Pacific news in brief for 1 May
Stephen Felix, Vanuatu's new Speaker, was elected unopposed. 11 February 2025
Photo:
Screengrab / Facebook / Vanuatu Parliament
A special sitting of Vanuatu's parliament on the Constitution on Wednesday failed to go ahead due to a lack of numbers.
The sitting was scheduled to introduce five major amendments to the Constitution, one being the recognition of only two genders, male and female, at birth.
However, as the sitting got underway, Speaker Stephen Felix said a quorum was not met, and then adjourned parliament to 7 May.
Local media reported opposition MPs arrived at parliament buildings but did not enter the chamber to take their seats.
Under the Constitution, any amendments require a two-thirds majority in Parliament - 36 out of 52 votes - to be officially adopted.
Fiji's Electoral Reform Commission says it is wrong to demand former convicts wait eight years before they can contest a general election.
Daniel Fatiaki told
FBC
that, while the stand down period is mandated in the 2013 Constitution, it flouts human rights.
His comments follow suggestions that Fiji's convicted former Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama could contest next year's election.
Fatiaki told the national broadcaster that the waiting period constituted a second punishment.
Bainimarama originally seized power in a coup in 2006 and now wants his corruption conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal.
Fijian Trade Minister Manoa Kamikamica says the country's weighted average tariffs on US goods come out at about 1.8 percent.
FBC
reported Kamikamica saying about 72 percent of US goods imported into Fiji enter duty-free.
He said 25 percent are subject to a five-percent duty, while around three percent of US products face higher tariffs ranging from 15 to 32 percent.
US President Donald Trump slapped a 32 percent tariff on Fiji, but it is now under a 90-day pause, during which it is back at the 10 per cent base levy.
Kamikamica said around 70 percent of Fiji's key exporters derive 60 percent of their revenue from the US market.
Tourism Solomons is celebrating its best first quarter international visitor intake since 2019.
The
Solomon Star
reported visitor arrivals from January to March this year hit 5612, up from 4903 for the same time last year.
Australian arrivals dominated the figures, with 1570 arrivals in the period.
PNG arrivals dropped slightly while Fijian arrvials, and collective numbers from other South Pacific countries, went up.
Tourism Solomons acting CEO Dagnal Dereveke attributed the figures to the country's hosting of three major events, including a pageant in February and a summit and a football tournament in March.
World Vision's 40-hour famine has morphed into a 40-hour challenge, and this year the Pacific is the target.
The charity's New Zealand associate national director TJ Grant said it's about giving young people in Aotearoa a chance to connect with something bigger and greater than themselves.
"Young people when they raise funds, when they get support, they're going to be able to support really tangible, meaningful programs that are going to make a difference for children and families and future generations in Solomon Islands," he said.
"We were in a remote area, Marau Sound - the people there, 80 per cent still rely on fishing and farming for their livelihoods."
TJ Grant said in the Solomons, traditional livelihoods are getting harder to sustain with challenges like climate change, and support would include new farming techniques and different tools.
World Vision Solomon Islands youth advocate, 19-year-old Roy Wasi, has represented his country at a number of global climate change forums.
He said people there rely on food from the garden and the sea.
"One of the biggest issues that our people face is the changing weather patterns, or even I say, the climate change. It's really affecting the children and how the people live."
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"He played a pivotal role in having a religious community shut down - which is a rare and severe course of action," the statement read.
