Pacific leaders want action on West Papua human rights issues
By Nic Maclellan in Funafuti, Tuvalu Members of the Pacific Islands Forum have urged Indonesia to take action on human rights violations in West Papua, and strongly encouraged Jakarta to facilitate a long-mooted visit
Poor governance in the Pacific: the forgotten issue
By Stephen Howes There was a time when the Australia lectured the Pacific. John Howard said in 2004 that Australia had a “special responsibility” to help the Pacific but that we sought “reforms and
Why PHAMA Plus matters to the Pacific
PHAMA Plus was launched in Suva on 11 April 2019 although it has been operating since 1 November 2018. The ‘Plus’ tag signifies that it is a follow-up to the original PHAMA, which is the acronym for
United States of the Pacific
THE derivation of the ‘United States of the Pacific’, (USoP), an optional conceptual supra-state construct for the 48-year old Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is reminiscent of the Lae Rebellion of 1965.
Give the Pacific a ‘fair go’
THE recent disparaging remarks made by Australia’s Environment Minister, Melissa Price, to former Kiribati President Anote Tong is a reminder of all that is bad about Australia and its views of the
Japan May Consider Visa Waiver for Pacific Island Nations
By Anish Chand TOKYO – Japan may eventually consider a visa waiver for all Pacific Island countries as part of its recent Pacific Island Leaders Meeting (PALM) commitments. However, this will take time as Japan is
Will Australia abandon the Pacific on climate change?
The reaction in Pacific Island capitals to the leadership coup on 24 August that deposed Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was much the same as that of many Australians. Shock, incomprehension and a degree of
China-Taiwan spat at Forum
By Islands Business correspondent Nic Maclellan, at the Pacific Islands Forum in Nauru It’s not only journalists who face visa problems getting into Nauru. China’s official delegation had trouble obtaining
Forum to consider Biketawa Plus security declaration
BY Islands Business correspondent Nic Maclellan at the Pacific Islands Forum, Nauru Pacific leaders will consider a new Biketawa Plus declaration on regional security, as they gather in Nauru for the 49th Pacific
Forum agrees to disagree on 1.5
AGREEING that a 1.5 degrees Celsius rise in temperature would “severely exacerbate” impacts of climate change in the “most vulnerable smaller island states of the Pacific,” leaders of the Pacific
Forum is work in progress
Melanesian leaders failed to attend the 2nd Pacific Islands Development Forum on the Fijian resort island of Denarau last month. Conspicuous in their absence were Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and
