PINA

Samoa's Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa has again raised deep concerns about the exodus of Pacific workers to Australia and New Zealand, arguing that countries like hers should not been seen merely as "outposts" which "grow" labourers for developed nations. The number of Pacific Island nationals heading to Australia under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme has grown rapidly...

Ministers from Governments and Ministries across the region will be in Suva this week for the second Pacific Islands Forum Women Leaders meeting to be held from 31 August -01 September 2023. Centered around the meeting theme Our Pacific Way: Strengthened Commitment to Gender Equality, Equity and Social Inclusion. The meeting will be chaired by Vainetutai Rose Toki-Brown, Cook Islands Minister...

The Australian Greens leader has written to Pacific island elders urging them to reject a bid to co-host a major environmental summit unless the government stops opening new coal and gas projects. Adam Bandt told Pacific leaders they should use their leverage over Australia - which is pushing for a refresh of relations with the region - to force it...

The leaders of five Melanesian nations have agreed to write to the French President Emmanuel Macron “expressing their strong opposition” to the results of the third New Caledonia referendum. In December 2021, more than 96 percent of people voted against full sovereignty, but the pro-independence movement FLNKS has refused to recognise the result because of a boycott by the Kanak...

By Len Garae in Port Vila The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) has failed West Papua, says a Vanuatu government champion of West Papuan self-determination. Minister for Climate Change Adaptation Ralph Regenvanu, a former foreign minister and who is also a pioneer spokesman for freedom for the Melanesian people of West Papua, said this when delivering his remarks at the closing of...

Pacific Trade Invest (PTI), the region’s leading trade and investment promotion agency, have released a series of insightful reports, the Pacific Business Monitor COVID Reflections, shedding light on the ramifications of the global health crisis across various Pacific industries from 2020 to 2022. Commissioned by PTI and conducted by the independent research agency, Fifth Quadrant, these reports draw on data...

By Colette Mortreux, University of Melbourne There has been much discussion about the impacts of climate change on migration, with calls that the world is entering an ‘era of mass migration’ and ‘unimaginable crisis’. Many communities in the Pacific are increasingly feeling the pressure of climate change including on livelihoods, food security and health. But the impact on migration is...

Flying Fijians winger Josua Tuisova and prop Peni Ravai are recovering well. The two missed the historic 30-22 win against England on Saturday after sustaining injuries during last Thursday’s training session. Head coach Simon Raiwalui said they’re progressing well. “Josh is doing well, his back running and is on track. Peni Ravai had a slight hamstring strain, his back running as well....

By Peter FitzSimons Simon Raiwalui is a Fijian raised in Australia, who played in the Australian Schoolboys team in the early 1990s with the likes of Ben Tune and Joe Roff. He took over as coach of Fiji in February this year. Last Saturday his team beat England at Twickenham for the greatest victory in Fijian rugby history. I spoke to...

On the rocky foreshore of Popua, in the Tongan capital Nuku'alofa, a group of girls and boys are tossing around a rugby ball. Siua, 13, and 11-year-olds Lesieli and Sisi play catch and run across sharp stones as their families fish on the reef,searching for dinner. It used to be a pretty beach before it was destroyed by a powerful tsunami...