Focus on tourist arrivals
WITH visitor arrivals up 6.1 per cent in the first three quarters of 2015, Samoa will increase momentum in the tourism industry this year. A series of roadshows in the middle of 2015 to Australia and New Zealand were
Dennis Rounds, Netani Rika and Samisoni Pareti
Headaches as Aussie rebuilds relations
THE rise and rise of Australia’s new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has revived relations with the Pacific Islands. While there is continuity with many of the core policies promoted by former conservative leader
SAVING SUGAR
Action for change WHEN the Fijian Prime Minister recently stood up at the recent International Sugar Organisations meeting in London and declared “we do not intend to give up on sugar cane in Fiji,” he was
CYBER FRAUD A crime without borders
FIJI, as one of the South Pacific’s most developed economies, is fast becoming a prime target for “cyber thieves” across the Globe. According to the Fiji Intelligence Unit (FIU), in just two years,
Tuna woes
FIJIAN operators are uncertain whether a recent proposal by the Forum Fisheries Agency to reduce Southern Pacific Albacore Tuna fishing by 40 per cent will actually happen. Pacific fishing countries want the reduction
COMPROMISED COP21 deal
TWENTY years of negotiations culminating in intense and physically as well as emotionally draining deliberations in which negotiators burnt the midnight oil right over the wee hours of the next day for 13 days in Paris
New smoke, old mirrors
IN Paris last month, Australian Prime Minister Turnbull announced that “Australia will contribute at least $1 billion over the next five years from our existing aid budget, both to build climate resilience and
PARIS AGREEMENT: What it means for the Pacific
“I SEE the room. I see the reaction is positive, I hear no objection. The Paris Climate Accord is adopted.” As the French Foreign Minister and President of COP21, Laurent Fabius, gaveled the decision, the
Stop the bias
Shameem: Comprehensive training will assist judges, magistrates to eliminate or minimise male bias A PACIFIC-WIDE robust policy was necessary to eliminate or minimise not only gender prejudice but all forms of
Open skies: A threat to island economies
THE Fijian government has adopted a cautious approach to entering into Air Services Agreements (ASAs) which could result in local airspace being liberalised and opened to multiple airlines. ASAs are agreements between
Open skies: A threat to island economies
THE Fijian government has adopted a cautious approach to entering into Air Services Agreements (ASAs) which could result in local airspace being liberalised and opened to multiple airlines. ASAs are agreements between
Vanuatu – standing above the rest
ONE of the Pacific’s smaller island states, Vanuatu stands taller than the larger nations with its consistent, principled stand on social justice, parliamentary democracy and corruption. Where other countries have
A leader’s LEGACY
THERE is a rousing story that still now, inspires me. As with many other Fijians of my generation and older, the narrative of Rusiate Nayacakalou – the first indigenous Fijian to obtain a doctoral degree or Phd – is
A tale of SORROW
Letters tell of tropical mission hardships The Mission of Our Lady of Sorrows Collected letters translated by: Father John Crispin Publisher: Star Printery WHEN Catholic missionaries first arrived in Fiji they faced a
Gulf in women, men wages
UN HDI Report reveals status of gender disparities in Pacific PACIFIC island nations still have a lot of work to do in order to bridge the gulf in the disparities in wages between men and women workers, a new United
A bull in the China shop
Spain and China: Rising threats to regional tuna stocks THE harbour in Suva’s capital is dotted with boats – long line fishing vessels flying the Chinese flag – tied up for months, waiting for the
What the Pacific means to China
TUNA is not China’s only interest in the region. With mining and timber resources in Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Fiji, the Asian Dragon has its sights firmly set on the Pacific. There is also the
Activist: Don’t let them in
WITH Pacific eyes watching every move made by China in its slow, systemic advance into the region and its tightening grip on fisheries stocks, the latest threat has been largely overlooked. Coming out of the Indian
Renewed momentum at tuna talks
AS the world heads into the end of year festive season, Pacific families across the region will be sending travellers off to two key negotiation events of global significance: the COP 21 climate change talks in Paris
PNA expands control of tuna industry
WHILE New Zealand promotes a new plan for tuna management in the region, the Forum Fisheries Agency pushes a fisheries road map, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) waffles on action to control
Corrupted trade routes in the Pacific
Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Solomons and Samoa top global trade estimates for illicit financial flows THREE of the world’s top ten most corrupted trade routes involve Pacific Islands countries. In the Pacific,
Pacific countries lose US $12.1billion in illicit financial flows
EIGHT Pacific countries suffered losses of US$12.1 billion over 10 years in what global finance reformers describe as “illicit financial flows.” Papua New Guinea ($4.3b) and Fiji ($2.7b) recorded the most
Tough times for nickel
ON the London Metals Exchange, the price of nickel has been on a rollercoaster. With slowing demand from China, the LME price has nearly halved since 2011. This poses major challenges for New Caledonia, which holds more