Opinion: The fifth-child rule: Marshall Islands’ maternity leave policy affronts local customs and tradition
Now that we have the most women (four) in the history of the Marshall Islands in the Nitijela (parliament), including a woman president, Hilda C. Heine, I believe it is time to address and change the archaic Marshall
Opinion: Mixing oil and water
As protests erupt across New Caledonia, a leading Loyalist politician claims indigenous Kanak and the West are like ‘oil and water’ Sonia Backès, the leading conservative anti-independence politician of her
Fiji replaces Vanuatu as top PALM sending country
The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme has been transformed over the last five years. In June 2019, there were 5,886 PALM visa holders in Australia. Five years later, in May 2024, there were 32,513, an
Opinion: Small-Scale Fishers facing Large-Scale Challenges at WTO
A decision whether to conclude negotiations that prohibit subsidies that contribute to overfishing and overcapacity is happening next week at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The WTO General Council meeting follows
Opinion: Bougainville’s home-grown independence constitution: Part 2
The draft of the Constitution of the Republic of Bougainville draws on numerous sources, including the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) Constitution, the PNG Constitution, the Bougainville Peace Agreement (BPA),
Opinion: Bougainville’s home-grown independence constitution: Part 1
This is the first article in a two-part series on the history, context and key features of the proposed independence constitution that is in the process of being developed for Bougainville. On 06 May 2024, the
Wokbaot Wetem Kalja: Culture and Disaster Management in Vanuatu
“Climate displacement of populations is the main feature of our future. We have to be ready for it and plan for it now.” So said Vanuatu’s Minister for Climate Change, Ralph Regenvanu, when he took office in2022.
Pacific islands are being ‘debanked’. What does it mean – and why are Australia, NZ and the U.S concerned?
The withdrawal of major banks from Pacific islands poses significant socio-economic risks to the region, prompting intervention by Australia, the U.S and New Zealand. The so-called debanking of the Pacific – when
EU rebukes African, Caribbean, Pacific org ‘not aligned with reality’
The European Commission is privately threatening to stop propping up the 79-member Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States amid concerns of financial mismanagement, just months after signing a new 20-year
Opinion: The political risk of a failed census in Papua New Guinea
The last reliable national census for Papua New Guinea (PNG) was conducted 24 years ago, therefore the 2024 census is critical. But early signs suggest the latest attempt to count the country’s population will not be
Opinion: Most plastics are made from fossil fuels and end up in the ocean, but marine microbes can’t degrade them
Marine plastic pollution is a massive environmental issue, with a plastic smog of an estimated 170 trillion particles afloat in the world’s oceans. This highlights how urgently we need to develop strategies to
Opinion: Tapestry of Pacific ambiguities: Political tensions against the backdrop of FestPac celebrations
The focus of the Festival of Pacific Arts, or FestPac, is always culture, and the 13th iteration held in June 2024 in Hawai’i was no different. More than two dozen island nations sent delegations of dancers,