The LIVE Recording of this podcast will begin today, Monday at 12:45pm November 11, 2024 (NZST) which is Sunday evening, 7:45pm (USEST). Image courtesy of Nick Minto, Copyright 2024 Nick Minto; photographed November 6, 2024, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

In this episode Paul and Selwyn will discuss:

• Why Democrats Lost: Incumbency, Elitism, Class & Alienation, Identity Politics…
• Why Trump Won: Anti-Establishment, Populism, Avatar for the Alienated…
• What to Expect Next: Trump Appointments, Isolationism, Geopolitical Impact & Response…

INTERACTION WHILE LIVE: Paul and Selwyn encourage interaction while live, so feel free to lodge comments and questions, but remember if you do so your interaction may be used in this programme. We recommend that you subscribe to our YouTube channel and click on notification-bell.

Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/c/EveningReport/

Background image: courtesy of and Copyright Nick Minto 2024. Image taken November 6 2024, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

RECOGNITION: The MIL Network’s podcast A View from Afar was Nominated as a Top Defence Security Podcast by Threat.Technology – a London-based cyber security news publication. Threat.Technology placed A View from Afar at 9th in its 20 Best Defence Security Podcasts of 2021 category.

You can follow A View from Afar via our affiliate syndicators.

Former opposition leader Matthew Wale has been announced as the second prime ministerial candidate ahead of the election in Solomon Islands tomorrow.

He will face off against former foreign affairs minister Jeremiah Manele, who was announced by the Coalition for National Unity and Transformation on Monday.

As far as RNZ Pacific was aware, Manele and Wale were the only two prime ministerial candidates that have been publicly announced.

However, candidate nominations could also be submitted quietly, so until the Governor-General announced the total number of candidates, RNZ Pacific could not rule out the possibility that there could be at least one more horse in the race.

Wale’s coalition, which had yet to be named, resembled the opposition group in the last Parliament, and was made up of his own Democratic Party, the United Party, the Party for Rural Advancement, the Umi for Change Party and the Democratic Alliance Party.

A head count of a group photo provided by the coalition showed they had 20 MPs.

On the other hand, Manele’s coalition, which was effectively the incumbent government, was made up of MPs from Our Party, People’s First Party and the Kadere Party.

Enough to form government
Their group photo showed 28 MPs which was more than enough to form government if they could hold onto them through the intense lobbying anticipated over the next 48 hours.

Included in Manele’s camp were a host of newly elected independent MPs, many of whom campaigned on a platform for change, unseating half of the incumbent Our Party MPs only to replenish their ranks.

In a statement marking his nomination, Wale appealed to these independents.

“The people of Solomon Islands have voted overwhelmingly for change from DCGA & Our Party. I therefore urge all newly elected independents, who were voted in on a mandate for change, to join us,” Wale said.

“This is the people’s clear wish.”

Nominations for prime ministerial candidates closed at 4pm yesterday, and the election of the prime minister will be held at 9.30am local time tomorrow.

It will be presided over by the Governor-General, Sir David Vunagi, and conducted by secret ballot.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

LIVE@MIDDAY NZ Time – 6pm USEST – In this, the 22nd episode of A View from Afar for 2022 political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan and host Selwyn Manning will deep dive into the consequences of the United States midterm elections.

In particular Paul and Selwyn will examine how an historically strong performance by the Democrats bolsters the reputation and abilities of US President Joe Biden on the world stage and domestically.

Also, they will examine what does the poor performance in the midterm elections mean for Trumpism, Trump, the Republican Party, and the MAGA faction that has, for quite a time now, stifled conservative voices within the Grand Old Party.

And, of course, Paul and Selwyn will examine Donald Trump’s announcement that he will seek to be the GOP’s candidate to take back the presidency in 2024.

INTERACTION WHILE LIVE: Paul and Selwyn invite and encourage you to interact while they are live with questions and comments. They recommend you do so via EveningReport’s YouTube channel, as Facebook is undergoing significant changes. Here’s the link: Youtube (remember to subscribe to the channel).

You can also keep the conversation going on this debate by clicking on one of the social media channels below:

• Facebook.com/selwyn.manning
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If you miss the LIVE Episode, you can see it as video-on-demand, and earlier episodes too, by checking out EveningReport.nz or, subscribe to the Evening Report podcast here.

RECOGNITION:

The MIL Network’s podcast A View from Afar was Nominated as a Top  Defence Security Podcast by Threat.Technology – a London-based cyber security news publication.

Threat.Technology placed A View from Afar at 9th in its 20 Best Defence Security Podcasts of 2021 category. You can follow A View from Afar via our affiliate syndicators.

Cook Islanders go to the polls tomorrow to choose a new 24 member Parliament.

Voters will have four parties — and a movement calling for a collegial approach to government — to choose from.

Cook Islands politics has been dominated for years by the Cook Islands Party led by the current Prime Minister Mark Brown — a man who is very confident of holding on to power.

He believes his government has done a very good job keeping the country together in very trying circumstances over the past two or so years.

There are 69 candidates in all contesting the poll, and one, marine scientist Teina Rongo, hopes this election will be third time lucky for him.

Rongo wants to be in Parliament to correct what he sees as faults in the country’s approach to the environment and education.

He said the sectors are interconnected with the education system not properly reflecting Cook Islands Māori values.

‘Disconnected from environment’
“We are disconnected from our environment and I think part of the reason is because we have an education system or a curriculum that does not teach these things to our children,” he said.

“We have a more New Zealand-based curriculum than a Cook Islands one that teaches in the context of the Cook Islands.”

Te Tuhi Kelly moved to the Cooks some years ago and recently got permanent residency.

He has set up his own political party, the Progressive Party, for which he is the only candidate standing.

A human resources specialist, he said he was motivated to stand by what he saw as corruption in government and nepotism.

“I don’t have any issues around putting nieces, nephews, uncles, cousins and aunties into roles, as long as they can do it and as long as they can perform,” he said.

Teina Bishop is a veteran in Cook Islands politics and he said what he has learned is party politics is very divisive and that’s why his group is styled as a movement.

Collegial approach
He wants the One Cook Islands Movement to foster a more collegial approach to politics, bringing everyone together.

He agreed it meant they were essentially independents, “an independent movement with a purpose”.

Bishop said it is very rare for one party to win a clear majority, so the One Cook Islands Movement candidates, if elected, were well placed to be in government.

The new party in the contest this year is the United Party, and uniting the country is their mantra.

Leader Teariki Heather said the way to do this was by investing in the people, and not spending on buildings that were unnecessary — such as, he said, cyclone shelters on islands that did not experience cyclones.

He envisages slashing the wages MPs get by 45 percent while increasing the minimum wages by 25 percent in Rarotonga and more in the outer islands.

Prices for imported foods have soared, with cartons of chicken nearly doubling in price in Rarotonga and double that again in the Pa Enua.

Minimum wage increase
“So our plan is to increase the minimum wage and that will hopefully keep our people there, but also the increase in the cost of living [needs] to be more affordable for them,” he said.

United can also boast former New Zealand netball legend Margaret Matenga as one of its 17 candidates.

Cook Islands elections have typically been contests between the Cook Islands Party and the Democrats, although this time round this could well be shaken up by the newcomers.

Democrats deputy leader William “Smiley” Heather is another claiming Mark Brown’s government is ignoring the plight of the people who are struggling to cope with the soaring cost of living.

He said his party would redirect money that he said the government was putting towards development on Rarotonga.

“We believe the previous government is looking to build all these new buildings, $60 million — why are we spending money on that when our people are suffering, running out of money,” William Heather said.

Pandemic challenge
Mark Brown replaced Henry Puna as Prime Minister just before covid-19 hit, so this will be the first time he has led the party into an election.

He said the pandemic had been one of the most testing times, especially given the reliance on tourism, but his Cook Islands Party had handled it successfully.

Brown dismissed criticism of the way government was spending as unfounded.

He said a lot of their focus has been on those who had needed support through this time, “we put out a big package on covid economic support for over a two-year period, now we are focussing on recovery, bearing in mind that we are coming back from a contracted economy.”

The Cook Islands Party is promising small increases in the pension and the minimum wage.

The Electoral Office said all results should be available within several hours of the close.

• Voting booths open at 9am on August 1 — Tuesday New Zealand time — closing at 6pm.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Social media is abuzz with comments from some concerned locals. The island’s 10 volunteer puna cannot effectively manage supervised quarantine at the homes of returning travellers.

Others argue the country’s border should be closed down until the situation in Auckland is under control.

READ MORE: Covid spread could ‘decimate’ Pasifika, Māori communities, warns Tukuitonga

Opposition health spokesperson Selina Napa said the health ministry Te Marae Ora’s statements about border controls did little to reassure vulnerable communities.

Concerns were heightened now, knowing 91 people who came in on the last two flights to the Cook Islands were not tested for covid on arrival.

“We were all led to believe that we now had the capacity to test for covid-19,” Napa said.

“Many people are now really alarmed and want our border to close until the situation in New Zealand is brought right under control and there is absolutely zero community transmission.

Welfare of Cook Islands people
Napa said she and Opposition leader Tina Browne believed NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had the welfare of Cook Islands people at the forefront of her decision-making.

“Given what has unfortunately happened, I am hoping Prime Minister Ardern will choose to bring in the strictest of measures for travel between our countries and stop all travel from New Zealand to here,” she said.

“Don’t take any risks with the lives of our people.”

Ardern’s spokesperson confirmed a scheduled visit by officials to plan an air-bridge had been called off.

Secretary of Foreign Affairs Tepaeru Herrmann also issued a statement, saying both governments were acutely aware the re-emergence of covid-19 in New Zealand was always possible – the Auckland covid cases reaffirmed the importance of remaining vigilant.

Prime Minister Henry Puna has emphasised the covid-19 outbreak is a fluid situation and further developments will reflect what is happening in New Zealand.

Government would reassess the risk every day, Cabinet would be briefed, and the community would be updated.

‘Need to maintain our hygiene’
“We need to maintain our hygiene and physical distancing practices, this is critical to keeping our people safe,” Puna said.

Four people from the same family in South Auckland have tested positive for Covid-19 via community transmission, with no known links to the country’s border or international travel.

The wider-Auckland area has gone into Level 3 lockdown for three days, while the rest of New Zealand is at Level 2.

And news that a Pasifika family is at the centre of the new outbreak has health professionals in the area reeling.

South Auckland is made up of New Zealand’s biggest Pacific population including a large number of Cook Islands Maori families.

Pacific Cooperation chair John Fiso said an outbreak could have devastating consequences.

Some families live in substandard housing, under the breadline and many do not access health care due to fear and cost.

High risk areas
“It is my worst fear that we have a substantial covid outbreak in these high density, high needs and therefore high risk areas. Our government should share this concern,” he said.

“We simply cannot let this happen.”

Air New Zealand boss Greg Foran said he would be quite comfortable if the travel bubble between New Zealand and Cook Islands was delayed.

However, he said he felt sorry for people who were looking forward to an overseas holiday.

Cook Islands Tourism chief executive Halatoa Fua would not be drawn on the air-bridge delay, saying Deputy Prime Minister Mark Brown and Secretary of Health Dr Josephine Aumea Herman’s comments were sufficient for now.

This Cook Islands News article is republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz