Latest news with #PacificIslandsForum
Perth Now
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Perth Now
Australia, Pacific cops to discuss regional deployments
Pacific police chiefs are scoping areas where additional assistance can be deployed as Australia helps scale up regional security responses by training local officers. The first contingent of Pacific police training as part of the Pacific policing initiative is halfway through its six-month training and was recently deployed to Palau to assist in security for the Pacific Mini Games. Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner for the Pacific Nigel Ryan said Pacific Islands Forum nations were in talks about where security and peacekeeping forces could be deployed in the future. Pacific police chiefs would meet in the coming weeks and there was an interest in the Australian Federal Police helping co-ordinate and assist responses, he said. This could include Papua New Guinea for regional Bougainville elections in September or the Solomon Islands to scale up security ahead of the Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting in Honiara in September. Palau had also expressed interest in a security scale-up for when it hosts the forum's leaders in 2026, Mr Ryan said. "Hopefully, we'll have some clarity on that soon, but at this time, there are no discussions on actual locations," he told AAP. "But the will is there to enable it to happen." Australia helps train officers from across the Pacific at its Pinkenba hub in Brisbane. A 73 per cent pass rate for a United Nations peacekeeping course was "unheard of" compared to the usual 25 per cent pass rate, Mr Ryan said as he spruiked the hub's success. The peacekeeping course included 100 people from about 10 Pacific island nations. "That's something that our Pacific colleagues have been asking for for a long time," Mr Ryan said. But a class of 100 "was a pretty mean feat" unlikely to be replicated, he said. He flagged the possibility of a smaller course of 50 people, as well as helping retrain people who have already passed, with re-accreditation required every two years. Australia has made it clear there is no role for China when it comes to regional security, as Beijing strikes bilateral agreements with Pacific nations and increases its influence in the region. China says it is willing to co-operate with other nations such as Australia on security and development in the Pacific. Mr Ryan said it was about what Pacific partners wanted. "I don't necessarily think it's about us," he said. "I think we, Australia, we see ourselves as the primary partner of choice in relation to peace, security and stability in the region. "But more importantly, the voices of the Pacific are quite clear that it's a Pacific family-first response to the security and stability of the region. "I'm often in conversations with the collective police chiefs around the Pacific about their will to be able to provide for their own security and safety within the region."
RNZ News
2 days ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Dr Shane Reti: No quotas for Pacific students at new medical school
By 'Alakihihifo Vailala , PMN Photo: Supplied / Google Maps The newly-established medical school at Waikato University, the New Zealand Graduate School of Medicine, will not implement specific quotas for Pacific students, according to the Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti. But he says that the academic institution, which will begin in 2028, will prioritise under-represented communities. In an interview on Pacific Mornings , Reti says, "What they have indicated is that as part of the selection process, even though they may not have targeted pathways or quotas per se, that the selection process will take into account those areas where we are under-represented, underweighted, where we have vulnerable populations as part of that selection process. Dr Shane Reti says the academic institution, which will begin in 2028, will prioritise under-represented communities. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro "But they have indicated in this first instance that there won't be quotas per se." His comments follow the government's announcement of the new medical school at the University of Waikato. The third medical school in the country will receive $82.85 million in government funding and over $150m from the university, most of which comes from philanthropic donations. "What I would like to see are the graduates focused and directed as much as possible towards where we have need, and those areas where we have need are general practice, rural environments," Reti says. "And then within those areas, of course, we have needs for Pasifika, we have needs for Māori, we have a range of other needs." According to the Ministry of Health, Pacific people make up 2.6 per cent, or 522, of all doctors in New Zealand. This represents a threefold increase since 2005, when there were around 131 Pacific doctors. In a related initiative, Reti announced a $4m contribution to assist Fiji in addressing a severe HIV outbreak. He says the funding will mainly support educational initiatives and boost diagnostic capabilities. "Our contribution will help them with what some would say is the most important component to HIV, that is, the education component, which will have a close association with drug use through the Pacific." Reti's comments followed discussions after the recent Pacific Islands Forum Economic Ministers' meeting in Suva, which he described as action-oriented, with clear objectives aimed at tackling regional challenges. The meeting also focused on preparations for the upcoming Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) leaders' summit in Honiara later this year. Reflecting on cultural milestones, Reti celebrated New Zealand's first-ever Bislama Language Week in Papamoa, coinciding with Vanuatu's 45th independence celebrations. He praised the significance of cultural recognition and community engagement, sharing his experiences during a diplomatic mission to Vanuatu with Foreign Minister Vaovasamanaia Winston Peters. "I've had the privilege of standing on the new wharf at Vanuatu on a diplomatic mission that I've had with Minister Peters," Reti says. "I've had the privilege of standing underneath the roof of the women's market and had the privilege of standing in the talking circle beside the Parliament, and so they were able to get a further sense of, oh, he's actually been in our home. "He's been in our place. He gets us. So it was just a wonderful event, and very excited for them." -This article was first published by PMN .
Japan Today
2 days ago
- Business
- Japan Today
Climate, gender in focus for World Bank in aid-reliant Pacific Islands
By Kirsty Needham The World Bank has maintained its focus on climate change and gender equality issues in the Pacific, managing director of operations Anna Bjerde said on a visit to Australia, even as its largest shareholder the United States reduces aid in those areas. After meeting Pacific Islands economic ministers in Fiji, Bjerde said countries in the region continued to worry about being exposed to the accelerating effects of climate change, and had grave concerns about food security and rising debt levels. Six Pacific Island countries are at high risk of debt distress, the bank says. The World Bank is moving a regional vice president from Washington to Singapore, and will move directors from Australia to Fiji and Papua New Guinea, to be closer to a $3.4 billion Pacific aid program that has grown seven-fold in 10-15 years, she said in an interview. "We are committed to designing projects that really take into account the vulnerabilities of countries we work in. In this part of the world, countries are vulnerable to the impact of climate change," she said. "We haven't really changed our language around that," she added. Pacific road projects designed to be flood-resilient provide better infrastructure that can withstand the changing climate and also be counted in climate finance programs, Bjerde said. The World Bank was focussed on boosting women's workforce participation to help lift the region's economic growth, she said, after meeting women leaders in Fiji who highlighted the need for childcare so women can work. On Monday, Bjerde also met officials from the Australian government, the largest bilateral donor to the region. Under reforms introduced last year by its president Ajay Banga, the World Bank has started to roll out region-wide programs to have a bigger impact among Pacific countries with small populations. Eight countries have joined an arrangement that stops small island states being cut off from the international financial system, while a health program targeting non-communicable disease will potentially reach 2 million people across the Pacific Ocean and train 16,000 health workers. A trade program is also being designed to give access to goods faster and more cheaply, she said. Banga will attend the region's annual leaders' meeting, the Pacific Islands Forum, for the first time in September. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Solomon Islands PM Manele visiting New Zealand this week
Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele is visiting Aotearoa this week. Luxon said Solomon Islands is an important partner for New Zealand and he is looking forward to furthering the bilateral relationship when he meets Manele. "It will also be good to hear about Solomon Islands' plans for hosting the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in September," Luxon said. Manele will also meet with Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones. One thousand one hundred Solomon Islanders have taken up Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme spots in Aotearoa in the last year. More than 1000 Solomon Islanders call New Zealand home. Manele was sworn in as Solomons prime minister on 2 May 2024 , following the resignation of Manasseh Sogavare. Shortly after Winston Peters arrived with a delegation on the first leg of his Pacific tour . He was first elected to parliament in 2014 and was the leader of the opposition in the country's 10th Parliament. Prior to entering parliament, Manele was a long-serving public servant and diplomat. He has since faced two leadership challenges but both were withdrawn.
The Star
3 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Climate issues and gender in focus for World Bank in aid-reliant Pacific Islands
THE PACIFIC (Reuters): The World Bank has maintained its focus on climate change and gender equality issues in the Pacific, managing director of operations Anna Bjerde said on a visit to Australia, even as its largest shareholder the United States reduces aid in those areas. After meeting Pacific Islands economic ministers in Fiji, Bjerde said countries in the region continued to worry about being exposed to the accelerating effects of climate change, and had grave concerns about food security and rising debt levels. Six Pacific Island countries are at high risk of debt distress, the bank says. The World Bank is moving a regional vice president from Washington to Singapore, and will move directors from Australia to Fiji and Papua New Guinea, to be closer to a $3.4 billion Pacific aid programme that has grown seven-fold in 10-15 years, she said in an interview on Monday. "We are committed to designing projects that really take into account the vulnerabilities of countries we work in. In this part of the world, countries are vulnerable to the impact of climate change," she said. "We haven't really changed our language around that," she added. Pacific road projects designed to be flood-resilient provide better infrastructure that can withstand the changing climate and also be counted in climate finance programmes, Bjerde said. The World Bank was focussed on boosting women's workforce participation to help lift the region's economic growth, she said, after meeting women leaders in Fiji who highlighted the need for childcare so women can work. On Monday, Bjerde also met officials from the Australian government, the largest bilateral donor to the region. Under reforms introduced last year by its president Ajay Banga, the World Bank has started to roll out region-wide programmes to have a bigger impact among Pacific countries with small populations. Eight countries have joined an arrangement that stops small island states being cut off from the international financial system, while a health programme targeting non-communicable disease will potentially reach 2 million people across the Pacific Ocean and train 16,000 health workers. A trade programme is also being designed to give access to goods faster and more cheaply, she said. Banga will attend the region's annual leaders' meeting, the Pacific Islands Forum, for the first time in September. (Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney; Editing by Kate Mayberry and David Holmes) -- Reuters
