PINA

-Commonwealth Games Australia has partnered with the Australian Government to provide support for Pacific island athletes aiming to be part of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, but with only three months to go, exactly how will they be able to help? The aim is to support athletes and coaches from Commonwealth Pacific countries to achieve qualification, and in the case...

The Highlanders have cruelly denied Fijian Drua a historic win in their first Super Rugby Pacific match played at home, with a full house at Suva's ANZ Stadium unable to lift their team to victory. The visitors rebounded from last week's Super Round loss to the Brumbies to clinch a thrilling 27-24 win on Saturday. The Highlanders didn't hit the front...

The Fijiana 15s went down to Japan 28-14 in their first international Test match at the Bond University Oval in Australia. Fijiana had 14 debutants in the match. They started well with two tries to Younis Bese and Roela Radiniyavuni for a 14-nil lead. Japan locked the scores at 14-all thanks to a driving maul and a grubber kick that set-up for...

The Melbourne Rebels have made it a Super Saturday for Australian teams, backing up the NSW Waratahs' shock win with a 26-22 victory over Moana Pasifika. The Waratahs upset the Crusaders 24-21 in Sydney in the early game before the Rebels held on for their own Super Rugby Pacific win over the competition newcomers at AAMI Park. A try in the...

Pacific Parliamentarians Alliance on Deep Sea Mining (PPADSM) calls for more commitments to safeguarding our ocean from deep sea mining The Pacific Parliamentarians Alliance on Deep Sea Mining (PPADSM) has welcomed the commitments made at the 7th Our Ocean Conference in Palau towards protecting and restoring the health of our ocean. The 2022 Conference closed with 410 commitments worth $16.35 billion...

The nation’s former spymaster warns Australia has squandered its chances to form meaningful relationships with the Pacific, leaving it looking to the United States to intervene and fix a significant security problem in the region after China struck its security pact with the Solomon Islands. In an opinion piece for The Australian Financial Review, Nick Warner – who oversaw the...

Papua New Guinea Justice and Attorney-General Department Secretary Dr Eric Kwa says the two-week delay in the issuance of election writs is within the constitutional powers of the electoral commissioner. “There are no laws stopping the electoral commission from delaying the issuance within the confines of the law,” he said. “The critical issue is that the election must be held within...

The Pacific Elders’ Voice reiterates that the primary security threat to the Pacific is climate change. This fact is clearly articulated in the Boe Declaration on Regional Security which states: “We affirm that climate change remains the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of the peoples of the Pacific and our commitments to progress the implementation...

A key adviser to the premier of the most populous province in Solomon Islands has expressed concern that the China-Solomons security deal could enable the prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, to use Chinese armed police and military personnel to quash democratic dissent and hold on to power for years to come. Celsus Irokwato Talifilu, who is an adviser to Daniel Suidani,...

Australian foreign affairs minister Marise Payne has denounced the “secret” terms of China’s security deal with Solomon Islands, while insisting “no document signed and kept away from public view” would change Australia’s commitment to answering Pacific countries’ needs. The foreign affairs minister said the agreement was “not transparent” – unlike Australia’s existing security treaty with Solomon Islands – and was...