France’s Supreme Court has overturned a judgment imprisoning pretrial in mainland France Kanak pro-independence leader Christian Tein, who is widely regarded as a political prisoner, reports Libération.

Tein, who is head of the CCAT (Field Action Coordination Unit) in New Caledonia was in August elected president of the main pro-independence umbrella group Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS).

He has been accused by the French authorities of “masterminding” the violence that spread across New Caledonia in May.

The deadly unrest is estimated to have caused €2.2 billion (NZ$3.6 billion) in infrastructural damage, resulting in the destruction of nearly 800 businesses and about 20,000 job losses.

In this new legal twist, the jailing in mainland France of Tein and another activist, Steve Unë, was ruled “invalid” by the court.

“On Tuesday, October 22, the Court of Cassation in Paris overturned the July 5 ruling of the investigating chamber of the Noumea Court of Appeal, which had confirmed his detention in mainland France,” reports NC la 1ère TV.

“The Kanak independence activist, imprisoned in Mulhouse since June, will soon have to appear before a judge again who will decide his fate,” the report said.

Kanak activists’ cases reviewed
The court examined the appeal of five Kanak pro-independence activists — including Tein – who had challenged their detention in mainland France on suspicion of having played a role in the unrest in New Caledonia, reports RFI News.

This appeal considered in particular “the decision by the judges in Nouméa to exile the defendants without any adversarial debate, and the conditions under which the transfer was carried out,” according to civil rights attorney François Roux, one of the defendants’ lawyers.

“Many of them are fathers, cut off from their children,” the lawyer said.

The transfer of five activists to mainland France at the end of June was organised overnight using a specially chartered plane, according to Nouméa public prosecutor Yves Dupas, who has argued that it was necessary to continue the investigations “in a calm manner”.

Roux has denounced the “inhumane conditions” in which they were transported.

“They were strapped to their seats and handcuffed throughout the transfer, even to go to the toilet, and they were forbidden to speak,” he said.

Left-wing politicians in France have also slammed the conditions of detainees, who they underline were deported more than 17,000 km from their home for resisting “colonial oppression”.

Total of seven accused
A total of seven activists from the CCAT separatist coalition are accused by the French government of orchestrating deadly riots earlier this year and are currently incarcerated – the five in various prisons in France and two in New Caledonia itself.

They are under investigation for, among other things, complicity in attempted murder, organised gang theft with a weapon, organised gang destruction of another person’s property by a means dangerous to people and participation in a criminal association with a view to planning a crime.

Two CCAT activists who were initially imprisoned have since been placed under house arrest in mainland France.

Tein, born in 1968, has consistently denied having incited violence, claiming to be a political prisoner.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The PANG media team at this month’s Pacific International Media Conference in Fiji caught up with independent journalist, author and educator Dr David Robie and questioned him on his views about decolonisation in the Pacific.

Dr Robie, editor of Asia Pacific Report and deputy chair of Asia Pacific Media Network (APMN), a co-organiser of the conference, shared his experience on reporting on Kanaky New Caledonia and West Papua’s fight for freedom.

He speaks from his 40 years of journalism in the Pacific saying the United Nations and the Pacific Islands Forum need to step up pressure on France and Indonesia to decolonise.

This interview was conducted at the end of the conference, on July 6, and a week before the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) leaders called for France to allow a joint United Nations-MSG mission to New Caledonia to assess the political situation and propose solutions for the ongoing crisis.

The leaders of the subregional bloc — from Fiji, FLNKS (Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front of New Caledonia), Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu — met in Tokyo on the sidelines of the 10th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM10), to specifically talk about New Caledonia.

They included Fiji’s Sitiveni Rabuka, PNG’s James Marape, Solomon Islands’ Jeremiah Manele, and Vanuatu’s Charlot Salwai.

In his interview with PANG (Pacific Network on Globalisation), Dr Robie also draws parallels with the liberation struggle in Palestine, which he says has become a global symbol for justice and freedom everywhere.

“I should mention Palestine as well because essentially it’s settler colonisation.

“What we’ve seen in the massive protests over the last nine months and so on there has been a huge realisation in many countries around the world that colonisation is still here after thinking, or assuming, that had gone some years ago.

“So you’ll see in a lot of protests — we have protests across Aotearoa New Zealand every week —  that the flags of Kanaky, West Papua and Palestine fly together.

“The people see these as symbolic of the repression and injustice all over the world.”

PANG Media talk to Dr David Robie on decolonisation.  Video: PANG Media

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Fresh violence has erupted in several parts of New Caledonia over the past three days, with more burning and destruction and at least one death connected to unrest.

The renewed unrest comes after seven pro-independence figures from the CCAT (Field Action Coordination Cell, close to the hard-line fringe of the pro-independence platform FLNKS) were indicted on Saturday and transferred by a special plane to several jails in mainland France.

They are facing charges related to the organisation of the protests that led to grave civil unrest that broke out in the French Pacific territory since May 13 in protest against a French Constitutional amendment.

The amendment, which is now suspended, purported to change voter eligibility in New Caledonia’s local elections by opening the vote to French citizens having resided there for an uninterrupted ten years.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

All eight Members of Parliament from Vanuatu’s Tafea Province have made a bold and powerful call to French President Emmanuel Macron to “stop the violence and killing” being committed against the Kanak people of New Caledonia.

The MPs include Trade Minister Bob Loughman, a former prime minister; Internal Affairs Minister Johnny Koanapo; Youth and Sports Minister Tomker Netvunei; Agriculture Minister Nako Natuman; Jotham Napat; Andrew Napuat; Xavier Harry; and Simil Johnson.

“We, the MPs of Tafea Province, in this 13th Legislature of the Parliament of the Republic of Vanuatu, make the following statement based on the undeniable historical cultural links, which has existed from time immemorial between our people of Tafea and the Kanaky people of New Caledonia . . .,” their signed statement said.

Nine people have been killed during the unrest that began on May 13, five of them Kanaks and two were gendarmes.

“As Melanesians to call for greater solidarity and bring to the spotlight the despicable acts of France as a colonial power that still colonises the island nations and maritime boundaries of our nations,” the statement said.

“The recent events in New Caledonia is provoked by various ingredients which France has been cunningly cooking on their agenda over the years including the amendment of the electoral list which they understand very well that the Melanesians living in their own Kanaky mother land in New Caledonia are strongly opposed to it.

“Because they know that France is deliberately using ways to alienate their voices in their own motherland.”

‘Honour Nouméa Accord’ call to France
The MPs called on France to honour its commitment under the Nouméa Accord and engage in political dialogue, as was the custom in Melanesia and the Pacific.

The MPs said it was “unfair to the helpless people of New Caledonia to be confronted by a world military power such as France and shoot, imprison, and expose them to fear in such a manner that we have recently witnessed”.

They said France could not and must not act like this in the Pacific.

“France simply needs to dialogue with the Kanak leaders, listen and respect them as equals,” their statement said.

“The Kanaky [sic] are not their subjects of unequals. They are asking for their political autonomy. That’s all.

“Why is France still colonising countries when the world has gone past the colonisation decade? Why can’t they choose to colonise another country in Europe?

“France as an old democracy must end colonising people in this day and age. If the colonised people are yearning for freedom and they cannot fight with weapons to get their right to freedom, France must not act like a dictator to silence the dissenting voices who are yearning for freedom.

‘Listen . . . not silence them’
“We call on France to listen, learn [from] the voices of the people, and not silence them with the barrel of a gun and other military weapons.

“We want to see France as a civilised state to take responsibility and not shoot Melanesians from land and air as if they are in a war. Stop killing Melanesians.”

The leaders from TAFEA also call on Kanaky leaders, both Independentists and non-independentists, to come together and discuss a common solution.

“We see dialogue as a fundamental part of our Melanesian culture, and the state and all political parties must recognise the value of political dialogue,” they said.

“. . . [We] ask all the people of the Republic of Vanuatu, including the government, chiefs, and churches, to stand in solidarity with our Melanesian families in New Caledonia.

“We ask all praying Christians to pray for God’s intervention in the situation in New Caledonia, to restore peace, and to bring calm to the people of New Caledonia. God bless the people of New Caledonia.”

Republished from the Vanuatu Daily Post with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Police in New Caledonia have a new weapon in their arsenal — state of the art armoured vehicles with machine guns, flown in from France to take control of the law and order situation following the violent unrest.

The state of emergency was lifted in the territory last Tuesday but a security force of more than 3000 could remain until after the Paris Olympics.

Minister of the Interior and Overseas Territories Gérald Darmanin said via social media platform X that the vehicles, known as Centaur, can also fire tear gas.

“These armoured vehicles will help the police put an end to all roadblocks and completely re-establish public order in the archipelago,” Darmanin said.

“In the event of more serious threats, such as a terrorist attack, which would involve the use of armed force, the Centaur may be equipped with a 7.62 remotely operated machine gun.”

He said the off-road vehicles can carry up to 10 people and fire tear gas from a turret to disperse violent individuals or keep them at bay.

A journalist on the ground, Coralie Cochin, told RNZ Pacific things are far from calm in the suburbs, despite official reports that law and order was being restored on the outskirts of Nouméa.

“The police fought with protesters who had just erected a roadblock and set fire to it in my street today,” Cochin said, who lives in the northern suburb of Dubea.

Macron can deploy thousands of troops and military arsenals. France will never silence Kanaky aspirations for freedom ✊🇳🇨 https://t.co/GJcXFCDvLY

— Jimmy Naouna (@JNaouna) June 3, 2024

“People fear for their houses. I have got friends who had to escape from their burning properties who have been left with nothing.”

She said people were divided over whether the Centaur will change anything.

“The Kanak people are afraid, they are wondering why the police have machine guns when all they have to fight with is stones,” Cochin said.

La seule solution qui nous sortira de l’ornière sera politique. On pourra envoyer tout le matériel dernier cri qu’on voudra, continuer de déployer l’armée sur le sol national comme s’il s’agissait d’une opération extérieure, le calme ne reviendra pas sans accord. #fatigue https://t.co/lLUXFAWqQK

— Charlotte Mannevy (@CMannevy) June 1, 2024

Others believe the Centaur is essential to crush roadblocks and protect property but attempts to eradicate them completely are so far proving futile.

“As soon as they are removed, pro-independence protesters put them back up again. It’s like a game of cat and mouse,” she said.

France has also decided to go ahead with the European elections in New Caledonia on Sunday, despite political tensions in the territory.

High Commissioner Louis Le France said in a statement that voting material had arrived and preparations were under way to transport it to polling stations.

Le France said a curfew would remain in place from 6pm to 6am until the day after the elections, as well as a ban on the sale of guns and alcohol.

He said Nouméa’s international airport would remain closed until further notice, while the situation was “normalised”.

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

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Liberation “must come” for Kanaky New Caledonia, says one of the few New Zealand journalists who have worked consistently on stories across the French Pacific territories.

Journalist David Robie was arrested at gunpoint by French police in January 1987, and is no stranger to civil unrest in New Caledonia.

Writing his first articles about the Pacific from Paris in 1974 on French nuclear testing when working for Agence France-Presse, Robie became a freelance journalist in the 1980s, working for Radio Australia, Islands Business, The Australian, Pacific Islands Monthly, Radio New Zealand and other media.

The Asia Pacific Report editor, who has been on the case for 50 years now, arrived at his interview with RNZ Pacific with a bag of books packed with images and stories from his days in the field.

“I did get arrested twice [in Kanaky New Caledonia], in fact, but the first time was actually at gunpoint which was slightly unnerving,” Robie explained.

“They accused me of being a spy.”

Liberation ‘must come’
Robie said liberation “must come” for Kanaky New Caledonia.

“It’s really three decades of hard work by a lot of people to build, sort of like a future for New Caledonia, which is part of the Pacific rather than part of France,” Robie said.

He said France has had three Prime Ministers since 2020 and none of them seem to have any “real affinity” for indigenous issues, particularly in the South Pacific, in contrast to some previous leaders.

“From 2020 onwards, basically, France lost the plot,” after Édouard Philippe was in office, Robie said.

He called the current situation a “real tragedy” and believed New Caledonia was now more polarised than ever before.

“France has betrayed the aspirations of the indigenous Kanak people.”

Robie said the whole spirit of the Nouméa Accord was to lead Kanaky towards self determination.

New Caledonia on UN decolonisation list
New Caledonia is listed under the United Nations as a territory to be decolonised — reinstated on 2 December 1986.

“Progress had been made quite well with the first two votes on self determination, the two referendums on independence, where there’s a slightly higher and reducing opposition.”

In 2018, 43.6 percent voted in favour of independence with an 81 percent voter turnout. Two years later 46.7 percent were in favour with a voter turnout of 85.7 percent, but 96.5 percent voted against independence in 2021, with a voter turnout of just 43.8 percent.

Robie labelled the third vote a “complete write off”.

France maintains it was legitimate, despite first insisting on holding the third vote a year earlier than originally scheduled, and in spite of pleas from indigenous Kanak leaders to postpone the vote so they could properly bury and mourn the many members of their communities who died as a result of the covid-19 pandemic.

Robie said France was now taking a deliberate step to “railroad” the indigenous vote in Kanaky New Caledonia.

He said the latest “proposed amendment” to the constitution would give thousands more non-indigenous people voting rights.

“[The new voters would] completely swamp indigenous people,” Robie said.

‘Hope’ and other options
Robie said there “was hope yet”, despite France’s betrayal of the Kanaks over self-determination and independence, especially over the past three years.

French President Emmanuel Macron is under increasing pressure to scrap proposed constitutional reform by Pacific leaders which sparked riots in New Caledonia.

Pacific leaders and civil society groups have affirmed their support for New Caledonia’s path to independence.

Robie backed that call. He said there were options, including an indefinite deferment of the final stage, or Macron could use his presidential veto.

“So [I’m] hopeful that something like that will happen. There certainly has to be some kind of charismatic change to sort out the way things are at the moment.”

“Charismatic change” could be on its way with talk of a dialogue mission.

Having Édouard Philippe — who has always said he had grown a strong bond with New Caledonia when he was in office until 2020 — on the mission would be “a very positive move”, said Robie.

“Because what really is needed now is some kind of consensus,” he said.

‘We don’t want to be like the Māori in NZ’
New Caledonia could still have a constructive “partnership” with France, just like the Cook Islands has with New Zealand, Robie said.

“The only problem is that the French government doesn’t want to listen,” New Caledonia presidential spokesperson Charles Wea said.

“You cannot stop the Kanak people from claiming freedom in their own country.”

Despite the calls, Wea said concerns were setting in that Kanak people would “become a minority in their own country”.

“We [Kanak people] are afraid to be like Māori in New Zealand. We are afraid to be like Aboriginal people in Australia.”

He said those fears were why it was so important the controversial constitutional amendments did not go any further.

Robie said while Kanaks were already a minority in their own country, there had been a pretty close parity under the Nouméa Accord.

Vote a ‘retrograde step’
“Bear in mind, a lot of French people who’ve lived in New Caledonia for a long time, believe in independence as well,” he said.

But it was the “constitutional reform” that was the sticking point, something Robie refused to call a “reform”, describing as “a very retrograde step”.

In 1998, there was “goodwill” though the Nouméa accord.

“The only people who could participate in New Caledonian elections, as opposed to the French state as a whole, were indigenous Kanaks and those who had been living in New Caledonia prior to 1998,” something France brought in at the time.

Robie said a comparison can be drawn “much more with Australia”, rather than Aotearoa New Zealand.

“Kanak people resisting French control a century and a half ago were executed by the guillotine,” he said.

To Robie, Aotearoa was probably the better example of what New Caledonia could be.

“But you have to recall that New Caledonia began colonial life just like Australia, a penal colony,” he said.

Robie explained how Algerian fighters were shipped off to New Caledonia, Vietnamese fighters were also sent during the Vietnam War, among other people from other minority groups.

“A lot of people think it’s French and Kanak. It’s not. It’s a lot more mixed than that and a lot more complicated.”

The media and the blame game
As Robie explained the history, another issue became apparent: the lack of media interest and know-how to cover such events from Aotearoa New Zealand.

He said he had been disappointed to see many mainstream outlets glossing over history and focusing on the stranded Kiwis and fighting, which he said was significant, but needed context.

He said this lack of built-up knowledge within newsrooms and an apparent issue of “can’t be bothered, or it’s too problematic,” was projecting the indigenous population as the bad guys.

“There’s a projection that basically ‘Oh, well, they’re young people… looting and causing fires and that sort of thing’, they don’t get an appreciation of just how absolutely frustrated young people feel. It’s 50 percent of unemployment as a result of the nickel industry collapse, you know,” Robie explained.

When it came to finger pointing, he believed the field activist movement CCAT did not intend for all of this to happen.

“Once the protests reached a level of anger and frustration, all hell broke loose,” said Robie.

“But they [CCAT] have been made the scapegoats.

“Whereas the real culprits are the French government, and particularly the last three prime ministers in my view.”

Dr David Robie’s updated book on the New Caledonia troubles, news media and Pacific decolonisation issues was published in 2014, Don’t Spoil My Beautiful Face: Media, Mayhem and Human Rights in the Pacific (Little Island Press).

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Police have used tear gas and stun grenades on rioters at an airport near Nouméa as the chaos in New Caledonia stretched into its sixth day.

Five people, including two police officers, have died and hundreds of people are injured amid clashes between authorities and pro-independence protesters.

They were sparked by anger at a proposed new law that would allow French residents who have lived in New Caledonia for more than 10 years to vote — which critics say will weaken the indigenous Kanak vote.

Last night, local media reported rioters on the field at Magenta Airport had thrown hammers and stones at police.

Officers responded with tear gas and stun grenades.

Police warned that if that was not enough to control the situation, the military was authorised to use lethal weapons.

Nouméa is under a nightly curfew, with anyone who violates it warned they could face six months in prison or a fine of up to 895,000 French Pacific francs (NZ$13,000).

A New Caledonia government crisis unit spokesperson said there was enough food in the country to last two months.

However, there was a restocking issue, with some roads impassable due to debris.

A 71-year-old woman who missed out on dialysis treatment this week due to the blockages has finally been transported to Nouméa by boat for treatment.

Meanwhile, cars have been set on fire at Dumbéa town hall. Mayor Yohann Lecourieux told the public television station NC La Première he was “worried about the future”.

Journalists attacked
La Première is strengthening security surrounding its journalists after an incident where a reporting team was attacked by about 20 hooded men.

A reporter said she and a camera operator were attacked yesterday morning near the centre of Nouméa.

The men ordered them to leave, then smashed the windows of their car, the reporter told AFP news agency.

They also snatched the camera operator’s camera from his hands and threatened him with a stone.

The journalists were not injured and were rescued by a passing motorist.

La Première news content director Olivier Gélin told AFP the station’s journalists would be accompanied by security agents until further notice.

“We will now take people to protect the teams during filming, in addition to the classic protections in this type of situation — helmets and bulletproof vests,” he said.

Meanwhile, Coralie Cochin said her husband, a reporter for AFP, was photographing the burnt ruins of a shop when a man started throwing rocks at him.

An intern who had been working with Cochin at the local media outlet, La Première, was also attacked yesterday.

She was also rescued by a passing motorist, but lost her belongings in the ordeal.

END FRENCH SETTLER COLONIALISM IN KANAKY, IN MELANESIA, IN PACIFICA !

WE’RE PEOPLE FROM PACIFICA! https://t.co/6rAyyHLycj

— Rsy (@rosymakalu) May 17, 2024

‘A complete war zone’
A resident of Portes de Fer, in the centre of Noumea, said it was terrifying to witness the chaos unfold.

Hari Simon told RNZ Pacific that businesses, houses, car companies and factories in the area had all been burnt.

It was “a very frightening scene punctuated by the sound of gunshots that broke the silence of the night,” he said.

There was “a threatening sense of danger looming in the air,” he said.

At night, people roamed the streets with guns, burning down buildings and exchanging fire with police officers.

However, since the arrival of the first batch of military police officers (gendarmes) on Wednesday, the situation had died down a little, he said.

Residents did not expect the violence to escalate so quickly and were caught off guard, he said.

“When we became fully aware of the gravity of the situation that Monday night and, more specifically in the early hours of Tuesday morning, road blocks had already been erected.”

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

“The state of emergency declared by the French government and the deployment of the French army, coupled with a ban on the social media app TikTok, must not be misused to restrict people’s human rights,” Amnesty Pacific researcher Kate Schuetze said.

“The deeply worrying violence and the French authorities’ response must be understood through the lens of a stalled decolonisation process, racial inequality and the longstanding, peacefully expressed demands by the Indigenous Kanak people for self-determination.”

Schuetze said it was a challenging situation for police — “sadly including several fatalities”.

She said it was imperative that French police and gendarmes only used force as “reasonably necessary and prioritise protecting the right to life”.

Banning the TikTok app seemed a “clearly disproportionate measure” that would likely constitute a violation of the right to freedom of expression.

“It may also set a dangerous precedent that could easily serve as a convenient example for France and other governments worldwide to justify shutdowns in reaction to public protests,” she said.

A contingent of about 1,000 police and army reinforcements have left the military air base of Castres (near Marseille) for New Caledonia. https://t.co/oPDI3hVRvH

— RNZ Pacific (@RNZPacific) May 17, 2024

“French authorities must uphold the rights of the Indigenous Kanak people and the right to peaceful expression and assembly without discrimination.

“People calling for independence should be able to express their views peacefully.”

In a 2023 resolution, following a report by the UN Special Political and Decolonization Committee, the UN General Assembly reiterated calls on “the administering power and all relevant stakeholders in New Caledonia to ensure the peaceful, fair, just and transparent conduct of the next steps of the self-determination process, in accordance with the Nouméa Accord.”

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

New Zealanders stuck among riots and civil unrest in New Caledonia’s capital say they feel abandoned by their own country, having received little help from the government.

Nouméa descended into chaos on Monday, with clashes between indigenous Kanak pro-independence protesters and French security forces.

They were sparked by anger at a proposed new law that would allow French residents who have lived there for more than 10 years to vote — which critics say will weaken the Kanak vote.

Since then, five people have died, including two police officers, and hundreds have been injured in the French Pacific territory.

Late on Friday there were reports of clashes between police and rioters around a domestic airport near Nouméa, as New Caledonia’s capital entered its fourth night under curfew.

Local media reported rioters on the airfield at Magenta airport threw hammers and stones at police, and police responded with tear gas and stun grenades.

Police warned the military was authorised to use lethal weapons if they could not contain the situation otherwise. A local told RNZ Pacific the Kanaks were not going to back down, and things could get “nasty” in the coming days if the army could not contain the crisis.

New Zealanders feeling marooned
Four friends from North Canterbury landed in Nouméa on Monday as part of a “lifetime dream” trip.

Shula and Wolf Guse, and Sarah and William Hughes-Games, were celebrating Shula’s birthday and Sarah and William’s 40th wedding anniversary.

But fresh off their flight, it became clear their celebrations would not be going ahead.

“As we left the airport, there were blocks just everywhere . . . burning tyres, and people stopping us, and lots of big rocks on the road, and branches, and people shouting, waving flags,” Shula Guse said.

They wanted to get out of there, but had barely heard a peep from New Zealand government organisation SafeTravel, Sarah Hughes-Games said.

“All they’ve done is send us a . . .  general letter, nothing specific,” she said.

“We’ve contacted the New Zealand Consulate here in Nouméa, and they are closed. This is the one time they should be open and helping people.”

It was not good enough, she said.

“We’ve basically been just abandoned here, so we’re just feeling a little bit fed up about the situation, that we’ve just been left alone, and nobody has contacted us.”

It was unclear when they would be able to leave.

Struggling to find food
Meanwhile, another person told RNZ they had family stuck in Nouméa who had registered on SafeTravel, but had heard nothing more from the government. They were struggling to find food and were feeling uneasy, they said.

“They don’t know where to go now and there seems to be no help from anywhere.”

Air New Zealand confirmed it was forced to cancel its upcoming flights between Nouméa and Auckland on Saturday and Monday, with the airport in Nouméa closed until at least Tuesday.

“Even when the airport does reopen, Air New Zealand will only operate into Nouméa when we can be assured that the airport is safe and secure, and that there is a safe route for our ground staff and customers to reach the airport,” it said.

MFAT in ‘regular contact’ with impacted New Zealanders
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it had activated its emergency crisis system, and consular officials in Nouméa were in regular contact with impacted New Zealanders, New Caledonia authorities, and “international partners”.

The Consulate-General was open, but staff were working remotely because it was hard to get around, it said. Those who needed immediate consular assistance should contact the 24/7 Consular Emergency line on +64 99 20 20 20.

“An in-person meeting was held for a large group of New Zealanders in Nouméa yesterday [Thursday, 16 May 16] and further meetings are taking place today,” a spokesperson said.

“Consular officials are also proactively attempting to contact registered New Zealanders in New Caledonia to check on their situations, and any specific health or welfare concerns.

“Regular SafeTravel messages are also being sent to New Zealanders — we urge New Zealanders to register on SafeTravel to receive direct messages from consular officials.”

The ministry was also speaking regularly with New Caledonian authorities about airport operations and access, and access to critical supplies like food and medicine.

“New Zealanders in New Caledonia should stay in place and avoid all protests, monitor local media for developments, and comply with any instructions and restrictions issued by local authorities.”

There are currently 219 New Zealanders registered on SafeTravel as being in New Caledonia.

Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters told RNZ Morning Report the government was doing all it could to get New Zealanders home.

That could include using the Air Force, he said.

The Defence Force confirmed there had been discussions with officials.

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

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Jean-Marie Tjibaou, a revered Kanak visionary, was inspirational to indigenous Pacific political activists across Oceania, just like Tongan anthropologist and writer Epeli Hao’ofa was to cultural advocates.

Tragically, he was assassinated in 1989 by an opponent within the independence movement during the so-called “les événements” in New Caledonia, the last time the “French” Pacific territory was engulfed in a political upheaval such as experienced this week.

His memory and legacy as poet, cultural icon and peaceful political agitator live on with the impressive Tjibaou Cultural Centre on the outskirts of the capital Nouméa as a benchmark for how far New Caledonia had progressed in the last 35 years.

However, the wave of pro-independence protests that descended into urban rioting this week invoked more than Tjibaou’s memory. Many of the martyrs — such as schoolteacher turned security minister Elöi Machoro, murdered by French snipers during the upheaval of the 1980s — have been remembered and honoured for their exploits over the last few days with countless memes being shared on social media.

Among many memorable quotes by Tjibaou, this one comes to mind:

“White people consider that the Kanaks are part of the fauna, of the local fauna, of the primitive fauna. It’s a bit like rats, ants or mosquitoes,” he once said.

“Non-recognition and absence of cultural dialogue can only lead to suicide or revolt.”

And that is exactly what has come to pass this week in spite of all the warnings in recent years and months. A revolt.

Among the warnings were one by me in December 2021 after a failed third and “final” independence referendum. I wrote at the time about the French betrayal:

“After three decades of frustratingly slow progress but with a measure of quiet optimism over the decolonisation process unfolding under the Nouméa Accord, Kanaky New Caledonia is again poised on the edge of a precipice.”

As Paris once again reacts with a heavy-handed security crackdown, it appears to have not learned from history. It will never stifle the desire for independence by colonised peoples.

New Caledonia was annexed as a colony in 1853 and was a penal colony for convicts and political prisoners — mainly from Algeria — for much of the 19th century before gaining a degree of autonomy in 1946.

Here are my five takeaways from this week’s violence and mayhem:

1 Global failure of neocolonialism – Palestine, Kanaky and West Papua
Just as we have witnessed a massive outpouring of protest on global streets for justice, self-determination and freedom for the people of Palestine as they struggle for independence after 76 years of Israeli settler colonialism, and also Melanesian West Papuans fighting for 61 years against Indonesian settler colonialism, Kanak independence aspirations are back on the world stage.

Neocolonialism has failed. French President Emmanuel Macron’s attempt to reverse the progress towards decolonisation over the past three decades has backfired in his face.

2 French deafness and loss of social capital
The predictions were already long there. Failure to listen to the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) leadership and to be prepared to be patient and negotiate towards a consensus has meant much of the crosscultural goodwill that been developed in the wake of the Nouméa Accord of 1998 has disappeared in a puff of smoke from the protest fires of the capital.

The immediate problem lies in the way the French government has railroaded the indigenous Kanak people who make up 42 percent pf the 270,000 population into a constitutional bill that “unfreezes” the electoral roll pegging voters to those living in New Caledonia at the time of the 1998 Nouméa Accord. Under the draft bill all those living in the territory for the past 10 years could vote.

This would add some 25,000 extra French voters in local elections, which would further marginalise Kanaks at a time when they hold the territorial presidency and a majority in the Congress in spite of their demographic disadvantage.

Under the Nouméa Accord, there was provision for three referendums on independence in 2018, 2020 and 2021. The first two recorded narrow (and reducing) votes against independence, but the third was effectively boycotted by Kanaks because they had suffered so severely in the 2021 delta covid pandemic and needed a year to mourn culturally.

The FLNKS and the groups called for a further referendum but the Macron administration and a court refused.

3 Devastating economic and social loss
New Caledonia was already struggling economically with the nickel mining industry in crisis – the territory is the world’s third-largest producer. And now four days of rioting and protesting have left a trail of devastation in their wake.

At least five people have died in the rioting — three Kanaks, and two French police, apparently as a result of a barracks accident. A state of emergency was declared for at least 12 days.

But as economists and officials consider the dire consequences of the unrest, it will take many years to recover. According to Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) president David Guyenne, between 80 and 90 percent of the grocery distribution network in Nouméa had been “wiped out”. The chamber estimated damage at about 200 million euros (NZ$350 million).

4. A new generation of youth leadership
As we have seen with Generation Z in the forefront of stunning pro-Palestinian protests across more than 50 universities in the United States (and in many other countries as well, notably France, Ireland, Germany, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom), and a youthful generation of journalists in Gaza bearing witness to Israeli atrocities, youth has played a critical role in the Kanaky insurrection.

Australian peace studies professor Dr Nicole George notes that “the highly visible wealth disparities” in the territory “fuel resentment and the profound racial inequalities that deprive Kanak youths of opportunity and contribute to their alienation”.

A feature is the “unpredictability” of the current crisis compared with the 1980s “les événements”.

“In the 1980s, violent campaigns were coordinated by Kanak leaders . . . They were organised. They were controlled.

“In contrast, today it is the youth taking the lead and using violence because they feel they have no other choice. There is no coordination. They are acting through frustration and because they feel they have ‘no other means’ to be recognised.”

According to another academic, Dr Évelyne Barthou, a senior lecturer in sociology at the University of Pau, who researched Kanak youth in a field study last year: “Many young people see opportunities slipping away from them to people from mainland France.

“This is just one example of the neocolonial logic to which New Caledonia remains prone today.”

5. Policy rethink needed by Australia, New Zealand
Ironically, as the turbulence struck across New Caledonia this week, especially the white enclave of Nouméa, a whistlestop four-country New Zealand tour of Melanesia headed by Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, who also has the foreign affairs portfolio, was underway.

The first casualty of this tour was the scheduled visit to New Caledonia and photo ops demonstrating the limited diversity of the political entourage showed how out of depth New Zealand’s Pacific diplomacy had become with the current rightwing coalition government at the helm.

Heading home, Peters thanked the people and governments of Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Tuvalu for “working with New Zealand towards a more secure, more prosperous and more resilient tomorrow”.

The delegation is now heading home ✈️

Many thanks to the people and governments of Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu & Tuvalu for their kind hospitality – and for working with New Zealand towards a more secure, more prosperous & more resilient tomorrow.

🇸🇧🇵🇬🇻🇺🇹🇻 🤝 🇳🇿 pic.twitter.com/ZciN70cNP6

— Winston Peters (@NewZealandMFA) May 16, 2024

His tweet came as New Caledonian officials and politicians were coming to terms with at least five deaths and the sheer scale of devastation in the capital which will rock New Caledonia for years to come.

News media in both Australia and New Zealand hardly covered themselves in glory either, with the commercial media either treating the crisis through the prism of threats to tourists and a superficial brush over the issues. Only the public media did a creditable job, New Zealand’s RNZ Pacific and Australia’s ABC Pacific and SBS.

In the case of New Zealand’s largest daily newspaper, The New Zealand Herald, it barely noticed the crisis. On Wednesday, morning there was not a word in the paper.

Thursday was not much better, with an “afterthought” report provided by a partnership with RNZ. As I reported it:

“Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest newspaper, the New Zealand Herald, finally catches up with the Pacific’s biggest news story after three days of crisis — the independence insurrection in #KanakyNewCaledonia.

“But unlike global news services such as Al Jazeera, which have featured it as headline news, the Herald tucked it at the bottom of page 2. Even then it wasn’t its own story, it was relying on a partnership report from RNZ.”

New Zealand Herald finally catches up with the Pacific’s biggest news story after 3 days of crisis #CafePacific #kanaky #newcaledonia #nzherald #media #insurrection #stateofemergency #franceinpacific @KanakySuport @cpcflnkspt @westpapuamedia @anaisduongp https://t.co/TZZ2JDE6nr pic.twitter.com/52bJDECU2g

— David Robie (@DavidRobie) May 16, 2024

Also, New Zealand media reports largely focused too heavily on the “frustrations and fears” of more than 200 tourists and residents said to be in the territory this week, and provided very slim coverage of the core issues of the upheaval.

With all the warning signs in the Pacific over recent years — a series of riots in New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga and Vanuatu — Australia and New Zealand need to wake up to the yawning gap in social indicators between the affluent and the impoverished, and the worsening climate crisis.

These are the real issues of the Pacific, not some fantasy about AUKUS and a perceived China threat in an unconvincing arena called “Indo-Pacific”.

Dr David Robie covered “Les Événements” in New Caledonia in the 1980s and penned the book Blood on their Banner about the turmoil. He also covered the 2018 independence referendum.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Worried New Caledonian expats in Aotearoa admit they are “terrified” for friends and family amid ongoing violence and civil unrest in the French Pacific territory.

The death toll remained at four tonight, and hundreds have been injured after electoral changes sparked widespread rioting by pro-independence supporters in the capital of Nouméa.

French President Emmanuel Macron has declared a 12-day state of emergency and about 1200 police enforcements are due to arrive from France.

Many worried locals have been confined to their homes.

New Zealand-based New Caledonians have explained how the situation in their homeland has left them on edge.

Pascale Desrumaux and her family have been in Auckland for two years.

With parts of the country in turmoil, she said she was scared for her family and friends back home in Nouméa.

“I’m terrified and I’m very stressed,” Desrumaux said.

“[My family] are afraid for their lives.”

‘Locked in’
The precarious situation is illustrated by the fact her family cannot leave their homes and neighbouring stores have been ransacked then torched by protesters.

“They are locked in at the moment, so they can’t move — so they feel anxiety of course,” Desrumaux said.

“On top of that, shortly they will run out of food.

“The situation is complex.”

Desrumaux is checking in with family members every few hours for updates.

Amid the current climate, she said she had mixed emotions about being abroad.

“This shared feeling of being relieved to be here in New Zealand and grateful because my kids and husband are not in danger,” she said.

“At the same time I feel so bad for my friends and family over there.”

‘A beautiful place’
She stressed her home country remained “a beautiful place” and hoped the crisis could be resolved peacefully.

Fellow Auckland-based New Caledonian Anais Bride said she had been left distraught by what was unfolding.

In the past 48 hours, her parents have vacated their Nouméa home to stay with Bride’s sister as tensions escalated.

Based on her conversations with loved ones, she said that international news coverage had not fully conveyed the fluid crisis facing citizens on the ground.

“It took my mother a little while for her to accept the fact that it was time to leave, because she wanted to stay where she lives.

“My sisters’ just told her ‘at the end of the day, it’s just your house, it’s material’.

“It’s been hard for my parents.”

One supermarket standing
She said there was only one supermarket left standing in Nouméa, with many markets destroyed by fire.

Kevin, who did not want his surname to be published, is another New Caledonian living in New Zealand.

While his family has not seen much unrest first hand, explosions and smoke were constant where they were, he said.

He said it was hard to predict how the unrest could be straightened out.

“It’s hard to tell,” he said.

“The most tragic thing of course is the four deaths, and many businesses have been burned down so many people will lose their job.

“The main thing is how people rebuild connections, peace and of course the economy.”

‘Timely exit’ from Nouméa
Christchurch woman Viki Moore spent a week in New Caledonia before making a “timely exit” out of Nouméa on Monday as civil tension intensified.

“There was a heavy police presence out at the airport with two [armoured vehicles] at the entrance and heavily armed military police roaming around.

“Once we got into the airport we were relieved to be there in this sort of peaceful oasis.

“We didn’t really have a sense of what was still to come.”

She admitted that she did not fully comprehend the seriousness of it until she had left the territory.

Warnings for travellers
Flights through Nouméa are currently grounded.

Air New Zealand said it was monitoring the situation in New Caledonia, with its next flight NZ932 from Auckland to Nouméa still scheduled for Saturday morning.

Chief Operational Integrity and Safety Officer Captain David Morgan said this “could be subject to change”.

“The safety of our passengers, crew, and airport staff is our top priority and we will not operate flights unless their safety can be guaranteed,” he said.

“We will keep passengers updated on our services and advise customers currently in Nouméa to follow the advice of local authorities and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.”

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

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

A New Zealand man has described scenes of chaos in the New Caledonia capital of Nouméa during the escalating civil unrest.

Four people have died and hundreds have been injured during rioting by pro-independence supporters over electoral changes.

French president Emmanuel Macron has declared a 12-day state of emergency and about 1200 police enforcements were due to arrive from France.

New Zealand has upgraded its SafeTravel alert for parts of New Caledonia.

All commercial flights to and from the Nouméa-La Tontouta international airport have been cancelled and many holiday makers have been stuck in Nouméa.

Aucklander Mike Lightfoot is one of those people. He arrived in Nouméa in Monday and described the scenes in the city for RNZ Morning Report.

Lightfoot said that as he and his wife started to make their way to their hotel they saw protesters, some with machetes, but they were not too worried.

‘Intersections on fire’
“It was very peaceful, we thought at the time, but as we got closer into town we could certainly see there was unrest.

“There was intersections on fire . . . as we came into the town itself there were the Gendarmerie in full gear . . . we thought this was getting serious.”

Lightfoot said his wife needed a doctor for a chest condition and as they were in the doctor’s surgery “we heard explosions and gunshots very close to us”.

“They were rioting right through town, the town was on fire. Fortunately our taxi driver pulled down a side street, stopped for a second, got himself together. There were people running around our car and carrying on and he took off.

“We climbed up in through the suburbs and as we came down to try and get back to our hotel we came to a roundabout and they had the roundabout completely blocked off, there would have been, we estimate, around 150 of them there protesting.

“The whole roundabout was on fire, they had big blocks in the middle of the road.

“As we edged through, the smoke was so black we couldn’t really see the road. One of them whacked the car as we went through but yeah, it was pretty unsettling . . . ”

‘Be prepared to evacuate’
His hotel, Chateau Royal have asked people staying there not to step foot outside of the complex and “they’ve asked us to be prepared, that we may need to evacuate”.

About 51 New Zealanders were staying at the hotel, he said.

“We’re sort of feeling that people in New Zealand are really not understanding how serious this is and it’s quite unsettling for us all here, in fact we want out of here very quickly to be fair.”

Lightfoot said the airlines were keeping them informed.

“As soon as we are able to get to the airport they’ve [one airline] said that we are definitely on one of those planes. Air New Zealand at this point are planning to have a flight here on Saturday, if that goes ahead they also have us listed on that flight to get us out.”

Supplies in the issue were a problem and staff were living on site for their own safety, he said.

RNZ Pacific’s Koroi Hawkins said some Kanak leaders have told him they seem to have lost control of the youth.

Other residents in the city of Nouméa, some of them pro-French, have began to arm themselves as vigilantes.

Unrest a concern – Sepuloni
Labour Party’s deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni told RNZ’s First Up the growing unrest in New Caledonia was a concern.

Sepuloni said it was a worry, but she was not sure whether New Zealand would have any involvement in trying to bring the situation in the French territory under control.

At last year’s Pacific Leaders Forum, French Polynesian representatives were already expressing concern about how some policies from the French government might affect its inidgenous population, she said.

Glimmer of hope, says former envoy
A former Australian consul-general for New Caledonia Denise Fisher said measures in the French territory could hopefully fix the immediate security problem, but this was not the core issue.

“The key issue that set off the situation was about representation, who can vote in local elections.

“And it seems such an esoteric issue but it’s a critical issue, especially for the independence supporters.”

Fisher said 40 years ago, when peace agreements were reached after four years of violence, the key issue for the Kanak independence leaders was to constrain voting to only those with long term residence in New Caledonia.

“So it’s a core issue with the breaking down and the expiry of these agreements. We’re now in a political kind of a vacuum and talks about this haven’t got very far.”

She said there was a glimmer of hope on Wednesday.

“Some independence parties and some loyalist parties issued a joint communiqué calling for peace

“They’ve been having, as they have at the end of last year, informal talks, that they think they can talk and come to some sort of agreement to put to the French in the next couple of weeks.”

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

France has declared a state of emergency on the Pacific territory of New Caledonia — New Zealand’s closest neighbour — after four people, including a police officer, have been killed in pro-independence riots over voting changes that further marginalise indigenous Kanaks, news agencies report.

The move came as the French government confirmed an additional 500 members of the French national police and gendarmerie were being sent to the territory to reinforce the 1800 already there and to try and quell the violence.

The state of emergency will last 12 days and give authorities additional powers to ban gatherings and forbid people from moving around the French-ruled territory.

The last time France imposed such measures on one of its overseas territories was in 1985 —  also in New Caledonia in the middle of a similar upheaval known as “Les événements“, the Interior Ministry said.

Rioters torched vehicles and businesses and looted stores and this video below (in French) from the local Caledonia TV shows the destruction in the wake of the protests.

Deaths amid the third day of rioting.               Video: Caledonia TV

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Charles Wea, a spokesperson for international relations in the New Caledonian territorial President’s office, confirmed the deaths to RNZ Pacific.

The circumstances are unclear in the French territory’s third day of violence.

France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said hundreds of people had been injured in rioting, Reuters reported.

French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc said: “I sense dark hours have arrived in New Caledonia.”

“So what we must remember from what I am going to tell you is a call for calm — stop, stop.

“Stop what has been started.”

Security forces bolstered
This follows France sending in more than 600 reinforcements to back up local police.

More than 130 people have been arrested and fears are turning to how these people will be detained, with the prison population already at capacity.

Local journalist Coralie Cochin told RNZ another curfew had been announced for this evening starting at 6pm local time.

A New Zealander holidaying in New Caledonia earlier told RNZ residents in the territory believed the situation could get worse.

Mike Lightfoot and his family are stuck in New Caledonia until at least Friday after the government imposed curfews and a drinking ban to try to quell protests.

The violence was provoked by a proposal by France which would allow French residents who have lived in New Caledonia for 10 years, to vote in provincial elections — a move local pro-independence leaders fear will dilute the vote of the indigenous Kanak population.

Lightfoot said the situation seemed peaceful as his family returned from a beach north of Nouméa, but the number of protests escalated as they entered the capital.

‘Frightening — gunshots, explosions’
Intersections were blocked and some were on fire. There were riot police throughout the city.

He and his wife had to leave the hotel at night to find a doctor after she developed a chest infection.

“It was a frightening experience. We could hear gunshots. We heard explosions.”

They had to drive through a roundabout on fire, blocked by 150 protesters.

Lightfoot said locals and staff in the hotel had told them they believed protests could escalate with the presence of more riot police and latest moves from France.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

ANALYSIS: By Denise Fisher

Monday night saw demonstrations by independence supporters in New Caledonia erupt into serious violence for the first time since the 1980s civil disturbances.

The mainly indigenous demonstrators were opposing President Emmanuel Macron’s imposition of constitutional change to widen voter eligibility unless discussions about the future begin soon.

The protests occurred the day before France’s National Assembly was to vote on the issue, and just after Macron had proposed new talks in Paris.

On Monday, May 13, in Noumea, as France’s National Assembly debated the constitutional change in Paris, their local counterparts in the New Caledonian Congress were debating a resolution calling for withdrawal of the legislation.

The debate was bitter, after months of deepening division between independence and loyalist parties and focusing as it did on one of the most sensitive issues to each side, that of voter eligibility. The resolution was passed, as independence parties secured the support of a small minority party to outnumber the loyalists.

Macron, in an eleventh hour bid to prompt all parties to participate in new discussions about the future, proposed on May 13 to hold talks in Paris, but only after the Assembly vote of May 14 (albeit before the next step in the constitutional amendment process, a meeting of both houses).

Independence party leaders had called on their supporters to demonstrate against the constitutional reform, to coincide with the National Assembly’s consideration of the issue. The evening of May 13 was marked by violence on a scale not seen in decades.

Burning of buildings, roadblocks
It included the burning of buildings and businesses, roadblocks preventing movement in and out of the capital, and the closure of airports and ports in some of the islands. Police were targeted with gunfire and stoning, resulting in 35 injured police.

As of yesterday, Tuesday May 14, people were being asked to stay at home, with a curfew imposed. France, which already had 700 police on the job in New Caledonia, has sent reinforcements to maintain order.

The violence immediately brought to the minds of leaders the bloodshed of the 1980s, termed “les événements”.

The French High Commissioner, or governor, suggested things were moving “towards an abyss” and cancelled some incoming flights to prevent complications from tourists being unable to access Noumea, while noting that the airport and main wharf remain open. He urged independence leaders to use their influence on the young to stop the violence.

The Mayor of Noumea, Sonia Lagarde, described the situation as “extremely well organised guerrilla warfare” involving “well-trained young people” and suggested “a sort of civil war” was approaching.

On the face of it, to an outsider, Macron’s plan to broaden voter eligibility to those with 10 years’ residence prior to any local election, unless discussions about the future begin, would seem reasonable.

He sees the three independence votes held from 2018–21 as legal, notwithstanding the largely indigenous boycott of the third. (Each referendum saw a vote to stay with France, although support was narrow, declining from 56.7% to 53.3% in the first two votes, but ballooning to 96.5% in the third vote boycotted by independence supporters.)

‘Radical’ for white Caledonians, ‘unconscionable’ for Kanaks
For New Caledonians, Macron’s positioning is radical. Loyalists see it as a vindication of their position.

But for independence parties, France’s stance has been unconscionable.  Independence leaders reject the result of the boycotted referendum and want another self-determination vote soon.

Some have refused to participate in discussions organised by France, although one of the most recalcitrant elements suggested some discussion would be possible just days before the violent demonstrations.

But they have all strongly opposed Macron’s imposing constitutional change to widen voter eligibility unilaterally from Paris. They were affronted by his appointment of a prominent loyalist MP as the rapporteur responsible for shepherding the issue through the Assembly.

They have instead been calling for a special mission led by an impartial figure to bring about dialogue.

More importantly, they see the highly sensitive voter eligibility issue as a central negotiating chip in discussions about the future. Confining voter eligibility only to those with longstanding residence on a fixed basis — not by a number of years prior to any local election as Macron is proposing — was fundamental to securing independence party acceptance of peace agreements over 30 years, after France had operated a policy of bringing in French nationals from elsewhere to outweigh local independence supporters who are primarily indigenous.

Differences have deepened
With the inconclusive end of these agreements, differences have only deepened.

Loyalist leaders have accused independence leaders of planning the violence. Whether it was planned or whether demonstrations degenerated, either way it is clear that emotions are running high among independence supporters, who feel their position is not being respected.

No sustainable solution for the governance of New Caledonia is possible without the cooperation of all parties.

It seems that, regardless of Macron’s evident intention of spurring parties to come to the discussion table, his plan has backfired. Discussions are unlikely to resume soon.

Denise Fisher is a visiting fellow at Australian National University’s Centre for European Studies. She was an Australian diplomat for 30 years, serving in Australian diplomatic missions as a political and economic policy analyst in many Australian missions in Asia, Europe and Africa, including as Australian Consul-General in Nouméa, New Caledonia (2001-2004). She is the author of France in the South Pacific: Power and Politics (2013). This article was first published by the Lowy Institute’s The Interpreter and is republished by Asia Pacific Report with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz