Fiji military warns new PM’s government against making ‘sweeping changes’

Commander claims ‘trying and failing to democratise’ country can jeopardise national security, just over a month after hotly contested elections

Fiji’s military chief has warned MPs against making “sweeping changes”, less than a month after contested elections that removed the government of Frank Bainimarama, who ruled the Pacific island for 16 years after taking power in a coup.

Under Fiji’s constitution – adopted in 2013 – the military has wide powers to intervene in politics. The new government – under the control of prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka – has said that reviewing the constitution is one of its immediate priorities.

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Fiji parliament confirms Sitiveni Rabuka as prime minister after days of uncertainty

Rabuka accused the outgoing government of Frank Bainimarama of stoking ‘fear and chaos’ in the aftermath of the close election

Sitiveni Rabuka has become Fiji’s prime minister after a coalition of parties voted to install him, signalling an end to Frank Bainimarama’s 16 years in power.

The appointment of Rabuka on Saturday ended 10 days of uncertainty after an election delivered a hung parliament. Fiji’s Social Democratic Liberal party (Sodelpa) held the balance of power and on Friday voted to form a coalition with Rabuka’s People’s Alliance and the National Federation party.

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Fiji’s king-maker party votes to support opposition coalition and oust Frank Bainimarama

‘We believe we have agreed on a way forward that benefits this country,’ party leader Viliame Gavoka told reporters after an internal party vote

Fiji’s Social Democratic Liberal party (Sodelpa) said on Friday that it would form a coalition with two other parties, a move that will dislodge the current prime minister, Frank Bainimarama, signalling an end to the former military leader’s 16 years in power.

“We believe we have agreed on a way forward that benefits this country,” party leader Viliame Gavoka said in a news conference after an internal party vote.

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Fiji deploys military for ‘law and order’ as power hangs in balance after election

Frank Bainimarama, the prime minister, is yet to concede defeat, while opposition parties claim enough seats to form government

Fiji’s military will assist police in maintaining “security and stability” after last week’s election delivered a hung parliament, the country’s police commissioner has said – an alarming development in a country where there have been four military coups in the past 35 years.

The Pacific country is waiting for its president to recall parliament so lawmakers can vote for a new prime minister after a national election showed no party received a clear majority.

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Sitiveni Rabuka to be Fiji’s new PM as Frank Bainimarama’s 16-year reign ends

The People’s Alliance leader will take over after he secured the backing of the Social Liberal Democratic party to oust longstanding rival

Frank Bainimarama’s reign as leader of Fiji has ended almost 16 years after he instigated a coup in 2006 and installed himself as prime minister the next year.

Cheering, singing and car horns filled the streets on Tuesday outside the office of the man who will be crowned Fiji’s new prime minister.

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Fiji elections 2022: Bainimarama loses parliamentary majority as count finalised

Sodelpa negotiating with government and People’s Alliance on who it will support with its balance of power

Fiji’s prime minister, Frank Bainimarama, has lost his parliamentary majority with the election’s final ballot count being returned.

The former opposition Social Democratic Liberal Party (Sodelpa) is in negotiations with the FijiFirst government and People’s Alliance over which it will support with its balance of power.

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Victoria police to prosecute pitch invaders; more contaminated spinach cases in Queensland – as it happened

Sport governing body says ‘such behaviour has no place in Australian football’. This blog is now closed

‘We will look at the facts’

James Johnson is asked whether Melbourne Victory has any outstanding sanctions for past incidents. He says he is not aware of any but past events may be considered as an “aggravating factor” as an investigation into the incident unfolds:

There is no other suspended disciplinary action that I’m aware of, but what I will say is that we will be working through that today. We have already started working on the show cause process as of late last night, and we will be moving forward as quickly and swiftly as possible to finalise it, because it is important we get ahead of this issue as a sport.

What I can say is that we will look at the facts, we’ll look at it objectively and we will take a decision that we believe is in the overall best interest of the game but I prefer not to comment on the specifics of the outcome because we have to go through that process first.

What happened during the game last night and what happens with the result;

A “show cause letter” to Melbourne Victory;

An attempt to identify individuals involved in the pitch invasion.

This is an element that … infiltrates our game and tries to ruin it for the people who love us was in. We’ll be looking to weed out those people from the sport.

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Fiji election: opposition leader disputes results as vote count continues

Sitiveni Rabuka calls for calm, while his claims of irregularities are rebuffed by election supervisors

Fiji’s opposition leader, Sitiveni Rabuka, has alleged irregularities in voting data while calling for calm, as counting continued in the country’s national election.

Provisional results had the opposition People’s Alliance party hovering in the mid to low 40s and incumbent prime minister Frank Bainimarama’s FijiFirst party in the mid-20s four hours after polls closed. The results were taken offline for a number of hours and, when they returned, the results had flipped.

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Fijian British army veteran injured on Afghan tour granted right to settle

Ioane Koroiveibau’s case gives hopes to hundreds of other Commonwealth nationals who served in UK forces

A Fijian British army veteran who suffered from deafness after serving in Afghanistan has been allowed to return to the UK, in a case that gives hope to hundreds of other Commonwealth former soldiers living abroad.

Ioane Koroiveibau, 36, gave up on Britain in 2015 when his immigration paperwork was lost after his discharge on medical grounds, his hearing loss caused by repeated exposure to gunfire on a dangerous tour in Helmand.

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China holds talks on policing with Pacific island officials

Two countries said their police chiefs were unable to attend video meeting chaired by Chinese and Solomon Islands ministers

China said it held a video meeting to discuss police cooperation with a group of Pacific island nations on Tuesday, however at least two nations told Reuters their ministers and police commissioners had been unavailable to attend.

China’s attempt to strike a security and trade deal with 10 Pacific island nations in May fuelled concern in Washington and Canberra about Beijing’s military ambitions in the region, and prompted a boost in western aid.

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Son of Fijian prime minister faces NSW court on domestic violence-related charges

Ratu Meli Bainimarama has been charged with assault, stalking, choking and other charges in Windsor local court

The son of the Fijian prime minister is facing criminal charges in relation to domestic violence-related allegations in a New South Wales court.

Ratu Meli Bainimarama, 36, has been charged with 17 offences related to domestic violence, including five charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, two charges of stalking, four charges of common assault, one charge of destroying or damaging property, one charge of intentionally distributing an intimate image without consent and four counts of intentionally choking a person without consent.

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Coup leader versus coup leader: strongman election shows the cracks in Fijian democracy

Whatever the outcome of this year’s election, the next prime minister will likely be someone who first came to power through the barrel of a gun

The last time the Australian Labor party came to power (in 2007), Australia was imposing sanctions against Fiji as a result of the country’s fourth coup in 2006. Relations worsened before they improved and, partly at Australia’s prompting, Fiji was suspended from the Pacific Islands Forum in 2009.

Fast forward to 2022. Fiji’s 2006 coup leader is now its prime minister, Fiji is chairing the Pacific Islands Forum, and it was the first Pacific country that Australia’s new foreign minister, Penny Wong, visited.

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Smiles and unity at the Pacific Islands Forum mask tough questions shelved for another day

While leaders presented a picture of harmony, more vexing topics like Australia’s fossil fuel ambitions and China were kicked down the road

At the close of the Pacific Islands Forum the leaders emerged from their retreat smiling, cut a giant cake with a sword and then, in an impromptu moment of diplomatic bonhomie, posed for a selfie after Anthony Albanese whipped out his phone, Ellen DeGeneres style.

It was, quite literally, a picture of harmony.

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CSIRO joins deep-sea mining project in Pacific as islands call for industry halt

Agency to lead consortium in scheme targeting battery materials while conservationists say Australia on ‘wrong side of debate’

Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO, has agreed to work with a controversial deep-sea mining project in the Pacific as a fourth island nation joins a call for a moratorium on the industry.

CSIRO will lead a consortium of scientists from Australia and New Zealand to help the Metals Company (TMC) develop an environmental management plan for its project, which is backed by the Nauru government.

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Power struggle with China and regional rift in focus as Anthony Albanese heads to Pacific Islands forum

Absence of Kiribati from the meeting is ‘really devastating’ to the body’s long-term strategy, security expert says

When Anthony Albanese touches down in Suva on Wednesday to attend his first Pacific Islands Forum, he will be walking in to a regional meeting that is putting on a brave face.

While it had been thought that the forum would be focused on the growing influence of China and as an opportunity for Australia to showcase its new climate credentials, Albanese will arrive to a group wrestling with other problems.

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End of rapid Covid test and telehealth subsidies criticised – as it happened

Payments extended to eight more local government areas and sped up to prioritise victims over auditing; free Covid rapid tests for concession card holders to end this month. This blog is now closed

A new campaign has launched today to tackle racism by the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Chin Tan, the race discrimination commissioner, was on ABC Radio this morning discussing the campaign he says calls on all Australians to reflect on the causes and impacts of racism, not only on its victims but Australia’s collective wellbeing as a society.

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Serious defects discovered in patrol boats Australia supplied to Pacific Islands

Potentially serious faults in Guardian-class patrol boats may force some countries to pause use of vessels

Pacific island countries may halt the use of Australian-provided patrol boats after potentially serious defects were discovered, in a blow to a $2.1bn maritime security program.

The Australian government is now considering how to work with Pacific nations to close any gap in their maritime surveillance activities while the issues – including carbon monoxide entering part of the boat – are resolved.

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‘I won’t survive’: queer California man facing deportation after 44 years in US

Salesh Prasad could be sent to Fiji, where he fears anti-LGBTQ+ violence, with California law enforcement aiding his detention

A 50-year-old California man who was born in Fiji but has lived in the US since he was six years old is facing deportation to a country where he has no family and is at risk of violence and abuse as a queer person.

Salesh “Sal” Prasad was detained by federal authorities after he was granted parole from state prison, where he had been incarcerated for years. His case has sparked outrage among human rights activists and local lawmakers who say it highlights the cruelty and expansive reach of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) under a Democratic president who has promised a more humane approach and in a state that claims to be a sanctuary for immigrants.

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‘Things aren’t going back’: Australia braces for step-up in China’s Pacific push

Despite initial relief over island nations’ rejection of security and economic pact, senior government figure says reprieve could be only temporary

The Australian government is bracing for China to step up its push to expand influence in the Pacific, with a senior figure privately conceding Canberra has a lot of work to do to regain lost trust and strengthen regional unity.

Despite initial relief at a decision by Pacific island countries to defer a sweeping 10-country security and economic pact proposed by China, the Australian government now believes this may be only a temporary reprieve.

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China’s foreign minister tells Pacific leaders ‘don’t be too anxious’ after they reject regional security pact

Wang Yi says ‘going forward we will continue to have ongoing and in-depth discussions … to shape more consensus’

Pacific countries have declined to sign up to a sweeping regional economic and security deal proposed by China, after a crucial meeting of Pacific foreign ministers and their Chinese counterpart on Monday.

China’s foreign minister Wang Yi is in the middle of a marathon tour of the region, visiting eight countries in 10 days, a trip that security experts have said represents a dramatic “uptick in tempo” of China’s push for influence in the region.

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