Ben Bohane: China? No, let’s face the elephant in the Pacific room
BRIEFING: By Ben Bohane in Port Vila China … China … China … All the talk is of increasing Chinese influence in our region. But this is to wilfully see past the elephant in the room. Contrary to most commentary, the biggest destabilising player in Melanesia over the past five years is not China but […]
Read More →Dan McGarry: Want to lead in the Pacific? Try listening first
Cathy Wilcox’s Sydney Morning Herald cartoon is a showcase for everything that’s wrong with Australian foreign policy. Cartoon: Cathy Wilcox/SMH/VDP By Dan McGarry in Port Vila The average Australian’s conception of Pacific island nations is so limited it makes some of us wonder if they even want to understand. Our voices—and our reality—have been pointedly […]
Read More →Baseless rumours: why talk of Chinese military base in Vanuatu misses point
How the Vanuatu Daily Post reacted to the Australian “news” of a possible Chinese military base plan. Image: VDP BRIEFING: By Dan McGarry in Port Vila The “news” this week that Vanuatu was to be the site of a Chinese military base caught most people by surprise. Government officials with detailed knowledge of relevant matters […]
Read More →Erin Harris: Nauru appeal court move denies justice for refugees
The Australian High Court building in Canberra. Image: Bentley Smith/Flickr/The Interpreter BRIEFING: By Erin Harris The decision to terminate a long-standing arrangement that saw the Australian High Court act as a partial appellate court for Nauru, as reported last week, has heightened concerns about Nauru’s appropriateness as a venue for an Australian immigration detention centre. […]
Read More →Cook Islands, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu win medals at Games
Celebrating Pacific successes at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. Image: SBS By Stefan Armbruster of SBS News Three countries that have never won a medal in Commonwealth Games history are celebrating after bagging bronze in weightlifting, javelin and lawn bowls competitions on the Gold Coast. A quarter of the 71 teams entered the […]
Read More →WestConnex M4 East violates Australian pollution standards – even before tunnel opens
A talk by Dr Paul Torzillo at a meeting of Camperdown Residents against WestConnex on Air Pollution and Impacts on our Health. Video: Spontaneous 45 Since the New South Wales State government was elected in 2012, the massive WestConnex super expressway system in Sydney has been a great example of how this administration just can’t […]
Read More →NZ Foreign Minister questions China’s influence in the Pacific
Foreign Minister Winston Peters flags a stronger NZ Pacific aid policy and prime ministers Jacinda Ardern and Malcolm Turnbull discuss New Zealand and Australia friendship and differences in policies. Video: Qldaah/ABC New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters has again hinted the Ardern government may exit China’s One Belt One Road initiative as Wellington “resets” its […]
Read More →New bill would make Australia worst in free world for criminalising journalism
Would the ABC’s publication of confidential cabinet documents be in breach of a proposed government bill? Image: Joel Carrett/The Conversation By Dr Johan Lidberg in Melbourne Australia is a world leader in passing the most amendments to existing and new anti-terror and security laws in the liberal democratic world. Since September 11, 2001, it has […]
Read More →Michael Powles: ‘Recolonising’ the Pacific would stir security backlash
Australian Foreign Policy White Paper … “Opportunity, Security, Strength” but a step too far for New Zealand. Image: Aust govt ANALYSIS: By Michael Powles with Anna Powles Australia’s recent Foreign Policy White Paper says that Australia’s approach in the region will focus on “helping to integrate Pacific countries in the Australian and New Zealand economies […]
Read More →Racist reporting still rife in Australian media, says new monitoring report
New research shows Muslims are more negatively portrayed in the media than other groups. Image: Lukas Coch/AAP/The Conversation By Dr Christina Ho in Sydney Half of all race-related opinion pieces in the Australian mainstream media are likely to contravene industry codes of conduct on racism. In research released this week, the Who Watches the Media […]
Read More →IFJ blasts ‘press freedom attack’ on Iranian-Kurdish journalist in PNG
Two PNG police officers led away Behrouz Boochani in handcuffs on Manus Island earlier today. Image: Aziz58825713/Twitter Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) in condemning the reported arrest of Iranian-Kurdish journalist Behrouz Boochani by Papua New Guinea police earlier today. The IFJ […]
Read More →Chris Trotter: Catastrophic loss of trust over Canberra’s Manus provocation
OPINION: By Chris Trotter You have to go a long way to find anything remotely resembling Australia’s current treatment of New Zealand. For a supposedly friendly government to deliberately inject inflammatory disinformation into the political bloodstream of its supposedly closest neighbour is an extraordinarily provocative act. Not quite an act of war, but the sort […]
Read More →Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The case for diplomacy over refugees
Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The case for diplomacy over refugees Dr Bryce Edwards. Is Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s campaign over the Manus Island refugee situation causing serious damage to Trans-Tasman relations? And is it even in the best interests of refugees? Yesterday I looked at the arguments for the New Zealand government taking a harder […]
Read More →Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Time to act on refugee crisis
Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Time to act on refugee crisis Dr Bryce Edwards. The Prime Minister’s current strategy over the Manus Island refugees is probably not sustainable. Jacinda Ardern’s preferred tactic is to continue with “talking” at the moment. She’s done this by engaging with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, and speaking out publicly at […]
Read More →Murray Horton: Root causes of ‘Pacific’ refugee crisis need to be sorted
Papua New Guinea immigration officials last week started dismantling parts of a prison camp housing hundreds of defiant refugees as an evacuation deadline loomed yesterday. Video: Al Jazeera OPINION: By Murray Horton of the Aotearoa Independence Movement Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is to be congratulated for trying to do the decent thing by, in her […]
Read More →Australia accused of ‘bullying’ Pacific neighbours out of climate compo
Greenpeace political message to COP23 on fossil fuels. Image: Greenpeace Pacific Media Report Newsdesk Australia has picked up a second Fossil of the Day award at COP23 in Bonn for seeking to twist, water down and delete references to finance from the loss and damage decision text, Greenpeace reports. Loss and damage refers to impacts […]
Read More →Bentley Effect doco aims to ‘inspire’ NZ fight against oil, gas exploration
The Bentley Effect … “inspiring celebration of the power of community”. Video: The Bentley Effect Movie By Kendall Hutt in Auckland In 2010, gas exploration in Australia’s Northern Rivers region of New South Wales sparked protest and rallied a community into becoming a broad-based social movement. The exploration by Sydney-based company Metgasco faced a five-year […]
Read More →Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Has Jacinda Ardern failed her first international test of leadership?
Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Has Jacinda Ardern failed her first international test of leadership? Dr Bryce Edwards. Is our new government doing enough about the Manus refugee crisis? Well, it’s hardly doing anything. Instead of putting pressure on the Australian Government to allow New Zealand to take refugees from Manus Island, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern […]
Read More →Bryce Edwards Analysis: Political Roundup: NZ (and Australia) needs better political scandals
MIL Analysis+Reportage – EveningReport.NZ Trans-Tasman rivalry between New Zealand and Australia. Bryce Edwards Analysis: Political Roundup: NZ (and Australia) needs better political scandals Trans-Tasman rivalry between New Zealand and Australia. Dr Bryce Edwards. The current trans-Tasman citizenship saga doesn’t warrant the level of hysteria coming from politicians in both countries, on both sides of the […]
Read More →Social Security Agreement between New Zealand and Australia
MIL OSI – Source: Ministry of Social Development – Release/Statement Headline: Social Security Agreement between New Zealand and Australia 03 July 2017. On 1 July, a revised Social Security Agreement between New Zealand and Australia came into force. Social security agreements between the two countries date back to 1948. The last Agreement was signed in […]
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