2021
Whispers
MSG boss shuffling After months of uncertainties, the sub-regional bloc of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) may be moving to announce its new Director General early in the New Year, more than a year after the office
Pacific Person of the Year: Fiame Naomi Mata’afa’s long line of firsts
Fiame Naomi Mata’afa needed no coaxing as to who should be credited for preventing her island nation from descending into chaos the moment Samoa’s Court of Appeal ruled that her Fa’atuatua I le Atua Samoa ua Tasi
Pacific Person of the Year: Unaisi Vuniwaqa
“As I look back on my life, I realise that every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being re-directed to something better,” Unaisi Bolatolu Vuniwaqa posted on her LinkedIn
Honourable mention: Our young climate activists
While our leading political regional agency named a series of climate champions ahead of COP26 in Glasgow this year (controversially all of them men), the region’s young climate champions are honourable mentions in
Honourable mention: The Fijiana Sevens team
Fiji’s Women’s National Sevens team, the Fijiana, brought joy to a COVID-ravaged nation this year with their bronze-medal performance at the Olympic Games. They have gone on to finish the season strongly, with
What comes next in New Caledonia?
By Nic Maclellan New Caledonia’s third referendum on self-determination under the Noumea Accord has returned an overwhelming majority against independence: 96.5% of people who went to the polls voted No to
Financial concerns linger over 2023 Pacific Games
By Dionisia Tabureguci The 2023 Pacific Games is on track for its November 2023 opening despite the costly aftermath of the riots in Solomon Islands. However concerns have been raised about the added pressure it now
Opinion remains divided on PIPA opening
By Bernadette Carreon Kiribati’s decision to open the Phoenix Islands Protected Area to commercial fishing is their “business” says Parties to the Nauru Agreement ( PNA) CEO, Dr Sangaalofa Clark. PIPA has been a
FNPF zeroes in on zero balances
By Dionisia Tabureguci Over 50,000 Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF) member accounts will scrutinised and reclassified as work gets under way to address the large number of 'zero balances' amongst members. 'Zero
Vanuatu students learn to farm and save
By Len Garae Vanuatu’s government would like to see all Agriculture Farming Rural Training Centres copy the approach of NAPIL Farming Rural Training Centre, a rural community agriculture school where it is compulsory
Post-COP26 at the micro level
By Kaliopate Tavola My last article on COP26 expressed the hope that the pessimism of the members of my informal talanoa group would be proven wrong by the results of COP26 held in Glasgow from 31 October to 12
Cancelled WTO talks give Pacific members time out
By Samisoni Pareti For Pacific island members of the World Trade Organisation, the cancellation of the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference in late November due to the spread of the Omicron variant was God-sent. Given
Fisheries commission adopts tropical tuna measure
By Bernadette Carreon Dr Sagaalofa Clark Rupert Howes Dr Manu Tupou-Roosen Glen Holmes The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) has adopted a revised tropical tuna measure to keep the stocks of
Kavita Kalyan’s musical journey
By Rowena Singh “Fiji is a strong part of my existence,” says ghazal and Bollywood singer Kavita Kalyan. Kalyan is Australian born, but with strong family ties that take her back to Fiji, and her extended family in
Movers and Shakers
Christina Lasaqa is the new chief executive officer of Solomon Telekom. Hailing from Gwou’ulu, Lau lagoon, Malaita, Lasaqa is the company’s first ever local female CEO. She has been with Solomon Telekom since 2002
“People want to travel, they want to live again”
As coronavirus began spreading around the world in early 2020, even the far-flung islands of French Polynesia were affected. The first case of COVID-19 was recorded in Tahiti on 10 March 2020, after politician Maina
A fraying lifeline: Chronically under-funded and lacking resources
Pacific islands health care faces the crisis of a lifetime The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t just highlighted the Pacific’s fragile health systems. It’s amplified the central role that public health plays in all
A fraying lifeline: chronically under-funded and lacking resources
Pacific islands health care faces the crisis of a lifetime The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t just highlighted the Pacific’s fragile health systems. It’s amplified the central role that public health plays in all
“At 33 years old, I felt like I was 90”
COVID-19 challenges in Noumea and Papeete By Nic Maclellan Hina Montas was making a cup of tea and forgot to turn the gas off. It was only when her partner came home and smelt the gas filling the kitchen, that she
“It looks like malaria, dengue, pneumonia and asthma all in one”
By Scott Waide Our mother, Patricia, sits on the bed in the small room she is currently sharing with our dad, Peter. There’s an oxygen bottle at the bedside and she’s breathing through a tube. She was sleeping
COVAX: A lost opportunity
By Dan McGarry COVAX could have provided nations with a rallying point to promote international unity and cooperation. It could have put developing countries on even ground with the most advanced nations. It’s parent
COVID-19 lessons for public messaging
By Mere Nailatikau Whether it was the early reports out of China in late 2019, the World Health Organization’s announcement of a pandemic in March 2020, or the dreaded first official announcement of an in-country