China returns to Pacific with aid and influence push, report shows
China has regained its place as the second-biggest bilateral donor to the Pacific Islands, displacing the United States and targeting its spending to win influence, a Lowy Institute report on aid to the region found.…
Solomon Islands loses USD$15.1 million in productivity due to violence
A UN Women costing study shows that Solomon Islands has lost approximately USD$15.1 million in the annual productivity of women in the formal sector due to violence in 2021. This accounts for 1% of the…
Vanuatu Parliament dissolution challenged in court
The Vanuatu Opposition bloc has filed a case in court challenging President Nikenike Vurobaravu’s decision to dissolve Parliament amid a no-confidence motion against him. The Vanuatu Daily Post/AAP reports that the President dissolved Parliament based…
Pacific negotiators frustrated by ‘slow process’ of climate talks
Pacific climate leaders were frustrated by the sluggish rate of progress made during the first week of the UN climate meeting in Azerbaijan. RNZ PACIFIC reports that the big goal of this COP is to…
Palauan youth allege human rights violations by US military
Guam-based international law firm Blue Ocean Law has filed a submission to two United Nations independent human rights experts detailing human rights violations they say are caused by the United States’ ongoing militarisation in Palau.…
Snap election looms in Vanuatu
The president of Vanuatu has dissolved parliament, triggering a snap-election, for the second time in two years. RNZ reports that Nikenike Vurobaravu’s decision comes on the eve of a motion of no-confidence from the parliamentary…
New Zealand Treaty protests continue
New Zealand’s Maori Queen will join a generationally significant protest to support the Treaty of Waitangi as it reaches a climax in Wellington. Opposition to the nation-dividing Treaty Principles Bill has already reached fever pitch…
Pacific education: Backsliding outcomes and a financing freefall
Education outcomes in the Pacific are faltering. Across much of the region, participation in formal education is declining, along with graduation rates and academic performance. Both domestic and international funding for education has waned as…
COP29
Pacific negotiators frustrated by ‘slow process’ of climate talks
Pacific climate leaders were frustrated by the sluggish rate of progress made during the first week of the UN climate meeting in Azerbaijan. RNZ PACIFIC reports that the big goal of this COP is to…
Fiji partners with NGOs at COP29
The UNFCC Conference of the Parties (COP29) is, in the words of Dr Sivendra Michael, Fiji’s country leadand Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, “not an exciting journey. It is a…
Australia accused of ‘exporting climate destruction’ on tiny Pacific neighbours with massive gas expansion plans
Pacific governments at the UN climate summit are criticising Australia’s plans for a massive gas industry expansion in Western Australia, saying it could result in 125 times more greenhouse gas emissions than their island nations…
COP29: Pacific climate finance needs top $2billion
Economic modelling released at the COP29 climate conference on Thursday revealed Pacific nations need at least US$1.5 billion (AUD$2.3 billion) per year in climate finance.