NZ PM to be a no-show at the Cook Islands 60th celebrations
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RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
Pacific news in brief for 16 July
Tonga's Health Minister Dr ʻAna ʻAkauʻola said that the system has been fully restored. Photo: 123RF Tonga's National Health Information System - hacked three weeks ago in a cyber attack - is now back in action. Health Minister Dr ʻAna ʻAkauʻola said that the system has been fully restored. Australia sent a Cyber Rapid Response team to recover the system but they've now returned home. Dr ʻAkauʻola said health staff and Tonga's computer emergency response team have been working to get all patient data secured. So far, only four patient records have appeared on the dark web. Earlier reports said the hackers had demanded a US$1 million ransom, which the government refused to pay. Samoa's caretaker Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa has officially launched her new party's election manifesto. Fiame told supporters that Samoa Uniting Party (SUP) has risen from the ashes of her former FAST Party. She says SUP has been formed in response to political turmoil and internal divisions. Local media reports the lineup includes three women and 23 men, most of whom are current caretaker ministers. Notable absentees from the party's ticket are caretaker ministers Mauʻu Siaosi Puʻepuʻemai and Seuula Ioane Tuāʻau. Mauʻu has opted to run as an independent, while Seuula will not contest this election. Despite running independently, Mauʻu was seen at the SUP manifesto launch, raising questions about potential post-election alignments. Observers say his future support could be pivotal. Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says his vision for a peaceful and secure Pacific region is under threat. Rabuka told the Pacific Regional and National Security Conference that his 'Ocean of Peace' project cannot come to be in the current geopolitical environment. He said security in the region must be taken seriously. The conference brings together leaders from across the Pacific, with climate change, unregulated fishing, and organised crime on the agenda. Vanuatu's Climate Minister Ralph Regenvanu believes the decision from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will be a turning point for climate justice. The decision from the ICJ on countries responsibilities for climate change is due next week. Vanuatu and Pacific climate advocates brought the case to the UN in 2023 seeking an opinion from the world court on the legal obligations of states in relation to climate change. Regenvanu said that he is anticipating to see a clear recognition that climate inaction is unlawful. The government of Nauru has appointed Australian Brian Phelps as chief executive of its new Virtual Asset Authority. Legislation has already been passed to regulate virtual assets in the hopes one of the smallest countries in the world will become a crypto hub. Nauru President David Adeang said Phelps' vast experience will ensure the Command Ridge Virtual Asset Authority (CRVAA) will meet the government's goal of attracting businesses that bring investment, job creation, and financial innovation to the nation. The Nauru government said that Phelps has worked extensively with regulators, industry bodies and government, and served for 21 years at CommSec, Australia's largest online stockbroking firm and subsidiary of the Commonwealth Bank. The New Zealand auditor-general John Ryan has highlighted recurring challenges in the latest audit report of the Niue government. Ryan told local media that while there have been recent improvements, Niue still faces issues in terms of capability and capacity to prepare financial statements for annual audits. After many years of delays, the government's audit reports are finally up to date with the help of Deloitte New Zealand. Ryan said it is critical Niue remains up to date, as failing behind again could lead to significant costs. A candidate contesting the Northern Marianas' US House of Representatives seat has expressed concern about the impact President Donald Trump's "big beautiful bill" will have on the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The bill was passed on 4 July. Galvin Deleon Guerrero told Marianas Press he applauds the effort to stimulate economic investments through tax exempts, tax breaks and supporting small businesses. However, he said the cuts to programmes and the silence on specific provisions that benefit the CNMI concerned him.
Scoop
an hour ago
- Scoop
Business Leader & Associate Chartered Accountant, Peter Mayall, Selected As ACT Candidate For Waikato District Council
ACT Local has selected Peter Mayall – an Associate Chartered Accountant and experienced business leader – as its candidate for the Tamahere–Woodlands Ward of the Waikato District Council in this year's local election. Peter brings extensive experience in strategic planning, financial oversight, and governance, alongside a proven record in communication and community involvement. He has built his career on aligning teams, cutting waste, and delivering results – skills he's ready to bring to council to deliver better value for ratepayers. Peter is standing to restore focus to the essentials: roads, water, and refuse collection. He believes in genuine democracy, where only elected representatives make decisions and every vote carries equal weight. He opposes racebased wards and backroom deals and will fight to ensure local government serves the community rather than pursuing ideological projects. 'Your rates should be spent wisely, not wasted. Council's job is to deliver core services, not frustrate residents with costly experiments like the Birchwood Lane and Telephone Road fiascos. "As an Associate Chartered Accountant and business leader, I'll bring financial discipline, transparency, and accountability to every decision. "I'll protect property rights, cut red tape, and keep council practical – not political. It's time for smarter councils, lower rates, and real representation.' – Peter Mayall Earlier this year, ACT New Zealand announced it would be standing Common Sense Candidates for local government for the first time — after hearing from New Zealanders across the country who are sick of rising rates, ballooning budgets, and councils that ignore the basics while chasing ideological vanity projects. When you vote ACT Local, you know what you're getting: Fixing the basics Lower Rates Cutting the waste Ending race-based politics Restoring accountability Stopping the war on cars ACT Local Government spokesperson Cameron Luxton says: ' ACT Local candidates are community-minded Kiwis who've had enough of wasteful councils treating ratepayers like ATMs. It's time to take control on behalf of ratepayers — to restore accountability and deliver real value for money. ACT Local is about getting the basics right: maintaining roads, keeping streets clean, and respecting the people who pay the bills. Our candidates won't divide people by race or get distracted by climate vanity projects. They're here to serve, not lecture." – Cameron Luxton
RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
Ex-rebel leader 'General' Kauona is brimming with confidence in Bougainville presidential race
The former leader of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army, Sam Kauona. Photo: RNZ Pacific / Johnny Blades Sam Kauona, a former leader of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA), wants to become president of the autonomous Papua New Guinea region. Bougainville is immersed in political campaigning as it prepares to choose 46 MPs from 404 candidates in elections shceduled for the first week of September. Seven people are contesting the presidency, including Kauona and his former BRA colleague, the incumbent President Ishmael Toroama. Kauona, who styles himself as 'General' Kauona, has in recent years been more focussed on developing a potential new gold mine, but now he wants the presidency. He ran unsuccessfully in 2020, but this time, he told RNZ Pacific, he is brimming with confidence. (This transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.) SAM KAUONA: This time, I'm going to do it. I'm going to get the seat. I'm going to win. I am confident. DON WISEMAN: Why? Given that you didn't do that well last time? SK: Because the government, for the last five years, did not achieve what Bougainvilleans, what we, wanted. They were concentrating on one option only. That's why it wasted the last five years, and we did not achieve anything. DW: And we're talking here about independence? SK: Oh yes. That's the only agenda for Bougainville - independence. There are many approaches that we can consider. One, there is an option in which we can work with Papua New Guinea, and there's an option that we negotiate. You know, it varies. So this government, they went for the option of negotiating for ratification [of the 2019 independence referendum]. They did not achieve what Bougainville wanted. DW: Well, what do you think they should have done? And what would you do? SK: Well, to me, I would go to exercising those powers and function that will make Bougainville realise its independent, meaning to say those powers and functions that concern sovereignty protection, sovereignty rights. Exercising those powers, Bougainville can be able to reach her destiny by exercising the powers of foreign affairs, currency, number two and number three, exercising the powers to protect ourselves - security, defence. In the Peace Process, those powers and functions were reserved for Papua New Guinea. We were not independent at that time, but after the referendum, people voted not for autonomy to be with Papua New Guinea, but they voted to become independent, on their own, exercising the sovereign right. It means that with the referendum achieving independence, the door to exercising those rights, sovereign rights, was open. It was open. It was closed during the peace process, when it was open, we should have put into policies necessary functions. For example, the defence. You see Bougainville is not protected. We are not protected at this point of time, there is fatal incidents happening south to north. We need to exercise the power of security - establishing defence, establishing police powers and functions, protecting our people, our natural resources, our sea boundaries. Of course, whatever we do, we have to consult with Papua New Guinea and establish those functions. Currency, [is] another function that we should be able to now establish our own banks [and] currency, so that we can be able to achieve the level of independence. DW: So you're not talking about making a unilateral declaration or anything like that. You're still talking about negotiating a solution with Port Moresby? SK: Not negotiating, but coming up with a plan, a strategy, that will accommodate Papua New Guinea to participate. When accommodating Papua New Guinea, we need to see Papua New Guinea we are on one side. There is still a common enemy out there: BCL, CRA, Rio Tinto using the system, and then they subjugated us with all their systems, the laws. And here, when we come up with a plan of exercising our rights, Papua New Guinea is part and parcel of that. We need to compensate Papua New Guinea. We need to support Papua New Guinea, also in the economy which, which was incurred during the crisis conflict. They borrowed so much funding, so we should be sharing. DW: What you're talking about, still, is negotiation, isn't it? Bougainville can't do these things you're talking about unless it reaches some sort of a deal with Papua New Guinea, and it's going to need the money. SK: Correct. We need money. Bougainville is full of resources. We are rich in natural resources. But how we manage our resources is a different dimension this time. Before, we were under all those colonial laws, and when we are free now we should be able to come up with the laws to protect our natural resources and use it wisely, together with whoever invests, that comes in. But here, I'm trying to say, not so much negotiation, but it's a plan that Bougainville needs to do. The plan is to be user friendly with Papua New Guinea. And of course, for us, we have won it. We have won the political battle. We need to set away. We need to have a compass that we need to navigate with, and that compass, we Bougainvilleans, we have it in our hands, and that has to be a user friendly direction that we close out. Papua New Guinea will have to be drawn in, we have to participate in that, yes, to a level, it is negotiating, but it is like, you know, we have to lead the way. We have to come up with a plan [that's] user friendly. Not just for Papua New Guinea, let me say that. It is friendly to our Pacific countries, our neighbours, Australia, New Zealand. In terms of security, we will have to make sure that we secure our region together, not just Bougainville, together with the countries that are around us. That's why we need a defence force that is not really big, but enough to protect its internal affairs, internal issues.
