PINA

Fijians on social media, civil society organisations and political party leaders are puzzled over Government’s decision to open up the Lami, Suva and Nausori containment areas into one big zone in the face of escalating COVID-19 cases. They also queried the decision to lift the border between Nadi and Lautoka, after two new cases were discovered in Nadi. Prime Minister Voreqe...

The Pacific Islands are being tipped as the next phase in Australia’s travel bubble but the plan hinges on the effectiveness of the nation’s vaccination drive. At a News Corp Australia travel event, Trade and Tourism Minister Dan Tehan said the federal and New Zealand governments were deliberating expanding quarantine-free travel to include a number of Pacific destinations. This could allow...

Papua New Guinea can expect increased job opportunities and millions of kina in revenue if the Government considers offering discounts on fishing days, says the Fishing Industry Association (PNG) Inc. Association president and chairman Sylvester Pokajam said selling fishing days to companies under the vessel day scheme (VDS) could generate K471 million(US$134 million) for PNG in a year. The association had...

By Jeremy Gwao,Josh Nicholas and Kate Lyons If Solomon Islands continues logging at its current rate, natural forests in the country will be exhausted in 15 years. The South Pacific nation, and its neighbour Papua New Guinea, are striking examples of the enormous cost of the logging industry on small island nations. In the last few decades, foreign-owned companies have...

The outgoing Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Dame Meg Taylor says the Australian government's stance on climate change and its support for fossil fuels is affecting the country's standing in the region. “I think people who are very concerned about the climate issues and what's happening in terms of the impact, yes, people are concerned about the government...

-UN health agency chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged all countries on Monday to support a pandemic preparedness treaty, warning that it would be a “monumental error” to think the danger of COVID-19 has passed. In closing comments to the WHO’s annual week-long high-level assembly, Tedros said that a potential international treaty will be discussed in a special session of WHO...

By Mike Puiai There is perhaps nowhere in the Pacific where the costs of extractive industries are as heartbreakingly clear as Rennell Island. The island, a tiny dot in the vast South Pacific that lies at the southern tip of Solomon Islands, is home to a few thousand people. And it’s starkly divided. On one side is pristine East Rennell, a...

By Josh Nicholas One country dominates the Pacific’s resources extraction. Guardian analysis of trade data has revealed that China received more than half the total tonnes of seafood, wood and minerals exported from the region in 2019, a haul worth $3.3bn(US$2.54 billion) that has been described by experts as “staggering in magnitude”. The country’s mass extraction of resources comes as China...

Fiji businesses cannot go back to operating in the usual manner and they will now have to abide by the minimum COVID safe measures. Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Commerce and Trade, Shaheen Ali, said that for the Lami, Suva, Nausori containment zone, only essential and approved businesses are allowed to operate. Ali said certain businesses and industries that can...

Australia’s Prime Minister has hinted at expanding the trans-Tasman travel bubble to include other Pacific Islands after touching down in New Zealand for talks with his Kiwi counterpart Jacinda Ardern. Prime Minister Scott Morrison touched down in famed ski town Queenstown on Sunday afternoon to hold talks with Ardern for the Australia-New Zealand Leaders Forum. The visit comes after the opening...