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

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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

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Opinion: Passports for sale – Lessons for Nauru and Solomon Islands from Vanuatu’s EU rebuke

Vanuatu becomes first country to ever lose EU visa-free access after golden passport scheme poses security threat. Earlier this month Vanuatu received a stinging rebuke from the European Parliament, becoming the first

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Nauru Airlines receive support to continue weekly flights

The Australian Government has extended its support to Nauru Airlines until October 2025 as the national carrier builds its Australia-North Pacific Connector

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Former FBI director slams AFP inaction in Nauru bribery case

A former director of the U.S Federal Bureau of Investigation has criticised the Australian Federal Police over its handling of a bribery

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Nauru uses high-profile UN address to press case for sea-bed mining

Nauru’s President David Adeang declared in a speech to the United Nations that the international community must not let “fear and misinformation” block the exploitation of sea-bed

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Landmark settlements for children detained in Nauru

Two children who were detained offshore in Nauru have won federal court settlements from the Australian government for medical negligence and abdicating its duty of care. The judgments for the two cases, identified as

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World Bank approves $68 million cross-border bank lifeline for remote Pacific Islands

The World Bank’s board has approved a US$68 million programme to prevent Pacific Island nations from being cut off from the international financial system that underpins tourism, trade and aid flows, the

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Guam eyed as Micronesian hub for Nauru Airlines

Guam leaders have begun a dialogue with Nauru Airlines to explore air service expansion and consider a proposal to create a regional hub on island. The meeting between Guam officials and Nauru Airlines executives

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ANZ says in talks with Australian govt about shoring up Pacific Islands business

ANZ bank is in talks with the Australian government about ways to make its business in the Pacific Islands more viable as an exodus of Western financial services fuels concern about rising Chinese influence, its CEO

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Future of New Zealand’s Nauru resettlement deal unclear

New Zealand is unlikely to resettle its full quota of refugees from Nauru under its 2022 agreement with Australia, and faces choices on the future of the pact. A deal struck by previous governments on both sides of the

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Third boat arrival detected in a week, but no one taken to Nauru

Two boatloads of asylum seekers intercepted off the Australian coast are being kept at sea rather than being sent immediately for offshore processing in Nauru, prompting questions about whether the government is trying

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Reversing the tide of colonial anthropology

Doctor Tarisi Vunidilo has emerged as a leading voice in the growing movement across the Pacific in recent years to repatriate Pacific treasures, as well as human remains from museums across Europe and other parts of

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Pacific obesity rates continue to concern

Pacific Island nations have the highest rates of obesity in the world, a new study has revealed. The study from the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC), a worldwide network of over 1500 researchers and

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Australia pays controversial Chinese company millions for Nauru’s new port

Amid intensifying competition in the region, Australia is bankrolling a Chinese government-backed construction company with a chequered history to build Nauru’s new port.  In January, the Chinese Communist Party’s

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Baron Waqa negotiating – No start date for incoming Pacific Islands Forum boss yet

The incoming head of the Pacific region’s main political body is yet to sign his contract, almost six months after the 2023 Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders meeting in Rarotonga.  Former Nauru president, Baron

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Nauruan president starts six-day China visit

Nauru President David Adeang arrived in Beijing on Sunday, embarking on a six-day state visit to China from Sunday to 29 March.   It marks the first visit by a Nauruan president after the two countries resumed

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Bendigo Bank delays exit from Nauru as Chinese state-owned bank emerges as replacement

Bendigo has temporarily delayed its plan to pull out of Nauru and close the Pacific Island country’s only bank after a Chinese state-owned bank signalled it might be willing to fill the void, setting alarm bells

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ICJ grants Parties to the Nauru Agreement participation in Climate Change advisory proceedings

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has granted authorisation to the Parties to the Nauru Agreement Office (PNAO) to participate in advisory proceedings concerning the Obligations of States in respect of Climate

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Nauru Airlines upgrades its fleet

Nauru Airlines has upgraded its fleet with a new 189-seat passenger aircraft. The blessing of the aircraft took place last week at the airline’s hangar in Brisbane, conducted by Rev David Deluckner, who is also a

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People smugglers branded evil, arrivals sent to Nauru

Recent boat arrivals have prompted calls for a rethink of Australia’s immigration measures as the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader trade barbs on border security, A group of 39 people from Pakistan and

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Asylum seekers taken to Nauru amid renewed political stoush over border arrivals

More than 40 asylum seekers have been taken to Nauru after they were found in a remote part of Western Australia. Guardian Australia has confirmed a second group of 13 asylum seekers was found at an Indigenous campsite

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Whose tune is sweetest in the Pacific game of musical chairs?

Soon after Australia signed the Falepili union agreement with Tuvalu at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting in December, there was chatter that Nauru was next on the list for a similar deal with the Australians.

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Taiwan condemns Nauru for accepting One China principle

Taiwan has criticised Nauru for accepting China’s “One China” principle on Wednesday. Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said it expressed “deep regret and strong condemnation” after Nauru and

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