Independent Analysis and Reportage
RNZ Pacific reporters A Fiji deputy prime minister says the Pacific identifies with Israel in ways many would not understand. Viliame Gavoka, who is also the Tourism Minister in Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka’s coalition government, was responding to a Facebook post about Israel being accepted into the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) as a development partner.
COMMENTARY: By John Hobbs New Zealand is failing its responsibilities towards the Palestinian people; a people who are dying from the actions of Israel. Its responsibilities to hold Israel to account are laid out in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, 1948. States are obliged to prevent and punish
Asia Pacific Report A leading Palestine advocacy group in New Zealand has given the government a “please explain” message after news reports that the Pacific islands Forum (PIF), the region’s main political body, have admitted Israel as a sectoral partner. According to 1News, the decision was made under a new two-tier partnership model, with Israel
By Kaya Selby of RNZ Pacific New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has “serious questions to answer” over Israel becoming a partner of the region’s main political decision-making institution, Labour’s foreign affairs spokesperson says. Israel has joined the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) as a development partner, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced in a statement on
Keith Rankin writes; Imagine a world in which all countries have an income tax scale which offers at least a Basic Universal Income. Then, all workers – all economic citizens – in the world should have access to some level of BUI; but in practice people who are citizens of one country but denizens of another would miss out. My view is that the BUI should be paid by their country of tax-residency rather than their country of formal citizenship.
Keith Rankin writes; The general talk among the realist academic community is that the world is safer now, because the Euro-American 'unipolar moment' has been defeated – note past tense – and that the important political and academic discussions are about the present – not future – construction of a constructive multipolar world, and whether Europe can or will play any serious part in this future world order.
Keith Rankin writes: These age-specific data do not show the pattern of specifically trans-Tasman migration. Though we do know that this is the biggest component of emigration; indeed an even bigger component these days, given the heightened geopolitical risks of living further afield.
By Kaya Selby of RNZ Pacific Israel has joined the Pacific Islands Forum, the region’s principal political organisation, as a partner. The country, which has a “deep-rooted affection from Pacific communities“, confirmed the decision in a press release yesterday. Israel has stepped up its diplomatic focus on the Pacific over the last few years, winning
Wendy Bacon investigates the Israel lobbyists, PR people and astroturfers behind the Combat Antisemitism Movement targeting local councils and the Bondi Royal Commission. Michael West Media. INVESTIGATION: By Wendy Bacon Australia’s Commonwealth and NSW governments are supporting a national local government conference organised by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), whose Israel-based CEO was head of
Asia Pacific Report The New Zealand government must turn concern for besieged Palestinians into urgent, practical action, says a Palestinian advocacy group. The Palestine Forum of New Zealand has called on the government to take “immediate diplomatic and financial action” following the UN World Food Programme’s announcement that 500,000 Palestinians in Gaza will lose their
Exposing autocracy from military-ruled Fiji to democratic Samoa, journalist Shalveen Chand has faced cell blocks, state censorship and physical assaults for holding Pacific powers accountable. Now joining the Cook Islands News as senior journalist, Chand brings a relentless commitment to press freedom, warning that democracy collapses when watchdogs are silenced. COMMENTARY: By Shalveen Chand I
By Kelvin Anthony of RNZ Pacific Fiji’s constitutional reform process has brought the question of who is or can be a “Fijian” back to the fore. Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka’s coalition government has begun the public consultation process on the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill 2026 in its efforts to replace the 2013 Constitution — a document