PINA

New Caledonia's pro-independence FLNKS party has called for “non-participation” in the independence referendum on 12 December. The Kanak alliance wants the vote postponed until 2022 because of the Covid-19 epidemic. The pro-French loyalists have responded to the call by resuming their campaign for the vote. In a statement, the FLNKS criticised the state for wanting to "maintain at all costs the third...

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday that China will set up a fund to help Pacific Island countries defeat the COVID-19 pandemic. Wang made the remarks at the first China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Beijing via video link. Wang said the bilateral relationship between China and the Pacific Island countries has shown a good...

Pacific leaders say offering “visas for vaccinations’ would be the ultimate incentive for New Zealand overstayers to get the covid-19 jab, as Auckland struggles to stop delta variant infections spreading through the community. It comes as epidemiologists say the government needs to pull out all the stops to get people vaccinated amid rising case numbers. Immigration lawyer Richard Small of Pacific...

Dame Cindy Kiro was sworn in as New Zealand's newest Govenor-General Thursday at Parliament, the first wahine Māori to hold the role. Speaking to a limited audience due to Covid restrictions, Dame Cindy pledged to reach people marginalised in New Zealand in her new role as New Zealand’s 22nd Governor-General. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Opposition leader Judith Collins, MPs from across...

The Pacific Climate Action Network (PICAN) in partnership with Greenpeace Australia Pacific is launching Pacific COP26 Climate Demands on Friday 22 October 2021 in the lead up to the UN Climate Summit in Glasgow. Through an intensive consultation, engagement, and collaboration with civil society organisations (CSOs), non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and movements from across the Pacific Island countries, PICAN has developed...

A third of Pacific small island states and territories do not plan to send any government figures to the COP26 summit in Glasgow due to Covid-19 travel restrictions. The lack of high-level representation of Pacific nations at the meeting has led to fears that the concerns of these countries, which are among those most at risk due to the climate...

Pacific leaders like Fiji's Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama have had enough. Speaking at a recent international climate forum hosted by the former U.S vice president Al Gore, Bainimarama refused to be the proverbial canary. “We want more for ourselves then to be helpless songbirds whose demise serves as a warning to others," he said. Fiji and the Pacific's demands are clear, the...

The Minister for Health in Papua New Guinea, Jelta Wong, says work has started on a 500-bed field hospital in Port Moresby, as the country's COVID-19 outbreak continues to escalate. The latest status report says another 288 cases have been recorded, taking the total to almost 25,400, with more than 300 deaths. Less than two percent of the population has had...

Papua New Guinea Speaker of Parliament Jacob Pomat’s suggestion that the 2022 General Elections be deferred by one year is both dangerous and wrong and is a direct threat to democracy and the Constitution, the Opposition says. The Opposition, in a statement, said the call is dangerous because given the normal 70 percent attrition rate of Members of Parliament losing...

With Fiji officially opening from 01 December, Fiji Airways, Fiji’s National Airline, has launched an eco-focused In-Flight Safety Video, showcasing footage of the country’s breathtaking natural wonders to travellers, all while championing the local businesses and communities helping to preserve it. Shot across seven locations, the five-minute safety briefing is delivered amongst some of the many initiatives being undertaken to...