Lau Islands to install first high chief in 20 years
Later this morning Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba Mara will become Tui Nayau and Sau ni Vanua o Lau - the high chief of the Lau islands.
The positions have been vacant since his father, Fiji's first prime minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, died 20 years ago.
Among the dignitaries in Lau to witness the historic occasion are Tonga's King Tupou VI and New Zealand's Maori Queen Te Arikinui Kuini Nga Wai Hono i te Pō.
The installation of a high chief is more than just tradition - it's a sacred encounter between culture and faith.
Christian rituals now form part of the ceremony, reflecting how Indigenous Fijian identity has evolved alongside Western influences.
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Recommendation 11: Provide PARt training to all current police officers, auxiliaries and new recruits, including emergency call centre workers. Recommendation 12: NT police to expand the DFSV command in Alice Springs and Darwin. Recommendation 13: Expand NT police's family harm coordination daily auditing program. Recommendation 14: Children and families department to audit and continue its commitment to the Safe and Together framework. Recommendation 15: Fund and implement "timely and intensive" early interventions for young people engaged in violence. Recommendation 16: Extra funding for community-based approaches to child welfare. Recommendation 17: Replicate the specialist DFSV court in Alice Springs in other regions. Recommendation 23: Increase funding for men's prison-based behaviour programs and counselling. Recommendation 24: Improve access to men's prison programs. Recommendation 25: Develop and implement a prison program for men who are 'deniers' of their violence. Recommendation 26: Establish reintegration programs for men leaving prison and returning to community. Recommendation 29: Boost funding for community-based behavioural change and prevention programs. Recommendation 33: Full implementation of the DFSV Action Plan 2, which will require $180 million funding over five years. Recommendation 34: Increase baseline funding for frontline DFSV crisis services by about 10 per cent. Recommendation 1: Establish a permanent, whole-of-government unit to lead DFSV policy and practice. Recommendation 4: Boost funding for Aboriginal interpreter services. Recommendation 18: Fund culturally-appropriate, trauma-informed, mediation/peacekeeping for family and community violence. Recommendation 19: Regulate and fund mediation and peacemaker groups as recognised alternative dispute resolution providers. Recommendation 20: Develop and fund alternatives to custody for DFSV perpetrators. 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