Keith Jackson: Did dumb just get dumber and Sam Basil dig a hole?
A near confrontation on the floor of Parliament on Friday, with the Papua New Guinea Opposition walking out in protest over the referral of Madang MP Bryan Kramer, to the Parliamentary Privileges Committee following a Facebook posting. Video: EMTV News MIL Analysis+Reportage – EveningReport.NZ
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 →Life after the PNG quakes and more really tough decisions ahead
SPECIAL REPORT: Anton Lutz in Mougulu profiles what life is like on the border of Western Province and Hela at the epicentre three weeks after Papua New Guinea’s earthquakes. This week a disaster relief team operating out of Mougulu in Western Province demonstrated how key partnerships can lead directly to efficient outcomes. As the largest […]
Read More →OP-ED: Turkey’s Foreign Minister Details Its Resolve in the Conflict Against Terrorism and DAESH
Article by H.E. Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs published in Le Monde entitled “Turkey: The best ally for the security of Europe”, 20 March 2018 EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an unofficial English translation of the original French text. *** Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. Nowadays, the hardest challenges European countries confront […]
Read More →John Minto: Barack Obama – ‘Yes, We Can’ champion of the rich
Barack Obama bailed out the banks, increased weapons production and delivered 10 times more drone strikes than his predecessor George Bush. Cartoon: Malcolm Evans/The Daily Blog OPINION: By John Minto Former US President Barack Obama won office decisively on the basis of a fervent campaign driven by his supporters believing he would bring real change. […]
Read More →Gary Juffa: How we can stop criminal cartels stealing our PNG forests
Police action squad dealing to illegal loggers in Oro province of Papua New Guinea. Image: Gary Juffa/FB OPINION: By Gary Juffa In the ongoing saga of stopping illegal logging in Papua New Guinea’s Oro province, our facts reveal that the PNG Forest Authority is failing our people. A network exists whereby a few corrupt public […]
Read More →New Timor treaty will finally set borders to resolve oil, gas row
ANALYSIS: By Tom Clarke Timor-Leste and Australia has signed a maritime boundary agreement at the UN headquarters in New York today, putting their long-running border dispute to rest. Although the finer details of the treaty remained under wraps, all reports suggest that the Timorese will secure their permanent maritime boundaries and a fairer share of […]
Read More →31 deaths so far in PNG quake, but ‘hit-and-miss’ on rural area statistics
Professor Chalapan Kaluwin of the University of Papua New Guinea’s School of Natural and Physical Sciences says the country should prepare itself for more natural disasters. EMTV News By Scott Waide of EMTV News Our biggest challenge as Papua New Guinean journalists has been verifying the statistics from rural areas with limited resources. As much […]
Read More →Marites Vitug: Duterte’s dangerously zero idea of independent journalism
ANALYSIS: By Marites Dañguilan Vitug in Manila A year ago, the White House barred some members of the press from attending an informal briefing, a rarity in a country that was regarded as the beacon of democracy. Excluding reporters from The New York Times, CNN, Politico, BuzzFeed, and the Los Angeles Times – all accredited […]
Read More →Vanuatu Daily Post: A call to action for endangered Pacific media freedom
EDITORIAL OPINION: Dan McGarry and Marc Neil-Jones of the Vanuatu Daily Post call for media associations and professionals throughout the Pacific to act to protect their freedom. It’s becoming far too common: Journalists and whistle blowers are being singled out and silenced as governments throughout the region allow the Pacific to slide down the slippery […]
Read More →PNG Mine Watch: Bougainville’s new ‘infamous’ Filipino mining company
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte exposes “illegal favours” to mining tycoon Eric Gutierrez, whose company SR Metals Inc has now won an exploration contract on Bougainville. Archlight Productions video shot during 2016 presidential election campaign. BACKGROUNDER: PNG Mine Watch Mine Watch recently predicted that Bougainville President John Momis’ appetite for crooked foreign miners was very much […]
Read More →Mata’afa Keni Lesa: Cyclone Gita’s over but remember Ofa’s vengeance
OPINION: By Mata’afa Keni Lesa, editor of the Samoa Observer Tropical Cyclone Gita has left just as quickly as it arrived on Friday night and yesterday morning. Within six hours, it left hundreds of people devastated as a result of strong winds and flooding. Folks, it sends shivers down the spine to think what more […]
Read More →OPINION: PyeongChang Olympics: a new cornerstone for peace and prosperity
OPINION: PyeongChang Olympics: a new cornerstone for peace and prosperity By Shamshad Akhtar EDITOR’S NOTE: Shamshad Akhtar is the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) The 23rd Olympic Winter Games and 12th Paralympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, Korea, this February. All eyes […]
Read More →Crown breached Crimes Act over ‘depoliticising’ Treaty of Waitangi
Tiriti o Waitangi of 1840 … a “historical deception” that the British Crown gained sovereignty over New Zealand. Image: Steve Edwards OPINION: By Steve Edwards The New Zealand government’s ongoing failure to acknowledge that the British Crown did not gain sovereignty over New Zealand in 1840 is a breach of the Crimes Act. In October […]
Read More →The Daily Blog: Jacinda’s Waitangi Day 2018 aroha creating a Māori legacy relationship
Cartoon: © Malcolm Evans/The Daily Blog OPINION: By Martyn Bradbury, editor of The Daily Blog Waitangi Day 2018 smells different doesn’t it? It tastes different too. No bitter “Māori privilege” nonsense from Don Brash and his shallow racism. No spiteful “Let’s have a NZ day so we don’t have to feel guilty about the Treaty” […]
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 →Richard McLeod: Make our voices known against the euthanasia bill
Voluntary euthanasia … deep concerns about what ACT leader David Seymour’s Bill could, if passed into law, mean for many vulnerable New Zealanders – “our elderly, our sick, our disabled, and our mentally unwell”. Image: NZ Catholic OPINION: By Richard McLeod Two years ago, the Parliamentary Health Select Committee investigating public attitudes to euthanasia and […]
Read More →Duterte vs Rappler: Declaration of war against Philippine media?
On The Listening Post this week: Rappler battles with authorities plus climate sceptics and the media platforms they get. Video: Al Jazeera As Rappler, a popular Manila news website, battles with authorities, news media in the Philippines are feeling the chill. Rappler has long been a thorn in the side of President Rodrigo Duterte because […]
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