Page 7 - Islands Business March 2024

Briefs Briefs

jurisdictions for tax purposes after the February review, the
revised list released last month showed otherwise. Samoa is
New Caledonia listed as one of the 12 countries that do not cooperate with
The French Senate in February voted by a large majority the EU or have not fully met their commitments. It’s been on
(307 in favour and 34 against) to postpone New Caledonia’s the list for seven years.
crucial provincial elections from mid-May to 15 December
at the latest. Still outstanding is a vote on a controversial
proposed change in the eligibility conditions of New Solomon Islands
Caledonia’s voters list for local elections. If adopted, the The regulation to ban the importation, distribution,
change in the constitution would allow “any French citizen manufacture, sale and supply of single-use plastic products
who has uninterruptedly resided in New Caledonia for the past in the country has been enforced in Solomon Islands. The
ten years would be allowed to vote in local elections.” The government signed and gazetted the regulation last year,
move is bitterly opposed by pro-Independence proponents. and it has now come into force. Plastic shopping bags,
plastic straws, plastic disposable cups, plates, and cutlery,
polystyrene foam plates and cups, and Polyethylene
Terephthalate (PET) water bottles of less than 1.5 litres
Niue capacity are now banned.
Niue is seeking US$30 million damages from the Swedish
Internet Foundation as it tries to regain control of its website
domain name “.nu”. Niue lost the rights in the early 2000s,
and with it, a reliable stream of revenue for the island. Tonga
Premier Dalton Tagelagi told BCN News: “We have been Tonga’s nobles are collectively calling on the Prime Minister,
pursuing this. It’s been a while. We still are continuing to Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni to resign his defence portfolio
pursue the .nu name as we think it’s our sovereign property. as Minister of His Majesty’s Armed Forces, and to respect the
We succeeded in a few of the cases but there’s still a bit of decision of King Tupou VI, who has withdrawn his consent to
work to do.” three ministerial appointments. The Nobles’ Representatives
told parliament that the PM’s response (a refusal) to the King
had stirred concern about peace in the country. In a letter
signed by Lord Tu’ivakano, the nine Nobles’ Representatives
Palau also called on Fekitamoeloa ‘Utoikamanu to resign from her
A Bill introduced in Palau’s House of Delegates requires two ministerial portfolios. The Nobles were unhappy that
foreign researchers to obtain permits before conducting any Cabinet had not paid heed to the King’s wishes, as conveyed
research on land, at sea, or involving the country’s water from the Privy Council to Cabinet last month.
and minerals. The Island Times reported the Bill cites the
country’s sovereignty and authority over its resources as the
reason for regulating research activities. Palau’s Ministry Tuvalu
of Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment (MAFE) would be Tuvalu’s newly elected Prime Minister, Feleti Teo, says
responsible for issuing and overseeing the permits if the Bill is he will look to review the country’s development and
approved. cooperation agreement with Australia. The Falepili Treaty
signed last year provides a pathway to Australian residency
for Tuvaluans. It also contains some controversial clauses
Papua New Guinea around Tuvalu’s security and sovereignty. Teo, who was part
At least two dozen people were killed in violence between of an eminent person’s group involved in early negotiations
rival tribes in Papua New Guinea’s volatile Enga province around the treaty, said they were surprised to see its final
in February, sending shockwaves through the country just a version.
month after it was rocked by riots and looting in the capital.
The violence involved several tribes in the highland province’s
Wapenamanda district. Among the bodies recovered were Vanuatu
those of gunmen hired by the tribes. Vanuatu’s longest bridge will soon be built in South Santo,
at the Navaka River, as part of the US$66 million South
Santo Road Project, funded by the World Bank. China Civil
Engineering Construction Corporation said the bridge is
Samoa designed as a 210-metre-long, 3-span steel truss structure.
Samoa is still on the European Union’s anti-money According to the people of South Santo, the Navaka Bridge
laundering blacklist following a review. While Samoa will significantly improve access to markets and essential
International Finance Authority Chief Executive, Tuifa’asisina services.
Sieni Tualega-Voorwinden had expressed confidence that
Samoa would be removed from the list of non-cooperative

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