Regional
Airfares hampering seasonal work
Monday 3 April 2017 | Published in Regional
SOLOMON ISLANDS – Steep airfares are a major impediment to Solomon Island workers wanting to take part in New Zealand’s Recognised Seasonal Employers scheme.
Crackdown on smuggling
Sunday 2 April 2017 | Published in Regional
SOLOMON ISLANDS – Increasing attempts to smuggle goods through ports in Solomon Islands have resulted in customs and inland revenue officials this week launching a joint operation to crack down on the practise.
Games funds reaffirmed
Sunday 2 April 2017 | Published in Regional
TONGA – Tonga’s High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea has presented her credentials in Port Moresby during a three day visit.
Call to get tough with Vietnamese 'reef robbers'
Sunday 2 April 2017 | Published in Regional
PACIFIC – The Forum Fisheries Agency is urging people to stop referring to Vietnamese fishing boats poaching coastal reefs across the region as “blue boats” and instead call them “reef robbers”.
Export of NZ's pristine water under debate
Sunday 2 April 2017 | Published in Regional
NEW ZEALAND – A plan to extract millions of litres of water out of a Unesco world heritage site, send it by pipe to the coast and ship it to foreign markets for bottling has ignited a campaign over water resources in New Zealand.
Mountain top frogs face troubled future
Sunday 2 April 2017 | Published in Regional
PACIFIC VIEWPOINT By Paul Oliver and Michael Lee ABC’s The Conversation At night, the mountain forests of New Guinea come alive with weird buzzing and beeping calls made by tiny frogs, some no bigger than your little fingernail.
Nations confirm their Games
Sunday 2 April 2017 | Published in Regional
FIJI – Both Vanuatu and Tonga have this week officially confirmed that the respective events awarded to them by the Pacific Games Council will be staged in the two different countries, as per the agreements their respective governments signed.
Raunchy video sparks uproar in PNG
Sunday 2 April 2017 | Published in Regional
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – A Papua New Guinean rapper’s sexually suggestive music video has highlighted the conflict between an older generation’s traditional standards of modesty and a desire for modernity from the nation’s young people.
Opeloge thankful for support
Sunday 2 April 2017 | Published in Regional
SAMOA – Ele Opeloge has thanked supporters in Samoa and abroad for contributing to a fundraising campaign honouring her Olympic success.
Businesses offered New Zealand opportunities
Wednesday 29 March 2017 | Published in Regional
NEW ZEALAND – A number of businesses from around the Pacific region are in Auckland creating partnerships to try to help them break into the New Zealand market.
Claims father threw missing children into river
Wednesday 29 March 2017 | Published in Regional
FIJI – Fiji police have managed to recover the body of a three-year-old boy who was one of three young children allegedly thrown into the Labasa River by their father.
No reprieve expected for 'cooking' coral reefs
Wednesday 29 March 2017 | Published in Regional
AUSTRALIA – Cyclone Debbie is not likely to give coral reefs off Cairns and Port Douglas any reprieve from coral bleaching, according to reef officials. And the weather bureau has not forecast any monsoonal activity on the horizon for the Far North.
Heavy rain forecast in cyclone's wake
Wednesday 29 March 2017 | Published in Regional
AUSTRALIA – Queenslanders are waking up to a huge clean up following the “monster” cyclone Debbie, as the now ex-tropical cyclone still brings heavy rain as it works its way through the state.
North Queensland takes a hit
Wednesday 29 March 2017 | Published in Regional
AUSTRALIA – Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has activated a disaster response plan after a powerful cyclone pummelled the north of Queensland.
Flosse calls for sacking
Tuesday 28 March 2017 | Published in Regional
FRENCH POLYNESIA – French Polynesia’s broadcaster has issued a statement to support a journalist whom a convicted political figure demanded to be sacked.
Carbon-rich soil lauded
Tuesday 28 March 2017 | Published in Regional
PACIFIC – A Pacific scientist says boosting the carbon content in soil is crucial to helping small island states become more resilient to climate change.
Police rampage claimed
Tuesday 28 March 2017 | Published in Regional
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – A human rights group in Papua New Guinea is accusing police of burning down 150 houses in a village near the Porgera Gold Mine, during an early morning raid over the weekend.
Tonga expects Teufaiva Stadium to host July rugby tests
Tuesday 28 March 2017 | Published in Regional
TONGA – The Tonga Rugby Union expects Teufaiva National Stadium will finally be ready to host international rugby in July. The ‘Ikale Tahi have not played on home soil since 2009 and a scheduled home test against Wales in June has been moved to New Zealand because the field was deemed unfit for play. Representatives from World Rugby and Turf Management New Zealand visited Nuku’alofa last week to assess the playing field. Tonga Rugby CEO Fe’ao Vunipola said the governing body has given them the go ahead to begin preparations for hosting Samoa and Fiji in the Pacific Nations Cup in July, pending a final sign-off. “They were all surprised when we all turned up to Teufaiva – the whole field now is green – it’s all green,” he said. “The grass has grown, it’s so healthy, because we had been having rain for the last few weeks and even the turf management consultant from New Zealand was surprised by how quick the grass had grown, so there’s no major work to be done.” “They will be mowing it, fertilising it and fixing little patches wherever they feel they need to but overall there’s no need for a huge improvement to be done, like they anticipated before,” Vunipola said. Teufaiva National Stadium is being refurbished for Tonga’s hosting of the 2019 Pacific Games but had faced numerous delays, while the Games Organising Committee and the government have clashed on multiple occasions. Work at the Teufaiva site has since begun and the Papua New Guinea government has committed over US$15 million towards the project. Despite the frustration of the ‘Ikale Tahi being deprived a home venue for two full Rugby World Cup cycles, Vunipola was keen to look forward and said it was an “awesome feeling” for the Tongan rugby community. “I think for us our priority was always to bring a game to here and to qualify for the 2019 World Cup,” he said. “Which by playing the two important matches here gives us more chance of winning it this year because that’s the only way we can qualify for 2019 is to win the Pacific Nations Cup this year.” “People have priorities, the government have the people of Tonga as their priority but now we are just grateful that they are lending us a big hand to help us out because rugby union, as you know, is the Tongan national game – has been and will always.” Vunipola said upgrades to other facilities at Teufaiva will also be carried out in the coming weeks. “Priority is the playing area. The grandstand work, changing rooms and stuff, is, I think, straightforward. It only involves the replacement of plumbing, fittings and stuff and then doing some decoration work to the grandstand.” - RNZI
Samoans now obtaining surgical needs in India
Tuesday 28 March 2017 | Published in Regional
SAMOA – Samoa has begun sending patients needing medical treatment overseas to India instead of New Zealand.
Fa'afafine to consult with media on coverage
Tuesday 28 March 2017 | Published in Regional
SAMOA - The Samoa Fa’afafine Association(SFA) is organising a media summit this week in an effort to have fair, accurate, and inclusive news coverage of their issues and stories in the media in the future.