In this bulletin:
1. PACIFIC — Pacific civil society demands fossil fuel phase-out ahead of COP31
2. PACIFIC — Keep 1.5 Alive, Pacific SIDS strategise ahead of COP31
3. PACIFIC — Pacific voices help shape global climate agenda ahead of COP31
4. PNG — East New Britain suspends classes as El Nino hit in PNG
5. FIJI — Tampered evidence: $50M drug haul missing from court storage
6. FIJI — Fiji Opposition questions three-quarter vote requirement for Constitution Bill
7. PNG — Notorious PNG gang declared a domestic terrorist organisation
8. FIJI — New Counter-Narcotics Bureau proposed to lead Fiji’s drug fight
9. AUST — Antarctic blind spot emerges as major sea-level threat
10. FIJI — Law change sought to allow sterile needle programme in HIV fight
11. PACNEWS BIZ — Samoa remains open to foreign investment but faces infrastructure, land and labour constraints
12. PACNEWS BIZ — Fiji’s Acting Attorney-General Turaga expected to be sworn in as Employment Minister
13. PACNEWS BIZ — PNG still behind in textile industry: Official
14. PACNEWS IN FOCUS — South Pacific: As Small Islands battle Climate Change, Debts should not be weaponised
15. PACNEWS DIGEST — One Ocean, One Future: The Pacific’s Blue Thread to COP31
16. PACNEWS DIGEST — From energy crisis to energy transition: How renewables are reshaping energy security
PAC – CLIMATE CHANGE/NGOS: PACNEWS PACNEWS 3: Wed 30 Sep 2026
Pacific civil society demands fossil fuel phase-out ahead of COP31
FUNAFUTI/SUVA, 30 SEPTEMBER 2026 (PACNEWS)—Pacific civil society groups are calling for an immediate end to new coal, oil and gas expansion and demanding climate reparations, stronger action on loss and damage and greater Pacific control over climate decisions ahead of Pre-COP31 and COP31.
The Pacific Regional Non-Governmental Organisations Alliance (PRNGO Alliance) and civil society representatives issued “The Funafuti Call for Climate Justice” following a regional dialogue in Tuvalu involving Indigenous movements, women’s groups, youth networks, persons with disabilities, faith-based groups and PIDSOGIESC communities.
The declaration says keeping global warming within 1.5°C remains a non-negotiable threshold for Pacific survival, citing the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on climate change.
“For Tuvalu, there is no distance between what is negotiated in these rooms and what happens to our homes, our ocean, our culture and our future,” said Tuvalu Climate Action Network Executive Director Richard Gokrun.
“1.5°C is our survival threshold. Pacific leaders must reject any outcome that puts it out of reach.”
Gokrun said Pacific leaders must hold major emitters and development partners accountable.
“The world has heard the Pacific’s warnings for decades. What we need now is action that matches the scale and urgency of what our communities are living,” he said.
The declaration calls for states to immediately stop new exploration, licensing and subsidies for coal, oil and gas.
It says developed countries must lead the fossil fuel decline “first and fastest” and rejects what the alliance describes as false solutions, including carbon capture and storage and geoengineering.
Pacific civil society groups also criticised what they described as climate hypocrisy, saying development partners should not promote climate solutions in the Pacific while supporting fossil fuel extraction in their own countries.
Pacific Youth Council Coordinator Miliana Iga said young people were demanding action rather than charity.
“We are not seeking charity; we are calling for climate justice, genuine partnership and action that matches the scale of the challenge.
“Pacific young people have the right, and the responsibility, to help shape the decisions that will define our future,” Iga said in a statement.
The Funafuti Call also demands predictable, grant-based climate finance and reparations for loss and damage, including economic and non-economic losses linked to the disappearance of ancestral lands, burial grounds and cultural practices.
It calls for greater demilitarisation of the Pacific and condemns missile tests by global powers in Pacific exclusive economic zones.
The declaration rejects growing militarisation of Pacific waters, including strategic security arrangements such as AUKUS, and says security should be defined by Pacific communities through climate and nuclear justice.
The alliance has also raised concerns about the expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure, subsea cables and data centres in the Pacific.
It is calling for environmental reporting requirements, electronic-waste take-back obligations and what it describes as absolute Pacific data sovereignty.
PIANGO Executive Director Emeline Siale Ilolahia said Tuvalu’s position as a frontline state gave the civil society dialogue particular importance.
“The convenings in Funafuti are not mere diplomatic stops, but spaces where community leaders, traditional wisdom holders, youth, and advocates bring unfiltered realities to the forefront,” Ilolahia said.
She said climate mobility, loss and damage and economic development policies should be informed directly by Pacific communities.
The PRNGO Alliance is calling on Pacific governments to carry the demands into Pre-COP31 and COP31 negotiations and ensure civil society has a formal role in climate governance.
The dialogue was hosted by the Government of Tuvalu with support from the International Organisation for Migration and UN partners.
The declaration ends with the message: “Lose Tuvalu, Lose Our World. Save The Pacific, Save Our World.”….PACNEWS
PAC – PREPCOP31: SPREP PACNEWS 3: Wed 30 Sep 2026
Keep 1.5 Alive, Pacific SIDS strategise ahead of COP31
NADI, 30 SEPTEMBER 2026 (SPREP)—Pacific solidarity remains our greatest strength and most effective tool for influencing outcomes at the upcoming 31st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Antalya, Türkiye.
That’s the spirit with which Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) have gathered in Nadi this week to strategise and finalise their plans a month out from COP31 in Türkiye, from 9-20 November 2026.
“Our message is simple. Follow the science, keep 1.5 alive to ensure that our world will thrive, accelerate implementation, and deliver the finance and support needed by vulnerable countries like SIDS and LDCs,” said Director General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), Sefanaia Nawadra.
Director General Nawadra welcomed delegates to the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) pre-COP31 meeting at the Tanoa International Hotel in Nadi on Wednesday, the first in a series of meetings taking place in Fiji over the next two weeks to ensure the survival of Pacific communities, against the harmful impacts of climate change.
The pre-COP31 gatherings are taking place as global temperature rise is set to cross 1.5°C, likely within the next few years, pushing climate risks and impacts to increasingly dangerous heights, according to a new UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report titled Limiting Overshoot.
The report identifies an ‘overshoot, peak, and decline’ pathway as the best remaining option to minimise the magnitude and duration of this overshoot and try to return to below 1.5°C as soon as possible.
“The Pacific enters COP31 from the frontline of the climate crisis, where climate change is not a future risk but a present reality affecting communities, economies, ecosystems and cultures,” said Nawadra.
“SIDS overall must remain united in defending the integrity of the science under the IPCC and maintain the 1.5⁰C temperature goal, it is the global temperature goal that speaks to our survival.”
Director General Nawadra acknowledged that the work ahead for negotiators and all officials will not be easy.
“But I encourage you to remain strong and know that you are going with the blessings of our people, your communities and our countries,” he reminded. “Remember your why, remember you are there to represent our elders, our children, our villages and communities. You are carrying the hopes of our people with you.”
Fiji Director of Climate Change, Senivasa Waqairamasi highlighted the opportunity in Fiji in the next two wees to place Pacific priorities at the very heart of global climate change negotiations.
“By no means will this be an easy task, as we will continue to encounter the same challenges we faced in the lead up to and during COP30 and will likely have to navigate our way through a whole new host of challenges,” she said.
“This meeting is a chance for us to make certain our needs and views are incorporated into the relevant COP31 decisions.”
One of these should be how to deal with the imminent threat of 1.5 Overshoot as outlined in the recently released UNEP Report, Waqairamasi noted.
“I hope we can use this meeting to mobilise our expert negotiators to discuss, reflect and share ideas on how to chart the path towards Antalya and to lay a platform for our Ministers, Political Climate Champions and Leaders to advance,” she said.
“Our work over the next three days will be an excellent opportunity to land our approach to the COP31 negotiations and give ourselves every chance to ensure our voice will be heard and our priorities will be met at COP31.”
The PSIDS pre-COP31 was blessed by Reverend James Bhagwan, General Secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches.
Reverend Bhagwan and a co-paddler have recently completed the Paddle for Hope, a stand-up paddle around Viti Levu against single-use plastic.
“I have spent the last few weeks on a paddleboard around Viti Levu. On a stand-up paddleboard there are only two ways to be: you stand, or you kneel.
“In the hardest moments, upwind in 20 knots with gusts of 25 to 30, we ended up on our knees, literally and figuratively: kneeling and paddling, kneeling and praying.
“And there we saw God’s grace through other members of God’s household: a turtle popping up beside our boards, brown boobies hovering low over us. On our knees, we were not alone.
“Stand or kneel, but never sit down. That is the life of faith, and it is this work too,” he said….PACNEWS
PAC – CLIMATE CHANGE/PRE COP31: UNSW PACNEWS 3: Wed 30 Sep 2026
Pacific voices help shape global climate agenda ahead of COP31
SYDNEY/NADI, 30 SEPTEMBER 2026 (UNSW)—A major climate forum will help shape Pacific nation priorities for the pre-COP31 meeting and global climate negotiations.
Pacific climate priorities are the focus at a major international forum in Fiji this weekend, ahead of the official pre-COP31 meeting.
The 1.5°C to Stay Alive, opens in a new window forum will be held at the University of the South Pacific in Suva on Saturday 3 October. The discussions and outcomes from the event will also carry into the first session of the official pre-COP31 programme, opens in a new window on Monday 5 October.
Led by the COP Universities Alliance, opens in a new window and co-organised by the UNSW Institute for Climate Risk & Response (ICRR), the University of the South Pacific, opens in a new window and The University of Melbourne, opens in a new window, the forum will bring together scholars, government ministers, policymakers and climate practitioners from Australia and across the Pacific.
Dr Wesley Morgan from UNSW ICRR is the lead organiser of the forum, which he says will provide an important opportunity for Pacific experts and leaders to explain what they want to see from COP31, opens in a new window later this year.
“Pacific countries played a key role in securing the 1.5°C goal in the Paris Agreement, opens in a new window because, for the region, this is not an arbitrary number. It is considered a threshold for survival,” says Dr Morgan.
“This forum will ask what it will take to keep 1.5°C within reach and ensure Pacific perspectives are heard as governments prepare for COP31.
“Australian negotiators will be there to listen to what Pacific ministers, researchers and communities expect from the negotiations. It is a genuine collaboration between Australian and Pacific universities, bringing regional expertise directly into the COP process.”
The forum comes as governments confront the likelihood that global warming will temporarily exceed 1.5°C , opens in a new windowabove pre-industrial levels.
Dr Morgan said the prospect of an overshoot doesn’t mean the Paris Agreement’s temperature goal should be abandoned.
“Some countries may argue that the world should simply move on and aim for two degrees, but that would be a disastrous response for vulnerable communities,” he says.
“The priority must be to limit peak warming to the lowest possible level, reach net zero as quickly as possible and then pursue approaches that can bring temperatures back down.
“How countries respond to the challenge of keeping 1.5°C within reach will be a significant issue at COP31.”
The forum will examine the science of limiting warming, international legal obligations, ocean warming and sea-level rise, adaptation and climate finance.
It will also consider the implications of the International Court of Justice’s ruling, opens in a new window on the responsibilities of major fossil fuel-producing countries for harms associated with fossil fuel production.
“For many years, Australia argued that emissions from the coal and gas it exported were solely the responsibility of the countries that used those fuels,” Dr Morgan says.
“The International Court of Justice has now made it clear that major fossil fuel producers also have obligations to prevent climate harm arising from fossil fuel production.
“The forum will unpack what that means for countries such as Australia.”
Marshall Islands Climate Envoy Tina Stege, opens in a new window will deliver the opening address. The program will conclude with a high-level Talanoa, opens in a new window with climate ministers and representatives from across the Pacific.
The event will also include Pacific contributors to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, opens in a new window assessments, alongside researchers and practitioners from universities across Australia and the region.
“The Pacific has long been at the forefront of the global push for stronger climate action,” Dr Morgan says.
“This forum recognises that expertise and leadership. It is about Australian institutions working with Pacific partners, rather than simply talking about the Pacific or speaking on its behalf.”
He says sustained engagement with the Pacific is important.
“Australia has a deep interest in demonstrating that it is listening to Pacific countries and willing to work with them on the region’s greatest security threat – climate change,” he says.
“Hosting globally significant climate discussions in the Pacific creates an opportunity to place the region’s experiences, priorities and solutions at the heart of the international agenda.”
Fiji will host the official pre-COP31 preparatory meeting from 5 to 8 October, including a leaders’ event in Tuvalu…PACNEWS
PNG – EDUCATION/WEATHER WATCH/ELNINO: THE NATIONAL PACNEWS 3: Wed 30 Sep 2026
East New Britain suspends classes as El Nino hit in PNG
PORT MORESBY/ KOKOPO, 30 SEPTEMBER 2026 (THE NATIONAL)—Schools in East New Britain have been instructed to suspend classes as the impact of El Nino intensifies, forcing education authorities to take steps to protect students and staff.
Provincial education adviser Pius Reva said the implementation would differ between districts.
“For the Gazelle Peninsula, the suspension is indefinite. But in Pomio, head teachers and principals will make decisions on the ground depending on the circumstances,” Reva said.
The directive by the provincial education board took effect Tuesdayy, Sept 28.
El Nino has disrupted classes, with children affected by drought in Gazelle and flooding in Pomio.
The circular, signed by board chairman Levi Mano, said the suspension was not a precaution but a protective measure.
“The suspension and adjustment of school hours in the affected sectors and grades is therefore a protective, not merely a precautionary measure,” Mano stated.
He stressed that continuing normal operations in the worst‑affected schools would place the health and safety of students and teachers in jeopardy.
Under the new arrangement, all early childhood and primary school classes from Grades one to six are suspended indefinitely.
Examination Grades eight, 10, and 12 will continue lessons until their national examinations are completed.
Grades seven, nine and 11 students will report to school on one day per week.
The circular also directs administrators to explore online teaching options, safeguard school properties, and freeze accounts for suspended sectors.
“Students must complete any lessons, assessment tasks and other educational activities given at school, and remain at home during this period,” Mano said.
He added that parents must ensure children adhere to the instructions and assist schools with strategies to keep learning active…..PACNEWS
FIJI – DRUGS FIGHT: FIJI SUN PACNEWS 3: Wed 30 Sep 2026
Tampered evidence: $50M drug haul missing from court storage
SUVA, 30 SEPTEMBER 2026 (FIJI SUN)—More than $50 million(US$25 million) worth of cocaine linked to two high-profile cases involving foreign nationals is missing from the Suva court exhibit room.
New information gathered by this masthead indicates that, apart from the missing $31 million (US$15.5 million) worth of cocaine, another batch of cocaine valued at more than $20 million (US$10 million) has also been discovered missing.
The missing drugs belonged to Australian John Nicholic and Canadian Joshua Aziz Rahmanas, both of whom were imprisoned in Fiji.
The disappearance of drugs from the court exhibit room after years of storage raises concerns about the security of the court premises and the integrity of senior judicial officers.
Nicholic had in his possession 12.9 kilograms of imported cocaine and 65 tablets containing cocaine and methamphetamine, with their value estimated at between $20 million(US$10 million) and $30 million(US$15 million). He was arrested in 2018 and sentenced in 2019.
Rahmanas was arrested in 2019 with 39.5kg of cocaine worth $31 million(US$15.5 million). He was sentenced in 2021.
The drugs were kept in the exhibit room at the High Court Registry, which had no proper security system, years after the two cases ended.
A police investigation into the missing $31 million worth of cocaine began in March this year.
Since then, the exhibit room has been relocated to a new room fitted with surveillance cameras and new grille bars.
Police believe the sealed drugs had been tampered with over a period of years and that the matter was brought to light only recently following media inquiries.
An initial police report earlier this month stated that $8 million (US$4 million) worth of cocaine linked to the Rahmanas case was missing.
Police confirmed Tuesday that, following forensic tests, all of the $31 million (US$15.5 million) worth of cocaine had been tampered with.
Test results were negative for cocaine, confirming that the substances were components of flour, salt and white sugar.
Investigations are now focused on those directly responsible for managing the exhibit room at the High Court Registry.
A senior High Court official who has served in the judiciary for more than 10 years is believed to be the main person of interest.
When the official was reassigned to another judicial branch this year, her successor identified anomalies in the contents of the exhibit room.
The person of interest has since left the country.
This masthead understands police had visited the person of interest’s newly built two-storey concrete house in Valelevu about three months ago.
Police visited the house again recently following information that she was in the country.
Meanwhile, Acting Attorney-General Siromi Turaga has strongly supported Chief Justice Salesi Temo’s statement that those involved will be brought to task.
Attempts to obtain comment from Chief Registrar Tomasi Bainivalu were unsuccessful.
The chief registrar is responsible for the overall administration and operation of the courts….PACNEWS
FIJI – CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM: FIJI SUN PACNEWS 3: Wed 30 Sep 2026
Fiji Opposition questions three-quarter vote requirement for Constitution Bill
SUVA, 30 SEPTEMBER 2026 (FIJISUN)—A four-vote difference could become a key issue in Fiji’s Constitution amendment process.
Standing Order 93 requires “no less than three-quarters” of all members at the second and third readings of a constitutional amendment Bill.
That is 40 votes out of 53 MPs.
Opposition leader Inia Seruiratu has written to the Speaker over Standing Order 93, which requires three-quarters of all MPs to pass a Bill amending the Constitution, despite the Supreme Court ruling that two-thirds is sufficient.
“We have used the channels available to clarify those and that has been done,” Seruiratu said.
Standing Order 93, adopted on May 23, 2024, requires “no less than three-quarters” of all members to vote in favour of a Bill at its second and third readings.
Three-quarters of 53 sitting MPs is 40 votes, while two-thirds is 36, a difference of four votes. The rule determines how many MPs are needed to amend Fiji’s supreme law.
Seruiratu said the Opposition had also raised the matter with the Government.
“What happened last time was the suspension of the Standing Orders so that they can proceed with the motion. And maybe that’s something that Government will again consider,” he said.
Standing Order 6 allows a rule to be suspended, but states that this does not permit any business “in breach of the Constitution or any other law”.
NFP leader Biman Prasad sits on the Parliament Business Committee. Asked yesterday whether the Standing Orders would change, he said:
“I have to look at what’s there, I don’t want to say something which is not going to be full representation,” he said.
Seruiratu said the Opposition would remain firm on the rule of law.
“We stand on the rule of law and ensure that whatever we do is consistent with the Constitution and the other regulations that bind the work that we do,” he said.
Opposition MP Premila Kumar says no one has the right to change what Fijians asked for “on an individual basis or as a Cabinet subcommittee”.
She made the comments as the Constitution Amendment Bill was tabled in Parliament Tuesday.
Kumar said the Fatiaki Report proposed a 72-member Parliament, while the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) recommended 41 seats and a 19-member Senate.
“That’s a lot of confusion,” she said. “So, in terms of transparency, that’s questionable.”
Kumar also wants to know “under which Standing Order” the Bill will be presented, and whether it will go to a committee of the whole House, a select committee or a standing committee.
Leader of the Opposition Inia Seruiratu said the Opposition had not seen the Bill.
“We do not have access to the Bill, but there is some anticipation on what to expect,” Mr Seruiratu said.
Under the Cabinet timetable, the second reading is scheduled for Friday.
The Bill will then go to a 10-member Special Parliamentary Committee, comprising seven Government and three Opposition members.
The committee will take public submissions in October and report back in November.
The third reading cannot be held until 30 days after the second reading.
If Parliament approves the Bill, Fiji’s first referendum is proposed to be held between November and mid-December.
Under the Supreme Court’s opinion, a simple majority of those who vote would be enough.
A new Constitution would come into effect by 24 December, with the general election due by 06 February, 2027….PACNEWS
PNG – GANG: ABC PACIFIC PACNEWS 3: Wed 30 Sep 2026
Notorious PNG gang declared a domestic terrorist organisation
PORT MORESBY, 30 SEPTEMBER 2026 (ABC PACIFIC)—A notorious criminal gang in Papua New Guinea known for robbing people in the middle of the night is now being classified as a domestic terrorist organisation.
The gang, known as Operation Brukim Tulait, or OBT, has long been associated with the city of Lae, but the name is now popping up in other parts of the country.
In Madang, there are growing concerns that some young people are adopting the name because of its notoriety, as the town grapples with youth crime and unemployment.
Morobe Governor Rainbo Paita says the Provincial Executive Council has made the decision to classify the OBT gang as a domestic terrorist organisation, but that the response should also focus on creating more opportunities for young people who have dropped out of school.
“That is something for us provincial governments and national government to consider creating more jobs for our bulging population,” he said
“But immediately police and all our law and order agencies need to come up with a plan so it doesn’t become a trend,” Paita said…PACNEWS
FIJI – DRUGS FIGHT: FIJI TIMES PACNEWS 3: Wed 30 Sep 2026
New Counter-Narcotics Bureau proposed to lead Fiji’s drug fight
SUVA, 30 SEPTEMBER 2026 (FIJI TIMES)—A dedicated Counter-Narcotics Bureau is set to become Fiji’s principal agency in the fight against illicit drugs under new legislation introduced in Parliament.
Minister for Policing Ioane Naivalurua said the proposed Bureau was at the heart of the Counter-Narcotics Bill 2026, which Government is seeking to fast-track under Standing Order 51.
“At the heart of this Bill is the establishment of the Counter-Narcotics Bureau, a dedicated institution that will serve as Fiji’s principal agency for coordinating national efforts,” Naivalurua told Parliament.
He said the Bureau would develop specialised intelligence and investigative capabilities, strengthen partnerships across Government and internationally and coordinate Fiji’s response to the growing narcotics threat.
Naivalurua said Fiji’s existing drug laws were developed for a different era and were no longer sufficient to deal with increasingly sophisticated criminal activity.
“Our laws must be strengthened and be capable of meeting the threat that exists today and tomorrow, not the threat that existed 20 years ago,” he said.
He said the modern drug landscape included organised criminal networks, transnational trafficking operations, precursor chemicals, financial crimes and money laundering.
The Minister said without the legislation, Government would continue to face limitations in operationalising the Bureau as a legally established and properly mandated institution.
“The longer the legislative response is delayed, the longer Fiji remains dependent on an outdated legal framework while the threat continues to evolve,” Naivalurua said.
He said the Bill represented a move away from a predominantly offence-based approach towards a coordinated, whole-of-nation counter-narcotics framework.
Naivalurua described the illicit drug challenge as a “national crisis and a national security concern”.
The Bill is scheduled to be debated in Parliament on Thursday….PACNEWS
AUST – SEA LEVEL RISE: AAP PACNEWS 3: Wed 30 Sep 2026
Antarctic blind spot emerges as major sea-level threat
CANBERRA, 30 SEPTEMBER 2026 (AAP)—Australian scientists are calling for a multimillion-dollar international effort to investigate “the last unexplored place in Antarctica’’, which contains enough ice to raise global sea levels by up to four metres.
Researchers from 14 countries issued the call on Wednesday, warning that little was known about the vast Wilkes Subglacial Basin in East Antarctica and models could not reliably predict when major ice loss could occur.
Australia could lead the study due to its proximity to the basin, they said, but no nation should undertake the research alone.
The warning comes weeks after a Climate Council study found more than 267,000 Australian properties would be at risk from rising seas and coastal flooding by 2100, in a trend that could cost $855 billion (US$597 billion).
The review, led by the Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science and published in Nature Reviews Earth and Environment, focused on an ice basin roughly 1400 kilometres long and 400km wide.
Its ice rests on bedrock more than 2000 metres below sea level in places, making it vulnerable to warm ocean waters.
Despite the risk, major research gaps meant scientists could not confidently predict its future, lead author and University of Tasmania Professor Matt King said.
“’The Wilkes Subglacial Basin is arguably the last unexplored place in Antarctica,” he said.
‘’What makes it tricky to get to is the extensive and persistent sea ice that surrounds it — that’s the frozen ocean. That means that no ship has ever come within 150 kilometres of the Cook Glacier.”
The review found geological records showed the basin had retreated during warm periods and likely contributed to sea level rises in the past, but studies lacked information about the sea floor and conditions beneath the ice.
Monash University Professor Andrew Mackintosh said that to address the gaps, researchers would need to deploy two icebreakers to the region and conduct a multi-year study by air, land and sea.
Scientists would need to drill through the ice sheet to sample bedrock and sediment, and deploy aircraft and satellites to observe changes, he said.
‘We can’t do it alone,” Prof Mackintosh said.
“’There’s so much vulnerability in a single nation taking this on and so much opportunity that comes from multinational collaboration.”
Prof King said Australia could lead the study, given the basin was mostly within its Antarctic territory, but nations such as New Zealand, South Korea, France and the U.S would be needed to share costs and accelerate findings.
‘By the time you operate icebreakers and you get people into the field, you’ll be talking in the many tens of millions of dollars but distributed across multiple nations I think that’s affordable given the risks that are out there,” he said…. PACNEWS
FIJI – HEALTH: FIJI TIMES PACNEWS 3: Wed 30 Sep 2026
Law change sought to allow sterile needle programme in HIV fight
SUVA, 30 SEPTEMBER 2026 (FIJI TIMES)—Fiji Health Ministry says it is ready to introduce a sterile needle and syringe programme to combat the country’s HIV epidemic but is being prevented from doing so by existing laws.
Minister for Health Dr Atonio Lalabalavu made the revelation while tabling the HIV/AIDS (Amendment) Bill 2026 in Parliament Tuesday.
“We all know that Fiji is experiencing a generalised HIV epidemic, with injecting drug use contributing significantly to HIV infections,” Dr Lalabalavu said.
He said preparations for harm-reduction measures, including providing sterile needles and syringes, had already been completed.
“The urgency, therefore, is not a question of resources or preparedness — the necessary commodities, service providers, and operational arrangements are in place.
“The immediate constraint is the existing legal framework.”
The proposed amendments would give the Minister authority to direct the Ministry, the HIV/AIDS Board or an authorised person to implement a Harm Reduction Programme.
This could include providing sterile needles and syringes, condoms, pre-exposure and post-exposure prophylaxis, facilities for safely returning used equipment, counselling and awareness materials.
The programme could also refer people to treatment, rehabilitation and mental health services.
Dr Lalabalavu said the legislation would provide legal protection to people delivering or receiving authorised harm-reduction services when acting in good faith.
However, he stressed the amendments would not legalise illicit drugs.
“They do not decriminalise drugs or reduce existing penalties for drug-related offences,” he said.
“The amendments are directed at providing the legal authority necessary to implement the evidence-informed HIV harm reduction measures.”
Dr Lalabalavu sought Parliament’s approval for the Bill to proceed under Standing Order 51 because of the urgency of Fiji’s HIV situation.
The Bill is expected to be debated in Parliament tomorrow…PACNEWS
PACNEWS BIZ
SAMOA – INVESTMENT: PACNEWS PACNEWS BIZ: Wed 30 Sep 2026
Samoa remains open to foreign investment but faces infrastructure, land and labour constraints
APIA, 30 SEPTEMBER 2026 (PACNEWS)—Samoa remains generally open to foreign investment, but its small economy, infrastructure bottlenecks, land ownership rules and labour shortages continue to constrain the country’s investment prospects, according to the 2026 Investment Climate Statements from the U.S State Department.
The report says Samoa’s economy grew by just under four percent in 2025 despite aging electricity infrastructure, congestion at the country’s only international port and political disruption caused by multiple votes of no confidence in the previous government.
Inflation fell below two percent by the end of 2025, while visitor arrivals continued to grow, supporting the potential for further expansion in tourism.
However, the report says Samoa remains heavily dependent on remittances and official development assistance, with limited economic diversification.
The U.S Embassy in Samoa and the State Department said the government continues to welcome foreign direct investment, particularly investment that creates employment for Samoans.
Priority sectors identified by the government include tourism and hospitality, agriculture and agro-processing, fisheries and aquaculture, information and communications technology, business process outsourcing, light manufacturing, renewable energy and creative industries.
“The Government of Samoa welcomes FDI and has pledged to streamline procedures to encourage increased foreign investment,” the report states.
Foreign investors can hold 100 percent ownership in most sectors, but several activities are reserved for Samoan citizens.
These include public bus and taxi services, vehicle rentals, retail, sawmilling and traditional elei garment design and printing.
Foreign ownership is also restricted in some sectors. Fishing operations are subject to a maximum 40 percent foreign equity, while nonu and coconut virgin oil production require a joint venture with a local partner.
Foreign investors must obtain a Foreign Investment Certificate from the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour before receiving a business licence.
The report says the application is supposed to be processed within five working days, although all foreign investment is screened to ensure compliance with Samoa’s investment rules.
Land remains another major issue for investors.
About 80 percent of Samoa’s land is customary land, which cannot be bought or sold but can be leased. The report says business leases commonly run for 30 years, with the possibility of renewal.
Customary land cannot be mortgaged and therefore cannot be used as collateral to raise capital.
Freehold land can be bought, sold and mortgaged, but foreign ownership is restricted and requires approval from the Head of State.
The U.S report also highlights labour shortages, particularly in tourism and healthcare, driven in part by migration to New Zealand and Australia.
Only about 20 percent of Samoa’s working-age population was recorded as formally employed in 2024, according to Samoa Bureau of Statistics figures cited in the report, with informal employment widespread in agriculture, fishing, forestry and small businesses.
The minimum wage is scheduled to rise to 5.24 tala (US$1.90) an hour from July 2026, 5.65 tala (US$2.05) in July 2027 and 6.05 tala (US$2.19) in July 2028.
The report says some light manufacturing businesses have successfully relocated operations from Asia to Samoa, citing low labour costs, an English-speaking workforce and convenient time-zone links with the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
But it identifies uncertainty over duty concessions for imported raw materials as a constraint on manufacturing investment.
The report also points to weaknesses in government financial reporting, saying the Ministry of Finance has not released its annual report for 2023-24 or a statement of public accounts since 2021 because they have not been endorsed by Parliament.
Samoa was removed from the European Union’s list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes in February 2026 after regulatory changes aimed at bringing the country into full compliance with international tax governance standards.
The report says Samoa has no comprehensive bilateral tax agreement with the United States.
It also notes that Samoa has 14 state-owned enterprises covering sectors including energy, water, aviation, banking and ports, but private companies are legally permitted to compete with them.
On corruption, the report says there are occasional credible allegations and prosecutions involving misuse of public funds and abuse of public office.
Samoa adopted its first National Anti-Corruption Policy and Strategy in 2024 and ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption in 2018.
The report says Samoa remains politically peaceful and has no recent history of politically motivated violence or civil disorder.
It also describes Samoa as a parliamentary democracy with an independent judiciary and a record of protecting human rights, while noting past controversy over changes to the judicial system that were reversed through constitutional amendments in 2025.
The report says Samoa’s small population, remoteness and exposure to natural disasters remain structural challenges for investment, while climate change is increasing risks to infrastructure, food and water security and economic stability….PACNEWS
FIJI – EMPLOYMENT MINISTER: MAI TV PACNEWS BIZ: Wed 30 Sep 2026
Fiji’s Acting Attorney-General Turaga expected to be sworn in as Employment Minister
SUVA, 30 SEPTEMBER 2026 (MAI TV)—Fiji’s Acting Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Siromi Turaga is expected to be formally sworn in as Minister for Employment, Productivity and Workplace Relations later this week, following the death of former minister Agni Deo Singh.
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka confirmed the expected swearing-in while speaking to MaiTV, saying the timing would depend on the availability of the Office of the President.
Asked whether Turaga would be sworn in today, Rabuka said: “Not sure, that depends on State House program.”
Rabuka had assigned the Employment, Productivity and Workplace Relations portfolio to Turaga following Singh’s death earlier this month.
Singh had served as Minister for Employment since the Coalition Government took office in December 2022.
Turaga currently serves as Acting Attorney-General and Minister for Justice…..PACNEWS
PNG – TEXTILE INDUSTRY: THE NATIONAL PACNEWS BIZ: Wed 30 Sep 2026
PNG still behind in textile industry: Official
PORT MORESBY, 30 SEPTEMBER 2026 (THE NATIONAL)—Papua New Guineans have limited knowledge and skills when it comes to the garment and textile industry making it hard for them to compete with the foreigners operating in the country, an official says.
Small-to-medium Enterprises Corporation (Smec) managing director Petrus Ralda said: “Evidently, there is a skills gap for new product development which makes Papua New Guineans producing and selling common meri-blouses and shirts as can be seen.
“They cannot grow their businesses but limit themselves to the informal sector because of this.”
Ralda was at the Women Enterprise Development Centre in Port Moresby yesterday to see 26 pioneer students receive certificates after training.
He said the centre was to train, coach and mentor Papua New Guineans on technical skills in pattern design, garment construction, screen printing/graphic design and sewing machine repair, heat press and embroidery programmes.
At part of the garment and textile training programme at the centre, course participants studied management training to start their business.
Ralda added: “Smec is the lead government agency for micro, small-to-medium enterprise development in the country.
“It provides advisory and capacity building services through entrepreneurship trainings, business growth and development programs to aspiring micro, small medium entrepreneurs at the ward, district and provincial levels throughout PNG.”
Commerce and Industry Minister Wake Goi said: “We are providing technical expertise in skills with training, mentoring and coaching for Papua New Guineans in the garment and textile sector so that they can level up at the trend of new product innovation and production.
“We are determined to have aspiring Papua New Guineans produce new products apart from the common meri-blouse and shirts and start up their businesses.” …PACNEWS
PACNEWS In Focus
The views expressed in PACNEWS are those of agencies contributing articles and do not necessarily those of PINA and/or PACNEWS
South Pacific: As Small Islands battle Climate Change, Debts should not be weaponised
By Antonia Bhagwan
SUVA, 30 SEPTEMBER 2026 (INDEPTH NEWS/WANSOLWARA ONLINE)—- The South Pacific region with its many vulnerable island nations may have moved beyond the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, but its economic consequences continue to weigh on governments across the region.
Once again, countries are facing rising debt levels. In its 2026 Pacific Economic Update, the World Bank linked the current financial landscape to slower economic growth, narrowing fiscal space, climate disasters, and an uncertain global economy.
Economic growth across 11 Pacific Island countries is projected to slow to 2.8 percent in 2026, according to the report, as rising fuel and shipping prices pressure budgets. The report shows that repeated shocks are becoming the Pacific’s new normal. It highlights the need to move beyond short-term crisis response and invest in the foundations of long-term growth.
According to Joey Tau, Coordinator of the Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG), the region’s current debt problem must be understood historically and structurally.
“Over the past two decades, both internal and external developments have challenged the economic structures of Pacific Island states,” Tau states.
The region operates within a history of colonisation and has long been characterised as a group of “underdeveloped” small island states “faced with economic challenges”.
“It is under these conditions that debt has been something inherited from our colonisers, and we continue to struggle with,” adds Tau.
Public debt obligations
“Many Pacific Island countries continue to face challenges in meeting their debt obligations,” says Adam Wolfenden, PANG Deputy Coordinator.
The issue of public debt in the region is a serious concern, with “real-world implications” for the diversion of public funds away from other essential services. The issue should not be reduced to simply “debt-trap diplomacy”.
According to Wolfenden, the terminology and implication that only certain donors are using funds for influence can distract from deeper questions about how borrowing is used to develop economies.
It can also distract from how debt obligations impact public spending and economic sovereignty. The region’s debt picture is mixed. The World Bank reports that average public debt-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratios declined modestly in 2025, with the average falling by 1.8 percentage points.
Between 2023 and 2025, the number of countries assessed at high risk of overall debt distress fell from five to three. However, four countries remain at high risk under the broader debt vulnerability analysis.
Fiji remains a notable example. Public debt stood at around 79 percent of GDP in 2025, the highest among the 11 countries covered in the report. While this is below its pandemic peak, the World Bank notes that progress towards stabilising the country’s debt has stalled, exposing deeper questions about Fiji’s economic make-up and need for diversification.
Meanwhile, Solomon Islands’ public debt-to-GDP ratio has nearly doubled, increasing by approximately 14 percentage points since 2022 to reach 30 percent of GDP in 2025. Ongoing elevated fuel costs will continue to further strain government spending and government deficits.
As some Pacific countries move away from grant-only financing towards a greater share of concessional borrowing, the World Bank says maintaining debt sustainability will become more difficult. The World Bank projects public debt to rise in 2026–2027 as fiscal deficits widen and growth moderates.
“The geopolitical competition in the Pacific has not necessarily led to greater access to resources for the region; rather, there is a global shrinking in the grants available, shifting more countries into lending financing,” says Wolfenden.
“This results in increased pressure on Pacific economies and political positioning.” At the same time, he argues that development finance cannot be separated from strategic interests.
“Infrastructure investments are often associated with, or facilitate access to, raw materials in the region,” he notes. “This can result in financing infrastructure that has a distinct dual-use, providing the donor government with more power over the loan recipient.
“Donors may differ in the mechanisms for providing funds, but there is a shared understanding that debt creates opportunities for influencing the region,”adds Wolfenden.
To illustrate, he mentions that Australia’s development assistance is shifting to securitisation, compared to how the United States’ is withdrawing from the region while continuing to weaponise its trade policy.
Such approaches “further undermine the Pacific,” argues Wolfenden.
Who Benefits?
“Borrowing is important, but are we borrowing for the sake of actual tangible development?” asks Tau. “As small island developing states, are we put in a position that encourages ongoing borrowing, so it becomes a habit where your economy is dependent rather than looking at other options?”
“It all comes down to the priorities and plan behind the borrowing,” he says. Thus, Tau argues that instead of allowing external interests to determine national spending priorities, fiscal planning should “equate to human development, ensuring that infrastructure services are not just accessible to its urban centres, but basic services reach its rural majority.
“Citizenry budgeting is necessary to establish whether public resources are being directed towards what communities actually need rather than depending on what a government chooses.It needs to be people informing priorities.”
Regional responses
Climate change continues to damage infrastructure and place additional pressure on public finances. In Tonga, for example, the economic impact of climate-induced events is disproportionately large, with the annual average loss estimated at TOP 178 million (USD$77 million), or 18.2 percent of GDP.
That is more than the total education and health budgets combined. This indicates that Tonga cannot fully absorb such losses on a yearly basis by itself.
“As the region continues to go through climate-induced impacts on infrastructure, what is the regional approach around ensuring that the Pacific doesn’t get into a debt spiral?” Tau asks.
It is especially challenging for Pacific governments facing growing spending needs while grant financing declines. The World Bank recommends credible fiscal frameworks, stronger debt and cash management, improved revenue collection, better project selection and procurement, and more disciplined borrowing.
However, these blanket suggestions aren’t always suitable in the Pacific context. The World Bank also warns that climate adaptation, resilient infrastructure, water, energy, transport, and public services will require substantial financing.
This creates a difficult balance. While grants are preferred, borrowing may be necessary to establish the infrastructure needed for economic growth potential. However, borrowing can leave governments more exposed to future crises, with excessive debt obligations undermining spending on other components of a growing economy, such as health, education, and targeted supports.
The World Bank therefore points to integrating disaster-risk financing and climate adaptation into fiscal planning. For Tau, however, the response also needs to extend beyond national fiscal planning to regional mechanisms that can help countries absorb financial shocks caused by climate change.
“We will incur unprecedented or unprojected expenditure, and we have to be prepared for it,” he says. “We have to create an environment and facilities that, one, address this issue, but also sustain the region.”
Sovereignty and looking ahead
Ultimately, the Pacific’s debt challenge is a question of economic sovereignty. It asks whether Pacific governments have the space to determine their own development priorities and fund them without interference.
Tau warns that the region’s sovereignty, including its ownership of state-owned enterprises, resources, access to resources and islands, is at risk if development priorities are not focused on long-term wellbeing.
“Fiscal policies need to project the realities of the economic status of a country. That means ensuring the wellbeing of its people first and foremost,” he says….PACNEWS
This feature was written by final-year Journalism student Antonia Bhagwan, who recently completed an internship with the Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) as part of the University of the South Pacific’s (USP) Journalism programme. The feature is transmitted under agreement between IDN and USP’s student newspaper Wansolwara.
PACNEWS DIGEST
The views expressed in PACNEWS are those of agencies contributing articles and do not necessarily those of PINA and/or PACNEWS
One Ocean, One Future: The Pacific’s Blue Thread to COP31
NEW YORK, 30 SEPTEMBER 2026 (SPREP)—In New York, Pacific leaders made the case that the ocean cannot be governed in pieces – and that the region that knows it best is ready to lead the world towards COP31.
Every year, humpback whales return to Tonga’s warm waters to give birth. Then, with their calves at their side, they turn south for the long journey to Antarctic feeding grounds – crossing, without ever knowing it, out of Tonga’s waters and into the high seas that belong to no one.
For Tonga’s Prime Minister, Lord Fakafanua, that journey holds a lesson about the way the world governs the ocean.
“The whales don’t know about borders. The krill don’t know about borders. We do, and we have an opportunity to do something about it,” he told the UN Solutions Dialogue on Ocean Action and Leadership in New York.
It was a message Pacific leaders delivered with one voice- the ocean cannot be managed in fragments, and the region that depends on it most is ready to lead. As Lord Fakafanua put it, “Small states, large oceans, global solutions.”
UN event
From dialogue to agenda
The Pacific’s COP31 Ocean Envoy, Honourable Inia Seruiratu, challenged the international community to move from discussion to delivery. “We all know what the problem is. There’s a big difference between a dialogue item and an agenda item.”
That distinction sits at the heart of the Pacific’s push. The ocean already has its own dialogue within the UN climate talks, but it is not yet a standing item on the negotiating agenda – where decisions are made and delivery can be measured. The Pacific wants the ocean moved from the margins to the centre of the table.
Fiji’s Minister for Environment and Climate Change, Honourable Lynda Tabuya, said that fragmentation begins much closer to home. “Even the silos exist within cabinet and within our ministries, let alone what we’re talking about on a global stage.”
A threshold of survival
For Tuvalu, with nine low-lying islands whose highest point sits less than five metres above sea level, the stakes could not be higher.
“For Tuvalu, the ocean is not one issue among many on the international agenda,” said Prime Minister Feleti Teo. “The ocean is our home. It is our history. It is our culture and it is our future.”
Rising seas, warming waters, ocean acidification and coastal flooding are already threatening homes, freshwater, food security and cultural heritage. “These are not predictions of some distant future. They are the reality of our present situation.”
The same urgency applies to the world’s temperature goal. “For Pacific people, the 1.5 degrees target is not an abstract negotiating benchmark. It is a threshold of survival.”
Yet he was clear that the Pacific does not come to the global stage simply as a region of vulnerability. “We come as custodians of the vast Pacific Ocean. We come as leaders in ocean governance. And we come with solutions.”
The blue thread
Chairing the dialogue, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean, Ambassador Peter Thomson, described the growing momentum as a “blue thread” linking Pacific leadership, ocean governance, science and finance on the road to COP31.
That thread now runs from New York back to the Pacific. Leaders will gather in Funafuti, Tuvalu, on 5–6 October for the leaders’ segment of Pre-COP, before talks continue in Nadi, Fiji, until 8 October. From there it leads to COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, from 9 to 20 November, with Australia presiding over the negotiations in partnership with the Pacific.
Its message is simple- the ocean cannot be separated from climate, from people or from development.
“Ultimately,” PM Teo said, “we share the one ocean, one climate, one planet and one future.”
In the coming weeks, the humpbacks will leave Tonga’s waters again, heading south across lines they will never know exist. The question the Pacific is now putting to the world is, whether the rest of us can learn to govern the ocean the way they travel it – as one.
The 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly and Climate Week New York was held from 20 to 28 September 2026. The UN Solutions Dialogue for Oceans event was held on 22 September 2026….PACNEWS
PACNEWS DIGEST
The views expressed in PACNEWS are those of agencies contributing articles and do not necessarily those of PINA and/or PACNEWS
From energy crisis to energy transition: How renewables are reshaping energy security
NEW YORK/ABU DHABI, 30 SEPTEMBER 2026 (UN NEWS CENTRE) —The continuing conflict in the Middle East is disrupting global energy markets and pushing up fuel prices, with knock-on effects far beyond the region.
For Francesco La Camera, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the crisis is also reshaping how the world understands the phrase “energy security.”
For decades, that meant a country’s reserves of oil and gas. Today, he says, countries want a system that is more diverse, decentralised and within their own control – and renewables are becoming central to that.
From reserves to autonomy
Speaking to UN News‘s Jing Zhang during the General Assembly’s High-Level Week, La Camera traced today’s thinking back to the oil shocks of the 1970s, when the world first treated energy security as a systemic concern and set up international bodies to stabilise markets.
Back then, energy security meant one thing: reserves of oil and gas.
“Countries have realised that a centralized energy system based on fossil fuel doesn’t provide energy security,” he said.
Fossil fuel supply is highly concentrated and much of it passes through a handful of maritime chokepoints, so a geopolitical shock can ripple through global markets within days.
Renewables, he argued, offer the opposite: energy from many sources and places, owned by many different actors.
Countries with a higher share of renewables, he noted, have generally weathered the current crisis better. Spain has been comparatively less affected; in Norway, close to half of road transport is now electric.
Transition gathers pace
The drive toward renewables was once powered mainly by the goal of meeting the Paris Agreement, Mr. La Camera said. Now energy security is reinforcing that momentum.
“We are moving toward a new energy system built primarily on renewables, complemented by the sustainable use of biomass and, above all, green hydrogen,” he said.
Around 90 per cent of new power generation capacity added worldwide each year now comes from renewables, he noted, and in China, solar capacity overtook coal-fired capacity for the first time in history at the end of July.
“The direction of travel is no longer in question,” he said. “The real question is the speed and scale.”
Molecules and electrons
Economic competitiveness in the years ahead, Mr. La Camera said, will depend heavily on whether energy systems can deliver “molecules” – green hydrogen – and “electrons” – electricity and storage – at lower cost.
Renewables, he said, are already among the most competitive sources of electricity. Addressing concerns about intermittency, he pointed to IRENA research showing that renewables paired with storage can deliver round-the-clock, year-round power – what the agency calls “firm renewables” – more cheaply than gas or nuclear.
Electrification, he added, is central to decarbonisation, with buildings, transport and industry all needing to electrify further.
But with demand growing faster than expected and efficiency gains lagging, he warned the supply-demand gap by 2030 could be wider than previously projected.
Tripling renewable capacity by 2030 may not be enough alone – hence IRENA’s 35 by 35 goal: raising electricity’s share of final energy consumption to 35 per cent by 2035, likely a key COP31 topic.
Three challenges
La Camera identified three priorities:
*Infrastructure – interconnected, flexible grids supported by artificial intelligence and digitalisation, plus ports and related facilities;
*A fairer legal and regulatory environment – since fossil fuels still benefit from subsidies that slow the new system’s growth
*Workforce – retraining workers for the energy system ahead.
For developing countries, high financing costs and limited grids compound the challenge: he is calling on multilateral financial institutions to make infrastructure and grid modernisation a clear priority.
Asked for his message to the world, Mr. La Camera did not hesitate: “Grid, grid, grid – interconnectivity, flexibility and balance. This is, I think, the most urgent thing to act on right now.”…PACNEWS
