Farm to table – Chef’s passion is infectious
Oliver joins growing new food movement Award winning chef and author Robert Oliver is not one to rest on his laurels. The two-time winner of the world’s most prestigious cookbook awards for his Pacificthemed
Vocational education boosts hospitality and fashion jobs
Without formal qualifications, Pacific Island workers can find themselves stalled on the career ladder. When work demands make it near impossible to study and attain qualifications – and the costs and
Showcasing small islands enterprise
Traditional artisans to display products Several local, regional and global agencies are coming together to showcase a wide range of small islands enterprises – not just from Samoa but also from the Pacific
Regional food and beverage exhibition creates growth possibilities for growers and manufacturers
Fine Food Australia is the region’s biggest annual food and beverage trade show. Featuring hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of visitors and buyers from around the world, potentially millions of dollars worth
Prime Minister’s signature is expensive
The decision of Samoa’s Prime Minister to sign a letter in support of two convicted rapists has raised serious questions from the country’s Opposition Party Tautua Samoa. According to the Party, the Prime
‘Samoa arrives on world cuisine stage’
“I didn’t win the award. Samoa won the award,” Oliver said when his second book based on the cuisines of the Pacific islands, ‘Mea’ai Samoa: Recipes from the Heart of Polynesia’, won
Coca Cola suffers but PNG, Fiji shine
Coca Cola Amatil reported a 15 per cent decline in profits this year to A$182 million (US$158m)but the figure could have been worse if its outlets in Fiji and Papua New Guinea had not performed exceptionally. Its
A premium offering from Samoa
Project offers land for sale to foreigners One of Samoa’s long established and reputable boutique accommodation providers, who built and run the popular Sinalei Resorts, has embarked on an ambitious firstof-a-kind
PNG: Happy birthday to the land of unexpected
Future depends on ability to fight crime Papua New Guinea, the largest of the economies within the island-Pacific in terms of population and gross domestic product, reaches the milestone of being 39 years since
New leadership for Pacific Islands Forum
In the absence of Australia’s Tony Abbott and New Zealand’s John Key, and with Fiji still suspended from Forum meetings, Papua New Guinea’s push for regional leadership was highlighted at the Pacific
Malaysians take over PNG palm oil giant
Pacific plantation yields record surge London Stock Exchange listed company and Papua New Guinea’s largest agribusiness, New Britain Palm Oil Limited (NPOL) will have a new owner. After two months of intense
Energy poverty and access to electricity in the Pacific
Energy poverty is widespread in the Pacific. It is estimated that 70 per cent of households in the region don’t have access to electricity and 85 per cent don’t have access to clean cooking energy
Tonga floats Development Bank for the Pacific
Setting up a regional development bank gained the support of the Association of Development Financing Institutions of the Pacific meeting in Nuku’alofa last month. Tonga’s Acting Prime Minister Samiu Vaipulu
Fuel company focuses on gas
The National Petroleum Company of Papua New Guinea (NPCP), the third largest shareholder of the world class Papua New Guinea Liquefied Natural Gas project (PNG LNG) is estimated to be valued at US$8 billion to US$9
PNA decisions painful but necessary
Several issues to iron out in Honiara We should be so lucky to have the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) having such problems like this—what to do with US$93 million and how to distribute this pot of money
Using footy stars to lure islands kids to stay in school
Trial model hailed a success in NSW What should teachers do with students when suspension and poor report cards fail? Reporting problem kids to their parents may not work because often they are as clueless as the high
Tokelau conference on rogue fishing
Experts to review strategy on MCS, IUU Officials for the Pacific’s leading forum for high-level fisheries dialogue, the Forum Fisheries Committee head to Tokelau this month for an in-depth look at current and
Major fraud investigation moves into high gear
Local pharmacy, govt ministries under probe New Year’s Eve is normally the time for popping champagne bottles and partying into the wee hours. There was plenty of that in the Marshall Islands. But in an
High hopes for Pacific but hard work still required
Light at the end of climate change tunnel Monday 19 November saw a Pacific High-Level Dialogue on climate change take place at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) headquarters in Noumea, New Caledonia. The
Underground project heats up in Vanuatu
Renewable, clean energy for islands Unlike most of the island of Efate in Vanuatu, Takara is flat, sparsely vegetated and frankly boring to the eye. About 50-minutes north east from the capital, Port Vila, it was an
The only sore spot all along was … media relations
From political pariah to the most sought after regional leader, Fiji Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama’s transformation has few parallels in modern political history. More often than not, when a military leader
Recast Regionalism: lofty ideals sink to the bottom of the ocean
The annual Forum leaders meeting in Palau this year released the Palau Oceans Declaration titled: “The Ocean: Life and Future: Charting a course to sustainability.” The declaration outlines lofty ideals
Women’s welfare directly affects children
Pacific Island leaders are often given to wax eloquent on the respect that Pacific culture accords to women. Polynesian women have often gone on record saying that their culture “puts women on a pedestal”.
