Vanuatu is leaning on Aotearoa’s medicinal cannabis production expertise in an effort to prop up its own market.

While the Melanesian nation has topped the Happy Planet Index list twice, as the happiest place in the world, it remains one of the most climate vulnerable states in the world.

Its topsy-turvy political landscape in the recent past has kept its citizens on the edge with prime ministers coming and going non-stop in 2023.

Prime Minister Charlot Salwai, who was elected as prime minister for the second time in October last year after his predecessor was voted out in a no-confidence vote, was in New Zealand for an official visit this week.

He stopped at Puro’s state-of-the-art cannabis cultivation facility in Kēkerengū on Tuesday, as part of his itinerary.

It has taken a while to kick Vanuatu’s 2018 medicinal cannabis legislation into motion, but Salwai is optimistic to get things moving for the economy.

New Zealand has a well-established medical cannabis industry with 40 companies in business since it was legalised in 2020.

Salwai said marijuana grew “easily” across Vanuatu.

‘Grows everywhere’
“[It] grows everywhere in the villages, but we don’t want to grow the wrong one, because it’s against the legislations.”

He said he found the visit to the cannabis farm “interesting”.

“They know about the benefits of this particular kind of marijuana,” he said.

“We need to invite the people who know about it, and the purpose of growing this marijuana is what is interesting to see.

“We invite them to come to Vanuatu and do a small-scale test to see and compare the quality of what we are producing here in Vanuatu, because here [New Zealand] it is seasonal while in Vanuatu it grows the whole year.

“It is good to compare the quality.”

He said Vanuatu is interested in granting medicinal cannabis production licences to those who know “the purpose of growing”.

Vanuatu PM Charlot Saiwai talks New Caledonia. Video: RNZ

Seasonal worker pits and peaks
In June, Luxon said he wanted to double — from 19,000 up to about 38,000 — the number of seasonal workers from its RSE programme participating countries, which include Vanuatu, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu, and Nauru.

There were approximately 47,800 Pacific Islanders that travelled to New Zealand or Australia for seasonal work in 2022-2023, under various labour mobility schemes, according to analysis by Australian academics Professor Paresh Narayan and Dr Bernard Njindan Iyke for 360info.

Vanuatu share of seasonal workers in New Zeeland was more than 5000 in 2022.

The Labour Commissioner Murielle Meltenoven warned at the time that the domestic labour market was concerned about “brain drain”.

Salwai has hinted at a possible internal review of Vanuatu’s seasonal worker programmes with Australia and New Zealand.

He wrapped up his tour of New Zealand with RSE workers, a focal point of discussions Luxon.

Responding to questions around whether his counterpart’s plans to double RSE numbers are realistic, he said: “We need to discuss it, not with New Zealand, but internally in Vanuatu.”

Small population
He said Vanuatu has a small population of only about 300,000 people, and doubling RSE workers to New Zealand would also affect the labour in his own country.

However, her acknowledged that the regional labour schemes were bringing in much needed remittance and assisting many families.

“[The RSE] provides access to their kids to go to school, have access to development, build new houses or doing business.

“What we [are] afraid of is what is happening even in the Pacific . . . even those who are well-educated are taking the same opportunity to look for jobs outside.”

New Zealand welcomes Vanuatu leader.     Video: RNZ

Deep sea mining
Meanwhile, Vanuatu has been a vocal advocate against deep sea mining, has legislation which allow licences to be granted for deep sea mining exploration.

Salawai said Vanuatu sits on the rim of fire and there are environmental risks under the water.

“As a country, we need to know what is under and inside our waters” as well as “opportunity on our airspace”.

“We can allow license to do [deep sea] explorations, but to operate, it is another issue,” he said, adding “we don’t get what we [are] supposed to get on our airspace”.

‘We lose all the beauties of our islands’
More than a year on from twin cyclone disaster Judy and Kevin, Vanuatu is building back but not necessarily better.

Salwai said people whose homes were destroyed have been in limbo for what feels like a lifetime.

He said something that cannot be replaced is the land.

He said waves generated by the cyclones and sea level rise have destroyed beaches across Vanuatu:

“I am afraid that we lose all the beauties of our islands, but our kids, our children for tomorrow, won’t see it.

“Maybe, we will see it in the picture, but not in reality.”

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

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Tonga has not done enough to combat people trafficking and will remain on an American watch list, according to the US State Department’s annual report.

Since convicting its first trafficker in April 2011, the government has not prosecuted or convicted any traffickers, the State Department said.

The government had taken little action on people trafficking, even considering the pressures of the covid-19 epidemic.

The government had not investigated any potential trafficking cases for three years in a row. Police said their ability to pursue cases was affected by a lack of resources.

The Trafficking in Persons Report acknowledged that Tonga’s borders had been closed early in the epidemic and entry to the kingdom was extremely limited.

However, it said some Tongans and foreign individuals were vulnerable to trafficking in Tonga, and some Tongans are vulnerable to trafficking abroad.

Sex workers
Tongans working overseas were vulnerable to labour exploitation. However, it also said that Asian workers in Tonga were vulnerable to labour exploitation and being forced to become sex workers.

East Asian women, especially those from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), who were recruited from their home countries for legitimate work in Tonga were vulnerable to sex trafficking

They often paid excessive recruitment fees and sometimes ended up as sex workers in clandestine establishments operating as legitimate businesses.

Chinese workers working in construction on government infrastructure projects in Tonga were vulnerable to labour trafficking.

Tongan children were vulnerable to sex trafficking.

Reports indicated that Fijians working in the domestic service industry in Tonga experienced mistreatment typical of labour trafficking.

Tongans working overseas, including in Australia and New Zealand, were vulnerable to labour trafficking, including through withholding of wages and excessive work hours.

Some Tongan seasonal workers who were unable to leave Australia after the borders were closed due to covid-19, then became vulnerable to exploitation.

Some employers had rushed workers to sign employment contracts they may not fully understand, while others were unable to retain copies of their contracts.

Minimum standards
“The government of Tonga does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, but is making significant efforts to do so. These efforts included providing funding to an NGO available to assist trafficking victims,” the report said.

“However, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period, even considering the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on its antitrafficking capacity.

“The government did not identify any victims, develop procedures to identify them, or investigate any cases of trafficking.”

The report said the government did not have a national action plan or conduct awareness campaigns. However, authorities informed Tongans participating in seasonal worker programmes overseas about workers’ rights.

The State Department said Tonga should sign up for the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons.

It said the government should also:

• Develop and fully implement procedures for proactive identification of trafficking victims among vulnerable groups;
• Increase efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking crimes;
• Amend trafficking laws to criminalise all forms of trafficking in line with the definition under international law, including such crimes lacking cross-border movement;
• Develop, adopt, fund, and implement a national action plan;
• Uee the Asian liaison position to facilitate proactive identification of foreign victims and their referral to care;
• Provide explicit protections and benefits for trafficking victims, such as restitution, legal and medical benefits and immigration relief; and
• Develop and conduct anti-trafficking information and education campaigns.

Dr Philip Cass is an editorial adviser to Kaniva Tonga and is editor of Pacific Journalism Review. Republished with permission as part of a Kaniva Tonga and Asia Pacific Report collaboration.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Samoa and China do not have any plans for military ties, Samoa Prime Minister Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa says.

Fiamē — who is on a three-day trip to Aotearoa — is making her first official bilateral trip abroad since becoming leader last year.

Her visit marks 60 years of diplomatic relations between New Zealand and Samoa and the 60th anniversary of Samoa’s independence.

At a media briefing after talks with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern yesterday, Fiamē said: “There are no discussions between Samoa and China on militarisation at all.”

She said the Pacific nations would discuss China’s security proposals at the Pacific Islands Forum due to take place from July 12.

“The issue needs to be considered in the broader context,” she said.

Ardern said there was capability in the region to deal with security issues and they could be addressed together, while stressing that Pacific nations still had the sovereign right to decide their own future.

“We have convergence on our regional priorities,” Fiamē said, adding that Samoa believed in the region taking a collective approach to issues.

She said the anniversary of the Treaty of Friendship signed by the two countries would coincide with Samoa opening its borders fully on August 1.

Watch the media briefing

Ardern and Fiamē hold a joint media briefing. Video: RNZ News

The talks with Ardern had covered a lot of ground, she said, and the two countries would work together on tourism, education and in other economic areas.

“Targeted assistance from New Zealand has enabled us to open our borders.”

From August 1 flights to Samoa would increase from the current weekly flight for passengers to daily flights by the end of the year.

Her message to Samoans living in New Zealand was that the anniversary celebrations will take place over 12 months so they had plenty of time to come home.

Asked what Samoa required of New Zealand, Fiamē said “she was not in a rush to come up with a shopping list”.

Instead it might be time just to reflect on reprioritising issues while saying climate change and education remained important as well as “building back stronger” after covid-19.

Time for a rethink on RSE scheme
On the subject of seasonal workers, which Samoa has “slowed down”, she said the New Zealand scheme was well run. But there were some concerns and Samoa was noticing the impact of the loss of workers in its own development sectors.

Originally it was intended to send unemployed workers to Australia and Aotearoa for the RSE programme, but now the civil service and the manufacturing sector in Samoa were being hit by experienced employees leaving.

“We need to have a bit more balance,” Fiamē said, adding that the new government wanted to hold new talks with both the Australia and New Zealand governments on the issue.

Referring to the Dawn Raids, Fiamē welcomed Ardern’s formal ceremonial apology last year.

“When we all live together it’s important to settle grievances and differences,” she said.

Ardern said the visit has come at a special time for the two countries, referring to the Treaty of Friendship and Samoa’s 60th anniversary.

She announced the launch of a special fellowship in Fiamē’s name and the New Zealand prime minister’s award plus the start of new sports leaders’ awards with an emphasis on women and girls.

Discussions had covered their shared experiences on Covid-19 with Ardern praising the high vaccination rates among young Samoans.

Climate change had also been discussed and New Zealand will increase funding for Samoa’s plans to tackle it.

Invitation to Ardern
On her arrival at Parliament yesterday morning, Fiamē invited Ardern to Samoa to take part in the independence celebrations next month and she repeated the invitation at the media briefing.

Fiamē’s visit comes ahead of the Pacific Island Forum meeting.

After welcoming Fiamē, Ardern acknowledged the importance of that meeting which will discuss issues like climate change and the current “strategic” situation across the Pacific.

China’s growing presence in the Pacific is among topics sure to be covered by the two leaders during their talks.

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

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Langi Fatanitavake’s wife and son live on one of the islands flanking Tonga’s Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai undersea volcano, but his repeated calls home since the violent eruption and tsunami have gone unanswered.

The South Island seasonal worker last spoke to his family on Ha’apai on Saturday afternoon, shortly before destructive waves crashed into the island nation.

Fatanitavake is growing increasingly concerned for their safety.

“Last night and today, nothing. I called, no answer. My feeling is not good about my family,” he said.

Fatanitavake is also worried about his sister who lives on Atata Island, about 50 km from the volcano that has covered Tonga in a layer of ash.

“I want to know what happened to my sister,” he said.

Fatanitavake said the 17 other Tongans he was working with on an Alexandra orchard had not heard from their families either and were anxious to receive a simple message or phone call to say they were safe.

Repatriation flight postponed
A repatriation flight scheduled for Thursday for workers who came to New Zealand as part of the Recognised Seasonal Employers (RSE) scheme has been postponed.

Tongans in New Zealand have been praying for their Pacific Island families, as they endure an agonising wait for news from relatives cut off from the world.

Timaru’s Sina Latu last heard from her sister when she broadcast her family’s escape from the tsunami live on Facebook, as ash rained down on the island of ‘Eua.

“It was very scary, we could see the waves coming in,” she said.

While Latu believed they were safe, she said the lack of communication was upsetting.

“It’s painful, you just feel hopeless and very anxious,” she said.

“I’m so worried, I haven’t really slept well. I just want one phone call, or one message, that will do me, just to say we’re fine, we’re safe.”

Latu said she was also worried about her 80-year-old father who lives on Tongatapu, but was reassured by no official reports of injuries or deaths so far.

Aerial reconnaissance, water supplies
A New Zealand Defence Force plane flew to Tonga today to assess the damage, but Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said aerial reconnaissance depended on the conditions, including the amount of suspended volcanic ash.

Another plane took essential supplies like water late today.

Communication links were still down, because the undersea cable that connects Tonga to the wider world appears to have been damaged.

Invercargill’s Ofa Boyle is yet to hear from her brother and sister who live near the capital Nuku’alofa.

She is also worried about the situation on the Ha’apai group of islands.

“I have some extended family living around that area, in Ha’apai. It’s a big worry,” she said.

“On the main island, the waves coming inland are not those big giant ones. That gives a bit of relief, but I’m also anxious about what it’s like in other areas like Ha’apai, near where the volcano erupted.”

Boyle said Tongan families relied heavily on relatives overseas, who would rally around to help them.

GNS Science said there could be more small-scale eruptions for some weeks, but they would be unlikely to trigger another big tsunami.

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

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Recognised seasonal employee workers in New Zealand rarely have a voice in the New Zealand media, new research at Massey University has found.

Researcher Dr Angelynne Enoka said coverage of the RSE scheme by regional media tended to focus on official sources and employers’ views and almost never quoted workers.

Dr Enoka said she was inspired to research media coverage of the RSE scheme when, in her former role as a communication officer for the scheme, she noticed a disparity between what workers were telling her, from one Samoan to another, and what the media were publishing.

READ MORE: Under the gaze: A study of the portrayal of the NZ print media of Pacific Island workers in the RSE scheme

She examined 115 media articles from 2007 to 2012, in key regional newspapers in New Zealand’s busiest horticulture regions: Hawkes Bay, Marlborough, Nelson, Bay of Plenty and Southland.

Her research looked at coverage of the RSE in its first five years by regional media.

Dr Enoka said that even when workers were heard there appeared to be little understanding of the Pacific cultural values that would make it difficult for them to voice complaint or criticism.

Most articles quoted representatives of the horticulture and viticulture industries, who were predominantly European, she said.

Industry sources most frequent
Industry-affiliated individuals were the most frequent sources in articles, followed by government officials.

She said the two most common themes found in regional media centred on the idea that there was a labour shortage which represented employers’ views that a shortage of labour was the key reason for needing the scheme and reports on government policy.

Dr Enoka said the media could have asked whether increased pay and better conditions could make the jobs more attractive to local workers. None of the articles she had seen quoted unemployed locals for other views on work and conditions.

Instead, regional media had “parroted the employer view that cheap imported labour was the only solution,” she said.

“With the closing of borders here and in the Pacific, we have an opportunity to hear all the relevant parties’ voices and ask the hard questions about whether it is fair to Pacific workers to expect them to come and work in New Zealand at pay rates and conditions that New Zealanders won’t accept.”

“It is an opportunity to speak to Pacific countries and Pacific workers, not just to employer and government officials in New Zealand.

“It is an opportunity to query what long-term benefits really go back to the Pacific, and whether there is any room to move in profit margins for horticulture and viticulture in order to make the work attractive to resident communities, including regional Māori and Pacific communities.”

Questions need asking
Dr Enoka said questions needed to be asked about what skills RSE workers were able to develop that could help them when they returned home.

She also said consideration needed to be given to whether RSE work could lead opportunities for citizenship in New Zealand.

“Now that we have hit ‘pause’ on the flow of temporary workers over our borders, we have the opportunity to diversify the media coverage and encourage investigative journalism,” Dr Enoka said.

“This should open up a wider public debate that can help us evaluate who really benefits and how much, from temporary migrant worker schemes.”

The RSE scheme began in 2007 with a cap of 5000 workers from five eligible Pacific nations. It now has a cap of 14,400 workers from nine Pacific nations.

She said her research showed that important questions were not being asked about the scheme’s ethos.

“When the media don’t ask key questions, those questions typically don’t make it into public debate, either, so community understanding of an issue is limited.”

“These are the kinds of questions the media should have been asking all along, but with limited resources and limited diversity in print newsrooms, particularly regional newsrooms, this certainly wasn’t the case in the media coverage I sampled,” she said.

Media educator Dr Philip Cass is an adviser for Kaniva News.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz