PNG court rejects detention centre Is Fiji next
WITH the Papua New Guinea Supreme Court ruling that the Manus Island refugee processing centre is illegal, Australia may be forced to look to other Pacific islands to house 800-odd residents. Australia’s detention
Islands reach out to visitors
WITH a 12 per cent growth in its tourism industry in 2015, Samoa will use its recent Tourism Expo and a national initiative to drive arrivals higher this year. Fresh from the Samoa Tourism Expo, a high-level delegation
Tribute to godfather of Pacific music Sounds of Sevesi
SEVEN months after becoming the first Tongan to be inducted into New Zealand Music’s Hall of Fame, Wilfred Jeffs, who went by the stage name Bill Sevesi, passed away, aged 92,,on April 23. When the news trickled out
Singapore – the new focus
FIJI’S national carrier has embarked on a twice-weekly service to Changi International Airport, Singapore, casting aside New Delhi and Shanghai. The airline’s intention is to use the new destination as a hub from
Down Memory Lane; History emerges in Fiji novel
FIJI changed forever when the then Lieutenant-Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka walked into Parliament on May 14, 1987 and removed a democratically elected government. On that day Fiji lost her innocence and the nation was forced
Pohiva runs foul of free press
TONGA’S veteran democracy campaigner now Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva has run foul of a key cornerstone of democracy which is freedom of the press over the suspension of the editor of the kingdom’s
The tussle for power; China’s intentions in the Pacific cause unease
CHINA’S land reclamation in the South China Sea may be tapering off for now but the implications of its actions will run as deep as its ability to project power further into the Western Pacific. Yes, China has
David stands against Goliath; Palau’s single patrol boat defends the region
IN the far west of the northern Pacific, a single patrol boat stands against the waves of Distant Water Fishing Nation vessels which threaten the region’s fish stocks. Outnumbered and outgunned, the President
O’Neill survives impingement bid
THE long-running corruption saga engulfing the Papua New Guinea’s leadership came to a head in April when the National Fraud and Anti-Corruption Directorate (NFACD) locked horns with high-profile government
In search of a political identity
Guam at the crossroads for self determination ONE of the last colonies in the 21st century, Guam is an unincorporated US territory in search of a political identity. Its long quest for self-determination continues
Pacific unions reach across boundaries
FOR many years, the South Pacific and Oceanic Council of Trade Unions (SPOCTU) has linked unionists from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, to organise around wages, conditions and occupational health and safety.
Enter the dragon
THE need to boost national economies through foreign business investment is not lost on any Pacific island country. Talks in Brisbane last month saw the region’s leaders focusing on the need for a regional
PNG crackdown on bad Chinese traders
PAPUA New Guinea has seen a series of anti-Chinese protests and riots in recent years, driven by the increasing number of Asian nationals taking over small businesses. The latest anti-Chinese aggression, though less
FANTASY ISLANDS; Once polluted, unusable space is now Tuvalu’s future.
IN the South China Sea, the Chinese Government has now built up a string of artificial islands that are robust enough to hold aircraft bases and give their regional neighbours a serious case of the jitters. Millions of
VANUATU tax haven opens doors
THE opening up of the pre-independence tax haven in Vanuatu did not, of itself, bring in the large numbers of Chinese immigrants the country hosts today. As one of Vanuatu’s two colonial masters, the British
Palau puts in place measures to control Chinese ‘takeover’
TWO years ago the number of Chinese tourists that travel to Palau barely reached 30,000, but by 2015, there were 87,058 visitors from China and the glaring change was that this market have edged out the other markets
Kanaki parties debate their future
THEY came from the north, the South and the islands of New Caledonia. Delegates from the Front de Libération Nationale Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS) gathered at Ko We Kara on 5-6 March, for the first congress of
US’ ‘corrosive influence’ on the Pacific
Clinton emails show disquiet over US corruption, incompetence CORRUPTION, neocolonialism and incompetence. Those sorts of attacks usually come from critics of the United States but the latest release of emails from
Small islands BIG secrets
Leaked documents reveal billions in bribes, tax dodging TEN different Pacific Island states have been linked with billions of dollars in shady offshore banking and tax haven deals, in two major media exposes.
Digicel acquires Sky Pacific – with restrictions
TELECOMMUNICATIONS giant Digicel has acquired ownership and direct control of the region’s largest satellite-based television network, Sky Pacific. Formal acquisition, from 1st April 2016, came six months after
Road to recovery: Fiji growth forecast in the wake of Winston
THE Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) expects economic growth for the rest of this year to be driven by significant post-Cyclone Winston reconstruction work and continuing strong activity in the retail and tourism sectors. It
Tropical paradise ready to inherit
ESPIRITU Santo, Vanuatu’s northernmost “big island”, and its people, stand ready to benefit from the glorious treasures with which nature has endowed it, and which the messy administration of a
