PINA

As Australians stranded in New Caledonia amid unrest beg for help to come home, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong says the defence force is “ready to fly” once commercial flights to the territory resume. Six people have been killed in the French-ruled Pacific Island territory during the upheaval, sparked over contested electoral reform, and a state of emergency has been...

Responding to ongoing unrest in the non-self-governing French territory of Kanaky New Caledonia after the French Parliament adopted a bill changing the territory’s voting rules, Amnesty International’s Pacific Researcher Kate Schuetze said: “The state of emergency declared by the French government and the deployment of the French army, coupled with a ban on the social media app TikTok, must not...

French President Emmanuel Macron's ambitions to deepen French influence in the Pacific, where China is expanding its security ties, could be put at risk by the heavy-handed response to civil unrest in New Caledonia, Pacific analysts and officials said. Deadly riots erupted last week among indigenous Kanak, after Paris changed voting rules to allow more French residents to join electoral...

Fiji is grappling with a methamphetamine crisis that has infiltrated every part of society, from villages, schools, and the police sworn to protect them. Ilisapeci Veibuli from the Fiji Womens Crisis Centre has watched the rapidly spiralling meth use with alarm and says it's so extensive it's been normalised. “People are actually doing it out in public. They are not scared...

France unfit to administer decolonisation process The Pacific Regional Non-Governmental Organisations (PRNGOs) Alliance joins the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) and other Kanaky-New Caledonia leaders calling for calm and peace amidst violence and unrest in the Pacific Island territory sparked by the French Government’s insistence on proceeding with proposed constitutional changes expressly rejected by pro-independence groups. The Alliance also...

The Pacific Elders’ Voice is extremely concerned with the turn of events in New Caledonia, leading to unrest and loss of life and livelihoods. We urge a speedy resolution to the situation through dialogue and underscore the importance of listening to indigenous Kanak voices and the Pacific wide support for self-determination. We call for the peaceful and positive response to...

Tensions between the NRL and Australian government have been eased during "productive" talks at Magic Round, but deliberations on the future of a mooted Papua New Guinean team are set to continue. Minister for the Pacific Pat Conroy met with NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo and Australian Rugby League Commission chair Peter V'landys for an hour on Friday night over...

The Queensland Reds' Super Rugby Pacific home finals hopes have evaporated in a crushing homecoming for fallen Wallabies star Suliasi Vunivalu. Vunivalu was sent off following two trips that cost the Reds dearly in a 28-19 loss to Fijian Drua in Suva. Saturday's defeat left Queensland in fifth spot, an unreachable 11 competition points behind the fourth-placed Chiefs with two rounds...

A gendarme was killed on Thursday in France's riot-struck Pacific territory of New Caledonia by an “accidental gunshot”, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin told AFP. “It was not a hostile shot” that killed the officer, added a source informed about the incident, which brings to five the number of deaths in unrest since Monday, including two gendarmes. The unrest flared after lawmakers...

The Pacific Conference of Churches(PCC) stands in deep solidarity with our sisters and brothers of Kanaky in this time of political crisis that has led to the eruptions of violence these past few days and nights. The violence that the country is currently experiencing are once again endangering the dignity of the life of every human being in the territory. As...