PINA

Australia’s vocational education and training system will be overhauled to become easier to navigate and more efficient, the federal government has announced. Significant duplication of courses in the higher education sector has resulted in students having to study the same thing multiple times, Skills and Training Minister Brendan O’Connor says. There are currently 5000 vocational education and training (VET) units which...

Fijian Parliament has now been adjourned sine die after the fourth session this year. Leader of Government in Parliament Inia Seruiratu moved the motion to adjourn sine die – to adjourn for an indefinite period following the final five days of sitting this week. It was voted unanimously by both members of the House. Speaker of Parliament Ratu Epeli Nailatikau thanked all...

Papua New Guinea deputy Prime Minister John Rosso and Treasurer Ian Ling Stuckey are among 12 returned Members of Parliament in the 2022 National General Election (NGE) whose elections are being disputed at the court of disputed returns. The National Court Registry has so far registered 12 election petitions. It is envisaged that more petitions will be filed in the...

By Veronica Corno, Climate Finance Specialist at BASE, Dr. Jale Samuwai, Resilience Financing Analyst at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), and Prof. Jeremy Hills, University of the South Pacific (USP). While contributing very little to global warming, Pacific Island nations are among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, already experiencing extreme climate-induced disasters such as...

Fiji's Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2022 was passed in Parliament Thursday. The majority of the Opposition Members who contributed to the debate on the Electoral Amendment Bill 2022 were against Clause 3 of the Bill which amends section 6 of the Act. National Federation Party MP, Lenora Qereqeretabua said she will not bow down to the Supervisor of Elections, Mohammed Saneem while...

Papua New Guinea's foreign minister has warned Solomon Islands its decision to halt foreign naval visits could have "repercussions". Appearing on ABC Radio on Wednesday, Justin Tkatchenko said he did not know much about the decision, and it was Solomon Islands' call to make. But he said the Pacific nation's government “needs to think about these decisions they're making now, and...

Preparations are underway for a hearing in the Supreme Court of Vanuatu following an application against the dissolution of Vanuatu's parliament. It was submitted by 27 former opposition MPs who were signatories to a motion of no confidence in caretaker prime minister Bob Loughman last month. Assistant deputy private secretary to Vanuatu's head of state, lawyer Wilson Thomas will be in...

The Papua New Guinea Government will be looking at amending the law to include more ministerial positions, Prime Minister James Marape says. Marape made this statement after the swearing in of the new Minister for Bougainville Affairs Mannaseh Makiba and 12 vice-ministers which included Rai Coast MP Kessy Sawang, one of only two women in the 118-seat Parliament, at Government...

UK Home Office Permanent secretary, Matthew Rycroft has met with Fijian government officials and partners during his visit to the Pacific nation. He met Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, Attorney General and Minister for Economy, Justice, Civil Service, Communications, Housing and Community Development; Inia Seruiratu, Minister for Defence, National Security, Policing, Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management and the Secretary General of...

Pacific Fisheries Ministers meeting last week in Kiribati identified maximising value from their fisheries as key to supporting the economic recovery from Covid-19. Ministers and officials were attending the annual 19th Forum Fisheries Committee Ministerial (FFCMin19) meeting and the Regional Fisheries Ministers Meeting (RFMM3). Incoming FFCMin19 and RFMM3 Chair, Kiribati Minister for Fisheries, Minister Ribanataake Tiwau shared his vision of continuing...