PINA

A record-breaking 286 selected Fijian workers were farewelled by the Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations, Youth and Sports, Parveen Kumar Bala, for employment opportunities under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) Scheme on Friday While closing the four-day pre-departure briefing (PDB) on Friday, Minister Bala highlighted that this is the biggest PDB cohort by far and thanked partner...

The Pacific island has become collateral damage in the global drug trade, as an influx of meth fuels a rise in sex work, poverty and corruption. By Gavin Butler There’s only one way in and out of the biggest meth slum in Fiji, and it’s an unsealed dirt road that ends in a cul-de-sac. The taxi cab jostled as it...

By Joseph Nobetau Recently, Bougainville President Ishmael Toroama announced his government’s intention to enact a new anti-corruption law. The president, who campaigned on a platform of eliminating corruption, and has since his election advocated for reform, should be commended for his focus on corruption. As I have written before, good governance is critical to Bougainville’s future as an independent nation state....

Former Kiribati President Anote Tong says a report indicates that Kiribati could “not be habitable beyond 2060”. “Now the question really is, what happens then. Do we just fade away,” Tong told Sky News Australia. Meanwhile, the Kiribati drought crisis is set to continue well into the new year, as its government looks for support. Sally Rimon, the Acting National Disaster Management...

The people of Nauru go to the polls on Saturday to elect 19 MPs across eight constituencies. There are 77 candidates contesting the seats - 18 of those are lining up in the largest constituency, Ubenide, which will elect four MPs. Meneng, in which the current President, Lionel Aingimea is one of the MPs, selects three members. The least number of candidates...

Pacific countries have officially agreed to use the Fijian Military's Blackrock Camp as a regional humanitarian relief depot. Fiji's Disaster Minister Inia Seruiratu announced the endorsement of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) facility while outlining the 11-point declaration made by Pacific Island Forum's Disaster Ministers in Nadi. The state of the art Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief...

Pacific Disaster Ministers have committed to the inaugural Pacific Disaster Risk Reduction Declaration of Commitment to Action towards a safer and more resilient region in the face of disaster risk and climate change. Ministers have also committed to supporting the strengthening of national and regional capabilities in response to disaster and reaffirmed the commitment to establish a regional and Sub-Regional...

In the shadow of the United Nations' towering headquarters in New York City, law student Solomon Yeo from an island nation in the South Pacific is taking in what he describes as a “surreal moment.” Less than three years ago, he was chatting with fellow law students at the University of the South Pacific in Vanuatu about how they might...

Pacific activists and students, joined by New York climate activists and Indigenous representatives, held a climate justice flotilla on Saturday sailing past the UN HQ and the Statue of Liberty with banners calling on countries to vote yes to the Vanuatu-led bid for an International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion on climate change at the UN General Assembly...

The Ministry of Defence has outlined the British military presence in the Indo-Pacific, pointing out that it has grown in recent years. Andrew Rosindell, Member of Parliament for Romford, asked: “To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 67 of the Integrated Review 2021 and the escalation of tensions on the Taiwan border, what recent assessment...