Neighbours: Australia and New Caledonia boost diplomatic and defence ties

Eighty years ago, fearful of Japan, Australia sent a diplomat and a warship to New Caledonia. Today, Australia is mobilising defence and diplomacy against another rising Asian power. On the morning of 19 September 1940,

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FEMM seeks money for COVID, money for climate

“For the Pacific, the impact of climate change will remain as the greatest threat to our Pacific people in the longer term. You can quarantine COVID-19, but climate change cannot be quarantined.” That’s Exsley

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Community action on climate finance

Despite all the international pledges for climate adaptation, Pacific governments and civil society want more action on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As the host of the 2019 Forum leaders meeting in Tuvalu, then

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Pacific Economic Ministers call for debt relief and donor flexibility

Pacific Islands Forum Economic Ministers are asking development partners to provide debt relief, and increase general budget support as island nations struggle with the economic impacts of coronavirus pandemic. At the

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Hope on labour mobility

There’s good news for Vanuatu’s seasonal workers this week with the announcement that 170 workers will be able to go to Australia for the mango season. The workers will go to the Northern Territory in a pilot

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5-way race for Forum leadership

Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Dame Meg Taylor has declined to comment on the negotiations over her successor as head of the regional organisation, saying only “I have a job to do and I’m going to do it

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ADB releases loans, grants for Pacific

The Asian Development Bank has announced a series of grants to Pacific nations. US$13.3million has been made available to 10 nations—Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau,

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Opinion: Building the Pacific the Pacific Way

The Pacific Way was coined by the late Fijian and Pacific Islands stateman, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, in which people of different races, opinions and cultures can live and work together for the good of all, can differ

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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

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PIF boss: Four contenders and a call to defer the vote

  Tuvalu has asked Pacific Leaders to consider deferring the formal appointment of the new Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum until a face-to-face meeting next year. Islands Business is aware of four

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Staff back Pal

A fresh protest at the University of the South Pacific’s Laucala Bay Campus in Suva was quickly stopped by Police Tuesday when protesters were told they had to apply for a permit. The protesters – angry at

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Pacific countries will access future COVID-19 vaccine through funding mechanism

Pacific island countries will be able to access a future COVID-19 vaccine through a new funding mechanism announced by Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, at the Global Vaccine Summit last week. Fiji, Kiribati, Federated States

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