PINA

One of the Pacific’s oldest political institutions, the Great Council of Chiefs (GCC) abolished in 2012 by former Fiji’s Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama will be re-established and the first meeting will be in May. The GCC or Bose Levu Vakaturaga(BLV), has existed since 1876 but Bainimarama said it has perpetuated elitism and created divisive politics as it is part of...

Members of Fiji Parliament can pray in their own faith and speak in their own language if they choose to. Speaker of Parliament Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu said the decision to waive Standing Orders 28, 29, and 30 was voted upon during the Business Committee meeting last Friday. Ratu Naiqama said this change will allow the Speaker to pray the way he...

The Fijian Elections Office (FEO)has referred Mohammed Saneem to the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) for probable abuse of office and for corrupting benefits given to, or received by, a public official. It is alleged that Saneem has been on numerous occasions during his tenure with FEO unlawfully authorised payments of sitting allowances to the Electoral Commission (EC). The Constitutional...

New Zealand has welcomed the decision by Kiribati to return to the Pacific Islands Forum. In July 2022, President Taneti Maamau announced his government was withdrawing its support of the forum because they were not happy with the leadership at the region’s peak diplomatic body. But this week, the Kiribati government said the decision to return to the forum whānau came...

Fiji’s Minister of Home Affairs Pio Tikoduadua, has reassured the Republic of Fiji Military (RFMF) Commander Ro Jone Kalouniwai that he would support the institution within the principles of the rule of law. He said this during the traditional welcoming ceremony accorded to him at Queen Elizabeth barracks. Tikoduadua and the RFMF were in a controversial situation earlier this year following...

New Zealand's new Prime Minister has agreed to look at an overstayer petition that was launched by Pacific community leaders almost three years ago. The petition calls for pathways to residency to be established for Pasifika overstayers under compassion grounds. The petition has 11,119 signatures. The Petitions Committee recommended that Parliament take note of it. Chris Hipkins was questioned by RNZ Pacific...

The first-ever quantitative evaluation of the contribution of no-take Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to the conservation of tropical tunas in the western and central Pacific Ocean (WCPO) has been published in Frontiers in Marine Science. Marine Protected Areas have been established by many countries in the Pacific and have been targeted at a range of different conservation issues, but at...

New Zealand-born Vern Cotter has stepped down as Fiji national coach little more than eight months out from the Rugby World Cup in France. Fiji Rugby chairman Humphrey Tawake told a hastily arranged news conference in Suva on Thursday that Cotter’s letter of resignation had been accepted and a new coach will be appointed “in due course.” Tawake said Cotter had...

The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), that will result in greater cooperation and competition between the two FIFA Confederations for the benefit of football in the Pacific and Asia. The MOU signed after the 33rd AFC Congress in Bahrain will run for three years and will see the OFC...

The United States has opened an embassy in the Solomon Islands after a 30-year absence as it seeks to boost diplomatic relations in the Pacific as a counter to China. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced plans to open a diplomatic mission in the Pacific island nation during a visit to the region last year. The last U.S embassy in...