Regional
Fiji MP kicked out for the duration
Friday 30 September 2016 | Published in Regional
Opposition member apologises but denies racism
Fiji's Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi dies
Friday 30 September 2016 | Published in Regional
FIJI – Nauru’s chief justice and a former Fiji vice president, Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi, has passed away.
Call to reveal the secrets of pokie machines
Thursday 29 September 2016 | Published in Regional
AUSTRALIA – Three federal politicians are calling on Australians to leak secret information relating to the poker machine industry.
Relocated villagers want to hear the truth
Thursday 29 September 2016 | Published in Regional
SAMOA – A community in Samoa is demanding the truth from the government as to why their village has to be relocated. The government said the village needs to be moved because of climate change – but some say its to make way for a new waterfront development. “The government’s decision to relocate Sogi residents – which has led to a legal action – is not only unfair, it is also insincere,” the president of the environmental group, O Le Si’osi’omaga Society, Fiu Mataese Elisara, said. Fiu is urging Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi to tell the truth as to why they have evicted people from Sogi. “The government is using climate change as an excuse and the main reason why they asked the people to relocate,” Fiu told the Samoa Observer. “It seems that there is a conflict in the reasoning by the government when in fact they are actually talking about the waterfront project. “The decision seems insincere. They’ve used climate change as an excuse at the same time, they are planning to develop the Apia waterfront project and it contradicts their decision. “They should tell the people the truth and say that they are asking Sogi to relocate because of the waterfront project and not because of climate change. They need to be honest with the people of Sogi,” he said. Fiu, who is a strong advocate for indigenous rights, said he understands the government has the power to take away people’s land under the Taking of Land’s Act 1964 to remove people from their lands for public purposes.” However, Fiu warns that the decision for the people of Sogi to relocate will have a huge impact socially. “The decision will surely cause stress for the people of Sogi,” he said. “No one is doing an analysis or a research on the impact assessment of resettlement. A lot of global policies we have now require the donors who have projects involving people, to carry out an environment impact assessment. But they also need to look at the social impact assessment and how it affects the mentality of the people. “These people have been there for hundred years. That community is made up of generations and generations from a hundred years ago. That is home for them. “And if we ask them to relocate, that’s violating their rights and that’s an element of injustice, because they finalised their decision without adequately consulting the people first.” Fiu believes that with this decision the people who have been living together as a community will be divided. “This community has been a very closed-community for years, asking them to leave will divide the community.” Adaptation is another challenge the residents will face if they relocate, said Fiu. “If they move out of Sogi, it will take them time to adapt to this new place, new lifestyle and new environment,” he said. “It’ll be just like a life of a new born baby – it’s going to be hard for them.” “The other thing is, most of these people have families and relatives buried at Sogi. This is going to be one major issue for these people.” “Again, this needs to be covered during a social impact assessment. Unfortunately, they don’t carry out researches on the impact of these decisions and projects on people.” One family in Sogi village is taking legal action over government moves to relocate them. The government said it was moving people because of the threat they face from climate change as much of the town is low lying. Some of the families in Sogi were settled there generations ago after their ancestors had been brought there by the country’s then German colonial masters. Ownership of the land was eventually vested in them but a 76-year-old member of one the affected families, Nanai Liu Tokuma, said the government is violating his family’s rights to own and live on the land. The government has maintained that its decision to move families in Sogi village, including the Tokuma family, is final. But Nanai said the government’s plans had less to do with concerns about climate change and more to do with the plans of business people to develop the area. The decision by the government to relocate residents of Sogi was initially announced in 2011. The government then offered families a quarter acre of land at Falelauniu which they will lease to own at just over $30,000 and $3000 cash to relocate. Many families at Sogi have taken up the offer. But many others have refused. A 30-day notice given to residents at Sogi to relocate expired on May 5 this year. Earlier, an elderly mother, Tala Leiataua, issued a heartfelt plea to the prime minister: “We’re ready to face the consequences but we want to be buried on this land. Tuilaepa, this land is where our grave is. This is where we belong. I ask the government to dig a hole and throw us all in there. I’d rather die and be buried on the land my ancestors passed down to us.” - PNC sources
Struggles of albino Fijians documented
Thursday 29 September 2016 | Published in Regional
FIJI – Fiji is a country that attracts many tourists seeking to bask in its abundance of sunshine, but for a significant number of Fijian locals, sunlight is something they try their best to avoid.
Hawai'i group welcomes recognition
Thursday 29 September 2016 | Published in Regional
HAWAI‘I – A prominent native Hawaiian says moves to allow the state’s indigenous population to choose whether to form a unified government is a huge development.
West Papuan lives matter, UN told
Thursday 29 September 2016 | Published in Regional
WEST PAPUA – Solomon Islands has called on Indonesia to substantiate allegations that Pacific nations are fabricating information when citing human rights violations in West Papua.
Officials to get tour of Pagan
Thursday 29 September 2016 | Published in Regional
NORTHERN MARIANAS – Local and federal officials in the Northern Marianas are set to tour the remote island of Pagan this weekend as part of ongoing talks on US plans for a live-fire training facility.
Storm knocks state off the grid
Thursday 29 September 2016 | Published in Regional
South Australia blacked out after freak weather AUSTRALIA – Power is gradually being turned back on across parts of South Australia, but much of the state remains in darkness after a widespread blackout. One of the most extreme weather systems in decades cut power to the entire state with more wild weather is on the way, with another intense low-pressure system expected to cross the state yesterday. Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Brett Gage said a severe weather warning remained current for widespread parts of the state, with the west coast of Eyre Peninsula in for a “real buffeting” with winds expected to reach storm force, with predicted gusts of up to 140 kilometres per hour. The extreme weather reached Adelaide about midday Wednesday dumping up to 100mm of rain in some areas, including the Adelaide Hills, where a flood warning was in place. Similar falls were sustained in the mid north with the cyclonic conditions whipped up large swells along the state’s coast, producing 10-metre waves in some locations. Electric trains, trams and traffic lights were also down across the state capital Adelaide, causing gridlock. South Australia Power Networks spokesman Paul Roberts said power was being restored to some of Adelaide on Wednesday evening, but warned it would be a “gradual process”. He said people in the Mid North and Eyre Peninsula areas should prepare for extended power outages. The statewide outage happened after severe weather knocked out three transmission lines and 22 towers. Optus and some Vodafone networks were also down across the state. Roberts said the new storm front expected on Thursday was a big concern for the electricity network. Earlier, Telstra’s South Australia general manager spokesman Mark Bolton said mobile phone users should prepare for a loss of network coverage as towers and exchanges ran out of back-up power. Police were urging owners and occupiers of buildings to check if anyone was trapped in lifts after emergency services rescued 19 people from lifts in Adelaide. State Premier Jay Weatherill said there had been 80,000 lightning strikes across the state. “Some of them hit our electricity infrastructure including our generators. This is making the job of turning the power back on extremely hazardous and difficult.” He urged people not to travel on the roads “unless absolutely necessary” during the blackout. Weatherill said the weather event had “destructive wind gusts” which saw transmission poles pulled out of the ground. He said the weather incident caused the failure of the entire South Australian electricity network”. He said the statewide blackout occurred due to the massive damage to infrastructure which resulted in the sudden drop in energy frequency in the network. It triggered an automatic cut at the interconnector to protect the national network. - PNC sources
Stories from the front line of climate change
Wednesday 28 September 2016 | Published in Regional
PACIFIC – An anthology of first-person accounts of climate change from around the Pacific is hoped to add a personal touch to the climate change debate.
Law bans CNMI youth from buying betel nut
Wednesday 28 September 2016 | Published in Regional
NORTHERN MARIANAS – A bill prohibiting the sale of betel nut to minors in the Northern Marianas has been signed into law by Governor Ralph Torres.
Pacific students missing out on health care
Wednesday 28 September 2016 | Published in Regional
NEW ZEALAND – A quarter of Pacific students in New Zealand are missing out on crucial health care and many cannot access dental care when they need it.
Illegal coffee trade affecting quality
Wednesday 28 September 2016 | Published in Regional
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – Illegal trading of cherry coffee in Papua New Guinea is said to be affecting the quality of coffee in the country.
Tokelau not ready for Forum
Wednesday 28 September 2016 | Published in Regional
TOKELAU – The Ulu o Tokelau says his country is not yet ready to seek full membership of the Pacific Islands Forum.
Samoan actors take centre stage
Wednesday 28 September 2016 | Published in Regional
Pacific islanders tell story of Samoa’s creation
Exposing buttocks declared a crime
Tuesday 27 September 2016 | Published in Regional
AUSTRALIA – Exposing your bare buttocks in public has been officially made a crime in the Australian state of Victoria.
Runway repairs close Nausori
Tuesday 27 September 2016 | Published in Regional
FIJI – A number of flights to and from the Suva’s Nausori International Airport had to be redirected to Nadi International Airport or cancelled this week.
Call for unity in Bougainville
Tuesday 27 September 2016 | Published in Regional
BOUGAINVILLE – The President of Bougainville, John Momis, has called on Bougainvilleans to unify as the region prepares for a referendum on its political future.
Harsh words in UN over West Papua
Tuesday 27 September 2016 | Published in Regional
Indonesia accuses Pacific nations of interference
Lonely atolls are facing extinction
Monday 26 September 2016 | Published in Regional
TAKKU – The Takuu group of atolls, also known as the Mortlock Islands, is a place so remote that it could easily be forgotten – and for centuries it was.
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