Category Archives: Pacific Islands Forum

‘We depend on our beautiful reefs’: Fukushima water release plan sparks concern across Pacific

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Some fishers say they lack information and worry about Japan’s plan to discharge treated wastewater into the sea

Every day fisher Charlie Maleb takes his string lines and his nets out from Wala Island, Vanuatu, into the Pacific Ocean.

The 54-year-old drops his net around 5am and waits an hour before pulling it out, hoping to catch sardines, poulet and mangrove fish. Later in the day Maleb drops a line attached to a traditional fishing rod, fashioned out of a long tree branch.

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‘We could lose our status as a state’: what happens to a people when their land disappears

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Small island countries press for guarantees as rising sea levels risk leaving their citizens stateless

Small island nations would rather fight than flee, but rising sea levels have prompted apocalyptic legal discussions about whether a state is still a state if its land disappears below the waves.

The Pacific Islands Forum, which represents many of the most vulnerable countries, has invited international legal experts to consider this question and begun a diplomatic campaign to ensure that political statehood continues even after a nation’s physical fabric is submerged.

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Queensland to trial GPS tracker for child offenders – as it happened

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Coles and Woolworths take responsibility for soft plastic

The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, has provided an update on soft plastics after the sole soft plastic recycler, RedCycle, collapsed last year, saying supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths have agreed to take on responsibility for the soft plastic they sell.

What I did at the time was get the big supermarket giants around the table. I said to them, you’ve got to take responsibility for the soft plastics that your businesses are generating.

I’m very pleased today to tell you that the taskforce set up with the supermarkets has come to a conclusion and Coles and Woolies will take on responsibility for the tonnes of soft plastic that has been piling up in warehouses.

Today is the anniversary of the full scale invasion by Russia of Ukraine and we mourn those lost. We continue to condemn Russia’s illegal and immoral war and we stand with Ukraine. The government is demonstrating that by what we are doing in addition to what we have provided so far. We are providing additional defence capability, uncrewed aerial surveillance and I have issued more sanctions against Russia overnight, against 90 people and organisations which take our sanctions to in excess of a thousand. It is a heavy sanctions regime against a government which has chosen to engage in an illegal and immoral war, breaching sovereignty and the UN charter, which is why we have to stand against Russia.

What I would say is that Russia is a permanent member of the UN security council. It has a special responsibility to ensure that international law, including the UN charter which protects everyone’s sovereignty, is protected. This war, waged by Mr Putin, is an attack on sovereignty and an attack on the UN charter. We would urge China to do all it can to not only not escalate this conflict but to end it.

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Pacific leaders welcome Australia’s ‘renewed commitment’ to climate change

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Albanese hails Pacific Island Leaders Forum a success but Fiji’s prime minister says Australia must end its ‘fossil fuel addiction’


Pacific leaders have welcomed Australia’s “renewed commitment” on climate change and interest in co-hosting a United Nations climate summit with Pacific nations, as Anthony Albanese heralds a successful reset of relationships in the region.

At the close of the Pacific Islands Forum in Suva on Thursday, leaders emerged on time and smiling from their daylong leaders’ retreat, before cutting a cake with a ceremonial sword and posing for a selfie when Albanese pulled out his phone.

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Nation records 78 Covid deaths – as it happened

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The International Monetary Fund could downgrade its expectations for global economic growth this month.

Its head Kristalina Georgieva has hinted as much, saying the war in Ukraine, higher than expected inflation and the Covid pandemic are to blame.

As G20 ministers and central bank governors gather in Bali this week, they face a global economic outlook that has darkened significantly.

Recent indicators imply a weak second quarter – and we will be projecting a further downgrade to global growth for both 2022 and 2023 in our World Economic Outlook Update later this month.

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More than 700 aged care Covid outbreaks – as it happened

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Cockroach alert at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane

As the Maroons and Blues prepare to face off in the State of Origin final decider tonight, another showdown is occurring between the SES and the “influx” of cockroaches in the stadium where the final will take place.

To be very clear, my government has not made this decision, this is a decision that was inherited from the former government and state governments.

I’d encourage concession cardholders to go and get the 10 free rapid antigen tests that they’re eligible for by the end of this month. There’s still a lot of time to go and do that. Of course, on top of that, there are free rapid antigen tests available in aged care facilities, across a range of areas as well in addition to that.

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Police remove two Chinese defence attaches from Pacific Islands Forum meeting

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Fijian police escort the men from media space where US vice-president Kamala Harris was making virtual address

Two Chinese defence attaches have been kicked out by Fijian police from a Pacific Islands Forum meeting at which the US vice-president, Kamala Harris, was giving a virtual address.

The men were sitting in on a session of the forum’s fisheries agency at which Harris announced the step-up of US engagement in the region, believed to be in response to China’s growing influence.

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US announces new embassies in major Pacific push as it jostles with China for influence in region

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Vice-president Kamala Harris has announced postings in Kiribati and Tonga as leaders gather in Fiji for the Pacific Islands Forum

The US has announced a major step-up in its engagement with the Pacific region, including the establishment of new embassies in Kiribati and Tonga, in moves that will be seen as attempts to counter China’s growing influence in the region.

The US vice-president, Kamala Harris, made the announcement on Tuesday, as Pacific leaders gathered in Suva, Fiji for the Pacific Islands Forum, the most significant regional meeting.

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

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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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China influenced Kiribati exit from Pacific Islands Forum, MP claims

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Opposition leader calls withdrawal from PIF an ‘extreme move’ and claims the reasons offered by Kiribati’s president were just excuses

Kiribati’s decision to withdraw from the Pacific Islands Forum on the eve of the event was an extreme move driven by pressure from China, the Micronesian nation’s opposition leader says.

Tessie Lambourne, a former top diplomat who was elected to Kiribati’s parliament in 2020, said she was “shocked and extremely disappointed” by the government’s move to withdraw from the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).

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‘Far from adequate’: former Pacific leaders group urges Australia to increase 43% emissions cut

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Pacific Elders Voice also called for Australia to end gas and coal developments ahead of Pacific Islands Forum

Former Pacific leaders have called for “urgent actions” to reduce global carbon emissions, including a commitment to no new coal or gas projects as Anthony Albanese prepares to travel to Fiji for the most important diplomatic regional meeting in the Pacific.

A group of former leaders of Pacific island nations, called Pacific Elders Voice, have called for accelerated efforts to move beyond coal and gas, and for new finance to be made available for loss and damage caused by the climate crisis, in the foreword to a new report released today by the Australia-based Climate Council.

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Penny Wong tells Pacific nations ‘we have heard you’ as Australia and China battle for influence

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Foreign minister uses speech in Fiji to declare ‘this is a different Australian government’ that will act responsibly on climate change

The new foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has promised to treat Pacific island countries with respect, telling an audience in Fiji that Australia is “a partner that doesn’t come with strings attached” and won’t “impose unsustainable financial burdens”.

Wong promised to respect Pacific priorities and institutions as she set out an implicit contrast with China, which is pursuing a sweeping regional economic and security deal with Pacific nations that would dramatically expand Beijing’s influence and reach into those countries.

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Australia to stand with Pacific islands on climate crisis and ‘respect’ region, Penny Wong says

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New foreign affairs minister tells Pacific leaders Australia ‘will listen because we care’ after reports China may be seeking security agreement with Kiribati

Australia’s new foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, will seek to improve relations with Pacific island countries, flagging an early visit to the region and promising to be “a generous, respectful and reliable” partner.

China’s new security deal with Solomon Islands was a point of political dispute during the Australian election campaign and there are now reports that Beijing could be planning to strike a similar agreement with Kiribati.

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‘Null and void’: boycott clouds New Caledonia’s final poll on independence

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Overwhelming vote to remain with France, but low turnout ‘weighs heavily’ on self-determination process, say observers

Low voter turnout at New Caledonia’s independence referendum “weighs heavily” on the French territory’s self-determination process, election observers from the Pacific Islands Forum have said.

In Sunday’s referendum, more than 96% of voters were opposed to independence from France, compared with 57% in 2018 and 53% in 2020.

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‘Catastrophic pathway’: UN secretary general urges action to save Pacific lives

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Antonio Guterres said ‘more ambition from every country’ was required and that current emissions rates threatened the ‘very survival of Pacific communities’

The secretary general of the United Nations has told Pacific nations that a 45% cut in emissions by 2030 was needed globally to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, adding that continuing on the current trajectory “puts us on a catastrophic pathway”.

António Guterres was speaking at a virtual meeting with Pacific Island Forum leaders as part of the UN general assembly taking place in New York.

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‘Marginalising our own brothers and sisters’: the disrespect Micronesia has been shown is a tragedy for the Pacific | Surangel Whipps Jr, President of Palau

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Micronesia had no choice to but to abandon the Pacific Islands Forum after being ‘thoroughly and publicly disregarded’, the President of Palau writes

What becomes of an organisation when it disregards one-third of its membership? What happens when “we” stops being inclusive?

As the eldest of four, I have always felt responsible for the safety, security, and well-being of my siblings. In my family, “I” has always been synonymous with “we”, the collective, being one inclusive family and ensuring no one is left out. This is what I understand to be the Palauan way; this is what I understand to be the Pacific Way.

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Pacific Islands Forum in crisis as one-third of member nations quit

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Micronesian sub-grouping walks out over selection of new secretary-general

The Pacific Islands Forum – the Pacific’s most influential regional body – is in disarray after nearly one-third of its member countries quit en masse.

The countries of the Micronesian sub-grouping – Palau, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, and Nauru – have all abandoned the forum over the selection of the new secretary-general for the forum, following the election of Polynesia’s candidate in defiance of a long-standing convention that dictated it was the Micronesia’s turn to provide the forum’s leader.

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Future of Pacific Islands Forum in doubt as north-south rift emerges

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Exclusive: Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and Nauru question whether to remain members amid bullying claims

Leaders of Micronesian countries are contemplating abandoning the Pacific Islands Forum altogether, after a fractious vote for a new secretary general sidelined the north Pacific countries, who say they are bullied by larger nations, and left with “crumbs”.

The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is the Pacific region’s most important political body and a powerful voice for the Pacific on the global stage, but the election of former Cook Islands prime minister Henry Puna as secretary general has exposed a deep fracture between north and south Pacific nations.

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Zoomed to fail? Cracks appear in Pacific Islands Forum as Covid pulls nations apart

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Pacific diplomacy hinges on in-person discussion but web-only meetings have fed a growing dispute over the forum’s leadership and purpose

In the Pacific, it is all about the talanoa: the conversation and the consensus.

For the 50 years of the Pacific Islands Forum (beginning life as the South Pacific Forum), meetings have always happened in person, and it is the power of the leaders being together that has given the forum its rare ability to find common ground.

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Pacific states face instability, hunger and slow road to Covid recovery: Dame Meg Taylor

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While the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic has so far spared the Pacific, its economies are in free-fall, the region’s chief diplomat warns

Beyond the health and economic crises of Covid-19, the global pandemic has the potential to cause political instability and undermine state security across the Pacific, the region’s chief diplomat has warned.

Dame Meg Taylor, secretary general of the Pacific Islands Forum, said the region’s economies were struggling with the virus-induced shocks, and a prolonged crisis could worsen existing problems of hunger, poor healthcare, and state fragility.

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