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Speaking about the controversial Manus Asylum Centre saga, Prime Minister Peter O’Neill says the deal was signed and agreed to for the development of Manus province. Video: EMTV News in Tok Pisin

Pacific Media Watch News Desk

The largest crowd ever to attend an election campaign rally on Manus greeted Prime Minister Peter O’Neill as he campaigned with Manus Governor Charlie Benjamin and Manus Open candidate Job Pomat.

Leading the People’s National Congress (PNC) campaign rally, O’Neill said Manus had great potential from its marine resources, particularly in areas such as fisheries and tourism.

As the campaign draws to the end of eight weeks of campaigning, O’Neill said yesterday now was the time for candidates who had not demonstrated any policy platforms to reveal if they have any policies.

“Now is the time to talk about your policies, to talk about your vision and reveal if you have anything to offer,” the Prime Minister said.

“Candidates need to discuss issues of national importance with a clear set of polices and vision for the nation.

“Instead many, particularly some former leaders, are dropping down to attacking personalities and spreading rumours.

“Our country deserves strong policy platforms from those aspiring to form government, not hollow statements and foolish claims.

‘Start being realistic’
“The candidates who are now part of one-and-two-man parties have to start being realistic.

“You have Sir Mekere [Morauta] saying he will be PM, and so is Don Polye, and Sam Basil, and all the others, but one-and-two is a long way from 56.”

The Prime Minister said he has no intention of debating with any aspirant PM if they could not demonstrate that they had the support of enough opposition members.

“I am not going to waste my time debating someone who does not have the support to potentially lead a parliamentary majority.

“If one of these opposition leaders gets the backing of their counterparts to be the opposition’s candidate for prime minister, they will get their debate.

“If Ben Micah, Patrick Pruaitch, and Belden Namah, and all the other leaders come out and say publicly they are supporting Don Polye, or another leader, they will get their debate.

“But while they are a loose gaggle of dividend group of rivals, this will not happen.”

Western eyes ‘a mistake’
The Prime Minister said the mistake some commentators made was to look at the PNG  election through Western eyes.

“In Australia, historically opposition leaders are often just a few seats away from forming government.

“In Papua New Guinea, the Opposition Leader is more than 50 seats away from forming government.

“The same goes for Mekere, he is just one of the 3000 plus candidates in this election.

“He has no party support, he is yesterday’s man who abandoned his own party that he founded. He has no principles or loyalty, so why would any of the opposition leaders want to follow him?”

The Prime Minister thanked Manus for the hospitality they extended to the PNC delegation and promised them that Charlie Benjamin and Job Pomat would work hard for Manus and further improve lives.

“Manus has huge potential in tourism and fisheries, and has the potential to keep advancing.

“A lot has changed in Manus over the past five years, and communities are economically stronger than in decades past.

“We must keep changing Manus, we must keep staying strong and deliver an even stronger economy for our nation and for provinces like Manus.”

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Hele Ikimotu talks to Pasifika youth about whether they are voting in upcoming general elections in a vox pops video.

By Hele Ikimotu in Auckland

The lack of Pasifika youth voting every election year is because of a lack of Pacific representation in politics, says Manukau Ward councillor Fa’anana Efeso Collins.

Fa’anana, who was elected earlier this year in the local body elections, said there were many factors as to why young Pacific voters lacked in numbers when general elections came around.

A post-study election by the TNS New Zealand Ltd in 2014 found that seven percent of participants had a poor or very poor understanding of the voting process.

Many of that seven percent had a Pacific background.

“I don’t think they feel inspired by politics – we need people who inspire movement, who inspire change, who inspire something good and hopeful,” Fa’anana said.

He said politicians needed to personify hope and trust.

“I think that’s the kind of leadership our people are looking for, so you’re not going to have participation. If we can get those messages out I think we’re going to see an increase naturally in our people voting.

‘Espousing hope’
“If you look at the Pasifika politicians we have in National government at the moment – they’re not the kind of people who you’re going to jump up and down over.”

Fa’anana added: “I think if we can get politicians to espouse that level of hope, then I think we’re going to see people want to participate.”

The study by TNS New Zealand Ltd also found that 36 percent of the participants who did not know what channels to use for enrolling were of Pasifika descent.

Auckland University of Technology student Antonia Swann said she was planning to vote this year.

“I think it’s important that if you have a voice, you should use it, especially if you’re passionate about the issues that this country is facing.”

The 20-year-old said Pasifika youth should use their democratic right: “In some countries you can’t vote if you’re a certain age or a particular gender so if you have the opportunity to vote, you should.”

In the 2014 general elections, 37.27 percent of 18 to 24-year-olds who were enrolled did not vote.

‘Change the government’
Fa’anana reflected: “I think we’ve got to put up the right people and say to young people – here’s the kind of person you want.

“Imagine the change, imagine if our people did vote, we would change the government.”

Hele Ikimotu is a Niuean and Banaban-Gilbertese student journalist on his final year of a Bachelor of Communication Studies, majoring in journalism, at Auckland University of Technology.

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Aerial shot from a drone of Banggolo and Bubonga barangays in Marawi City taken on 8 June 2017 shows the destruction and fire from intense fighting between government troops and the Maute group and other rebels. Video: Val Cuenca/ABS-CBN

By Mong Palatino in Manila

On 23 May 2017, a group with alleged links to ISIS attacked some parts of Marawi City on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. In response, the government declared martial law in Mindanao to pursue the attackers and prevent the spread of ISIS in other towns.

The clash between the military and the militant group known as Maute forced the mass evacuation of Marawi residents. As of June 7, more than 46,000 families, or 220,000 persons, have been displaced from their homes.

The government said it has provided 33 evacuation centers, but these could only shelter 18,000 people.

After three weeks of being a battle zone, hundreds of houses and other buildings in Marawi were destroyed. The extent of the damage has been revealed with rescuers, residents, and journalists uploading photos and videos of Marawi’s town proper.

The Maute group is blamed for the destruction, but the military is also being held accountable because of its continuous airstrikes. The military claimed it is conducting “surgical bombing” operations, but some residents said the air bombs are being dropped indiscriminately.

Marawi Mayor Majul Gandamra is saddened by the destruction in his city:

I weep for all the civilians who were mercilessly killed, I weep for the lost homes of my people and I weep for the loss of the true essence of Islam in the people who caused all these destructions to our lives and properties.

As of May 30, the government said 19 civilians had been killed by terrorists.

It is ordinary civilians who are enduring the greatest suffering as the crisis continues to drag on. And even if the clashes end soon, rehabilitating Marawi is expected to be a more difficult task because of the destruction caused by the fighting between the military and the militants.

Below are photos showing the situation in Marawi today:

Mong Palatino is a Global Voices correspondent and is a two-term member of the Philippine House of Representatives. He has been blogging since 2004 at mongster’s nest.

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Hele Ikimotu checks out Auckland responses to climate change in a vox pops video.

By Hele Ikimotu in Auckland

Pasifika youth should be more engaged with climate change, says a Labour MP.

With the damaging effects of climate change increasing, Labour spokesperson for Pacific Island Affairs Su’a William Sio says it is important for young Pasifika people to be aware of the issue.

“As Pacific people, we will have a sympathetic view towards the Pacific and can advocate strongly for the rest of New Zealand to look at the Pacific with humanitarian eyes.”

He said young people were in an advantageous position to be aware of climate change.

“They’ve got strengths and talents that they can use in telling the climate change story, which will have an impact on the rest of the world.

“This is a defining issue for the world and it’s an issue that future generations are going to have to deal with.”

According to NASA, sea levels have risen by about 20.32 cm since the beginning of the 20th century.

Climate change awareness
The areas most affected by climate change include Fiji, Kiribati and Tuvalu.

A report by the Pacific-Australia Climate Change Science and Adaptation Planning Programme (PACCSAP) estimated that by 2100, sea levels would rise by 20-60cm in Pacific Island countries.

Su’a said it was mainly the government’s responsibility to raise awareness.

“Ultimately governments have the power and resources to drive the issue. It should be included as part and parcel of our educational curriculum,” he said.

In March, Fonua, a play framed around climate change showcased at the Mangere Arts Centre as part of the Auckland Arts Festival and further enabled people to understand the realities of climate change, organisers said.

“It was a Polynesian response to climate change – we just wanted to bring awareness around it,” Fonua‘s artistic director Jase Manumu’a said.

Manumu’a said the show ultimately brought the Pacific Island community together to understand how detrimental climate change was.

Climate change ‘topical’
Professor Geoffrey Craig, head of research within Auckland University’s of Technology’s (AUT) School of Communication Studies, said climate change was a topical issue that people needed to be aware of.

Also a former environmental journalist, Dr Craig said a lot of people saw climate change as a “frightening issue”, but that it was starting to become more active.

“Issues relating to the environment are going to be hitting home now over the next few decades. So the people who are going to be really affected by it are young people,” he said.

Hele Ikimotu is a Niuean and Banaban-Gilbertese student journalist on his final year of a Bachelor of Communication Studies, majoring in journalism, at Auckland University of Technology.

AsiaPacificReport.nz

ANALYSIS: By Jess Hopkinson and Holly Driscoll

Social media is a new phenomenon which enables easy and instant access to voters. Papua New Guinea’s freedom of information is #51 on the Paris-based Reporters Without Border’s World Freedom Index and this study investigates traditional sources, social media and independent blogging websites to determine where a voter can locate quality information.

The Papua New Guinea general election which begins next week has been impacted on by social media and provides a community platform for voters to express their opinions, and share news not found in traditional media.

This has aided voters because they are able learn more about the candidates. It has also disadvantaged voters because PNG journalism does use any recognised fact-checking mediums to confirm information and this leads to an ill-informed public.

There is no one completely trustworthy source of information which voters can depend on. This essay will firstly determine how this research was conducted.

Secondly, there is an abundance of candidates campaigning for this election and social media helps people learn about their policies and promises. Next, this upcoming election needs to be conducted fairly and freely so that people’s votes are counted. However, PNG does acknowledge corruption in government.

Finally, we include information gathered from interviews with local identities to determine that social media positively and negatively impacts the election.

Papua New Guinea’s elections are not regarded widely as democratically fair and free. Currently, PNG has many democratic features. It has a unicameral parliament, a Prime Minister who is the head of the elected party, a preferential voting system and conducts regular elections.

Encouraging free and fair process
The government is attempting to encourage a free and fair election process. For example, during the voting period electoral officer’s wages must be paid directly into their bank accounts rather than carrying bags of money around.

This aims to make it more difficult for officers to take bribes and for candidates to enter extra ballots and corrupt the results. This means that each individual vote gets to be counted, making the election free and fair. Former Prime Minister Sir Mekere Morauta said: “It is also important to ensure that the conduction of the election itself is free and fair and that electoral systems and processes are transparent.”

If an election is not democratic, it can breed corruption and mismanagement into the nation because votes are not counted properly and an individual can exploit the election. Currently, candidates visit voters’ homes and hand out goods such as money, food or a carton of beer to win votes.

The voters will not see the candidates again until the next election. Citizens are voting according to the free goods they are receiving instead of the policies which candidates support.

The culture of PNG elections is not focused on the future but rather immediate benefits that candidates give. PNG is aiming to improve the free and fairness within the upcoming elections however candidates are still trading goods for votes instead of good policies.

This report researches a multitude of sources of information to conclude where voters can find quality information for the upcoming election. We interviewed local Papua New Guineans to provide insight of how social media has affected the election and compares with traditional media sources.

Facebook pages are used “to educate our people about the difference between politicians and the consequences of not voting wisely”, said Northern Governor Gary Juffa, himself a major user of social media (May 25).

Community of voters
Facebook offers a community of voters who are invested in a democratic election and provides information and connections with thousands of people. In measuring the growing impact of the use of social media, we interviewed PNG locals to understand the positives and negatives of social media.

The National newspaper and the Post-Courier are two of Papua New Guinea’s top selling news sources, with The National a major advantage over its opponent’s circulation. We regularly checked these sites to gather data.

Printing presses located in Port Moresby and Lae on the opposite side of the country, enable faster distribution by road instead of expensive air freight.

However, internet usage in PNG has been increasing since 2000 from 44,887, to a predicted 906,695 users in 2016. Social media such as Facebook and Twitter provide instant news to a growing number of users and therefore are serious contenders to local newspapers who are now uploading information online.

We also collaborated information from independent blogs such as Keith Jackson & Friends: PNG Attitude and PNG Blogs. Independent blogs were essential to our research as they highlighted articles which are noticeably absent on traditional new sites.

These are popular among voters as there are always hundreds of comments and they are often linked to the platform of Facebook. Gathering information from social media, traditional sources and independent blogs has provided a wealth of information on the upcoming election.

One of the primary difficulties faced by voters in the elections in PNG is the sheer volume of candidates vying for seat. Of the 44 political parties who will be contesting for the 111 seats in Parliament, there are “2614 candidates (preliminary figure) nominated nationwide.”

In some areas of PNG, such as the Eastern Highlands province, there are 396 candidates.

Impossible for understanding
With so many candidates running for seats, voters are not able to make fully informed decisions when casting their votes as it is near impossible to develop a comprehensive understanding of each candidate and the policies they are arguing for.

However, social media allows candidates instant, rapid and easy access to share policies, promises and their personalities with voters. Paul Barker (2017) confirmed that social media is being used this election.

“Candidates and parties are devoting a fair bit of attention to the social media, as well as media and on the ground publicity,” he said.

There are still too many candidates for voters to follow. With each candidate attempting to gain attention, promises made in the run up to the election have become increasingly esoteric.

“Plenty promise to end corruption, build sealed roads and bring services to remote communities, things for which there is simply no money and sometimes no economic justification”, says ABC correspondent Eric Tlozek.

The upcoming election has 2614 candidates rallying for votes and social media is providing a platform for candidates to stand out

Social media has impacted the 2017 election and this provides both positive and negative outcomes. Locals who were interviewed agreed that social media was gaining traction among voters.

Post-Courier journalist Gorethy Kenneth said: “It is the first election where almost every party is using social media. The opposition have been using it to promote themselves and kick up controversy and the current government uses it to promote their achievements”.

Northern Province Governor Gary Juffa also says: “Social media is going to have a huge impact. It’s helping people learn and communicate far more effectively than ever before”.

Influence ‘marginal’
Countering this, Dr Susan Merrell said: ‘’I believe social media will eventually have a profound impact on issues such as elections. Now, I think the influence is marginal”.

Various ways social media benefit voters in the election includes that it creates easy and quick access for individuals with internet and voters are able to join established communities on Facebook such as PNG News, Media Monitors and The Voice of PNG.

In these Facebook groups, people are regularly documenting the progress of the election, giving their opinions on the happenings of government and traditional media and informing voters on what the media has missed.

An example of this occurred on the Media Monitors Facebook Page.

“So no official protests about PNG journalists being banned from the Australian PM’s press conference? The silence is deafening,” Bob Howarth, a former Post-Courier editor-in-chief, wrote on April 9.

A commentor extended this thought with, “If PNG media is banned that’s an insult to our sovereignty as a country”.

From this point community members work together to uncover why this happened.

Alexander Rheeney, president of the PNG Media Council, had messaged local media stations to learn why journalists were not present at the conference. Only one news organisation replied.

“The single response from the Post-Courier did not constitute a quorum that would have compelled the council to act on their behalf”, said Rheeney, a former editor-in-chief of the Post-Courier on April 24.

Neglected issues in traditional media
Throughout the networks that Facebook creates it uncovers issues that traditional media is neglecting. Independent blog sites also reported on the banning of local journalists during the Australian Prime Minister’s visit.

The benefits of social media is that it is an easily accessible network of people who provide information and can clarify information.

Despite the benefits there is criticism that social media can lead to an ill-informed public.
Information is being spread rapidly and is not always accurate.

Rheeney said: “Both traditional media and new media in PNG continue to experience quality control issues leading to media organisations broadcasting and publishing incorrect information.”

There are currently no media which news articles or opinions are processed through. This allows articles to enter the public which are not legitimate or do not investigate issues thoroughly.

There is no one reliable source of information for voters to gather information. The current solution is for a voter to read from difference sources for political information such as social media and traditional news sources.

Dr Susan Merrell says: “I find that relying on only one is no good – you need a variety.”

Ill-informed voters ‘dangerous’
An ill-informed voter is dangerous. They may not see the benefits of voting at all or may miss the chance of voting for a leader who supports their goals or they’ve voted according to bias media, says Dr Joseph McMurray.

This means that there are wrong votes or none at all entering the election. As social media becomes a source of information for the election, it cannot be guaranteed to be accurate and a voter must consume information from multiple sources.

The social media phenomenon has introduced a new facet of information for Papua New Guinean voters for the upcoming election. The PNG election is currently battling corruption to become more democratic, the former Prime Minister has acknowledged that the election process is corrupt.

PNG is implementing reforms to create free and fairness applicable to the upcoming election. This makes freedom of information to the public essential as they need to know what is happening to their vote.

This essay gathered information from an assembly of sources including traditional media, social media sites, independent bloggers and PNG locals.

It was discovered that social media provided a platform for voters to gain information about their candidates, however it is unlikely for any voter to make an informed decision because there just too many candidates for them to gain a good understanding of their policies.

There are many benefits to a functioning social media community. This includes a network of people prepared to learn about issues which the traditional media has missed. Most people have said that social media is a great place to gather information and that it is gaining popularity.

No completely trusted
However, it is not to be completely trusted. Any article can be posted to traditional and social media websites without having to pass through any fact-checking mediums.

This is dangerous as individuals can be ill-informed and repercussions include people not voting or voting for the wrong person.

Therefore, until there are media for articles to be processed through there is no one accurate source to locate information. It is essential for voters to read a range of information to be well-informed.

Jess Hopkinson and Holly Driscoll are Community Volunteer Interns in Law/Communication at Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus.

The source list is abridged and embedded in the article. Interviews:
Barker, P 2017, PNG Interview, May 1.
Juffa, G 2017, PNG Interview, May 25.
Kenneth, G 2017, PNG Interview, May 2.
Merrel, S 2017, PNG Interview, May 28.
Rheeney, A 2017, PNG Interview, April 24.

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Prime Minister Peter O’Neill campaigns for his People’s National Congress (PNC) candidates contesting in the 2017 National Elections in the Highlands this week. Video: EMTV News

By Charles Yapumi in Port Moresby

Papua New Guinea’s former Treasury Minister has welcomed the Estimates Committee of the Australian Senate’s probe into non-payment of royalties to LNG area landowners.

“It is pleasing to see the concern expressed by Senator Scott Ludlam for the plight of LNG project landowners who have not received any royalty payments three years after annual exports worth billions of dollars have commenced,” said Patrick Pruaitch, leader of the National Alliance Party.

Pruaitch was dumped as Treasurer by Prime Minister Peter O’Neill last month after claiming the economy was “falling off a cliff”.

Senator Ludlam expressed concern at a recent meeting that the Australian government’s Export Finance Insurance Corporation (EFIC) had not taken measures to ensure royalty payments — now totalling K904 million (about NZ$420 million) — had been distributed to landowners in the PNG LNG project area.

He noted that the loan to the PNG LNG project was the biggest ever foreign loan made by the Australian government.

“While the inquiry highlighted EFIC’s silence and non-action towards protecting Australia’s interest, more significantly for PNG, it raises the government’s negligence and lack of responsibility to the people of PNG, specifically the wellhead landowners and beneficiary groups in the PNG LNG project,” Pruaitch said.

“By right, the clan-vetting exercise to determine the rightful people to whom royalties should be paid should have been completed well before the first LNG shipment left PNG’s shores in May 2014.

“The O’Neill government has to date failed to resolve this issue,” Pruaitch said.

Landowner patience running out
Senator Ludlam was right in expressing fears about project risk because the patience of landowners has been running out.

“I thank Senator Scott Ludlam for his courageous position in seeking EFIC’s explanations as to why the Australian export credit agency that financed the mega LNG project in Papua New Guinea had, to date, not initiated at the very least a telephone conversation between the Australian Foreign Minister and PNG officials to raise the concern about non-payment of PNG LNG project royalties to project area landowners.”

Pruaitch was the former Treasurer in the Somare government in 2009, and was also the chairman of the Ministerial Sub-committee on Economic Matters responsible for the delivery of the PNG LNG project.

“The senator’s probe has highlighted the fact that international companies also have a corporate responsibility to adhere to international principles and best practices and EFIC should also do its part to protect Australia’s investment while, at the same time, honouring the letter and spirit of the project agreement.”

Charles Yapumi is a Loop PNG reporter.

AsiaPacificReport.nz

ANALYSIS: By Joey Tau in Suva

Vanuatu is the latest Melanesian state to express reservations on the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) agreement between members of the Pacific Islands Forum (the Forum Island Countries plus Australia and New Zealand), PACER-Plus.

The Vanuatu government announced last week that it will not sign the PACER Plus agreement and has decided to pull out of the signing tomorrow after its Council of Ministers’ called for more time to assess the benefits of the regional agreement for Vanuatu.

The decision by Vanuatu comes as no surprise as other Melanesian states, including Papua New Guinea, decided last year that it would not be taking part in the PACER-Plus negotiations, nor would it sign the finalised instruments.

Fiji later followed with threats that it would not sign the agreement as there was lack of flexibility from Australia and New Zealand.

Vanuatu shares similar concerns with both PNG and Fiji on possible loss from such an agreement, the need for an impact assessment, and the protection of infant industries.

PNG walks out early
When PNG sent warning bells in March last year that the PACER-Plus negotiations looked shaky and needed more time for consultation, it had a list of concerns and was ready to talk with both Australia and New Zealand.

But it was during that time that PNG had reached a resolution to withdraw from PACER-Plus.

In August, Prime Minister Peter O’Neill announced the country would disengage with regional negotiations, stressing that based on assessments PACER-Plus would be a disadvantage for its economy.

With attempts by Australia and New Zealand to persuade PNG to return to the regional trade talks, O’Neill stood firm on the country’s assessments, saying, “PNG will not be signing as it would be a net-loss to the PNG economy.”

PNG’s Trade Minister Richard Maru nailed the country’s position when pressured at bilateral meetings, adding that any trade agreement with Australia, New Zealand and other Pacific Islands, that reduced employment, and “killed” the manufacturing industry by removing tariffs and duty would not be acceptable in PNG.

“How many times will I make it clear to Australia and New Zealand that Papua New Guinea will not sign the Pacer-Plus agreement that seeks to advance Australia and New Zealand’s commercial interest at the expense of our national interest” Maru said.

“We are not signing PACER-Plus in its current form because the move to remove tariff and duty will kill our manufacturing sector.”

The furious Maru later called out the Australian government, saying “we will not sign and we will not listen to anyone. I’ve made that very clear … my message to Australia is stop sending any of your agents to PNG and start talking about a comprehensive partnership agreement with us.”

Fiji left unhappy
Last September, Fiji threatened to walk away from the regional trade agreement negotiation after its concerns were not addressed.

The country’s Trade Minister, Faiyaz Koya, said there was a lack of flexibility from Australia and New Zealand on Fiji and Pacific Islands key concerns.

During a RNZ international interview, Minister Koya emphasised that Fiji wanted further negotiations on two very critical issues, on infant industry protection and the “most-favoured-nation” clause that would have an implication for Fiji’s development aspirations.

Fiji’s call for more time to negotiate its concerns was ignored when the Office of the Chief Trade Advisor (OCTA) hastened the process and concluded negotiations in April  in Australia, thus leaving Fiji out of the final talks.

The April conclusion also ignored Fiji’s appeal for a deferral due to conflicting schedules.

“Fiji hadn’t opted out of PACER-Plus, we remain committed … but we were excluded from the Brisbane meeting,” said Minister Koya.

Final negotiations criticised
After eight years of negotiations, PACER-Plus was concluded in Australia in April this year. This regional trade agreement is said to enhance the economic development of Pacific island countries through greater regional trade and economic integration with Australia and New Zealand.

But it has been severely criticised as burdensome on Pacific bureaucracies and undermining Pacific Island countries’ ability to support their local economies.

This week the 13 countries participating will sign the agreement in Nuku’alofa, Tonga.

The fear is that 11 island states will agree and sign a poorly designed agreement locking in Australia and New Zealand as winners.

What has been concluded is a deal with no guaranties of benefits from labour mobility and only a promise of 5 years of aid money, but undermines the ability of the Pacific to determine for themselves what development is and the tools to pursue Pacific development aspirations.

The 13 countries participating in PACER-Plus are Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu.

Realities for Solomon Islands
The Solomon Islands has a choice to decide whether or not it will sign on to PACER-Plus.

It would have similar concerns expressed by its fellow Melanesian comrades. But it is a choice between letting Australia and New Zealand impose their development vision via PACER-Plus or the opportunity to have a development that reflects the reality and possibilities in the Solomon Islands.

A report by Solomon Islands to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in November last year summed up the economic impact under PACER-Plus as “increased imports from developed country partners are likely to exceed the modest increase in Solomon Islands’ exports, due to the extent of liberalisation demanded by the aforementioned parties and limited productive capacity in the domestic economy. The short term adjustment and implementation costs are likely to impose significant economic and political pressures.”

Australia is currently the number one source of imports for the Solomon Islands, a situation that will be further entrenched under PACER-Plus. The increase in imports from Australia and New Zealand will really be felt when Solomon Islands is set to reduce import taxes on at least 80 percent of imports from these countries.

While this won’t come into effect until the Solomon Islands graduates from Least-Developed Country status – if it passes the 2018 evaluation then graduation will be likely in 2021 – resulting in a loss of US$11million from government revenue.

Solomon Islands had recommended to the WTO that it saw itself aligning with the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in preference to Australia and New Zealand in the future, and PACER-Plus could have them on the wrong path if they sign up.

PACER-Plus will have a serious impact on the ability for Solomon Islanders to determine for themselves their own development future.

Joey Tau is media and campaigns officer of the Suva-based Pacific Network on Globalisation.

AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Kendall Hutt in Auckland

As international talks at the United Nations on the ban of nuclear weapons draw closer, New Zealand nuclear free and peace activists warn there is a lot of work to be done before the world will be safe from a nuclear war.

“We’ve still got a lot of work to do in the world,” Auckland Mayor Phil Goff reflected at Devonport’s Depot Artspace during a weekend event organised by the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) Aotearoa and Devonport Peace Group.

Their warning comes as New Zealand celebrates 30 years since the country’s Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament and Arms Control Act came into force on 8 June 1987.

Described as a “David versus Goliath” stand by Pacific Media Centre director Professor David Robie, the Act and the “grassroots, groundswell” movement behind it, saw New Zealand become the first Western nation to legislate to be nuclear free.

Goff said: “The Lange Labour government came along with the courage and the commitment, first of all to say to a powerful ally: ‘No, we are not going to go along with the nuclear umbrella. No, we are not going to support your possession of nuclear weapons.

“We are a small nation, but we are a proud and independent nation and we are going to make our country nuclear free’. And we did,” Goff said.

Maire Leadbeater of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament said: “Everything was against us, but we did it.”

‘Ahead of the game’
However, it was also important to remember the Pacific’s contribution to New Zealand’s anti-nuclear campaign, said Dr Robie.

Not only did this come through the fact that the Pacific was “ahead of the game” – Palau, Vanuatu, and Tahiti’s largest municipality, the airport suburb of Fa’aa, declaring themselves nuclear free – but also through opposition to French nuclear testing.

As revealed in John Pilger’s latest documentary The Coming War On China, Dr Robie said, the “total yield of the nuclear experiments on and around the Marshall Islands was equal to 7200 Hiroshima bombs, meaning the equivalent of more than one Hiroshima bomb was exploded in the area every day for 12 years.”

He also said: “The French committed shameful acts in defence of nuclear colonialism” — such as the 1985 assassination of Kanak leader Eloi Machoro and the 1988 Ouvea cave massacre of 19 young militants.

But the “reunion”, as Goff himself described it, of many of the activists who were on the frontlines of New Zealand’s nuclear free movement, was ultimately overshadowed by apparent inaction by “nuclear states” over nuclear disarmament.

“We fought the battle in New Zealand, we made a mark on the international stage, we told the powerful and the strong that we would stand up for ourselves and we would stand by our values. But our world has not become a safer place. If anything, it has become a less safe place,” he said.

Leadbeater said: “Things really haven’t changed in terms of the international scene.”

‘Still much work to be done’
WILPF Aotearoa’s president Megan Hutching also reflected:

“We should not rest on the laurels of the 1987 Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament and Arms Control Act because there is still much work to be done before we can live in a safe, nuclear weapons free world.”

This is due to the fact there are currently 15,000 nuclear warheads in the world, Goff said.

Of greater concern still, he said, was countries such as North Korea joining the nuclear arms race.

“Alongside the five nuclear weapon states we’ve had India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea all gain possession of nuclear weapons and the missile systems to launch them.”

Leadbeater said the world was still living in fear of a “nuclear war by accident”.

“We still live in a very dangerous world… The world is crying out for so many other important needs. It’s a shameful thing and a dangerous, dangerous thing.”

Youth involvement needed
In light of this, many of the activists reflected it was time for New Zealand’s youth to pick up the baton, although it would be a challenge, they acknowledged.

“The greatest challenge is trying to get the youth to continue with the struggles so that we can pass on the baton to them, especially in the nuclear movement” said Fijian peace activist and researcher Ema Tagicakibau from the Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific (NFIP) movement.

“In that, the challenge remains and the struggle continues.”

“Things are just as serious as they ever were, but we don’t unfortunately have that same sort of momentum among the community,” Leadbeater said.

Visual Artists Against Nuclear Arms (VAANA) member Margaret Lawlor Bartlett reflected: “We need a group of young, dedicated anti-nuclear people.”

The youth of today, however, do provide a sense of hope for the future, Leadbeater concluded, reflecting the general feeling of many in the room.

“In remembering these great times and the wonderful excitement of so many other people, let us hope that it does strengthen us to carry on and to perhaps now take our leadership from the young and find ways to carry on.”

The United Nations conference to negotiate a nuclear weapons ban will continue on June 15 until July 7.

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Malcolm Evans reflects on the price of the half of the century of Israeli occupation Palestinian territory and illegal settlements in defiance of the United Nations since the Six-Day War in 1967. The 50th anniversary was last week between June 5 and 10.

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New Zealand peace activists gathered together at the weekend in Devonport — home of the country’s first “nuclear-free zone” — to pay homage to the “people’s” campaign for a nation without nukes.

The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WIPLF) and the Devonport Peace Group organised the event, marking the 30th anniversary of the NZ Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act. This came into force on 8 June 1987.

The pictures were taken by the Pacific Media Centre’s Dr David Robie and Pacific Media Watch editor Kendall Hutt.

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The joint parade of disciplinary forces in Port Moresby at the weekend. Video: EMTV News

By Theckla Gunga in Port Moresby

A joint parade between members of Papua New Guinea’s three disciplinary forces has been conducted in Port Moresby to mark the launch of the election operation.

The launch at the weekend signified the commencement of the Joint Operations in the National Capital District and Central Divisional Command. At least 10 companies were part of the parade. It was a short parade from the back of the Boroko Police Station to the front car park.

The parade was led by members of the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary, followed by the Defence Force and Correctional Services.

Once the parade took their position, Deputy Police Commissioner in charge of operations Jim Andrews was invited by Head of the Command Sylvester Kalaut to review the parade.

Commissioner Andrews encouraged the members of the disciplinary forces to assist the Electoral Commission over security for the voters, candidates and election officials.

Although the 2017 National Election is conducted by the Electoral Commission, members of the three disciplinary forces have been engaged to ensure the elections are securely and safely conducted.

These officers will be providing security during the polling and counting periods, and in the remaining two weeks of campaign.

NCD and Central is the last command to launch its Natel Operation.

Similar operations were launched in the other divisional commands such as New Guinea Islands and Highlands divisional commands.

NCD and Central will go to the polls on June 27.

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New Zealand quietly celebrated 30 years of its official status as a “nuclear-free” country this week when the nuclear-free zone law came into force on 8 June 1987. When Aotearoa/New Zealand banned nuclear warships from its ports in 1984, the country was seen as David standing up to Washington’s Goliath. But behind Prime Minister David Lange was a whole army of peace campaigners forcing him to sling his shot. David Robie traces the history of their resistance in a 1986 article for the New Internationalist – and shows how ordinary people declaring their home as a nuclear-free zone helped send a message to the superpowers.

Artist Debra Bustin sat dejectedly among the Ronald Reagan and Robert Muldoon masks, papier mâché missiles and effigies of babies in stakes, waiting. The “Nuclear Horror Show”, a dramatic piece of street theatre, was ready to roll – but there was no transport. The truck supposed to have carted the props to the start of the demonstration in the heart of Wellington had failed to turn up.

But another peace campaigner had an idea. He darted onto the nearby street and stopped the first empty truck.

“Hey mate, we’ve got to get all this stuff to the big anti-nuclear rally across town.” He said. “Can you help us?”

Ten years earlier, the truck driver would have laughed at the campaigner’s cheek. However, this was September 1983, and the peace and anti-nuclear groups in Aotearoa/New Zealand had become a mass movement. The driver was delighted to help and the macabre show went ahead.

Within 10 months, conservative Prime Minister Sir Robert Muldoon had been swept out of office as David Lange and the Labour Party were catapulted into power on a nuclear-free platform, which stunned the country’s Western allies, particularly the United States.

Internationally, the move was perceived to be a bold, idealistic new step by a reformist government. Critics tried to suggest it was a result of some Machiavellian plot by the party’s “militant” left wing. In fact, it was the culmination of a policy that had first been introduced more than a decade earlier and had been reinforced at grassroots level by a highly motivated peace movement.

Indeed, even if the government itself had had doubts about the policy, it would have had little choice. Opinion polls showed 74 percent of people in favour of banning nuclear-armed ships, two-thirds of the country’s 3.2 million population lived in self-proclaimed “nuclear free zones” and four out of five competing political parties (including a new breakaway right-wing group) had the policy as part of their platforms.

Global peace lesson?
So what created this revolution in public opinion, and is there a lesson that the global peace movement can learn from Aotearoa’s example?

The peace movement in Aotearoa itself had humble beginnings in the 1960s with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament’s (CND) local Easter rallies being miniature clones of the huge annual Aldermaston march in the UK. However, in 1968 two things combined to create the first major rallying point: The first was the screening of Peter Watkins’ anti-nuclear TV drama The War Game (which was initially censored in the UK in 1965 and eventually screened 20 years later in 1985). The second was the US Navy’s plan to build a radio communications base called Omega, which was to aid the navigation of Polaris submarines. Sensitised to the issue by the documentary, New Zealanders were so outraged by the Omega plan that it was forced to be shelved. “Government deals NZ into War Game,” said one newspaper.

“The Watkins film brought home to New Zealanders the possibility of the country being a nuclear target,” says peace researcher Owen Wilkes. “Until then war had been a kind of sporting event. It was something that happened on the other side of the world.”

Anti-nuclear feeling contributed to Labour’s election victory under Norman Kirk in 1972. Their nuclear-free policy emerged from the fallout shelter hysteria of the early 1960s, thermonuclear tests by the superpowers and the escalating Vietnam War. In the three heady years that followed, the Kirk government shut out nuclear-armed and powered ships from New Zealand’s ports. They also dispatched frigates in support of the vulnerable flotillas of yachts that sailed to Moruroa in protest at French nuclear testing there.

But then the nuclear-free strategy was dealt a body blow. The National Party was re-elected in 1975 and Muldoon ushered in his decade of power by welcoming back nuclear ships. The Peace Squadron was formed by Rev George Armstrong in response – a loose coalition of people whose yachts, small boats and other craft mounted spectacular waterborne protests against visiting nuclear ships.

Another focus for the Peace Movement was the creation of nuclear-free zones. “We campaigned to declare your house, dog, car and boat nuclear-free,” recalls Maire Leadbeater, spokesperson of CND. It seemed small fry at the time, but later it was realised what a clever strategy it had been. It gave peace activists a manageable goal while at the same time making elected councils take a stand against nuclear facilities visiting, or being sited in their area.”

Sparked off movement
Canadian émigré Larry Ross dived into the nuclear issue in 1979 with a crusader’s zeal and an “ad man’s flair”. He made his Christchurch home headquarters of the NZ Nuclear Free Zone Committee (NZNFZC) and sparked off a movement which had remarkable success: 66 percent of the population now live in such zones declared by local authorities.

One after another local authorities declared themselves nuclear-free in the face of a barrage of letter-writing and lobbying by peace campaigners. Even larger cities became nuclear-free – councillors in the country’s largest city of Auckland considered the issue three times before deciding “yes”. Indeed, it was better, according to Larry Ross, for a council to refuse the demand at first, because this meant campaigners had to go out and involve local people, talk to them on the doorstep and get them to sign petitions.

By the 1980s, the movement was becoming more organised. Peace Movement Aotearoa (PMA) was formed, while Māori campaigners, seeking with increasing success to link “anti-nuclearism” with racism and land rights, founded the Pacific People’s Anti-Nuclear Action Committee (PPANAC).

In the wake of the social upheaval caused by the protests against apartheid during the 1981 white South Africa rugby tour, enormous energy was released which became diverted to the peace movement. In one week alone, 40,000 people protested against a warship visit. The peace movement was finally a mass one – and the Lange government’s policy was a direct result.

“Everybody thinks we have this brilliant Labour government which is dedicated to pacifism,” says Owen Wilkes. “But it isn’t, the government simply responded to public opinion, whereas in other countries where there have been similar big percentages against nuclear weapons, governments haven’t reacted.”

Why has there been such an extraordinary level of popular backing for the policy in New Zealand, a country which is so far from the centres of world tension and so unlikely to be a target in the case of any nuclear attack? One key factor has been the bitter resentment most people feel towards French nuclear testing in the South Pacific.

French persistence with the tests [they ended in 1996] in arrogant disregard of repeated protests by New Zealand, Australia and other neighbouring Pacific nations has helped keep New Zealanders acutely aware of the nuclear issue. It has also helped to provide the peace movement with credibility.

Rainbow Warrior bombing
Last year [1985], the sight of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior, lying bombed and submerged in Auckland harbour while crew members mourned their dead photographer colleague, Fernando Pereira, became a brutal reminder to all New Zealanders of the realities of raising a voice against war. And it unquestionably strengthened the Lange government’s anti-nuclear resolve.

While Lange is portrayed internationally as a champion of the nuclear-free strategy, he is at times accused at home of backpedalling on the issue. The Peace Movement Aotearoa is also watchful for any sign that the government might soften its stance.

Last year [1985], the government tried to allow the nuclear-capable American warship Buchanan to visit and was only stymied by the strength of the peace movement. The protest ruined a carefully laid plan by the bureaucracy to open up a chink in the antinuclear strategy and prepare the ground for a compromise with the US.

Aotearoa’s policy has pushed it into an increasingly isolated position within the Western alliance. The US has applied severe pressure on the Lange government but overtly through diplomatic harassment and covertly through attempts to influence New Zealanders by CIA-funded projects involving journalists, trade unionists and opinion leaders. Britain, meanwhile, has sent envoys like Baroness Young to warn that if the NZ Nuclear-Free Zone, Disarmament and Arms Control Bill would be passed [it was enacted in June 1987] this would mean Aotearoa/NZ and the rest of the Wellington alliance would move apart.

In the face of this international pressure, Lange has become increasingly cautious. At Oxford University during the popular debate with the American Moral Majority’s Jerry Falwell in March 1985, Lange delighted his image as the nuclear-free David challenging the superpower Goliath.

But barely 15 months later, his delight in the image was not so obvious. On his first major tour of European capitals, in the wake of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the Soviet Union, he was determined to reassure Western leaders that he was no pawn of the peace movement. During a speech to the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, Lange almost appeared to be defending the nuclear powers in his anxiety not to be seen to be “exporting” the anti-nuclear policy.

Many people in the peace movement were disappointed that he did not use the occasion to make an emotive plea to the West for follow Aotearoa’s example. They know that they have to keep up the pressure in order to counteract the influence of the Western alliance – and support from people internationally will help them. Otherwise, a stand that has become a great source of hope to the worldwide peace movement might be endangered.

David Robie is an independent journalist based in Auckland. He specialises in Pacific affairs and is author of Eyes of Fire: The Last Voyage of the Rainbow Warrior. This republished article was commissioned for the New Internationalist and published in the September 1986 edition.

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Campaigning to save threatened Pacific and global fish stocks. Video: UN

Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk

Political leaders from across the Pacific have played a central role in talks this week surrounding healthier oceans during the UN Ocean Conference in New York, with Fiji Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama calling for a “global crusade”.

Co-hosted by Fiji and Sweden, the “game changing” conference aims to see Sustainable Development Goal 14 – the conservation and sustainable use of the world’s oceans and its resources – become a reality.

During his opening address, Prime Minister Bainimarama appealed for the world’s population of 7.5 billion people to join Fiji in ensuring the health of oceans is improved, The Fiji Times‘ Tevita Vuibau reported.

“Let us all seize this moment in history to make a difference. To place SDG 14 at the very top of the global agenda alongside decisive climate change. We can do it. We must do it. The alternative in both cases is catastrophe.”

Bainimarama, a president of the conference alongside Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Isabella Lövin, highlighted this was urgent due to the rapid deterioration of ocean fish stocks and the polluted state of the world’s oceans.

“So much of what we dispose of carelessly finally ends up in our seas through storm water drains, creeks and rivers,” he said.

“Our waterways are choking. Our seas and oceans have become vast rubbish dumps. And the creatures who live in them are suffering acutely – turtles, dolphins and sharks caught in netting, whales with stomachs full of plastic bags and other rubbish.

‘Precious’ resource dying
“Humankind is slowly killing off one of our most precious resources – the rich bounty of our seas and oceans that generations across the millennia have relied upon for sustenance, and to earn a living.”

Palau’s president Tommy Remengesau also called for 30 percent of the world’s oceans to be protected by 2030, Radio New Zealand International reported.

Palau had already set aside 80 percent of its seas as a no-take marine sanctuary, so other countries should work together to establish a system of protected areas, he said.

“Within this worldwide network of protected areas, we must take into account the need for sustainable development and create opportunities for food security initiatives in developing countries enhancing small-scale and artisanal fisheries and building capacity in sustainable fisheries, tourism, and aquaculture.”

But while the world met for action on SDG 14, the Marshall Islands Student Association (MISA) continued its calls for nuclear testing in the Pacific to be remedied through recognition of SDG 14.1.

In a joint statement with Youngsolwara issued on the eve of World Oceans Day (June 8) and endorsed by several environmental NGOs and civil society groups, MISA urged world leaders to remember the people of the Pacific have been treated like “guinea pigs”.

“The consequences of detonating hundreds of nuclear bombs of a much greater destructive power than Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs are still being felt today by indigenous islanders – manifesting in, among other impacts, debilitating health and inter-generational maladies.

‘Pacific people’s health threatened‘
This legacy continues to threaten not just Pacific islanders and the Pacific Ocean, but the health and well-being of all the planet’s oceans and the people who depend upon them.”

MISA and Youngsolwara also reflected on the danger the ocean now poses to the existence of many Pacific Island countries due to climate change and increased their call for the world to not forget they are on the front-lines of a warming planet.

“We call upon the leaders and peoples of the Pacific to further our efforts in making our voices heard. The United States has pulled out of the Paris accord, but we the people of Wansolwara (one salt water) remain committed.”

MISA’s sentiments were echoed by Bainimarama, PACNEWS editor Makereta Komai reported, as he called for Pacific leaders and citizens to lead by example at a side event organised by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).

“While we in the Pacific await this global response, we must do what we can ourselves. We must make a much greater effort to work together among ourselves to confront the challenge we collectively face.”

He admitted Fiji was also to blame for “rubbishing” the environment and therefore had a responsibility to preserve the oceans and leave “carelessness” and “thoughtlessness” behind.

“We can blame the bigger countries around the Pacific Rim as much as we like – and God knows they need to clean up their act.

NZ’s ‘special rsponsibility’
“But we also need to clean up ours. In far too many parts of Fiji, the Fijian people are rubbishing their country in a way that they would never rubbish their own homes.”

In New Zealand, Greens List MP Marama Davidson questioned Paula Bennet, Minister for Climate Change Issues, on the government’s commitment in leading the Pacific on climate change.

While Davidson claimed New Zealand had a “special responsibility” because the “very existence” of the Pacific is threatened by climate change, Bennet stated New Zealand’s leadership depended on “context”.

“I certainly agree that New Zealand needs to play our part in the global effort to reduce climate change. I think leadership depends on context within that.

I think we have a very special relationship with the Pacific islands. It’s why we provide so much aid there. It’s why we’ve committed more than $200 million towards contributing to helping our Pacific cousins.”

Through a series of supplementary questions, Davidson continued to question Bennet on the government’s apparent lack of “real” leadership on climate change, particularly surrounding what she called a “refusal” to support Pacific leaders in condemning US President Donald Trump’s exit from the Paris Agreement.

Bennet stood by her earlier answers, however, and reiterated the government’s “disappointment” in Trump’s decision while commending the actions of New Zealand’s Pacific neighbours.

Pacific actions commended
“I think I’ve made it pretty clear that we’re more interested in the actions that we take and I’m proud of them.

Those island states are welcome to make whatever comments they like, it’s called democracy. And if those are the comments they want to make on what President Trump has said, well good on them.”

More than 600 voluntary committments to improve the health of the oceans have been made by countries, businesses and civil society groups since the Ocean Conference began on Monday and ends today.

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OPINION: A Pacific World Oceans Day message from Youngsolwara Pacific and MISA4thePacific

As regional leaders gather in New York for the week-long United Nations oceans conference, we wish to recognise the Pacific’s storied history, as stewards of the world’s largest ocean. We acknowledge the test of time that this region has withstood, and commemorate those who have endure and withstood nuclear testing, a period in history with ramifications that are still felt by our oceans, lands, and peoples.

We remember this period as being a time when our oceans and people were utilised as guinea pigs by foreign powers. We acknowledge the issues both past and present that the Pacific faces, and we firmly refute the narrative that “we are victims’”.

We stand tall as the next generation of Pacific Islanders who shall also thrive on our sea of islands. We stand on the shoulders of the giants who went before us to make a stand.

On this note we call upon our Pacific and global leaders to take a stand against genocide. We, the Pacific, will not allow a repetition of colonialism.

Our peoples have suffered greatly from the destructive programmes of militarised colonial powers during the 20th century, continuing into the 21st. The legacy of nuclear testing throughout Oceania, in particular the Marshall Islands, French Polynesia, and elsewhere, has never been effectively remedied or addressed.

The consequences of detonating hundreds of nuclear bombs of a much greater destructive power than Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs are still being felt today by indigenous islanders – manifesting in, among other impacts, debilitating health and intergenerational maladies.

Runit Dome leaking
This legacy continues to threaten not just Pacific islanders and the Pacific Ocean, but the health and wellbeing of all the planet’s oceans and the people who depend upon them. Radioactive materials currently contained in Runit Dome on Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands are leaking into the surrounding ocean and groundwater.

The Runit Dome was a haphazard attempt by the US military to contain 111,000 cubic yards of radioactive waste in an unlined crater. It was never replaced by a safe, permanent structure and instead is currently cracking and polluting the local surroundings.

Henry Kissinger in response to nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands, is quoted as stating: “There are only 90,000 people out there. Who gives a damn?” In response, we say: We are still here, and we are not going anywhere.

Cactus dome on Runit Island is testament to a history of experimentation, and the violation of our fundamental human rights. Leakage from the dome has resulted in the runoff of radioactive materials which poses serious concerns to the health of our oceans and the people who rely on them.

Parallels can be made with the ongoing contamination of our oceans as a result of terrestrial mining. Contaminants and runoff from existing mines remain a threat to the viability of our marine ecosystems. The oceans have still not recovered from the destructive acts of world wars, nuclear testing, and continued military maneuvers.

Intensified efforts must be made to demilitarise the oceans and to clean-up existing messes. As we the Pacific clamour for international action to halt carbon emissions, and desist from environmentally degrading activities, let us therefore be the change that we wish to see in the world.

Today, there are also parallels to be seen with the advent of extractive industries such as experimental seabed mining. Seabed mining is an issue that governments in the Pacific are still toying with.

No indigenous voices
Yet, this has not been tested anywhere else in the world. The discussion on seabed mining has proceeded narrowly for the past 30 years. There has not been inclusion of indigenous voices or much thought as to the inordinate risks in operating an untested extractive industry, in a fragile and almost completely unknown deep sea environment.

A recent joint study by 14 international universities and organisations discovered that hydrothermal vents and methane seeps on the ocean floor play a crucial role in regulating global climate – and that releasing or destroying them “would be a doomsday climatic event.”

In addition to likely and potentially irreversible environmental impacts, seabed mining is a long-term, experimental venture in which any potential profits for States must be offset by the short-term impacts, which could include destruction of local fisheries and resultant impacts on human health and livelihoods. There also remains the issue that on our ocean beds, plutonium from past nuclear tests has settled. Seabed mining can potentially act as a catalyst for the further dispersion of these contaminants.

It is, in short, a gamble, especially when compared to already profitable industries with a proven track record of sustainability such as ecotourism. Rather than shoulder inordinate risk in the hopes of a hypothetical, distant, and comparatively small cut of revenue, our Pacific governments should allow time for significantly more scientific study, and consider alternative partnerships with industries which, by their very nature, are inherently more sustainable.

We are once again faced with the same situation where foreign influences seek to utilise the Pacific for their own means. Our ocean cannot yet again be used as an experimental test bed for an activity whose full environmental ramifications are still not fully known.

We stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in New Ireland and the Duke of York Islands in Papua New Guinea, and call for a ban on experimental seabed mining in our waters. We call upon the peoples of the Pacific. We cannot allow such a repetition of experimentation that will again affect our oceans and our people.

Weathered test of time
We the Pacific have weathered the test of time. Over the millennia, our people have not simply survived, but thrived through the bounty of our oceans. With the advent of human induced climate change, the ocean that has nurtured us for millennia, has now become a threat to the existence of our islands. We call upon the leaders and peoples of the Pacific to further our efforts in making our voices heard. The United States has pulled out of the Paris accord, but we the people of “Wansolwara” (one salt water) remain committed.

Let us embrace the spirit of the Marshallese saying “Lappout Iene” which means to utilise or employ all the knowledge, skills and resources available to solve a problem. With this, we say that we the people of Wansolwara are in this together. When nuclear testing was occurring, the people of Wansolwara did not remain passive.

We call on our leaders to honour that proud legacy, and to Lappout Iene, make a stand and recognise and address the fact that our land, ocean and people have historically been used as guinea pigs to fuel the greed, defence needs, and convenience of foreign entities.

The advent of deep seabed mining is simply another evolution in this history of greed-fuelled economic exploitation, and a callous disregard for the environmental and human life. We the people of Wansolwara stand firmly opposed to militarism, environmental degradation, and the violation of our human rights. We are Oceania, we are Wansolwara, and we are the sea of islands.

We will not allow this history to repeat itself!

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NCTV’s latest news bulletin.

Pacific Media Watch News Desk

New Caledonia TV’s chief executive Laurent Le Brun and colleagues made a flying visit to AUT’s Screen Production programme and Pacific Media Centre today.

They were visiting as part of the NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s visiting media programme.

NCTV is a French private general-interest television station broadcast in the territorial community of New Caledonia, based in Koohne (Koné).

It is the first private television channel to be broadcast on digital terrestrial television (DTT) in the French overseas territory.

The French broadcasting regulator approved licences for NCTV and NC9 in 2013, reported Radio NZ International.

At the time, NCTV said it wanted to help the territory’s mainly Kanak north integrate in the spirit of the accords on greater autonomy.

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Rappler wrap-up on the Qatar crisis.

Pacific Media Centre News Desk

The Philippines has suspended the deployment of workers to Qatar after several Gulf states severed ties with Doha.

The administration in Manila is concerned that if there are food shortages in Qatar due to the political “siege”, Filipino workers could be the first to suffer.

Government forces have arrested the father of the Maute brothers — leaders of the urban warfare against the military in Marawi City in Mindanao — and four other individuals in Davao City.

The Supreme Court has set the dates for oral arguments on the petition against martial law in Mindanao on June 13-15.

Malacañang Palace officials insist that President Rodrigo Duterte respects Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and his views on the administration’s foreign policy.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spoken to Qatar and neighbouring Arab states in efforts to find a solution to the Gulf crisis.

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PNG Women in Politics founder Dorothy Tekwie pleads for change in this general election. Video: TVWan News

Pacific Media Centre News Desk

Papua New Guinea’s Greens Party president and founder of PNG Women in Politics Dorothy Tekwie has called on voters in next month’s general election to support leaders who support women representation in Parliament.

She said the Equality and Participation Act had already been passed in 2011 but not implemented in the 2012 — and now not even for the 2017 national general election.

“We are calling on the women of Papua New Guinea to ask their candidates are you going to push and support this initiative for women to be elected, nominated or appointed to Parliament for this election,” Tekwie said.

Papua New Guinea is the largest Pacific country with a population of more than 7 million.

Its national Parliament has 111 members with just three women currently MPs.

Since Independence in 1975, only seven women have ever been elected to Parliament.

In December 2011, the Equality and Participation Act was passed to introduce 22 reserved seats for women in the National Parliament – one seat per province, plus one for the National Capital District.

But for the Act to be implemented, a constitutional amendment was also necessary. The Bill to amend the Constitution failed to attract the necessary number of votes in early 2012.

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Radio Tarana’s honours video message from Robert Khan.

Pacific Media Watch

The founder and chief executive of New Zealand’s leading Indian radio network, Tarana, has today been named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in Queen Elizabeth II’s 91st Birthday Honours List.

Fiji-born Robert Khan has been acknowledged for his service to broadcasting and the Indian community after more than two decades at the helm of Radio Tarana.

From humble beginnings as New Zealand’s first commercial Indian radio network, Khan has led Tarana to become one of the largest independent brands in New Zealand radio.

Among its successes, Tarana was the first ethnic radio broadcaster to sign a joint venture with MediaWorks radio, and in 2014 became the first ethnic radio network to partner with NZME, on their iHeartRadio platform.

Khan’s success with the Tarana model has paved the way for ethnic radio in New Zealand and has been used to champion the cause of ethnic media.

Outside of his day job, Khan serves on a number of advisory and governance boards including the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Small Business Advisory Group, and as an elected member of the New Zealand Radio Broadcasters Association. He also acts as an adviser for numerous businesses and broadcast organisations in Fiji, India and across Asia.

In a letter to Khan from Prime Minister Bill English, he was congratulated for his service to his community and country.

‘Outstanding contribution’
“We are very fortunate that so many of our citizens are able and willing to strive to selflessly serve our community and their country. New Zealand’s success is built on such efforts. You have made an outstanding contribution to that success,” the Prime Minister wrote.

Khan said he was humbled by the Order of Merit acknowledgement, but added the award represented the hard work of his whole Tarana team.

“I’m humbled to receive this award. I’m very honoured, but this award is not about me. It reflects all the work done by people during this Tarana journey,” he said.

“I’m motivated by the people I work with and the people I work for. They motivate me to get up and come to work every morning, and are my inspiration for making radio a success, and Tarana a brand to be reckoned with.

“Radio Tarana is the pulse of the Indian community. It acts as the connection for the Indian diaspora here to their culture, entertainment, music and information,” Khan said.

“It is more than just a radio brand; it engages with the New Zealand Indian community and not only provides a service, but has a role in growing and showcasing Indian culture in New Zealand.”

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The European Union and China step up climate collaboration. Video: Al Jazeera

Pacific Media Centre News Desk

The Pacific Islands Forum remains committed to the Paris Agreement on climate change and has commended all countries reaffirming their support.

The Forum announced this in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s notice of withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.

“Being some of the most vulnerable states globally and at the forefront of the adverse impacts of climate change, island countries are now more determined and committed to taking serious action to address climate change and remain steadfast on our obligations under the Paris Agreement,” says Forum Chair Peter Christian, who is also President of the Federated States of Micronesia.

Pacific Islands countries collectively contribute a mere 0.003 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions although the region is at the frontline of a deteriorating environment and the “devastating manifestations” of climate change over the past three years, a Forum statement said.

President Christian reaffirmed that the Paris Agreement offered the best global platform of unity among nations to address the causes of climate change and the way forward.

“The US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement is not surprising as President Trump had made known his intentions to jettison United States’ environment for the sake of his economy,” President Christian said.

“We who are most vulnerable must become more committed to the principal that the Paris Agreement is still our best avenue to finding solutions to slow down and eventually stop the damage to climate and environment.

“Global leadership on climate change is at a critical juncture.

“The Pacific Islands Forum will continue to support Forum Member Fiji’s COP 23 Presidency and will continue working with others who are committed to the Paris Agreement to address the greatest emergency for our planet to date.”

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