PINA

Bendigo has temporarily delayed its plan to pull out of Nauru and close the Pacific Island country's only bank after a Chinese state-owned bank signalled it might be willing to fill the void, setting alarm bells ringing in Canberra. Bendigo Bank announced late last year that it would quit the country by December 2024, saying it wanted to “reduce complexity...

By Keshav Dash, Commonwealth National Climate Finance Advisor to Tuvalu and Dr Deepa Pullanikkatil, Commonwealth National Climate Finance Advisor to Fiji Climate change and gender Climate change exacerbates existing inequalities. However, when gender, class, race, sexuality, age or disability intersect, they further hamper the capacity of marginalised people to cope with and adjust to the impacts of climate change....

This week, Fiji will be hosting the first-ever PacificAus Sports Vuvale Round, which will feature a variety of rugby-focused activities leading up to the main event, the Super Rugby Pacific match between Fijian Drua and Waratahs and Fijian Drua women's first home game of the season against Waratahs as part of the Super Rugby Women competition – both games...

Fiji Rugby League Players Association President Pio Nakubuwai expressed immense joy as the Fiji Government officially supported their bid to join the NRL as the 18th team. He said they are grateful for the government’s recognition of the country’s sporting talent. An emotional Nakubuwai, while speaking to FBC Sports says he did not believe the sport would get to where it...

New Zealand has pushed back against China's opposition to its AUKUS involvement during “very convivial” talks between foreign ministers. Winston Peters hosted Wang Yi in Wellington Monday, the first stop on the Chinese foreign minister's trans-Tasman diplomatic tour this week. Wide-ranging talks touched on trade, security, China's engagement in the Pacific, the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts. They also resolved that Prime Minister...

Fiji's former Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended Commissioner for Police Brigadier-General Sitiveni Qiliho have pleaded not guilty to charges of abuse of office. Their case was called before Resident Magistrate Jeremaia Savou today. Both were present in court when their charges were read. Magistrate Savou asked whether there were any admissions during their interview, ODPP lawyer Pooja Mishra said that they...

A historical agreement which sets out an ambitious agenda towards the vision of living in harmony with nature, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, was adopted during the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP15) in December 2023. As a result, the CBD Secretariat recognised the need to organise a series of regional and sub-regional...

New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has reminded China of the regional primacy of the Pacific Islands Forum as Foreign Minister Wang Yi begins his trans-Tasman diplomatic tour. Wang, the most senior Chinese politician to visit New Zealand since his last trip in 2017, visited Wellington on Monday ahead of travel to Australia. “We are honoured to host you here...

International Maritime Organisation (IMO) will open its seventh Regional Presence Office, in Suva, Fiji, to serve countries and territories in the Pacific Islands region. IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez and Fiji’s Minister for Public Works, Meteorological Services and Transport, Ro Filipe Tuisawau, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the IMO Headquarters in London on 18 March, confirming the arrangement. The Regional...

Analysis by Liam Moore The prevailing strategic culture in Australian foreign policy circles that view Pacific Island states in instrumental and paternalistic ways is unproductive. Moving forward, there must be active recognition of the agency of these actors and engagement with their key concerns — particularly climate change. There is a long-held view in Australian foreign policy circles that the Pacific...