Australia commits $72 million in budget support for Fiji
The Australian Government has committed an additional FJ$72 million (AU$50 million) in budget support to Fiji for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The agreement was signed by Deputy Prime Minister Biman Prasad and the
Australian Museum repatriates human remains to Papua New Guinea
16 human skulls were repatriated to Papua New Guinea by the Chau Chak Wing Museum in Sydney, Australia last week. The ancestral remains were returned to six village communities, including Gorendu and Bilibil, in
Australia tallies Pacific impact of U.S foreign aid cuts
Australia is racing to identify the South Pacific’s most pressing funding needs as the United States moves to slash its foreign aid budget, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Thursday. Crucial food, climate
‘Deplorable’ Nauru visa deal to face court challenge
A controversial Australian federal government bid to deport an immigration detainees to Nauru will face a High Court challenge after a legal not-for-profit launched proceeding. AAP reports that the man is one of three
Australia and PNG to begin negotiations on new defency treaty
Australia and Papua New Guinea are beginning negotiations on a defence treaty, in a move that could have major implications for national security and the Pacific’s strategic landscape. The announcement comes just
Australia to boot violent offenders in Nauru visa deal
Three violent offenders will be deported from Australia after being granted long-term visas by Nauru in a deal human rights activists have slammed as “Trumpian”. AAP reports that the Nauruans approached the federal
Peter Roberts is Australia’s new High Commissioner to Fiji
Peter Roberts is Australia’s new High Commissioner to Fiji. He will replace Ewen McDonald who is moving to Papua New Guinea. Roberts is currently the Deputy Head of Mission, Australian Embassy, Tokyo. “Australia and
2025 PacificAus Sports Netball Series to start 5th edition of tournament
From today to Saturday the fifth edition of the PacificAus Sports Netball Series will be held at Nissan Arena in Brisbane. The series is hosted by Netball Australia and funded by the Australian Government. The five
Papua New Guinea’s Internal Revenue Commission hit in major cyber attack but public only told of ‘system outage’
Papua New Guinea’s tax office has been hit with a major cyber attack, pushing systems offline and potentially exposing sensitive data belonging to hundreds of thousands of people and businesses, including
Take them off: Concern over teen social media use
Australia’s bold move to ban social media for children under 16 years, a world-first law, has sparked a global debate. The policy is now a topic of conversation and consideration in many countries, including those in
Tonga unprepared for deportee crisis, lacks legislation says ministry leader
Tonga is unprepared for the increasing number of deportees arriving from the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, says Reverend Semisi Kava, Chaplain for the Tonga Prison Service, warning that the lack of
Jetstar launches Sydney-Vanuatu service, and Qantas now flying to Palau
Jetstar has launched its first direct flights from Sydney to Port Vila, Vanuatu, offering up to four weekly services and connecting travellers to the South Pacific Island nation with more than 80,000 seats annually.
Australia gains effective veto over Nauru security pact
Australia will get an effective veto right over Nauru entering a security agreement with another country under a pact that will prop up the Pacific nation’s budget. AAP reports that the two countries will have to
Opinion: Trusted partner to the Pacific, or giant fossil fuel exporter? This week, Australia chose the latter
Australia has long tried to be two things at once – a trusted friend to Pacific nations in a bid to reduce China’s influence, and a giant exporter of fossil fuels. This diplomatic tightrope has become increasingly
NRL’s PNG team expected to be confirmed next week
The NRL is expected to confirm as early as next week a team from Papua New Guinea will enter the competition later this decade. The PNG bid, propped up by $600 million (US$386 million) of Australian government
Australian Federal Police incinerates 500kg of cocaine seized after alleged PNG import attempt
Senior police officers from Australia and Papua New Guinea have monitored the destruction of 500kg of cocaine, which was seized by authorities in 2020 after the black flight believed to have been transporting it to
Albanese wants to “China-proof” the Pacific, but Nauru is driving a hard bargain
The Albanese government hopes to end the year with a major foreign policy victory by signing a landmark pact with Nauru aimed at preventing China from gaining a security foothold in the Pacific. The Sydney Morning
Big polluters’ legal obligations are in treaty: Australia
Australia has reiterated its commitment to the Paris Agreement on climate action but does not think high-emitting countries have further legal responsibilities to stave off climate catastrophe. In a landmark case
We’re not drowning
It’s a warm night in Sydney. A neighbourhood climate action group gathers at a pub in the inner-city suburb of Rozelle, to meet a visiting delegation of Pacific climate justice activists. For the six young advocates
The Australia-Pacific COP31 bid is in limbo. What now?
Australia and Pacific Island nations had hoped to leave this year’s global climate talks in Azerbaijan having won a bid to host the COP31 summit in 2026. Instead, that decision on who will host the 31st “conference
Australian migration laws crackdown blasted by experts, advocates
Australia’s plan to pay countries to accept its deported non-citizens is amongst a raft of measures under scrutiny at a Senate inquiry that legal experts and advocates have panned as undermining the rule of law.
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
Opinion: Australia and the Pacific are in prime position to host landmark COP31 summit
An announcement about who will host the 2026 UN climate summit is expected during COP29 discussions in Baku,
