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”.
Project turns waste into potential revenue
What do syringes and televisions have in common? Both become ‘hazardous waste’ when their useful life is over. That is, potentially dangerous or harmful to health or the environment if not properly managed.
Whispers
Niteclub Tango: Fiji journalists bore the brunt of security measures during the recent visit by China’s President Xi Jinping. But they found it amusing to learn that both Chinese and Fiji officials were
FAD with sonar poses “game-changer” in tuna fishery
The introduction of sonar capable satellite buoys that are attached to FADs (Fish Aggregating Device) is poised to be a “game changer” in the Pacific’s lucrative skipjack tuna fishery with indications
Four-way race for Solomons Island PM job
Four former Prime Ministers re-elected in last month’s national election could lead Solomon Islands again in the next four years after the surprise loss of incumbent Gordon Darcy Lilo. The four included Synder
PNG police chief rounds up rogue officers
THE protracted arrest of Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter
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
Pacific Islands Forum Meeting – of people and power
Every six years Pacific leaders meet at their annual summit to discuss who will win the lottery and get the six figure job of Secretary General of the Forum. It is quite literarily the lottery as the first Secretary
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
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,