Fukushima power reactor: What about risk management?

Concerns over the Fukushima power reactor persist. In early May, former Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), Dame Meg Taylor, called on Japan to reconsider its decision to release more than

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Kava: brewing up a storm

There’s a storm brewing over the Pacific as the region’s kava industry watches a gradually unfolding situation in the North Queensland city of Bundaberg. Known more for its sugar cane and famous rum, the city has

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France expands Pacific reach

The French government is expanding its engagement with Pacific Island nations, following the fifth France-Oceania summit, a visit by President Emmanuel Macron to French Polynesia, and increased support by France and the

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Now is the time for an independent Pacific think tank

By Dr Anthony Bergin and Dr Transform Aqorau Good foreign policy, diplomacy and sound national security in the Pacific Islands doesn’t just require solid ideas and good plans. It needs robust evidence of what works

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IAEA to review and monitor the safety of water release at Fukushima Daiichi

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says it will play a “vital role” in monitoring and reviewing Japan’s implementation of its plan to discharge treated water stored at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear

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Olympic travel a big challenge for some Pacific Island teams

Famous athletes in sports like tennis and golf heading to the Tokyo Olympics will probably arrive in Japan at the front of the plane. It’s a style to which the athletes of the Pacific Islands are unaccustomed.

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“If it is safe, dump it in Tokyo”

Japan’s Yoshihide Suga has announced a new “Pacific bonds” policy to strengthen cooperation between Japan and Forum Island Countries, as Pacific leaders joined the Japanese Prime Minister on Friday for an online

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Pacific artist soars to the top of the world

Spend a bit of time on TikTok and the chances are you will pretty quickly come across someone dancing to the iconic track “Iko Iko” performed by Pacific music star Justin Wellington, aka ‘JW’. While Pacific

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How an ASEAN ag visa would undermine Pacific seasonal worker programs

The Australian Federal Agriculture Minister, David Littleproud, announced yesterday morning on the ABC that the National Party had demanded and gained acceptance of a proposed “seasonal agricultural workforce visa”

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ADB predicts modest growth for Pacific economies this year

The Asian Development Bank expects Pacific Island economies to return to positive growth this year, although at different rates, and with a great deal riding on successful vaccine roll-outs. Pacific economies contracted

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Training Coalition faces a reckoning

A multimillion-dollar program aimed at supporting “a more prosperous Pacific driven by a skilled, competitive and productive workforce” is undergoing controversial changes which could have significant impacts on the

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Bleak prospects for Pacific tourism

Pacific island countries should not expect international travel to resume in earnest until late 2021, travel and aviation experts have warned. ‘You should forget the US market for 2021, as well as Europe and the

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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

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Australia boosts Pacific aid allocation

The Australian Federal Budget delivered last night has increased aid to the Pacific. An extra A$211 million has been allocated to COVID-19 response in the form of grants, agreed in negotiations with recipient countries,

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Female-led businesses suffer more under COVID-19

“From capital to develop and export goods like coffee, to training and support with digital platforms, Pacific businesses – especially female-led business – are in urgent need of tangible support,” says the

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Traditional values underpin Kanaloa Rugby

A new rugby franchise to the US national competition may provide a life-line for some Pacific islands rugby players. The  website of Hawaii-based Kanaloa Rugby bears the quote, “From the depths of breadths of the

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Women’s empowerment, COVID amongst career fair themes

The University of the South Pacific (USP) recently invited 30 employers to engage in a two-day exposition at its annual Career and Internship Fair. The event was organized by USP’s Career and Entrepreneurship Center,

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Women’s empowerment, COVID amongst career fair themes

The University of the South Pacific (USP) recently invited 30 employers to engage in a two-day exposition at its annual Career and Internship Fair. The event was organized by USP’s Career and Entrepreneurship Center,

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EU funds projects to “put food on people’s plates”

The European Union (EU) and the South Pacific Community (SPC) have launched three separate projects for the Pacific region focussed on cutting dependence on imported fuel and improving access to clean water and

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Strengths and stresses: economic responses to COVID

A prominent Australian economist says it is “scary” to see COVID-19 put at risk so many of the gains Pacific island countries have made over the last decade. Dr Jenny Gordon, the Chief Economist at the Australia

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COVID-19, the Pacific vuvale, and Pacer Plus

In a world devastated by COVID-19, enlightened leaders throughout the world have been thinking “out of adversity comes opportunity”, a wise saying attributed to Benjamin Franklin, among many others. Are

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‘A little bit of maybe’ on easier Australian terms for infrastructure debt and new aid

Australia’s Assistant Treasurer says in the post-COVID environment Canberra is willing to re-examine its policies including loan concessionality, debt consolidation and aid allocations to Pacific Islands nations but

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Remember Hiroshima…and the Pacific

In Japan, they’re called hibakusha – the survivors of the US atomic bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, and the bombing of Nagasaki three days later. Seventy-five years on, the survivors remember those days, and

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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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