PINA

Written by Greg Fry At the centre of the recent crisis in Pacific regionalism has been a high stakes tussle over the appointment of the next Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General. As is the case with the United Nations Secretary-General, the role of the Forum Secretary General has expanded significantly beyond the narrow managerial role prescribed in the founding...

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown have today announced that, pending final confirmation by New Zealand’s Director-General of Health and the Cook Islands Secretary of Health, two-way quarantine-free travel will commence between the two countries on 17 May (NZT). “Two-way quarantine-free travel is a significant step in both countries’ COVID-19 recovery, and a...

The attack on police and burning of 13 police houses in Milne Bay last week is an act of terrorism and will be dealt with swiftly and strongly, says Papua New Guinea Police Commissioner David Manning. “These are not your common criminals but are terrorists and will be dealt with as such,” he said adding that the terrorists had declared...

Marking World Press Freedom Day 2021, the Pacific Anti-Corruption Journalists Network (PACJN) has called for a regional Pacific commitment to boost media freedom and help increase reporting on activities at risk of corruption. PACJN coordinator, Samisoni Pareti, welcomed the focus on media freedom on 3 May and called for a greater focus on how to implement that freedom. “Pacific journalists need...

Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr said while Micronesia welcomes the apology made by the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), the sub-region will remain steadfast on leaving the regional grouping unless changes are made. “I am sorry for what. So the apology should come with the remedy. I assumed there are working on a remedy,” he said. The remedy he said would be...

In the dense fog of Covid-19 misinformation in Papua New Guinea (PNG) lurk deeply embedded beliefs in witchcraft. As Australia's nearest neighbour battles with what experts say is an exponential surge in coronavirus cases, fears of unexplained deaths have had sinister consequences. Sanguma - a local word that refers to the occult - is common across the Pacific. It is a...

A total of 28 election petitions have been filed in the Samoa Supreme Court following last month’s general elections. The petitions are registered at the close of business, 30 April 2021 being the last day for filing allowed for under section 109 of the Electoral Act 2019. The Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration (MJCA) and...

Samoa caretaker Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi should accept the result of the general elections and concede defeat. This is according to the leader of the Fa’atuatua ile Atua Samoa ua Tasi – FAST party, Fiamē Naomi Mata’afa who has reiterated the result of the general elections that gave her party the lead with 26 seats against to the Human...

The Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Dame Meg Taylor says a commitment to keeping global warming to the Paris Agreement limit of 1.5 degrees is still possible, if developed nations do their part. Speaking to TVNZ journalist John Campbell on the ONE Breakfast show today, the SG said reducing carbon emissions and keeping to the 1.5 limit on global warming...

By Joey Tau and Talei Luscia Mangioni Earlier this month, the Japanese government announced plans to discharge 1m tonnes of radioactive wastewater accruing since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011 into the Pacific Ocean. To Pacific peoples, who have carried the disproportionate human cost of nuclearism in our region, this is yet another act of catastrophic and irreversible trans-boundary harm...