PINA

The independent senator David Pocock says the Australian government is failing to listen to its “Pacific family” and must stop approving new fossil fuel projects that fuel “an existential threat for those nations”. In a new podcast to be released on Monday, the ACT senator also described the “really sobering” experiencing of entering parliament and “seeing the influence of the...

NZ fisheries Minister Shane Jones' close links to the fishing industry are under scrutiny once again, after New Zealand diplomats made an abrupt about-turn on a deep-sea conservation measure. The inter-government body in charge of regulating high-seas fishing in the South Pacific, SPRFMO, convenes its annual meeting on Monday in Manta, Ecuador. At last year’s gathering, the Cook Islands, backed by...

Te Poutoko is one of seven new research centres at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland. Co-directors Sir Collin Tukuitonga, Professor Judith McCool, and Dr Roannie Ng Shiu invited individuals to join the council that could offer guidance around delivering solutions for the Pacific regions most pressing challenges. These include non-communicable diseases (cancer, diabetes etc.) the health impact of...

Argentina won the third event of the HSBC SVNS 2024, beating Australia in Perth (Boorloo) in front of the biggest rugby audience in Western Australia’s capital since the Wallabies drew with the Springboks in the Tri Nations Series in 2017. The sell-out crowd at HBF Park, hosting a SVNS event for the first time, were treated to near-perfect weather conditions...

Tuvalu is gearing up for its national election today. Tuvaluans will cast their votes to fill the 16-member parliament when polls open from 8am till 4.00pm Friday, local time. Elections are held every four years on tiny island nation with a population of over 11,000 people. There are no political parties in Tuvalu, which means that all candidates run as independents, and...

Reports questioning Taiwan-Tuvalu ties are nothing but rumors, Ambassador to Tuvalu Andrew Lin said Thursday, adding that the Pacific Island nation would continue to maintain strong, steady ties with Taiwan after Tuvalu’s elections today. In an article last Friday by the Weekend Australian, Tuvaluan Ambassador to Taiwan Bikenibeu Paeniu was cited as saying that “sources from Tuvalu” said it could...

Papua New Guinea will be hosting Pope Francis in late August. Catholic Bishops Conference of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands general secretary Father Victor Roche confirmed the Pope's visit with RNZ Pacific on Thursday. Papua New Guinea has approximately two million Catholics - about 20 percent of the nation. The Pope is visiting two cities in PNG over three to four...

By Yvonne Su, Assistant Professor in the Department of Equity Studies, York University, Canada The recent climate migration deal signed by Australia and Tuvalu in November 2023 has been touted as providing a “lifeline” to the people of the South Pacific nation who face existential threats from rising sea levels and climate change. The Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union treaty is the world’s...

Captains of the best 12 men’s and women’s rugby sevens teams in the world were soaking up the sun in Perth on Wednesday ahead of the hotly anticipated third round of HSBC SVNS 2024 on 26-28 January. Players and fans can look forward to three action-packed days of rugby sevens and buzz-filled nights at HBF Park where fireworks can be...

Nauru’s Minister for Foreign Affairs & Trade Lionel Aingimea and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi sign joint communique reaffirming the restoration of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Nauru and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), in Beijing on 24 January. Minister Aingimea said it is a particular time in history for it restarts the friendly ties between the two...