June (13)
Niue’s new Premier is Dalton Tagelagi. He won 13 votes to rival O’love Jacobsen’s seven. Tagelagi was previously Minister for the Environment, Natural Resources, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and replaces Sir Toke Talagi. Meanwhile Crossley Tatui has been named as Minister for Finance and Infrastructure, Mona Ainuu is the new…
Tagged under
WITH the leak of a damaging internal report about the University of the South Pacific, which details allegations of widespread abuse and questionable appointments—including speedy promotions and the unilateral renewal of certain staff contracts—does the future of the regional institution hang in the balance? It’s an emphatic yes if you…
Tagged under
Changing of the guard in PNG’s political leadership FOR someone who is still in the honeymoon period, James Marape is saying the right things. His words match his actions, so far. Marape has said that he has accepted office as independent Papua New Guinea’s 8th Prime Minister with humility. The first morning he woke as Prime Minister,…
Tagged under
Poor childcare costs business WORKING parents, how often have sat at your desk or worksite distracted by childcare issues; whether your child is too sick to be at school, whether your carer/nanny is doing a good job, indeed, whether your carer will turn up tomorrow at all? It’s a universal…
A mere technicality in parliamentary rules saved the government of Tuvalu Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga, from facing a confidence motion last month. News of the motion of no confidence against the Sopoaga Government broke the same day he hosted visiting United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, in the capital Funafuti. A non-government backbencher, Isaia Taape had filed…
Tagged under
The secret to Singh’s success “I’m going to share a lie, a secret and a wish with you.” That was the opening gambit of Priya Singh, who at 29 is the youngest General Manager (Data, Process & Advanced Analytics) at Fonterra, the world’s largest exporter of dairy products. Singh is a daughter of Fiji…
China’s BRI gains momentum PACIFIC leaders are embracing China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with renewed enthusiasm following China’s hosting of the second BRI Forum in April. 5000 participants from over 150 countries and 90 international organisations attended the Forum according to Chinese authorities. It was a rich ground for the classic “grip and grin,” producing a succession of…
Tagged under
THE derivation of the ‘United States of the Pacific’, (USoP), an optional conceptual supra-state construct for the 48-year old Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is reminiscent of the Lae Rebellion of 1965. The rebellion marked the break-away by five Pacific Island Countries (PICs) from the South Pacific Commission (SPC, now rebranded as the Secretariat of the…
IS our region’s largest country, Papua New Guinea, part of Pasifika? It’s a debate that has recently played out on the pages of an influential PNG blog. Two of the country’s most prominent commentators have their say here, in important discussions about the future of regionalism. PNG is not Pasifika – we are not…
Tagged under
