PNG governor may block Australian naval base bid on Manus
Manus Governor Charlie Benjamin … critical of Port Moresby government’s lack of consultation. Image: RNZ Pacific By RNZ Pacific The governor of Papua New Guinea’s Manus Province has hinted that he could obstruct Australia’s bid to build a naval port on Manus Island. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on November 1 that his country […]
Read More →Chinese officials kick out EMTV, foreign media from APEC events – allow Beijing state media
Some critics say that China’s latest behaviour toward foreign journalists casts doubt over its vow to treat neighbours with “respect”. Image: Natalie Whiting/ABC News/My Land, My Country By Scott Waide Papua New Guinea’s freedoms of speech, expression and access to information were challenged yesterday when Chinese officials barred both local and non-Chinese media from attending meetings at three Asia-Pacific […]
Read More →Scott Waide: How China is several moves ahead in Port Moresby
Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) and Prime Minister of PNG Peter O’Neill shaking hands. Image: Solomon Kantha/My Land My Country COMMENTARY: By Scott Waide In November every year, the Papua New Guinean National budget usually takes centre stage. But not this year. This week, the 2019 budget came two days before the start of the biggest […]
Read More →NZ streets ahead of India and China on female participation in exercise
Christchurch – New Zealand is tiny compared to the population powerhouses of China or India, but the Kiwi exercise culture is streets ahead of those countries in terms of female and male participation, Exercise NZ chief executive Richard Beddie says. China and India’s exercise industry is still male dominated. Over three quarters of attendees to […]
Read More →Tongasat’s appeal aimed at hindering suing former PMs, says Pōhiva
Tongan Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva … plan to lodge additional legal action to force pay back of the Tomgasat money. Image: Kalino Lātū/Kaniva News By Kalino Lātū, editor of Kaniva News Tonga’s Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva says he believes an appeal by Tongasat against a Supreme Court ruling over the illegal payment of millions of […]
Read More →China isn’t the real threat to liberal democracy – ‘we are’, say academics
Analysing China … Dr Stephen Noakes (from left), Dr David Williams (host), Professor David Matas and Barry Wilson talking to the audience at the University of Auckland last week. Image: Rahul Bhattarai/PMC The Chinese government is accused of illegally harvesting the organs of Falun Gong members. However, a leading academic says that China isn’t the […]
Read More →Lack of exercise putting pressure on Kiwis’ health
Christchurch – Lack of exercise is putting pressure on the health of many Kiwis, a leading New Zealand exercise expert says. Exercise NZ chief executive Richard Beddie has just returned from China and India where he discussed fitness trends and issues. He says a new World Health Organisation (WHO) report shows a lack of exercise is […]
Read More →Scott Waide: Amid the PNG silence on military aid, calls go out for wide national consultation
Lombrum naval base on Manus Island … a Google’s-eye view. COMMENT: By Scott Waide The global trade war between China and Western powers has reached new heights in the Pacific, and in particular in Papua New Guinea. As the government of Peter O’Neill courts China on the one side of the bargaining table, receiving, aid […]
Read More →‘Flight of the myna’ – behind the smiles in post-coup Fiji 30 years on
OPINION: By Sri Krishnamurthi in Suva When I left Fiji 30 years ago, a week after the first coup in 1987, I planned to write a book titled “The flight of the myna” – a pesky, noisy bird, which can talk if trained and was introduced to Fiji by our forefathers from India. The book […]
Read More →Pacific Island leaders tightening the screws on press freedom, dissent
ANALYSIS: The three-hour “detention” of television New Zealand Pacific affairs reporter Barbara Dreaver for “breaking protocols” over interviewing refugees on Nauru. But Josef Benedict reports this is just part of the dismal media freedom scene in the Pacific. At this week’s gathering of key Pacific Island leaders on the Micronesian island of Nauru, conspicuously missing […]
Read More →Dan McGarry: Fighting for media freedom and truth in the Pacific
When the host country Nauru banned the pool broadcaster, ABC, from the Pacific Islands summit set for next month, it was condemned widely for an attack on freedom on the media. Lee Duffield recently paid a visit to Dan McGarry, media director of the Vanuatu Daily Post, who took a lead, declaring his outlet would […]
Read More →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 →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 →Tongan police charge Lord Tu’ivakanō with bribery in passport saga probe
By Kalino Latu, editor of Kaniva News The king’s noble and former Prime Minister, Lord Tu’ivakanō has been charged with passport offences, money laundering and bribery. Police arrested the former Speaker of Parliament yesterday. “Lord Tu’ivakanō has been charged with numerous crimes, including making a false statement for the purpose of obtaining a passport, perjury, […]
Read More →Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: China’s “magic weapons” in New Zealand
Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: China’s “magic weapons” in New Zealand Dr Bryce Edwards. In a tumultuous year in politics, it’s been easy to overlook important and controversial arguments about Chinese Government influence in this country. A number of stories and reports have been published that require much greater attention, debate and scrutiny. At one level, […]
Read More →Latipay riding the great China payment wall
MIL OSI – Source: MakeLemonade.nz Auckland – A high rising New Zealand company riding the great China payment wall is in line next month for a major international award at a global accelerator awards event in Austin, Texas. Latipay, which facilitates payments from Chinese consumers to global businesses, has won a place in the fintech […]
Read More →China coal plant building at crossroads amid carbon pricing reforms
MIL Analysis+Reportage – EveningReport.NZ Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz China is currently building more coal plants than it needs and in doing so is misallocating capital at an unprecedented rate. As of July 2016, China had 895 GW of existing coal capacity being used less than half of the time – and perversely has 205 GW under […]
Read More →Indonesia and Japan agree to step up maritime security, plan rail link
MIL Analysis+Reportage – EveningReport.NZ Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (right) talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the Bogor Palace, West Java, on Sunday. Image: Beawiharta/Jakarta Globe/R Indonesia and Japan have agreed to step up maritime security and start discussions on a major railway project to link Jakarta and Surabaya in East […]
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