PINA

By Nick McKenzie, Michael Bachelard and Amelia Ballinger Australia’s Home Affairs Department oversaw the payment of millions of taxpayer dollars to powerful Pacific Island politicians through a chain of suspect contracts as it sought to maintain controversial offshore asylum seeker processing centres. Financial data, internal emails and whistleblower testimony implicate Home Affairs’ lead contractors – Broadspectrum, Canstruct and Paladin – in...

French president Emmanuel Macron will travel to the south-west Pacific this week, in a “historic” visit designed to bolster his Indo-Pacific strategy and reaffirm France’s role in the region. The five-day visit begins on 24 July in the French archipelago of New Caledonia, followed by stops in Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. The Elysée, the French presidential palace, has said...

The Australian government is refusing to say how much it is paying to Papua New Guinea in a secret agreement to hold about 75 refugees and asylum seekers in Port Moresby. Parliamentary documents have revealed for the first time this week that the Morrison government signed a “confidential bilateral agreement” with PNG in December 2021, paying the PNG government to...

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown, who is also the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration (MFAI), along with Government and MFAI officials has met with Special Envoy (SE) of the Foreign Minister of Korea, Dong-Man Han and his delegation in Rarotonga last week. In a statement, MFAI said last week's talks follow discussions between Prime Minister Brown and the...

There has been a huge spike in Pacific Islanders applying for protection visas because they offer better working conditions than the government programme designed to help workers from nine islands and Timor-Leste come to Australia, advocates say. Home affairs department figures show 171 seasonal workers from the Pacific applied for protection visas in 2019-20, with the number increasing to 1,002...

By Bernadette Carreon, Aubrey Belford, and Martin Young A Palauan newspaper publisher entered into a media deal with a company that turned out to have connections to Chinese security services. The deal fell through, but it highlights China’s efforts to influence the Pacific states — including Palau, a U.S ally and one of the few countries to recognise Taiwan. For years,...

In a gripping Pacific Nations Cup encounter at the Sapporo Dome, Samoa claimed a narrow 24-22 victory over hosts Japan. Japan scored first through Amato Fakatava, who powered through the defensive line to score a try. Seungsin Lee added the extra points with a successful conversion, giving Japan an early 7-0 advantage. A further penalty for Lee stretched the lead...

Flying Fijians have made a winning start in their campaign for Rugby World Cup beating Tonga 36-20 in the first test match at Churchill Park in Lautoka on Saturday. The Simon Raiwalui-coached side made a firing start running three straight tries within 12 minutes. Referee James Doleman handed a yellow card to Tongan lock Tanginoa Halaifonua and awarded a penalty try...

The United States is watching with keen interest developments in Solomon Islands and Vanuatu on reported plans to develop their own defence forces. “It sounds like they're in preliminary discussions regarding Solomon Islands' interest in developing defense forces. And I guess I would observe as a traditional security partner and we welcome Australia's interest and involvement in supporting Solomon Islands...

The European Union (EU) Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen has welcomed EU Council's agreement on the signature of new EU - OACPS Post-Cotonou partnership agreement. “Today is a historic day for the EU and 79 members of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS). “At the 20 July 2023 Foreign Affairs Council meeting at the Council of the...