LOIMATA film wins Grand Prix at FIFO

Documentary LOIMATA, The Sweetest Tears, has just won the Grand Prix du Jury at Tahiti’s prestige FIFO, (Festival International du Film Documentaire Océanien). Produced and written by AUT Senior Lecturer

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Leading skills innovation in the region

The Australia Pacific Training Coalition is an Australian Government-funded initiative in partnership with the Pacific. As Australia’s flagship technical and vocational education and training (TVET) investment in the

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Islands Business April 2021 edition

Islands Business April Issue

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From our archives: Bartering for Betterment

Barter for Better Fiji celebrates its one year anniversary today. The group has 193,300 members and is still hosting trades. In December 2020 we profiled Marlene Dutta as part of our 2020 People of the Year series.

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Tuvalu ponders relevance of Queen as Head of State

The status of the Queen as Head of State in Tuvalu will again come under scrutiny as the first public consultation for Tuvalu’s Constitutional Review gets underway.  “The Constitutional Review process

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“We are certain there are more cases out there”: Dr Fong

Fiji has a new case of COVID-19, and Fiji’s Permanent Secretary for Health says “we are certain there are more cases out there.” The new case is the daughter of the Nadi hotel worker working at a quarantine hotel,

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From our archives: Fiame’s new chapter

As the official vote count continues in Samoa, we revisit our cover story from November 2020.   “It’s very liberating. I haven’t felt this excited about politics for a long time,” says Samoa’s former

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Olympics countdown: 101 days and different ways

It’s  now 101 days to the long-awaited Tokyo Olympics. The uncertainties and delay in staging of the 2020 Games, and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on training, qualification processes and mobility, means

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Opinion: Environmental protection and government’s failures

Last month the Suva Magistrates Court found the developers of a resort site on Fiji’s Malolo Islands guilty of undertaking development without an approved Environmental Impact Assessment Report. That development

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Fiji Business Briefs: Fiji Kava, Thunderstruck, FijCare and more

Thunderstruck mining company is discussing a joint venture arrangement with a shortlist of companies for its Rama copper and gold prospect. A company statement also says significant work is underway to prepare for a

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Opinion: Australia should advocate for developing countries at the G7

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has invited Australia, along with India and South Korea, to attend this year’s prestigious Group of Seven Leaders’ Summit in June. This is a rare opportunity for Australia to

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Opinion: Chinese overfishing in the South Pacific devastates some Islands’ livelihoods

Chinese fishing boats’ illegal overfishing in the South Pacific has been devastating some island economies. According to two former U.S. officials, “illegal, unregulated fishing by Chinese vessels has become common

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PNG’s largest bank to list on the Australian Stock Exchange

Shareholders have approved Papua New Guinea’s largest bank, Bank South Pacific, listing on the Australian Securities Exchange in a bid to access more capital and improve its presence in international capital markets,

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Palau welcomes tourists, Cook Is still waiting

Quarantine free trouble has begun between Palau and Taiwan with the arrival of Palau’s first inbound tourism flight since March last year. Palau’s President, Surangel Whipps, Jr. returned to Palau from Taiwan on

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Worldwide whitewash?

Worldwide anti-corruption rankings – or first world whitewash? Long-standing questions about the fairness of corruption ratings and rankings from Transparency International surveys now have answers. From the Pacific,

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ANZ extends fee waiver for money transfers to Pacific

ANZ will extend its fee waiver until September 2021 for online foreign currency payments made from Australia and New Zealand into 10 Pacific countries.* Latest figures show the value and volume of transfers made by ANZ

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Fiji Business Briefs: Company registration, EFL, Communications Fiji

The deadline for digital registration of existing companies, foreign companies and business name holders has been extended to 31 July 2021. The Fiji government says the additional extension has been granted on the

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The importance of watercare for sustainable healthcare

A Papua New Guinea case studySustainability is rarely an easy road to travel and Hydroflux Epco’s latest sewage treatment project, in Papua New Guinea (PNG), is a textbook case of determination and persistence to

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SPBD Releases TC Yasa Loans

South Pacific Business Development Fiji has launched its TC Yasa Rehabilitation Loan Programme, with 361 loans totalling $1.22 million processed in the first release. The loans were handed over in Labasa and Savusavu in

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Islands Business March 2021 edition

Islands Business March Issue

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Things fall apart

I was only two years old when Nigerian author Chinua Achebe published his novel, Things Fall Apart, in 1958. Achebe’s novel focused on the struggles, chaos and bewilderment which are the consequences of a culture on

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