Pacific news in brief for 28 May
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A man has died after pirates reportedly boarded two boats off Madang, PNG, and forced people into the water.
NBC PNG
reported the passengers were travelling in two 40-horse powered dinghies from Madang Town to Saidor Station.
Operator of the search and rescue boat Leonard Kudud said a distress call was received from deployed police personnel, reporting a pirate attack near Tabalip Point.
He said during the attack, the pirates forced all passengers overboard and ordered them to swim ashore. One male passenger, unable to swim, drowned.
The survivors were transported to the Basamuk Plant Site, where they received medical attention.
Fiji's deputy prime minister Biman Prasad said it's up the President to release information on the Commission of Inquiry into the appointment of the anti-corruption office head, Barbara Malimali.
The Fiji Times
reported Prasad saying the inquiry was called for and appointed by President Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu.
He said it's the president who should be asked about former Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry's claim that the inquiry cost taxpayers over FJ$2 million.
Prasad also defended Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka's failure to make the report public.
He said Rabuka is an experienced prime minister who knows what is right for the country.
US President Donald Trump's executive order enabling more commercial fishing in the Pacific is being challenged in court.
Environmental activist group Earthjustice said the order, which allows fishing in some protected zones in the Pacific, will have region-wide consequences to marine ecosystems.
AP
reported Earthjustice calling the order "piling lawlessness on top of lawlessness" and a threat to "a wide variety of scientific and historical treasures".
The protected zones encompass various US-owned territories, including Johnston Atoll near Hawai'i.
Papua New Guinea's health department has approved a ban on the use and importing of e-cigarettes.
The National
reported health minister Elias Kapavore saying there are concerns about the use of e-cigarettes among young people aged from 11 to 17.
Anyone breaching the ban could be fined 10,000 kina - about US$2,440.
Companies breaking the rules would face a fine of 100,000 kina, and this can be doubled if it's a tobacco company in breach.
Kapavore said according to statistics, tobacco is estimated to cause 8.8 per cent of all deaths in PNG.
The law was to come into effect seven days after its formal gazettal notice was published.
Australia is giving another US$1.9 million for climate and disaster resilience for Pacific Farmer Organisations.
The Climate Resilient Farming in Pacific Islands program is coordinated by Pacific Farmer Organisations, who represent a network of 30 farmer organisations and more than 100,000 smallholder farmers.
Australia's High Commissioner to Tonga Brek Batley said locally tailored climate solutions are essential for a prosperous, resilient and inclusive agriculture sector across the Pacific.
Australia said the program benefited 16,800 farmers in seven countries in its first year.
Solomon Islands parliament has passed legislation allowing the setting up of Special Economic Zones.
Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele said the Special Economic Zones can steer the country towards sustained peace, economic recovery, and long-term development.
He said by concentrating government efforts and resources in designated areas, the zones can encourage economic diversification and job creation.
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RNZ News
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Suspension of salary 'unjustified', Fiji's chief prosecutor Christopher Pryde says
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The crux of Ratu Naiqama's argument is that the 60-year-old was meant to resume work on 20 January, after a Tribunal exonerated him from a "misbehaviour" charge. Two days later he was hit with corruption charges, and the Judicial Services Commission extended his reporting date until 9 May. "I understand you failed to do were still on full pay while not working. You have breached clause 1 of your 4 September Service Agreement," the President wrote. "Pursuant to section 117(5) of the constitution, and acting upon the recommendation of the JSC, after having consulted the acting Attorney-General, your salary and other benefits are suspended forthwith until further notice." The decision came just before Fiji's anti-corruption agency (FICAC) announced plans last week to extradite Pryde on corruption charges. Pryde told RNZ Pacific that the President's decision was "unlawful, since the Constitution does not permit the suspension of my salary". Pryde, hired during the reign of convicted former president Frank Bainimarama, claims they are "bogus" and designed to intimidate and get rid of him. He believes the Fijian government wants to stop him prosecuting those maligned in a Commission of Inquiry report into the former head of the agency. Pryde wrote a lengthy response to the president on 4 August, and said his decision was unconstitutional and "legally flawed". "The suspension is arbitrary and a clear breach of natural justice, particularly in the absence of a formal suspension," he wrote. "It is clear to me that you received and acted upon wrong legal advice on this issue. "The decision by the JSC to recommend to you the suspension of my salary whilst at the same time refusing to deal with the complaints against me demonstrates malice by members of the JSC.... and is an attempt to intimidate me into resigning my position." Pryde said the JSC had an obligation to address the corruption charges he was facing, by either dismissing them or establishing a Tribunal to formally investigate the complaints. He said the JSC was the only legally-mandated commission to determine complaints against him and could not delegate this function to FICAC. Pryde, who lives in Christchurch, said he had already explained his absence from the job in a statement on 24 July. "As outlined in my previous statement (11 April 2025), I remain ready to return to work as soon as the JSC and FICAC have concluded their investigations into further allegations against me, raised by the acting DPP, Nancy Tikoisuva, just prior to my intended resumption of duties in Fiji. "I need an assurance from the JSC that these allegations will not result in a sudden suspension from office and a cutting off of my salary, as happened last time," he wrote. "I also need an assurance that I will not be arbitrarily arrested upon my return to Fiji and served with a stop departure notice. "I can only speculate that the reason for the unconscionable delay in making any decision on these fresh charges against me is a deliberate ploy to ensure I remain outside Fiji and am unable to make any decisions on the results of police investigations stemming from the COI report." Pryde was suspended from the role on full pay in April 2023, pending an investigation into allegations of "misbehaviour" by the then-President, Ratu Wiliame Katonivere, under direction of the Prime Minister. He was charged after being he was seen talking to the former Attorney-General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum at a cocktail party in February 2024. Sayed-Khaiyum was under police investigation at the time they met and his file had been forwarded to Pryde's office, although he claimed he had not yet read it. Fiji's Attorney-General at the time, Siromi Turaga, said their meeting was tantamount to misconduct. In April last year he was also charged with receiving superannuation payments that had not been approved by the JSC. Pryde's superannuation ceased; then his salary and all contractual benefits were "unilaterally' cut off by the Fijian government in July 2024. However he was cleared of all allegations last December, following a week-long investigation by a Tribunal, which recommended he not be removed from his position.
