PINA

A Commonwealth team observing Papua New Guinea’s election has expressed concern about the voting process. Releasing its interim statement in Port Moresby, the Commonwealth Observer Group said that, in some cases, as many as half of those eligible to vote were reportedly not on the common roll (voter register). In the interim statement, Chairperson of the Group, former President of Nauru,...

Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General, Henry Puna has condemned the recent deaths and escalating violence in Papua New Guinea, including in Porgera and Port Moresby, over the course of the 2022 National Election. Puna said the Forum stands ready to support the government and people of Papua New Guinea in any way it can. “My heart goes out to the grieving...

Residents of Papua New Guinea's capital were told to stay home and troops were deployed to its streets on Monday, after a brutal election-related attack hospitalised two people. In a politically motivated attack, a machete-wielding gang chased down two victims outside a counting centre in Port Moresby on Sunday, leaving one with a traumatic brain injury and another with an...

By Dionisia Tabureguci The Fiji Government’s controversial decision to award the management contract for Fiji Airports Ltd (FAL) to its national airline, Fiji Airways, has intensified fears that a “conflict of interest” will be used to wring higher fees and charges from international airlines that use the facilities. A shocked Association of South Pacific Airlines (ASPA) told Islands Business it...

By John Braddock After four days of talks on 14 July, the leaders of 14 Pacific nations emerged from the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) summit in Fiji declaring “unity.” They launched their “2050 Blue Pacific” strategy, covering the climate crisis, security and political governance. Led by the regional imperialist powers, Australia and New Zealand, “unity,” “regionalism” and the “Pacific family”...

The white sands of Namatakula have nurtured generations of world-class rugby talent but rising sea levels threaten to force the abandonment of the palm-fringed village on Fiji's Coral Coast within a few years. The village is deemed “at risk” by Fiji's government and headman Josevata Nagausaukula contemplates a future in which children now honing their rugby skills have been shifted,...

Current and aspiring Pacific Islands athletes must use the opportunities that ONOC’s roadmap to BRISBANE 2032 will offer in the next ten years. Speaking at the start or Day One of the roadmap on Saturday, 23 July 2022 exactly ten years out from the opening of the BRISBANE 2032 Olympic Games, Karo Lelai, Chair of the ONOC Athletes’ Commission congratulated...

Blues and Panthers hooker Api Koroisau says he would "love an opportunity" to represent Australia at the upcoming Rugby League World Cup. Koroisau's comments come after several players, including his Blues and Panthers teammate Brio Too and Roosters' Victor Radley, pledge their allegiance with Australia's rival nations. Koroisau, who has represented Fiji in past years, joined Triple M's Sunday Scrum where...

Affectionately dubbed the 'smallest nation with the biggest heart' Niue's 15-strong team have set off to Birmingham to face some of the mightiest nations in the 2022 Commonwealth Games that are set to open on Thursday. Team Niue includes 10 lawn bowlers, four boxers and one weightlifter. Among them is Premier Dalton Tagelagi who will be competing alongside his son...

It is with deep sadness and concern that I condemn the recent deaths and escalating violence in Papua New Guinea, including in Porgera and Port Moresby, over the course of the 2022 National Election. My heart goes out to the grieving families in one of our largest Pacific nations. It is a stark reminder of the fundamental responsibility our Leaders hold...