We say
Embrace inclusivity, reject exclusivity WHEN the Pacific Islands Development Forum ejected West Papuan activist Octavianus Mote from its summit in Suva, Fiji, it missed an opportunity to show it was an inclusive
Samisoni Pareti
VDS has worked for us, says PNA
EXECUTIVE Director of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement Dr Transform Aqorau believes the group’s Vessel Day Scheme has been an effective tool in increasing it members’ share of the value of their tuna
Marine Park in TROUBLED WATERS
LANDOWNERS of the US$161million site of what’s going to be the largest tuna processing zone in the South Pacific wants work on the site to stop immediately. In a petition signed by 5,000 people and sent to Prime
Deathtrap ferry
Vanuatu’s worst maritime tragedy raises questions on safety checks THE inter-island Vanuatu ferry which capsized and sank in July last year with the loss of four lives was a floating deathtrap, a leaked report has
Ghost of the skies
Elusive kingfisher A BIRD that has been seen in the wild once has been found last month by scientists during the first biological survey of the highest peak in Solomon Islands. The male moustached kingfisher was finally
The returning son of a disappearing nation
THE deportation of Ioane Teitiota by the John Key government signals a strong message to the low-lying islands in the Pacific that they are not disappearing because their people are still “alive.” The New
From Vavau with love
Heilala Vanilla makes its mark in export vanilla markets A PIECE of the friendly Kingdom of Tonga in a bottle is what Heilala Vanilla is proving to be like for its customers abroad. So much so that the boutique vanilla
Oceania football dumps treasurer
Missing audit notes, silence from Auckland BEHIND the world headlines about millions in FIFA bribes, corruption and multibillion contracts, the Pacific Islands region has yet to have its own story. Parts of the story
Church ‘crucified’
The flock see RED THE financial woes of Tonga’s Free Wesleyan Church drew so much attention that the elite Australian commercial law firm of Clayton Utz looked at the issue in detail. Founded 1833, it is one of
Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga
THE Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga (Siasi Uesiliana Tau’ataina ‘o Tonga) has overseas congregations in Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Fiji. It is the largest Christian denomination in the
PACER Plus nears completion.
GIVEN that world trade in 2013-2014 amounted to US$18 trillion, increasing the Pacific’s share by a mere 0.1 represents at least $18 billion worth of additional trade between Pacific Island Countries and other
Internet revolution on the wing
TELECOMMUNICATIONS and Internet revolution in Palau hinges on funding opportunities and political backing. Palau, with the Federated States of Micronesia earlier has formed a Micro-Pal Fiber Optic Joint Committee last
$ lure at tuna talks
THE biggest tuna industry gathering in the Western and Central Pacific region, the prestigious Pacific Tuna Forum is on again, set to hold its 5th gathering at the luxurious Sofitel Resort, Denarau, Nadi, Fiji, from
BIG DRY
Rising bill of PNG’s El Nino disaster EL Nino battered Papua New Guinea is bracing for more serious onslaught with predictions for worse in months ahead and into next year. The El Nino extreme weather has peaked
West PAPUA hot on agenda
Another modest victory for pro-independence movement PACIFIC leaders are expected to discuss the situation facing the people of West Papua when they hold their annual Forum in Papua New Guinea this month. Although the
A catastrophic failure of ambition
AT the 1997 Forum leaders’ meeting in Rarotonga, Australian Prime Minister John Howard blocked a regional consensus on climate policy. Forum leaders were hoping for a strong, common position to take to Japan that
SEDITION Arrests and denials
A COMPANY of Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) soldiers has joined local police investigations into allegations of militarytype training in a remote mountainous area in Fiji’s Western Division. The
Cook Islands at
FIFTY years of self-government and free association with New Zealand has raised more questions than answers as Cook Islanders contemplate the relevance of that relationship today, as well as their place in the world and
Birds on the brink
IMAGINE yourself in a helicopter, over the open ocean, for 100s of kilometres and what seems like hours. You’re attempting to play it cool, hoping your pilot has no trouble finding the small ‘pin
End of an era of FISHING for DIPLOMACY
Push for control on tuna stocks AS the dust clears from the August negotiating session between American and Pacific island fisheries representatives, two things are clear: The islands gained a solid financial deal
We Say
Friends and foes in a new frontier INDIA’S forum for Pacific leaders in Jaipur last month came at an opportune time for regional heads of government and pre-empted their meeting in Port Moresby. Held just over a year
RACE against TIME
THE 3rd Annual PIDF Summit will be held at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva from September 2 to 4. The theme is “Building Climate Resilient Green Blue Economies.” Delegates from across the Pacific and
Whispers
LIKE flotsam, the power of the published word – via newspapers – seems to have floated across the Pacific Ocean and nestled on the shores of Samoa to flourish in that island country’s world of