PINA

Australian troops have touched down in Papua New Guinea to help support the country’s national election. The vote from 02 - 22 July is largely pitched as a contest between the incumbent James Marape and former prime minister Peter O’Neill. The 130-strong Australian Defence Force contingent will provide planning, logistics and air transport support to local authorities. It comes as Australia looks...

The ability of Pacific Island Countries to manage their fish stocks are at risk if the World Trade Organisation (WTO) 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) started Sunday in Geneva, passes an agreement to address declining fish stocks, which could unfairly impact our fishing industries. Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) Campaigner Adam Wolfenden said from Geneva that the proposed WTO agreement, which...

The Pacific region’s call for strengthened finance to minimise Loss and Damage (L&D) associated with the adverse impacts of climate change has been amplified in Bonn, Germany, with the emphasis placed on the need for new and innovative sources of finance to begin to address this “lived reality for our region.” The concept of Loss and damage in climate negotiations...

A point of order intervention from Pacific and other global islands voices in climate talks Germany last week has rippled round the world. Pacific nations at the current Bonn prep meetings for COP27 have reminded the world's climate negotiations body, the UNFCCC, that fair, engaged and transparent process is central to the work they do. Members of the Alliance of Small...

Australian Minister for Veteran Affairs Matt Keogh Friday handed over a Guardian class patrol boat to its Pacific neighbour and friend, the Cook Islands. Keogh said the handover speaks to the deep and abiding friendship between thetwo nations. “And it demonstrates our shared commitment to a free and open Pacific region. “Today, we confront common threats to our collective security: “Of these, first...

Opening career pathways and providing equal opportunities for women is the focus of a world-first initiative that sees an all-female deck crew set off on their first fishing trip on a tuna longline vessel, today. The collaboration between SeaQuest Fiji and the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency seeks to begin addressing some of the issues creating the sizable gender imbalance...

What does it take to stay calm in the crossfire? Unaisi Vuniwaqa has witnessed terrible suffering. As the Assistant Secretary-General for Safety and Security, she has worked as a UN peacekeeper in some of the world’s most dangerous places. “Sometimes it can be very overwhelming, you really feel for the people and the suffering that they're going through.” Peacekeepers have one...

Fiji has told an Asian security summit that climate change is a bigger threat to the Pacific than military tensions. “In our blue Pacific continent, machine guns, fighter jets, grey ships and green battalions are not our primary security concern. “The single greatest threat to our very existence is climate change. It threatens our very hopes and dreams of prosperity. Human-induced,...

Australia’s prime minister said Friday after a meeting with his New Zealand counterpart that the two nations are in lockstep in their policies toward the Pacific islands, where China’s influence is growing. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern became the first foreign leader to visit Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Australia since he was elected on 21 May. Both lead...

Samoan Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mata'afa, is scheduled to meet her New Zealand counterpart, Jacinda Ardern, this week. After attending a special meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum in Fiji last week, Mata'afa is returning to New Zealand ahead of the nation's first bilateral engagement since Fiame became the Prime Minister. The first official meeting between Mata'afa as Prime Minister and...