2021: The diagnosis
After an incredibly challenging 2020, what will this year bring? We take a look at the economic and political prognosis and a few key sectors. Vaccinating for recovery Timely vaccination campaigns will be key to the
Whispers
Sending a message with Seselja? In a Cabinet re-shuffle, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has appointed Liberal Senator Zed Seselja as Minister for International Development and the Pacific, replacing Alex
Pacific Business briefs
Free Bird Limited has signed a contract with Air New Zealand to bring its international students back to Fiji on 27 December 2020. Chief Operating Officer, Mereseini Baleilevuka said, “This is a great
Customs revenue badly hit by COVID
The decline in revenue collections for governments through its border agencies was a major topic of discussion at the Oceania Customs Organisation’s 22nd Annual Conference, held virtually for the first time in its
Nuclear ban treaty opens way for Pacific nuclear survivors
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, first adopted by the UN General Assembly in July 2017, will enter into force on 22 January, after the 50th signatory deposited its ratification of the treaty with the
Cook Islands ratifies PACER Plus
The Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus (PACER Plus) is to come into force with the Cook Islands ratifying the agreement this week. Cook Islands is the eighth signatory to PACER Plus, joining Australia,
Connecting the Pacific :ICT promises and challenges
For the past several months if you are working in business, in government, for regional organisations or studying, you have almost certainly expanded your use of a raft of collaboration and meeting tools. You may have
Sir Toke Talagi: A Pacific icon
Former Niue Premier Sir Toke Talagi will be laid to rest on Monday 27 July. Sir Toke Talagi passed away after a prolonged illness, soon after arriving home on a private chartered flight from New Zealand where he
Movers and Shakers
Niue’s new Premier is Dalton Tagelagi. He won 13 votes to rival O’love Jacobsen’s seven. Tagelagi was previously Minister for the Environment, Natural Resources, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and replaces
Delving into PICTA
In the last issue of Islands Business, I discussed the abysmal state of the Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA) and concluded that there was indifference in the way signatory countries have regarded and
USP students protests continue across region
Solidarity action for change continues today in a number of University of the South Pacific campuses around the region, as students throw their weight behind the call for “good governance” within the
