PINA

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...

The Albanese Government has reached a major milestone – six months ahead of schedule – with more than 35,000 Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) workers now in Australia. In the October 2022 Budget, the Government committed to reaching 35,000 workers by June 2023. Latest data shows the milestone was reached in December. When the Government came to office the total number...

A UN-led plan to tackle climate change by radically improving the way heat-trapping atmospheric pollutants are measured all over the planet, is being given serious consideration by governments and the international scientific community, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said on Wednesday. The WMO initiative would create a network of ground-based measurement stations that can verify worrying air quality data that’s...

Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Henry Puna has welcomed Kiribati's decision to return to the premier political body. “I am delighted at the announcement on 30 January, from the Office of the President of Kiribati, confirming their intention to return to the Pacific Islands Forum,” said SG Puna in a statement. This follows the successful meeting last month between Taneti Maamau,...