Salaries to influence vote
Among the many women candidates who registered for Tonga’s elections is trades unionist Mele Sivi ‘Amanaki (pictured). A former Civil Servant, she is the Secretary General of the Public Service Association
2014 November
Airline owner focuses on family values and youth
Businessman Tevita Palu of Fasi-moeAfi is no stranger to controversies with government. The civil engineer is also the CEO of Real Tonga, the Kingdom’s only domestic airline. Two years ago aid towards the Tonga
We need to do more in disaster risk: Tuvalu PM
A national building code is required for Tuvalu to be better prepared for disasters, says the island’s Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga. Such a code would lead to the construction of stronger buildings on Tuvalu,
Private sector plays key role in disaster risk reductions
Fiji Water, Digicel, ANZ take the lead Businesses are among those hardest hit when storms, floods, tsunamis, cyclones and other hazards occur. Every year, cyclones hit the Pacific Islands and because of climate change
Study demonstrates value of sustainable forestry
Training, acceptance to boost profits Conventional logging delivers a body blow to forests by stripping 80 to 90 per cent of target tree species. This shock erodes biodiversity, damages ecological function and
PNG police chief rounds up rogue officers
THE protracted arrest of Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter
Audit report reveals worst kept secret
After eight years of autocratic rule, Fiji finally has a Parliament which has received a backlog of reports from the Office of the Auditor General. Economist Professor Wadan Narsey studies the report and discusses its
Crime restricts PNG’s economic growth
Businesses operate at half potential: Report Crime is costing Papua New Guinea severely despite its rapid economic growth – due to reach 20 per cent next year- according to a series of new World Bank reports. The
Tonga’s Freedom Fighter aims for election victory
Pohiva’s last swan song For veteran Tongan freedom fighter ‘Akilisi Pohiva, the election this month will be the final roll of the dice in a political career which started 40-odd years ago as a student at
Women candidates impact on election line-up
Husband and wife bid for parliament seats A record number of women candidates are expected to contest the Solomon Islands national election on November 19. Lisa Horiwapu of Vois Blong Mere Solomons (VBMS) expects around
Forum allows Fiji back into regional group
But Fiji wants Australia, New Zealand out Moments after the magazine posted on its Facebook page the announcement by the Pacific Islands Forum that Fiji’s suspension from it has been lifted, an avid reader posted
Down but not out
Pacific unions respond to new IRB player rules The all-Pacific final between Fiji and Samoa in the opening leg of the 2014-2015 IRB World Sevens Series on Australia’s Gold Coast was a mighty statement to the
Pacific seals historial tuna fishing access deal
Kiribati accused of jeopardising US treaty The ink had hardly dried when controvesy erupted on the historic tuna fishing agreement sealed in Hawaii last month by 17 Pacific Island nations and the United States. Just
Controlled fertility rates linked to economic growth patterns
I f there is any resource in which Pacific Island Countries can be certain of achieving sustainability and continuous socio-economic gain, it is its youth cohort. The key however is significant and serious investment in
Protocol aims to protect traditional knowledge from exploitation
History was made in Pyeongchang, Korea in October with the first Meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol, a landmark agreement covering access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits
Skydive Fiji acquires Sunflower Aviation
SkyDive Fiji has purchased Sunflower Aviation for an undisclosed amount after American Samoan airliner Inter Island Airways failed to complete the acquisition last year. The new owners are husband and wife duo, Susan
Weaker dollar keeping Australians home
Currency fluctuations have heavily deterred Australians from taking overseas holidays over Christmas in the past but this time around travel tour companies do not anticipate a slowdown in visitors to the Pacific islands
Disasters do happen, but are Pacific countries pointed in the right direction?
Geographically, the Pacific Island Countries (PICs) fall within one of the most disaster-prone regions on earth. And the region’s combined population of almost 10 million people is vulnerable to natural hazards
What does a regional seat at the top table bring?
New Zealand’s long campaign to get itself a seat on the coveted United Nations Security Council came to fruition last month, when it quite comfortably won votes from 145 of 193 UN member states. It needed just 129
States must help pay for insurance
It’s that time of the year, again, when much of the Pacific Islands region braces for what everyone calls the ‘cyclone season.’ Over the next several months, weathermen and weatherwomen across the
Everything they do seems like a kneejerk reaction
More recently in our globalised world, the word contagion has increasingly come to be used in the contexts of terrorism or financial crises – or for that matter anything that spreads fast and with little control,
Democracy is relatively new and unique
Aspate of successful elections in the South Pacific in the latter half of this year spells a resounding win for democracy in the region and for Pacific peoples. There is no such thing as a perfect democracy, just as
Whispers
Drama in the royal court … The benign reign of Tonga’s newest monarch hit the newspaper headlines recently when King Tupou VI (pictured) reportedly intervene in the desire by one of his sons, fourth in line