Pacific News In Brief For 20 May
A round-up of news from around the region, including Solomon Islands' prime minister warning government workers off Taiwan.
An army officer overseeing plans for a 360-degree missile system for Guam says it will cost approximately US$8 billion.
Lieutenant General Robert Rasch, the executive director of the Guam Defense System Joint Program Office, spoke to a US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing last week.
Lieutenant General Rasch told members of the Senate committee that the price tag is 'really the cost of the systems that the services were building already that will now be located at Guam, approximately $8 billion across all the service'.
He said the effort on Guam was to 'get as much capability as soon as possible'.
One senator asked how long until the system will be operational.
Lieutenant General Rasch said they will be improving this capability forever, and defense never rests.
Tonga – dengue
Dengue cases in Tonga have now reached 756.
In an update released on Monday night, Tonga's Ministry of Health reported there were six people in hospital with the disease.
It said 381 cases are from Tongatapu, 309 from Vava'u, 62 from 'Eua, and four from Ha'apai.
The health ministry said case investigations and vector control are ongoing.
Solomon Islands – One-China Policy
The Solomon Islands' prime minister has warned government workers against engaging with 'Taiwan'.
In a statement, Jeremiah Manele reaffirmed his government's commitment to the One-China Policy.
Earlier this month Manele survived a motion of no confidence, the second such challenge he's had to face during his first year in government.
It's given rise to talks of new legislation aimed at curbing political instability in the country.
Last week, the ABC reported a newly appointed government minister was pressured by China to quit an international group critical of its policies.
Beijing's Embassy in Honiara said the allegations are baseless.
It said China will never interfere in Solomon Islands internal affairs and also firmly oppose any other countries' interference in Solomon Islands' internal affairs.
Fiji – methamphetamine
Three men, including an officer of the Counter Narcotics Bureau, have been charged in Fiji in relation to importing methamphetamine.
The Fiji Revenue and Customs Service said the intercept took place last week after Customs Officers identified irregularities during screening of an airfreight consignment from a Southeast African nation.
The Fiji Times reported the three men each face a charge of unlawful importation of illicit drugs, while two of them also face a charge of possession of properties suspected of being proceeds of crime.
Police prosecutor, Inspector Pramesh Chand, told the court a fourth suspect had also been arrested.
Australia – visit
Australia's foreign minister Penny Wong is travelling to the Pacific with a delegation this week.
In a joint statement the ministers said they will travel to Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu.
They will meet with each nation's prime ministers, including discussing the strengthening of the Vuvale Partnership with Sitiveni Rabuka in Fiji.
The ministers said this early visit to the region, soon after the Australian election, demonstrates how deeply they value being part of the Pacific family.
Niue – fisheries
The 138th Annual Officials Meeting of the Forum Fisheries Committee has wrapped up in Alofi.
The Forum Fisheries Agency said officials from across the Pacific focused on advancing the sustainable management of the region's tuna fisheries.
It said officials addressed a wide range of strategic priorities including climate resilience and strengthened international engagement.
The outcomes from this meeting will be presented to ministers at the Forum Fisheries Committee Ministerial Meeting in July.
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Otago Daily Times
8 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Jackson accuses govt of rigging next election
By Craig McCulloch of RNZ Labour MP Willie Jackson has accused the government of trying to rig next year's election through its move to block people from being able to enrol for 12 days before voting day. The claim - made during Parliament's general debate today - goes further than Labour's official position which has been that electoral changes would make it harder to vote. Jackson also used his speech to criticise Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour as the "biggest dropkick of all" following Seymour's use of the term to disparage late enrollers. "I don't know what's more offensive," Jackson told MPs. "The gerrymandering of our voting rules to rig the election, or the deputy prime minister referring to 600,000 people as dropkicks." Seymour last week told reporters he was "sick of dropkicks that can't get themselves organised to follow the law". More than 600,000 people enrolled or updated their enrolment details after writ day in 2023, including 110,000 on election day itself. In a fiery speech today, Jackson poured contempt on the "disgraceful, rotten, useless government", accusing it of actively suppressing the vote and "vandalising democratic participation". He pointed to official advice which noted that young people, Māori, Pasifika and Asian communities would be disproportionately affected by the changes. "It's racist disenfranchisement," Jackson said. "It's a breach of democracy... this government risks being accused of rigging the next election." Jackson commended Attorney-General Judith Collins as "one of the most principled National Party members" for standing up to her "weak and useless leader" by warning that the voting changes breached human rights. "She's had the courage to call these voter suppression powers what they are: discriminatory." Jackson concluded his speech by taking at aim at Seymour, calling on him to apologise for his "disgraceful" description of some voters as dropkicks. "He's the most dangerous politician of the last generation... not only a disgrace as the deputy prime minister, but surely the biggest dropkick of all." Ministers brush off Jackson comments Speaking to RNZ, Seymour laughed off Jackson's description of him as a dropkick: "To be honest, I was always an open side flanker. Didn't really do a big drop kick, although, on a good day, I could nail one from just outside the 22." Seymour said Jackson's claims were "wrong and insane" but he could not help but like the man because "you know he doesn't mean it". "He's more a figure of fun for me," Seymour said. "Although I do worry a little bit about - you know - a man of his age - the old ticker can give out if he hyperventilates too much at work in the House." In a statement to RNZ, a spokesperson for Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said Jackson was prone to "hyperbole and mangling of the facts". "People are not being disenfranchised, they are merely being required to enrol," the spokesperson said. The government's legislation banning same-day voter enrolment passed its first reading in Parliament on Tuesday and will now be considered by select committee. During the debate, Goldsmith told MPs the change was required because the increasing number of special votes was delaying the final vote count. "The final vote count used to take two weeks. Last election, it took three," Goldsmith said. "The advice I received is that if we leave things as they are, it could well take even longer in future elections." Goldsmith flatly rejected the claim that people were being disenfranchised, saying the 110,000 people who updated their details on election day in 2023 only did so because they had been told they could. "The message will be different this election. People will be told they need to be enrolled well before voting starts. It's not that hard, and people are capable of doing these things." Justice officials, however, recommended against the move and warned it could result in lower turnout and reduce confidence in the electoral system. "Its impact on reducing special votes is uncertain, while its impact on democratic participation could be significant," officials said. The move has also been criticised by the Chief Human Rights Commissioner and electoral law experts Andrew Geddis and Graeme Edgeler. Since 2019, voters have been able to turn up to the booth at any time during the advance voting period and enrol at the same time, as well as on election day, with their vote being counted as a special vote.
RNZ News
8 hours ago
- RNZ News
Supervision of released high risk sex offender should be allowed to lapse High Court hears
The case was heard in the High Court in Wellington. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver The High Court in Wellington has heard Correction's supervision of a high risk sexual offender released earlier this year should be allowed to lapse. Local Democracy Reporting previously reported Nathaniel James Mahoney was sentenced to 10 years' jail in 2015 after he was found guilty on 10 charges of sexual and physical violence against four women. In one instance, Mahoney raped an 18-year-old autistic woman. He met her at a North Island comic book convention while dressed as Batman villain the Joker. The victim was dressed as the Joker's girlfriend Harley Quinn. In the High Court on Wednesday counsel for Mahoney, Charlotte Brook, argued that Corrections had erred in making a second Extended Supervision Order (ESO) application towards Mahoney that could nullify an existing one made ahead of his release. People under a supervision order are monitored by authorities, and might have conditions around where they can live and work, and who they interacted with. Brook said an implication of lodging a second order was it could allow for Mahoney to be in the community without supervision in the period between his release conditions expiring in August and an expected decision on the application due in November. She said interim supervision intended to monitor Mahoney in the lead-up to the decision could not be included in the second ESO as it had not been applied for while Mahoney was still incarcerated. "Corrections filed the second application intending to change the terms of the first one. They want a longer term. It's not Mr Mahoney's fault that the second one has been filed," Brook said. Brook cited previous decisions which characterised ESO's as "a second penalty and... an unjustified intrusion of a person's rights". She described the conditions of Mahoney's supervision orders as "intrusive" and argued the court should take a rights based approach in making its decision. "Mr Mahoney has been assessed as being very high risk but you can only take these preventative measures so far," Brook said. Justice Karen Grau observed that Mahoney's high risk of re-offending had increased following an incident relating to interactions with women during a prior employment placement initiative. Counsel for the Department of Corrections, Anselm Williams, argued there was nothing in legislation to stipulate the filing of a second ESO application would discontinue a prior application. "I don't accept ... that a court would decline the department's application when you have a person who is clearly a high risk and that risk has increased over the time that application is being considered," Williams said. Williams argued that interim supervision was not only necessary to protect the community but to enable Corrections to "provide rehabilitative options" for Mahoney. Justice Grau reserved her decision to be delivered ahead of Mahoney's release conditions expiring in early August. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
8 hours ago
- RNZ News
Labour MP Willie Jackson accuses government of rigging next election
Willie Jackson said "the gerrymandering of our voting rules to rig the election" was offensive. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Labour MP Willie Jackson has accused the government of trying to rig next year's election through its move to block people from being able to enrol for 12 days before voting day . The claim - made during Parliament's general debate on Wednesday - goes further than Labour's official position which has been that electoral changes would make it harder to vote. Jackson also used his speech to criticise Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour as the "biggest dropkick of all" following Seymour's use of the term to disparage late enrollers. "I don't know what's more offensive," Jackson told MPs. "The gerrymandering of our voting rules to rig the election, or the deputy prime minister referring to 600,000 people as dropkicks." Seymour last week told reporters he was "sick of dropkicks that can't get themselves organised to follow the law". More than 600,000 people enrolled or updated their enrolment details after writ day in 2023, including 110,000 on election day itself. In a fiery speech on Wednesday, Jackson poured contempt on the "disgraceful, rotten, useless government", accusing it of actively suppressing the vote and "vandalising democratic participation". He pointed to official advice which noted that young people, Māori, Pasifika and Asian communities would be disproportionately affected by the changes. "It's racist disenfranchisement," Jackson said. "It's a breach of democracy... this government risks being accused of rigging the next election." Jackson commended Attorney-General Judith Collins as "one of the most principled National Party members" for standing up to her "weak and useless leader" by warning that the voting changes breached human rights. "She's had the courage to call these voter suppression powers what they are: discriminatory." Jackson concluded his speech by taking at aim at Seymour, calling on him to apologise for his "disgraceful" description of some voters as dropkicks. "He's the most dangerous politician of the last generation... not only a disgrace as the deputy prime minister, but surely the biggest dropkick of all." Speaking to RNZ, Seymour laughed off Jackson's description of him as a dropkick: "To be honest, I was always an open side flanker. Didn't really do a big drop kick, although, on a good day, I could nail one from just outside the 22." Seymour said Jackson's claims were "wrong and insane" but he could not help but like the man because "you know he doesn't mean it". "He's more a figure of fun for me," Seymour said. "Although I do worry a little bit about - you know - a man of his age - the old ticker can give out if he hyperventilates too much at work in the House." In a statement to RNZ, a spokesperson for Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said Jackson was prone to "hyperbole and mangling of the facts". "People are not being disenfranchised, they are merely being required to enrol," the spokesperson said. The government's legislation banning same-day voter enrolment passed its first reading in Parliament on Tuesday and will now be considered by select committee. During the debate, Goldsmith told MPs the change was required because the increasing number of special votes was delaying the final vote count. "The final vote count used to take two weeks. Last election, it took three," Goldsmith said. "The advice I received is that if we leave things as they are, it could well take even longer in future elections." Goldsmith flatly rejected the claim that people were being disenfranchised, saying the 110,000 people who updated their details on election day in 2023 only did so because they had been told they could. "The message will be different this election. People will be told they need to be enrolled well before voting starts. It's not that hard, and people are capable of doing these things." Justice officials, however, recommended against the move and warned it could result in lower turnout and reduce confidence in the electoral system. "Its impact on reducing special votes is uncertain, while its impact on democratic participation could be significant," officials said. The move has also been criticised by the Chief Human Rights Commissioner and electoral law experts Andrew Geddis and Graeme Edgeler. Since 2019, voters have been able to turn up to the booth at any time during the advance voting period and enrol at the same time, as well as on election day, with their vote being counted as a special vote. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
