
New Caledonia’s capital city, Noumea, has endured widespread violent rioting over the past 48 hours. This crisis intensified rapidly, taking local authorities by surprise. Peaceful protests had been occurring across
Cook Islands Bill to safeguard Manatua Cable passed with fines up to $250,000
A monetary fine will be imposed on anyone who breaches the Manatua Cable Protection Bill 2024 in Cook Islands. The bill, passed by Cook Islands Parliament last Thursday, safeguards the Manatua One Polynesian Cable from
Starlink is now live across Fiji
The SpaceX satcoms service Starlink is now live across the more than 300 islands in Fiji, marking, the company says, the 99th country, territory or market around the world where Starlink’s high-speed internet service
Indonesian President Widodo keen to step up cooperation with Fiji
Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) pushed for the intensification of mutually beneficial cooperation between Indonesia and Fiji during a bilateral meeting with the President of Fiji, Williame Maivalili
Human rights vetting urged for Fiji defence treaty
A defence treaty between Australia and Fiji should include vetting processes for human rights violations, a parliamentary committee has been told. The agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Defence and the Status of
Pacific visa-free travel backed
Visa-free travel for business has been part of most bilateral talks Samoa’s prime minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa has had with Australia and New Zealand. This is a concept that has received backing from the Pacific
Samoa rugby 7s team on the edge of disaster
The first-ever World Rugby 7s grand final will be played in Madrid in two weeks’ time, with eight teams in contention including Fiji. However, Samoa will be absent from the elite group, having finished second
NRL and Australian federal government dosing in on $600m deal to launch PNG rugby league team
The Australian federal government and the NRL are closing in on a deal worth up to $600 million (US$400 million) to secure a new NRL side based in Papua New Guinea. NRL chairman Peter V’landys met with Minister
BSP budgeting K345m in capital expenditure
BSP Financial Group Limited is budgeting K345 million (US$90 million) in capital expenditure over two years starting this year, says Group Chief Executive Officer, Mark Robinson. Speaking during the bank’s 2024 annual
The Fijian Drua desperate to make the top 8
It was another good day out for the Fijian Drua at home this weekend with a win keeping them in contention for the top 8. Straight from the kick-off, the Drua made their intentions clear to the visiting Queensland Reds.
French authorities must uphold rights of the Indigenous Kanak people amid unrest
Responding to ongoing unrest in the non-self-governing French territory of Kanaky New Caledonia after the French Parliament adopted a bill changing the territory’s voting rules, Amnesty International’s Pacific
ADF ‘ready to fly’ as death toll rises in New Caledonia, NZDF Hercules awaits French approval
As Australians stranded in New Caledonia amid unrest beg for help to come home, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong says the defence force is “ready to fly” once commercial flights to the territory resume. Six
Liquidators say a ‘clearly’ broke Air Vanuatu owes at least $99m
Air Vanuatu administrators say the airline was “clearly not in a position to meet its financial commitments” well before it collapsed earlier this month, and is more than $99 million (US$66 million) short of being
Embattled Kiribati judge departs the country
A Kiribati judge, who has been battling a government determined to have him removed from his post, has now left the country. David Lambourne, for nearly four years, has faced a relentless push by the Kiribati
65 more dengue cases in Samoa
Samoa’s Ministry of Health (MOH) has raised alarm bells with the announcement of 65 cases of dengue-like illness in its recent surveillance report for the period spanning from 29 April to 5 May. Despite the
Property owner to appeal emergency order after 40 fruit pickers from Vanuatu found living in one Tasmanian house
About 40 fruit pickers from Vanuatu were found living in a “cramped, hot and crowded” dwelling in north-west Tasmania where the fire safety risk was “obvious”. The kitchen had only one working burner, and some
Vanuatu PM discloses $2 billion fund diversion, Airline crisis unveiled
Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai has revealed that the Vanuatu Government’s VT2 billion (US$8.3 million) budget allocated for a new plane was instead used to pay for the lease of the ATR72 aircraft.
Opinion: 2024 Australian aid spending and effectiveness update
Australian Foreign aid was increased by 4% over what had been projected last year to bring the 2024-25 aid budget to $4.961 billion, virtually unchanged from the (inflation-adjusted) 2023-24 level of $4.900 billion. The
Third boat arrival detected in a week, but no one taken to Nauru
Two boatloads of asylum seekers intercepted off the Australian coast are being kept at sea rather than being sent immediately for offshore processing in Nauru, prompting questions about whether the government is trying
Air Vanuatu: Ernst & Young appointed voluntary liquidators, Fiji Airways boosts capacity to Vanuatu
Ernst & Young Australia have been appointed as Voluntary Liquidators of Air Vanuatu (Operations) Limited. This follows the airline’s cancellation of around 20 flights to and from New Zealand, Australia and
