In this bulletin:
1. SOL — Solomon Islands, U.S sign Shiprider agreement to protect maritime domain
2. PACIFIC — Pacific leaders ‘play both sides’ as China divides Forum over missile test – expert
3. PACIFIC — Pacific push stronger banking links, Public Finance coordination and AIIB partnership
4. AUST — ‘Here before’: climate-threatened islanders fight back
5. FIJI — Exercise Bougainville: Fiji Military to lead national readiness drill
6. SOL — Gold Ridge tragedy: Illegal Mine entry blamed as recovery continues
7. FIJI— Fiji receives Cook Islands’ new high commissioner
8. PACNEWS BIZ — NZ Govt announces RSE changes, accommodation an open question
9. PACNEWS BIZ — PNG supplementary budget to be tabled
10. PACNEWS BIZ — Fiji Police probe alleged $500,000 imported kava theft
11. PACNEWS BIZ — ADB President urges faster action on water security
12. PACNEWS DIGEST — How one observer transformed electronic reporting in the Pacific?
13. PACNEWS DIGEST — A not-for-profit medicine development model to address global health inequities
SOL – DIPLOMACY: SOL GOVT PACNEWS 1: Wed 29 Jul 2026
Solomon Islands, U.S sign Shiprider agreement to protect maritime domain
HONIARA, 29 JULY 2026 (SOL GOVT) —The Solomon Islands Government has signed the Shiprider agreement with the United States of America in Honiara.
The signing marks a significant step forward in strengthening cooperation to safeguard the country’s vast maritime domain, protect marine resources and combat illegal activities at sea.
A government statement emphasised that the Shiprider agreement establishes a framework allowing authorised Solomon Islands law enforcement officers to embark on designated U.S vessels to jointly undertake maritime surveillance and enforcement operations.
“Under this arrangement, Solomon Islands officers will exercise their authority in accordance with Solomon Islands law and agreed operational procedures, particularly in matters within national jurisdiction,” the statement said.
For a nation of hundreds of islands dispersed across a vast ocean, effective maritime surveillance is both critical and resource-intensive.
The statement highlights that this partnership enhances Solomon Islands’ operational capacity by providing access to additional maritime assets, surveillance platforms, technical expertise and strengthened information-sharing mechanisms.
“The agreement will support national efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, transnational crime, illicit trafficking, and other unlawful maritime activities. It will also help safeguard fisheries and marine resources that are vital to the livelihoods and economic future of Solomon Islanders.”
It said the Government emphasises that the Shiprider Agreement is a cooperative law enforcement arrangement that reinforces, rather than compromises, Solomon Islands’ sovereignty.
“The country retains full authority over its territorial waters, Exclusive Economic Zone, and the enforcement of its laws in accordance with international law,” it said.
In addition, the agreement presents valuable opportunities to strengthen the skills, experience, and operational capability of Solomon Islands maritime and law enforcement personnel through practical collaboration with international partners.
Key benefits of the agreement include enhanced maritime surveillance, improved enforcement against illegal activities, protection of fisheries revenue and marine resources, strengthened intelligence sharing, and increased operational capacity without the need for Solomon Islands to independently bear the full cost of advanced maritime assets.
The Government views this agreement as part of its broader commitment to ensuring that Solomon Islands’ Ocean territory and resources are protected for the benefit of its people today and for future generations…. PACNEWS
PAC – DIPLOMACY: PMN PACNEWS 1: Wed 29 Jul 2026
Pacific leaders ‘play both sides’ as China divides Forum over missile test – expert
CHRISTCHURCH, 29 JULY 2026 (PMN)—The Pacific Islands Forum’s failure to agree on a joint response to China’s recent missile test reflects the difficult balancing act facing regional governments, according to Professor Steven Ratuva from the University of Canterbury.
He says governments across the region are trying to maintain relationships with all the major powers without becoming caught in their rivalry.
Speaking on Pacific Mornings, Ratuva said the Forum’s silence should be viewed in the wider context of growing competition between China, Australia and the United States.
He said most Pacific countries have close ties with Beijing while also relying on long-standing partners such as Australia and New Zealand.
“It’s quite a complex issue here, particularly given the broader context of geopolitical contestation, China on one hand, Australia, and the U.S.”
He said China has become a major development partner across the Pacific through aid, infrastructure projects and its role as a Pacific Islands Forum dialogue partner.
“So I think that the countries are quite cautious about what to do, and where to go.”
Rather than choosing one side, Ratuva said Pacific governments have learned to work with competing powers at the same time.
“So the Pacific Island states, after years and years of being sandwiched between the big powers, they have come to learn the art of engaging with both sides, just to make sure they get the benefits from both sides.
“It makes a lot of sense, economically and politically, they can get aid from Australia, aid from China.”
He said governments are careful not to become trapped in geopolitical rivalries.
“So it’s a matter of being able to be in the middle and playing both sides.”
China’s launch of a nuclear-capable ballistic missile over the Pacific earlier this month has drawn condemnation from several Pacific governments, but the Forum has yet to issue a collective statement because decisions require consensus.
Ratuva criticised Beijing’s actions, saying they ran against the region’s vision of the Pacific as an “Ocean of Peace”.
“China’s behaviour has been quite abrupt in doing that,” he told PMN. “In fact, no good neighbour should be doing that. Using what I call the diplomacy of threat.”
But he said China was not alone in using pressure to advance its interests.
“But then, in the bigger context, China is not the only one using the diplomacy of threat or threat diplomacy.
“The United States has been doing it… all the big powers do that sort of thing.”
Looking ahead to next week’s Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting in Suva, Ratuva expects members to remain divided over how strongly to respond.
“Australia will be trying to push for a strong statement against China.”
Ratuva believes many Pacific governments will take a more cautious approach because of their economic ties with Beijing and concerns about their own vulnerability in an increasingly tense strategic environment.
“I think there’s going to be a mixture of approaches there… small states are probably trying to be cautious, while Australia and New Zealand will be trying to push for a harsher, stronger statement.”
While Ratuva says the region is trying to balance relationships with competing powers, Pacific Islands Forum Chair Matthew Wale has urged leaders not to lose sight of Pacific ownership.
In a keynote address at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in Suva this month, Wale said: “Our partners should help us realise and complement our ambitions – not define nor shape them for us.”
The Solomon Islands Prime Minister also reminded leaders that “the future of our region will not be determined by the interests of others.
“It will be determined by the choices we make together as one Blue Pacific family,” Wale said.
Forum Secretary-General Baron Waqa has also urged members to protect peace and trust across the region while advancing the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.
The challenge comes as Pacific leaders continue to emphasise regional unity through the Pacific Islands Forum.
Those ambitions are likely to be tested again when Forum foreign ministers meet in Suva next week, with China’s missile test expected to be one of the key issues on the agenda.
The issue is also expected to feature when Pacific leaders meet in Koror, Palau, for the 2026 Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting from 30 August to 04 September where regional security and the Forum’s vision of an “Ocean of Peace” are likely to remain high on the agenda.
The summit theme is ‘B.E.L.A.U – Building Economies: Life. Action. Unity.’…PACNEWS
PAC – DIPLOMACY: PACNEWS/PIFS PACNEWS 1: Wed 29 Jul 2026
Pacific push stronger banking links, Public Finance coordination and AIIB partnership
SUVA, 29 JULY 2026 (PACNEWS/PIFS)— Regional efforts to strengthen banking connectivity, improve public financial management and deepen development partnerships were advanced during a series of meetings hosted by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) last week.
The fifth meeting of the Pacific De-Risking Group, held at the Forum Secretariat and online on 24 July, brought together members and development partners to review progress in strengthening correspondent banking relationships and financial connectivity across the Pacific.
Co-chaired by Governor of the Central Bank of Solomon Islands, Dr Luke Forau, and World Bank Division Director for the Pacific Islands, Tatiana Proskuryakova, the meeting assessed implementation of the Pacific Correspondent Banking Relationships Roadmap.
The Pacific De-Risking Group provides strategic oversight of the roadmap, coordinating regional and global de-risking initiatives, monitoring progress, addressing implementation challenges and supporting Pacific Island countries in developing practical solutions.
Discussions focused on the Pacific Payments Mechanism Feasibility Study, correspondent banking service providers, payment systems, Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) support, and improving coordination among development partners.
Members also endorsed the establishment of a Development Partners Working Group to support the Pacific Payments Mechanism feasibility study and ensure assistance is coordinated, practical and aligned with Pacific priorities.
The Pacific Strengthening Correspondent Banking Relationships Project, implemented by PIFS with funding and technical support from the World Bank, supports efforts to keep Pacific countries connected to secure and reliable international banking and payment systems.
In a separate meeting on the same day, the second Public Finance Management (PFM) Regional Coordination Mechanism meeting was held virtually and hosted by the Forum Secretariat.
Chaired by Ayako Yamaguchi-Eliou, Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Banking and Postal Services of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the meeting reviewed outcomes of the 2026 Forum Economic Ministers Meeting held in the Marshall Islands and considered the PFM Regional Coordination Mechanism work programme for 2026–2027.
The coordination mechanism was endorsed by Forum Economic Ministers in 2024 to strengthen technical assistance and capacity building in public financial management across Pacific Island countries.
Meanwhile, Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Baron Divavesi Waqa met with Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) President Zou Jiayi at the Forum Secretariat.
Welcoming President Zou and her delegation on their first visit to the Secretariat, Secretary General Waqa reaffirmed the Forum’s commitment to partnerships with multilateral institutions, including the AIIB.
The meeting discussed infrastructure investment, regional connectivity, economic resilience, private sector development and the impacts of climate change across the Pacific…..PACNEWS
AUST – CLIMATE CHANGE: AAP PACNEWS 1: Wed 29 Jul 2026
‘Here before’: climate-threatened islanders fight back
MELBOURNE, 29 JULY 2026 (AAP)—Torres Strait Islanders are back fighting to hold the federal government to account as they face the possibility of becoming climate change refugees.
Community leaders Uncle Paul Kabai and Uncle Pabai Pabai first launched Federal Court proceedings in 2021, fearing for their homes on Saibai and Boigu islands.
They sought orders requiring the government to take steps to prevent harm to their communities, including cutting greenhouse gas emissions in line with the best available science.
In July 2025, Federal Court Justice Michael Wigney accepted key facts of the case, including that scientific evidence showed climate change had already impacted the Torres Strait, north of Cape York.
But he ultimately ruled against the Elders, finding negligence law did not allow for compensation when it came to government policy decisions.
The duo have challenged Justice Wigney’s decision in a four-day appeal hearing that began in Melbourne on Tuesday.
Outside the court, Uncle Pabai said it was a very important battle for Torres Strait Islanders after their initial defeat.
“We’ve been here before, this is our second journey to the Federal Court,” he told AAP.
The government should be consulting with Torres Strait Islanders about climate change impacts as they tried to find a way to continue cultural traditions, Uncle Pabai added.
“We don’t want to be climate change refugees relocated from our islands.”
His legal team argued Justice Wigney made a number of errors in reaching the conclusion that the Commonwealth did not owe a duty of care to the islanders.
One was his ruling that setting national emissions targets was a core government policy decision that, due to the separation of powers, lay outside of the court’s remit.
The Elders’ barrister Fiona McLeod accepted that committing to the Paris Agreement – which outlines a 1.5C temperature-rise target – was a policy decision.
But she argued the government then set “an unambitious and unfair target which contributed to the whole of the problem worsening with local impacts”.
It did not take the action reasonably required to protect a community it knew was vulnerable to the effects of climate change, McLeod told the court.
“By stepping into the field, you have assumed a responsibility … in doing so, the acts you are undertaking have to be done mindfully of those who might be harmed by your actions,” she said.
“A government can’t avoid a recognition of duty of care in all cases by simply classing them as a group of policies such as climate change that are no-go zones or subject to some sort of immunity.”
Among the six grounds of appeal is an argument that cultural harm is compensable under Australian law as a loss of rights warranting protection and remedy.
Aunty McRose Elu, a Saibai Elder, said the situation in the Torres Strait was getting more severe and yet there was still no action.
“The time is getting closer (when) the islands will go underwater,” she said in a statement.
“We can change. And if we don’t take action now it will be too late.”
Following the 2025 decision, federal Labor ministers said they understood the Torres Strait Islands were vulnerable to climate change and were already feeling its impacts.
In September, the Albanese government set a legislated target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 62 to 70 per cent by 2035, based on 2005 levels……PACNEWS
FIJI – EXERCISE: FIJI SUN PACNEWS 1: Wed 29 Jul 2026
Exercise Bougainville: Fiji Military to lead national readiness drill
SUVA, 29 JULY 2026 (FIJI SUN)—The Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) will lead a three-week national exercise next month to test Fiji’s ability to respond to disasters, civil unrest, terrorism and maritime security threats.
Exercise Bougainville 2026, which runs from 07 – 28 August, will involve about 660 personnel from seven Government agencies, including the Fiji Police Force, Ministry of Health and National Fire Authority, alongside defence partners Australia and New Zealand.
The exercise was formalised Tuesday with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding at the RFMF Strategic Headquarters in Berkley Crescent, Suva, witnessed by permanent secretaries from participating ministries.
RFMF Exercise Bougainville lead planner Captain Seci Nawalowalo said the exercise would validate the military’s readiness to support a coordinated national response to major emergencies.
“The strategic intent has never deviated from what we had began with in February, essentially to validate the RFMF’s readiness to support an inter-agency or joint crisis response to a multi-agency coordination framework,” he said.
Captain Nawalowalo said the exercise followed a six-month planning process and would begin with a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief response to a simulated tropical cyclone before progressing to civil unrest, insurgency, terrorism and maritime incursion scenarios.
“This will see the initiation of the exercise through the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief platform, which is an inter-agency response to a tropical cyclone,” he said.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Operations Kasiano Vusonilawe said the exercise would strengthen coordination between the military, Police and other Government agencies.
“We are of the same responsibility with the military and also other government agencies for the coordination in terms of our release, in line with the natural disasters and other natural challenges that usually challenge our role,” he said.
Acting Permanent Secretary for Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management Mitieli Cama said the exercise would help identify gaps in Fiji’s emergency response systems.
“We are looking forward to this exercise to identify those gaps in the systems and processes, particularly when it comes to coordination with line agencies,” he said.
The exercise opens at Queen Elizabeth Barracks on 07 August and concludes with a closing ceremony at Black Rock, Nadi, on 26 August……PACNEWS
SOL – ILLEGAL MINING: INDEPTH SOLOMONS/SOLOMON STAR PACNEWS 1: Wed 29 Jul 2026
Gold Ridge tragedy: Illegal Mine entry blamed as recovery continues
HONIARA, 29 JULY 2026 (INDEPTH SOLOMONS/SOLOMON STAR) —Gold Ridge Mining Ltd (GRML)in Solomon Islands says the person whose body was recovered from the debris Tuesday following Monday’s ground collapse entered the mine site illegally.
Police identified the man as Ashley Olo from the nearby community of Mamasa in central Guadalcanal.
His body has been handed back to relatives for burial.
“We’ve received reports that this individual had unlawfully entered at night the mine’s exclusion zone, despite clear warnings and barricades,” GRML said in a statement.
It added the ground collapse occurred at the north-west edge, in the non-operational section of Open Pit 1. It’s there that Olo’s body was recovered.
GRML said they are cooperating fully with the police in conducting a thorough follow-up investigation.
“The safety and wellbeing of GRML employees, contractors, and surrounding communities remains our highest priority.
“We strongly urge members of the public not to engage in unauthorised gold extraction or entry into restricted pit areas, as these zones are hazardous and strictly off-limits.”
Monday’s ground collapse, according to Gold Ridge, affected an estimated 100-metre section of the western access road leading into Pit 1.
It’s not clear at this stage how many bodies may be lying in the ruins.
Acting police commissioner James Aitorea said they are still assessing the situation and could not confirm the number of people who may be buried underground.
“It is still too early to confirm how many are still buried underground,” Aitorea said in a statement.
GRML, which operates the mine, said the tragedy does not affect any of its employees.
Victims, according to eye-witnesses, were non-mine employees who were engaging in unauthorised gold extraction inside the mine pits.
Aitorea said police and GRML security personnel were also working with nearby communities to move people away from Pit 1 to allow recovery teams to safely carry out their work.
He urged people living near the area to stay away from the site while recovery operations continue and investigations into the incident begin.
Meanwhile, Media Association of Solomon Islands (MASI) President and senior journalist Ofani Eremae has expressed disappointment after local journalists were denied access to the Goldridge Pit landslide site North Central Guadalcanal – Tuesday.
Eremae said the Gold Ridge landslide was a major national issue and that the public expected timely and accurate information about the incident, yet local media representatives were prevented from accessing the site.
He said the media played a vital role in informing the public and that authorities, including Gold Ridge Mining Limited (GRML), should make themselves available to answer questions from journalists, particularly at a time when the public wanted to know what had actually happened at the site.
Eremae said there had been a lot of rumours and unverified information surrounding the incident over the past 48 hours.
Local journalists travelled to the area to verify the facts behind the rumours and provide accurate information to the public, but unfortunately they were not allowed to enter the site where the incident occurred.
The local media representatives were reportedly stopped by security personnel at Gate Two along the road leading towards the landslide site.
Upon arrival at gate two, security personnel at the gate contacted the GRML office to seek permission for the media representatives to access the site, but permission was not granted.
As a result, the local media team, comprising representatives from media organisations across the country, was forced to return from Gate Two without accessing the landslide site.
The MASI President said the incident involved the lives of Solomon Islanders and that citizens deserved to be informed about what had happened and the actions being taken in response.
He stressed that timely and accurate information was important, particularly during a major incident where the public was seeking answers.
Meanwhile, some members of the public have questioned the decision to deny journalists access to the scene of the incident, saying it raises concerns about the transparency surrounding the situation.
Some have also questioned whether Gold Ridge Mining Limited recognises and respects the important role the media plays in informing the public, particularly during major incidents of national interest, and whether journalists’ rights to access and report on matters of public interest are being adequately respected…..PACNEWS
FIJI – DIPLOMACY: ISLANDS BUSINESS PACNEWS 1: Wed 29 Jul 2026
Fiji receives Cook Islands’ new high commissioner
SUVA, 29 JULY 2026 (ISLANDS BUSINESS)—Cook Islands High Commissioner Michael Henry presented his credentials to Fiji President Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu – a posting both governments say aims to deepen a growing Pacific partnership.
The ceremony at State House marked the latest step in a relationship that has expanded steadily since Fiji and the Cook Islands signed a five-year development cooperation agreement in 2023.
The agreement covers trade, connectivity, labour mobility, education and climate change, and the Cook Islands says it is now at a point where delivery needs to accelerate.
Henry, who was approved by the Cook Islands Cabinet on May 6 and received Fiji’s agreement on 03 July 2025, succeeds Jim Armistead, the Cook Islands’ first resident High Commissioner to Fiji, who finished his tenure in February 2025 after establishing the mission in Suva.
Ratu Naiqama congratulated Henry and said the Fiji-Cook Islands relationship was built on “shared Pacific heritage, close family ties and mutual respect.”
Henry said it was an honour to take up his first diplomatic posting in Fiji and said he had long visited the country for tourism and family.
“It is an honour to begin my first diplomatic posting in Fiji,” he said.
He also paid tribute to his grandfather, Sir Albert Henry, describing him as one of the founding Pacific leaders behind the establishment of the Pacific Islands Forum. Henry said he was proud to continue “that legacy of regional cooperation.”
Cook Islands Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Tingika Elikana said the appointment came at an important moment in the bilateral relationship.
He said Fiji offered the Cook Islands access not only to regional networks, but also to wider commercial links.
“Fiji is home to some of the Pacific’s largest private sector organisations and is a gateway to bigger trading partners, including India and other emerging markets,” Elikana said.
“For a small economy like ours, this is where the opportunity lies.”
Elikana said Henry’s background in governance and commerce made him well suited for the job.
“In Michael, we have a High Commissioner with the commercial depth and governance experience to operate confidently in Fiji’s dynamic private sector environment,” he said.
Secretary of Cook IslandsForeign Affairs and Immigration Elizabeth Wright-Koteka said the Suva mission was central to the Cook Islands’ regional and economic engagement.
“Our mission in Suva puts us close to the centre of Pacific decision-making, and gives us daily access to key regional organisations, partners and markets,” she said.
“Michael’s boardroom experience and regional perspectives will be invaluable.”
The ministry said Henry brings more than two decades of experience across the public and private sectors, including roles in governance and directorships, and has served as chair of the Cook Islands Investment Corporation.
His background also includes work in infrastructure, tourism, economic growth and regional cooperation.
The Cook Islands and Fiji have been working to broaden cooperation as Pacific states face pressure to strengthen trade, labour mobility and climate resilience while navigating greater strategic competition in the region…..PACNEWS
PACNEWS BIZ
NZ – RSE SCHEME: NZ GOVT PACNEWS BIZ: Wed 29 Jul 2026
NZ Govt announces RSE changes, accommodation an open question
WELLINGTON, 29 JULY 2026 (NZ GOVT)—-The New Zealand government is promising stronger and clearer accommodation standards for Recognised Seasonal Employment scheme workers, though a landmark court case remains undecided.
Immigration Minister Erica Stanford announced Tuesday that various rule changes will be phased in over the next two years, promising stronger protections for workers.
Among them, RSE workers will soon be able to apply for a migrant exploitation protection visa, allowing them to break contract and stay in the country for up to six months. Others aim to “simplify” wage deductions, while extending accreditation time for “exemplary” growers to six years.
Speaking at a Horticulture NZ industry conference, Stanford said workers will have greater flexibility to move between employers during their time in Aotearoa.
“Workers will be able to remove themselves… and access the same protection mechanism available to temporary workers in New Zealand,” she said.
“That gives workers the same protection without compromising the core purpose of the RSE scheme.”
With those changes due for next year, Stanford told a room full of RSE employers they had yet to make decisions on accommodation – but she emphasised that bad actors would be punished.
The quality and cost of housing for RSE workers has drawn serious criticism for the scheme’s 20 year lifetime. Workers are contracted typically for 6-7 months and live in housing provided by their employer.
The Minister said “exemplary” workers would be rewarded with six years accreditation before renewal. Those with compliance issues would have three years, and all first-time employers one year.
“When employers have demonstrated a really strong record of compliance, the system should recognise that.
“We also need to make sure that we are clear that there are consequences for those who don’t,” Stanford said.
Decisions on accommodation standards will be made in September, she noted.
Since 2024, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has been reviewing the RSE scheme, attempting to strike their “triple win” objective – the industry, the workers, and their Pacific home countries.
A landmark Employment Court case from October 2025 appears to have shaped the review, framing key Pacific concerns – and problems for the industry that could arise.
Speakers at the Horticulture NZ event regarded it as an elephant in the room.
In Soapi v Pick Hawkes’ Bay Inc, three workers from the Solomon Islands claimed that their employer had made unlawful deductions from their pay, including that they had exaggerated the value of the accommodation.
As a result, they claimed, they had been paid below the minimum wage.
It was ultimately found that the employer had made a number of frivalous deductions – including the value of PPE and missing cutlery, deferred from week to week – that had not been approved by Immigration New Zealand.
On accommodation, the Court held that the employer was only entitled to deduct around 5 percent of wages for accommodation costs – the workers claimed they had deducted as much as 15 percent.
Documents released to RNZ Pacific under the Official Information Act showed that in December 2023, nearly two years before the Soapi ruling, Horticulture NZ sent an email warning Minister Stanford about “the potential consequences of any adverse findings in the case”.
Noting the accommodation cost deduction claims, advice noted that this would differ from how MBIE currently interpreted the Act. It was flagged that it would significantly increase costs on the employer side.
“If the Employment Court (EC) adopts a different interpretation… there could be significant implications not only for the operation of the RSE scheme but also other employment arrangements where accommodation is provided such as dairy workers,” it read.
Within the next two years, MBIE had presented options for a system overhaul. A range of weekly rent caps were decided, between $150(US$86) to $211(US$122) per week per person, with employers only allowed to recover the actual cost. The new system came into effect in April 2026.
In the meantime, Pick Hawkes Bay have appealed the EC ruling, and the case was heard in the Court of Appeal on the 22nd and 23rd April. A decision had not yet been made.
During that time, documents show Minister Stanford went against the advice of officials in removing the requirement for new RSE workers to be paid a wage ten percent higher than the minimum wage.
The option was presented as a compromise between retaining the ten percent rule for all RSE workers, and removing it altogether at the behest of employers.
Advice noted that RSE employers had “expressed concern” to the government, “citing the financial impact and inequities between the wages for New Zealand and RSE workers.”
Minister Stanford was “interested” in removing this requirement altogether, advice noted. If it were, it was recommended that it be done overtime “to reduce impacts on returning workers,” For workers below the 2 year experience mark, it was removed immediately.
“Research shows 54 percent of workers work for 2-3 seasons, and 22.8 percent for 4-5 seasons,” advice noted.
Officials said the experience requirement “would be somewhat more complex for INZ to administer” because returning workers “would need to be identified and the different wages would need to be reflected and verified) in employment agreements.”
Within the next two years, MBIE had presented options for a system overhaul. A range of weekly rent caps were decided, between $150 to $211(US$86-(US$122) per week per person, with employers only allowed to recover the actual cost.
During its term, the current government has also increased the annual minimum cap on RSE workers by 1,250, per their coalition agreement with the ACT Party.
Likewise, it has brought in Timor-Leste, taken away a requirement to be screened for HIV, and enabled employers to average a 30-hour minimum weekly work requirement over four weeks……PACNEWS
PNG – BUDGET: THE NATIONAL PACNEWS BIZ: Wed 29 Jul 2026
PNG supplementary budget to be tabled
PORT MORESBY, 29 JULY 2026 (THE NATIONAL)—Papua New Guinea Treasurer Ian Ling- Stuckey is expected to table a Supplementary Budget on 03 September, taking into account unbudgeted revenue in preparation for the General Election 2027 (GE27).
“The additional revenue (for the State) is from the spike in the price of oil from the Iran-USA conflict,” he said.
“In our 2026 budget we assumed US$67 (about K300) per barrel, but it has averaged about US$90 (aboutK402). So that’s a 50 percent increase in price and therefore revenue calculated at about K1billion(US$220million) .”
On the increase in State revenue, Ling-Stuckey explained that “we use oil price as a measure of gas revenue”.
He was responding to a recent statement by the Opposition Leader James Nomane, who suggested that a supplementary budget should be tabled in Parliament next month to ensure funds were appropriated for the General Election 2027 (GE27).
Nomane said: “The writs for GE27 will be issued in barely nine months.
“The common roll must be cleansed and published for public scrutiny. Ballot procurement, logistics across 22 provinces, and the recruitment and training of thousands of polling officials must be sequenced against an unforgiving calendar.
“I call on the Government to present a supplementary budget at the next sitting of Parliament, fully appropriating GE27 preparations and protecting essential services such as health, education and law and order.”
Ling-Stuckey told The National that the Government would table a Supplementary Budget, taking into account unbudgeted revenue, to cater for the costs of GE27.
He expects to table it on Thursday, 03 September……PACNEWS
FIJI – KAVA INDUSTRY: FIJI SUN PACNEWS BIZ: Wed 29 Jul 2026
Fiji Police probe alleged $500,000 imported kava theft
SUVA, 29 JULY 2026 (FIJI SUN)–Fiji Ports Authority has come under scrutiny after close to $500,000(US$250,000) worth of imported kava were allegedly stolen inside shipping containers at the Suva port on three separate occasions.
The incidents happened within a span of two months, between May and June this year.
Police spokesperson Ana Naisoro confirmed that investigation into the matter was ongoing.
The stolen kava was imported by four different Fijian owned kava trading companies.
Twin Kava Dealers director Ravneel Chand is urging the Fiji Ports Authority to take responsibility and compensate companies for their stolen commodities.
Chand said $203,830(US$101,915) worth of kava was stolen from them.
Another kava trading company had 17 sacks stolen, while another had $100,000(US$50,000) worth of kava stolen.
One of the company owners said when he inspected the container, there were signs of forced entry.
This masthead understands that five suspects were questioned, with one suspect admitting to committing the offence, and that a supervisor masterminded the operation.
These multiple incidents raise serious concerns about major security gaps within Fiji Ports, and the need for police and the ports authority to strengthen their existing memorandum of understanding.
Questions sent to the authority’s Acting chief executive officer, Suresh Prasad, and the chairman, Sikeli Tuituku, remain unanswered ….PACNEWS
PAC – WATER SECURITY: ADB PACNEWS BIZ: Wed 29 Jul 2026
ADB President urges faster action on water security
TOKYO, 29 JULY 2026 (ADB)— Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masato Kanda Tuesday called for faster investment and reform to secure water across Asia and the Pacific, pointing to a new ADB-administered fund with Japan that will help developing economies strengthen disaster preparedness, infrastructure, and water management.
“Water underpins our health, our food, and our energy,” said Kanda.
“It sustains ecosystems and powers economies, including through clean and reliable hydropower. In a world unsettled by conflict and volatile energy markets, the link between water and energy security has rarely mattered more. Water security is not merely a resource issue. It is the foundation of economic development.”
Kanda delivered a keynote speech at the International Symposium Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Japan’s Water Day. His Majesty the Emperor of Japan honoured the symposium with his presence.
Kanda paid tribute to His Majesty’s lifelong scholarship on water and said Japan’s five decades of national action offer a model of sustained investment, strong institutions, and long-term reform.
Japan established Water Day and Water Week in 1977, recognising water as a shared national responsibility.
Kanda highlighted Japan’s integrated management of river basins, disaster risk reduction systems, efficient water supply networks, and decentralized wastewater treatment. Japan has also helped advance the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and shared practical solutions with communities from Central Asia to the Pacific.
Water and environmental risks are rising faster than the region’s preparedness, Kanda warned. More than 40 percent of the world’s flood events occur in Asia. About 220 million people in Asia and the Pacific still lack basic water supply, while around 520 million lack basic sanitation.
The region has nevertheless made major progress. Since 2013, about 2.7 billion people, roughly three in five people in Asia and the Pacific, have moved out of extreme water insecurity, according to ADB’s fifth Asian Water Development Outlook, published in December 2025.
However, those gains remain fragile. About 4 billion people still face risks from unreliable water and sanitation, water-related disasters, and deteriorating ecosystems. Mr. Kanda said closing the widening investment gap will require stronger policies, better governance, greater efficiency, and healthier ecosystems, as well as more financing.
ADB committed US$12.7 billion to the water sector from 2021 to 2025, benefiting about 63 million people. Its investments include expanding wastewater treatment in Fiji to protect mangroves, coral reefs, and fishing communities; working with the International Finance Corporation and Maynilad to improve water services for millions of people in the Philippines; and supporting reforms in Sri Lanka to reduce costly water losses…..PACNEWS
PACNEWS DIGEST
The views expressed in PACNEWS are those of agencies contributing articles and do not necessarily those of PINA and/or PACNEWS
How one observer transformed electronic reporting in the Pacific?
The success story of a longline fisheries observer.
OLLO, the Observer Data App
RAROTONGA, 29 JULY 2026 (SPC)—Out on the open central Pacific Ocean, far from land and beyond standard communication networks, Pacific Islands Regional Fisheries Observers (PIRFO) carry a critical responsibility: collecting the data that underpins the sustainable management of the world’s largest tuna fisheries.
For decades, this vital work has been done in isolation. But a pioneering trip in 2026 by an observer on a tuna longline vessel has officially changed the game.
When Iowane Varani Koroi, working for the Cook Islands Observer Programme, stepped on board for his latest assignment, he noticed the fishing company had recently installed a low earth orbit satellite communication system. There was no formal directive for the observer to use it; just a network, a password, and a massive opportunity. He took it!
Using the Offline LongLine Observer (OLLO) app on his tablet, Iowane recorded his observations as usual. But instead of waiting until the vessel returned to port months later, he began uploading his data directly from the fishing grounds. Week after week, his data flowed directly into the regional Tufman2 database — the Tuna Fisheries Data Management System that is a web database developed for Pacific Island Countries to manage their tuna fishery data.
The power of near real-time feedback
With each weekly upload, the traditional lag in fisheries data management vanished, unlocking immediate benefits:
*Instant quality control: Data quality checks were performed while the trip was still underway. Minor anomalies were flagged early and corrected by Iowane while events were fresh in his mind.
*Live software support: When a minor bug was identified within the OLLO app, the Pacific Community team fixed and redeployed the update mid-trip, benefiting not only Iowane, but the entire regional network of observers.
*Biological verification: Iowane utilized online Tufman2 reporting tools to cross-check his physical biological samples against his electronic records in real time, adding an extra layer of scientific integrity.
“With a low earth orbit satellite communication system, I was able to upload my data while still at sea and get feedback straight away. If there were any issues with OLLO, I could contact SPC and we would fix it during the trip. It also meant my data was already backed and verified up in Tufman2, so I knew it was safe. It really helped me because I wasn’t waiting until the end I was supported the whole time.”
By the time the vessel returned to port, 71 days after departure, Iowane had meticulously recorded all 58 fishing sets. Because his dataset was already securely uploaded, completed, and largely verified, the post-trip workflow was transformed.
Instead of a gruelling process of reconstructing events from memory weeks after the fact, the official debriefing became an efficient confirmation step. Just a few days after disembarking, Iowane’s data was fully debriefed and available to support critical scientific analyses.
“Receiving Iowane’s observer data on a weekly basis was a significant improvement for our programme. It allowed us to carry out early data quality checks while the trip was still underway, identify and resolve minor issues promptly, and ensure data was securely uploaded and monitored in Tufman2. Having this level of visibility in near real time also reduced pressure on the end-of-trip debriefing. Overall, this approach improved data reliability, streamlined workflows on return to port, and strengthened our ability to support observers while they are at sea,” said Bermy Ariihee, Observer Coordinator – Cook Islands Ministry of Marine Resources.
Industry cooperation and perspective
This digital leap was enabled by the vessel operator’s decision to share their connectivity. Providing the observer with Wi-Fi access proved to be a practical, zero-disruption decision that yielded massive returns for data integrity.
“We are happy to support this initiative. Providing stable Wi-Fi access to the observer had no significant impact on our operations or data usage. We are pleased that it helped improve data transmission and observer support at sea,” said Fishing Company Base Manager.
Behind the Tech, a framework of support
This real-time success is backed by a collaborative, user-focused ecosystem. The OLLO app is developed internally at the Pacific Community in close partnership with regional fisheries observers, ensuring the app directly responds to their needs on deck. To make these transitions seamless, SPC provides dedicated online and in-person training alongside direct implementation support to national observer programmes. There are dedicated social media communication channels for OLLO technical support; observers can therefore contact Pacific Community staff directly, on a one-to-one basis, ensuring they receive personalised and immediate help and support simply by sending a message.
The human impact beyond data
Connectivity at sea changes what it means to be a fisheries observer. For Iowane, being connected meant he could easily coordinate with his managers, receive live technical support, and, crucially, maintain regular contact with family and friends.
“Being connected at sea makes a big difference for an observer. You can talk to your family, contact your coordinator, and ask for help when something comes up. It helps you feel less isolated, even though you’re far from home, and that gives you a clearer mind to focus on your work,” said Iowane Varani Koroi, Fisheries Observer for the Cook Islands Observer Programme.
A glimpse into a connected future
It all started with one observer, one connection, and the willingness to try something new. This is more than a single success story, it is a living blueprint of what Pacific longline observer programmes can achieve at scale.
By combining a connected vessel, a capable observer, and robust tools like OLLO and Tufman2, the region is stepping into an era of near real-time data integrity, streamlined port workflows, and significantly safer, better-supported observers…..PACNEWS
For more information: Malo Hosken, Regional E -Reporting Coordinator, Pacific Community | maloh@spc.int
Véronique Waneisi, Communication Assistant – Digital Content, Pacific Community | veroniquew@spc.int
PACNEWS DIGEST
The views expressed in PACNEWS are those of agencies contributing articles and do not necessarily those of PINA and/or PACNEWS
A not-for-profit medicine development model to address global health inequities
By Mark Sullivan
SYDNEY, 29 JULY 2026 (DEVPOLICY.ORG) —Every few years, the global health community confronts a version of the same crisis. A major donor announces funding cuts, panic ripples through the organisations developing medicines for the world’s poorest people, pipelines freeze and diseases that have held back prosperity for centuries continue unchecked.
The 2025 shock was particularly severe: the near-complete withdrawal of U.S government support was a significant blow to work in low- and middle-income countries. The non-profits that develop medicines for diseases of poverty, among them Medicines Development for Global Health (MDGH), the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP) and the TB Alliance, were caught in the tsunami of consequences that followed. The community needs a permanent fix to this broken funding model.
Medicines are among the most cost-effective interventions available to improve human health. They ease suffering, prolong life and sometimes eliminate diseases that have persecuted humanity for millennia. Cures for hepatitis C, treatments for HIV/AIDS and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy for some cancers show what is possible.
Yet pharmaceutical development follows commercial logic: investors commit billions upfront only when a financial return justifies it. Without a paying market, product development does not happen. Of the more than 1,000 new chemical entities approved by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since 2008, only 13 targeted neglected diseases, malaria or tuberculosis. Over the same period, more spacecraft have been sent to the moon than new medicines developed for global health.
Bringing a single medicine to market takes 10 to 15 years and more than US$1 billion, with high rates of failure at every stage. Outside the industry, this process is opaque and poorly understood. The public health community has largely left the work to the private sector, and the gap in medicines for neglected diseases is, in that sense, less a failure of industry than a failure of public health to take responsibility. Pressure applied to industry to fill the gap has generated considerable antipathy. Persistent demands to participate in development, followed by expectations to donate the resulting medicines, represent a fundamental mismatch of purpose. Despite the existence of donation programs, the manufacture of unprofitable products and the sharing of intellectual property, the contributions of industry are rarely seen as sufficient and attract little public acknowledgement. Only the Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association has been forthright enough to say the current arrangements cannot continue. Others have quietly withdrawn.
The consequences fall hardest on the world’s poorest people. Neglected tropical diseases are neglected precisely because those who suffer from them cannot pay, and over two billion people lack access to even the most basic medicines. These diseases are not a distant problem. Three U.S states reported local dengue cases in 2024. Scabies appears regularly in nursing homes, prisons and refugee reception centres across Europe, and remains endemic in many remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia. The Buruli ulcer has emerged on the Australian southern coastline. Across our region, elephantiasis (lymphatic filariasis) persists, while leprosy remains a burden in the Philippines and Indonesia. As the climate changes, these diseases are spreading to previously unaffected populations. Aid cuts now threaten to reverse decades of progress, and the populations most affected are those with the least political voice to resist.
MDGH, an Australian-based not-for-profit pharmaceutical company, was established to address this gap. It developed moxidectin for river blindness in partnership with the World Health Organisation’s Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases and is now distributing the medicine in endemic countries. It is also working to extend moxidectin to five other diseases and developing a new medicine, dovramilast, for three more. Together, these conditions affect over a billion people.
MDGH has forged two global firsts: it was the first not-for-profit to develop and shepherd a novel medicine through US FDA approval, and the first to distribute its own medicine in an endemic country. In the past year, more than 110,000 people in Ghana and 10,000 in Angola have received moxidectin for river blindness.
MDGH is not alone. DNDi, GARDP, MMV and the TB Alliance, working with pharmaceutical companies, have delivered remarkable results over two decades: the first medicine approved for highly drug-resistant tuberculosis, a single-dose treatment to prevent relapse of Plasmodium vivax malaria and an oral cure for all stages of sleeping sickness. These outcomes have been achieved on a fraction of the normal product development budget.
To date, medicines for diseases of poverty have depended on Official Development Assistance and philanthropy, coupled with access to the pharmaceutical sector’s expertise and financial support. With both pillars under strain, the urgency of finding a more durable funding architecture has never been greater.
In an environment of intense competition for public funding, how to finance medicine development where markets fail remains unresolved. There is little appetite for a new global research and development (R&D) fund of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations variety, where capital is spent down and must be periodically replenished. Procurement mechanisms such as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and The Global Fund have shown that funded markets can attract upstream investment, but their own replenishment cycles remain precarious.
Australia’s Medical Research Future Fund offers a more attractive model: public capital invested and left untouched, with only the investment returns deployed for their intended purpose, creating a perpetual source of research funding insulated from annual budget cycles. A similar endowment structure could be established multilaterally as a “Global Health Forever Fund”.
Investors would be drawn from those whose mandates already orient them toward accepting below-market financial returns in exchange for measurable social outcomes: multilateral development banks, sovereign wealth funds with development objectives, governments in both donor and disease-endemic countries and high-net-worth individuals committed to global health philanthropy. For these investors, the proposition is the opportunity to avoid the politics and complexity of medium-term grant commitments to individual organisations and instead collect effort into a single, large-scale capital contribution that is invested, preserved and returned, rather than spent. In addition, a subset of the pharmaceutical sector currently contributes knowhow, medicines and/or finances for global health medicines. Simplifying their contribution into an endowment fund may be an attractive alternative for these organisations.
An illustrative structure might see approximately 15 parties committing US$2 billion each, creating a US$30 billion endowment fund. At a conservative real return of 4%, this would generate approximately US$1.2 billion annually for global health R&D and related measures to facilitate access to medicines in low-income countries, with original contributions repayable after 10 years. Some of the fund’s investments could generate returns to it, though most would not, and such returns would be distributed to the original investors as an inflation adjustment or compensation for opportunity costs.
For investors with philanthropic or development mandates, the opportunity cost of committing this capital is materially lower than for commercial investors, and the social return compensates for the concessional financial terms. The Global Health Investment Fund, a blended finance vehicle that mobilised private capital for late-stage global health product development (including the development of moxidectin for river blindness), offers one precedent, albeit at a smaller scale. Other examples of endowment funds in current operation in science include the Wellcome Trust and, in the climate sector, the Tropical Forest Forever Facility.
A fund of this kind would complement rather than replace existing mechanisms. Returns would be deployed through established non-profit product development partnerships using transparent allocation processes and performance metrics. The key distinction is that contributions to the fund are one-time capital commitments, not recurring grants subject to political replenishment cycles. Direct contributions from governments and foundations to individual organisations would remain important, particularly for early-stage or highly targeted work outside the fund’s scope. The fund is designed to provide a stable, predictable base of financing, not to become the sole source of global health R&D funding.
At this scale, governance would be essential and non-trivial. Distributing US$1.2 billion annually across a complex global landscape of scientific priorities, institutional capacities and equity considerations requires a serious institutional apparatus. The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), which coordinates and funds a global network of agricultural research centres, offers a relevant model: an independent board, transparent prioritisation criteria, representation from both donor and beneficiary countries and regular independent evaluation. A Global Health Forever Fund would require something similar, with explicit mechanisms to ensure that endemic-country voices shape allocation decisions, and industry-standard metrics for development performance and outcomes.
The withdrawal of some governments from global health funding need not mark the end of an era so much as a prompt to rethink the architecture entirely. Multilateral health funds need not be the exclusive domain of official donors.
The achievements of DNDi, GARDP, MDGH, MMV, the TB Alliance and others demonstrate what a well-resourced, mission-driven not-for-profit sector can achieve. All of these organisations exist for public good rather than commercial gain, with public health need as their first priority. What they lack is sustained, cycle-proof funding to work at the scale the problem demands.
The next generation could inherit something extraordinary: a world where life chances are not predetermined by the lottery of where you are born. If these diseases affected families in wealthy countries, there would be outrage. There should be outrage now. Finding a durable way to fund this work must be a priority…..PACNEWS
Mark Sullivan AO is Founder and Managing Director of Medicines Development for Global Health. He was 2019 Victorian Australian of the Year.
