Independent Analysis and Reportage
Asia Pacific Report
By Susana Suisuiki of RNZ Pacific A historic cemetery in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, has been vandalised devastating families and local community members. An Australian-based researcher, who has led the restoration project at the Nikao Cemetery in Rarotonga for 10 years, says those responsible for vandalising the headstones need to be prosecuted. It was reported this
By Stefan Armbruster and Jennifer Enosa for the Torres News Australia is seeking observer status at the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) but has not committed to giving a role to Torres Strait Islanders, its own Melanesian population. Responding to questions from the Torres News at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting (PIFLM) in Palau last
By RNZ Pacific reporters Naoero, formerly known as Nauru, has opened its embassy in Jerusalem, becoming the third Pacific Island nation to do so. Naoero’s Vice-President Lionel Aingimea said it sent a message to the world about where the island nation stood. Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Israel had committed to sending Naoero medical
Te Ao Māori News A delegation of Māori leaders visiting Israel under the banner of “business and innovation” faces public criticism over its timing and purpose, while questions remain about how the trip was organised and the full extent of its funding, itinerary and engagement with Palestinian organisations. The visit comes as New Zealand criticises
ANALYSIS: By Teuila Fuatai of RNZ Pacific On the second day of the Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ meeting in Palau, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was asked about the potential participation of Torres Strait Islanders in the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) — one of the forum’s three sub-regional groups. Albanese, alongside his ministers Chris Bowen
By Rashika Kumar in Suva Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka is calling on Fijians to use their freedom of expression responsibly, stressing that people can disagree strongly and hold each other to account without bullying, humiliating, or deliberately hurting one another. In a statement, Rabuka said Fijians no longer needed to fear speaking their minds. He
Australia’s Labor and the Coalition have voted down a Greens amendment to strip tax breaks from charities funding illegal Israeli settlements and the IDF. Stephanie Tran reports for Michael West Media. By Stephanie Tran The Labor Government has joined with the Coalition to vote against a Greens amendment which would have stripped deductible gift recipient
By Russell Palmer of RNZ Labour is calling the government’s stance on Israel an “embarrassment” to the country, and says it is failing to meet its responsibilities under the Genocide Convention. Britain, France and Canada are set to ban imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, with British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband saying
Asia Pacific Report A pro-Palestine national advocacy and protest group has accused New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as being “derelict in its duties” if it is unable to identify and ban products from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) made this statement today following announcements by
Pacific Media Watch Angered by the lack of full justice nearly a decade after the assassination of Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has demanded the government take measures to protect journalists and media freedom. On 2 September 2026, the Criminal Court in Valletta found Yorgen Fenech, the Maltese businessman linked
By Kaya Selby and Johnny Blades of RNZ Pacific An Australian senator says the release of terms for a controversial deportation deal between Australia and Naoero (formerly Nauru) raises more questions than it answers. The Australian government has released an agreement to deport more than 350 refugees and asylum seekers to Naoero, known as the
Asia Pacific Report The Palestine Forum of New Zealand has called on the New Zealand government to follow France, the UK, Canada and nine other countries to impose restrictions on trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Twelve countries have now announced measures targeting trade connected to Israeli settlements, signalling growing international