Independent Analysis and Reportage
RNZ Pacific reporters Fiji’s lawmakers have passed legislation allowing the rollout of a needle exchange programme aimed at containing the rapid rise of HIV from intravenous drug use. The HIV/AIDS (Amendment) Bill 2026, which will introduce evidence-based harm reduction programmes, is being hailed as a “lifeline” for the country. Fiji now joins Australia, New Zealand
By Susana Suisuiki of RNZ Pacific An environmental group in American Samoa is taking legal action against the United States government over its plans for deep-sea mining near the territory. Fa’asao Amerika Samoa and the Conservation Council for Hawai’i filed a lawsuit in August, challenging the US government’s assessment of the potential risks to marine
RNZ Pacific reporters Temukisa Auina Penehuro Hauma, 71, has become the first woman to be appointed the Governor-General of one of the world’s smallest nations. Tuvalu has had 10 substantive governors-general — all of them men — since gaining independence on 1 October 1978. Hauma, who will be King Charles III’s representative for Tuvalu, took
REVIEW: By David Robie The seeds of resistance and later community empowerment began in Tāmaki Makaurau in a humble but lively bookshop in a rundown two-storeyed shop at 436 Queen Street. Called the Resistance Bookshop, it became the headquarters for protesters in 1969 for three years as anti-Vietnam War action grew and grew. This was…
RNZ Pacific reporters Pacific Islands leaders have used their addresses to the United Nations General Assembly to urge Indonesia to allow the UN human rights chief access to West Papua. Pacific Islands Forum countries in 2019 requested that Indonesia allow the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit Papua to assess claims of widespread
By Scott Waide of RNZ Pacific A young mother who gave birth to triplets in a remote part of Papua New Guinea was successfully evacuated, but all three of her babies died before help could reach them. Manolos Aviation carried out this morning’s emergency medical evacuation from Onga-Waffa in Markham Distict, bringing the mother into
The strength of Dirty Work is that it pulls back the curtain to reveal those who prefer to operate in the shadows. And now they’re scrambling to turn off the lights again. AGAINST THE CURRENT: By Steven Cowan The ferocity with which sections of the New Zealand right have moved to discredit Nicky Hager’s new
By Ellen O’Dwyer of RNZ and RNZ Digital reporters Police are considering charges against Greenpeace protesters who occupied a state-owned ship in protest at seabed mining. A group of activists boarded the Earth Sciences New Zealand owned-Tangaroa in Wellington Harbour on Saturday morning, Greenpeace said. One of the activists was dressed as US president Donald
Pacific Media Watch Al Jazeera has rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attack against the network during a speech at the United Nations General Assembly, the news channel reports. In a statement on Friday, Al Jazeera Media Network said it “categorically rejects” Netanyahu’s remarks, regarding them as the latest example of Israel’s “sustained campaign against
ANALYSIS: By Raewyn Kapa The recent trip by a group of Māori individuals to Israel — publicly framed as a “Māori delegation” — has raised significant contention across Aotearoa and rightfully so. At a time when the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has found Israel’s actions in Gaza plausibly constitute genocide, and the United Nations…
RNZ Pacific reporters The leaders of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands have issued a strong call to action to industrial nations and the international community to act on the climate crisis. Speaking at the UN General Assembly High-Level Plenary Meeting on Addressing the Existential Threats Posed by Sea-Level Rise, Papua New Guinea’s Prime
By Tiana Haxton of RNZ Pacific More than 125,000 people are reported to have been displaced in West Papua as armed conflict escalates, but the real number is likely much higher. A recent report from the Human Rights Monitor said military operations and armed violence have been particularly intense in the central highlands of Indonesian-ruled