Latest news with #PacificIslandsForumLeadersMeeting
Scoop
2 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
PM Luxon To Host Solomon Islands Prime Minister
Rt Hon Christopher Luxon Prime Minister Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele will visit New Zealand this week, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced. 'Solomon Islands is an important partner for New Zealand, with which we share a historic connection,' Mr Luxon says. 'I am looking forward to furthering our bilateral relationship when I meet Prime Minister Manele. It will also be good to hear about Solomon Islands' plans for hosting the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in September.' More than 1,000 Solomon Islanders make New Zealand home, with 1,100 participating in the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme in the last year. New Zealand has a long-standing development cooperation partnership with Solomon Islands, which includes support for education, economic development, climate resilience, and peacebuilding. While in New Zealand, Prime Minister Manele will attend various business and community events. He will also meet Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones. Prime Minister Manele last visited New Zealand in his former capacity as Solomon Islands Foreign Minister in 2022.
Scoop
20-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
China Could Be Major Beneficiary Of New Zealand's Move On Cook Islands
, RNZ Pacific Senior Journalist The decision by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters to suspend payment of aid to the Cook Islands could backfire on the New Zealand government, an academic says. Peters has withheld more than $18.2 million over the Cooks' failure to adequately inform his government about a partnership agreement signed with Beijing earlier this year. The foreign minister's office says the Cook Islands didn't consult with New Zealand to ensure shared interests weren't put at risk. Massey University associate professor in defence and security studies Anna Powles told Pacific Waves that the move could strengthen China's hand in the Pacific. Dr Powles spoke with RNZ Pacific. (This script has been edited for brevity and clarity.) Anna Powles: As a diplomatic strategy it is unclear what Wellington is trying to achieve by pausing funding to Cook Islands as a consequence of Cook Islands signing the deal with China this year. Don Wiseman: Yes, well, Winston Peters is using the aid as a bribe, really, isn't he? AP: Well, he is certainly seeking to leverage it, and that, given past tactics of effectively trying to punish partners over their decision-making, and sovereign decision-making, is arguably quite short sighted, actually, particularly in the current context where Pacific countries have options, they have alternatives. DW: Well, the thing with the Cook Islands, of course, is it doesn't have sovereignty, does it? It's still part of the realm of New Zealand. Brown, the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, has indicated he would perhaps like that to change because of his requests, more than once, for the Cook Islands to have Cook Islands citizenship. Do you think maybe his cuddling up to China in this manner was all part of the same strategy? AP: Prime Minister Brown has certainly made it clear over the years that he sees, firstly, independence from New Zealand as critical under his leadership. But also the means for doing so, which clearly relates to deep sea mining and the economic benefits of deep sea mining as a vehicle for independence for Cook Islands. The independence conversation has been conflated with this. We know that under the previous New Zealand Labour government, with former foreign minister Nanaia Mahuta, there had been progress in supporting Cook Island aspirations towards independence. It's unfortunate that the geopolitics playing out in the region and Cook Islands independence aspirations have been conflated in this way. DW: So where do we go from here? Because Brown, effectively, has been summoned to Wellington for some sort of explanation, but we've sort of been down this road before, and clearly Peters wasn't satisfied with that. So it's all a bit messy, isn't it? AP: It is. It is pretty messy. And again, this is unfortunate that this could cast a distinct shadow over the upcoming Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in September, but also, importantly, with respect to the relationship between New Zealand and Cook Islands. Aid should not be a bargaining chip. The relationship between the two countries surely should be deeper and robust enough to be able to work through these issues, but it fundamentally seems to come down to different perspectives on the spirit of the 2001 Joint Declaration between the two countries, which calls for that consultation by Cook Islands when it's entering into other foreign policy arrangements with other countries. So that spirit of that of the declaration, is really in question here, and the negotiation between the two countries, between New Zealand and Cook Islands, needs to take aid as a bargaining chip off the table for it to be able to continue, for it to be successful. DW: What impact do you think something like this would have at the talks that Christopher Luxon is having in China this very day? AP: The fact of the matter is that we can't separate the China equation from what's taken place. Obviously concerns held by New Zealand about the nature of some of those agreements between Cook Islands and China, and there are concerns that some of those agreements, some of those MOUs, potentially may cut across Cook Islands national security interests, and, by extension, New Zealand national security interests. So obviously, China is very much part of this equation. The degree to which this plays into Prime Minister Luxon's talks in China is unclear. But what it does do is it actually opens the door for increased Chinese engagement with the Cook Islands and with other countries in the Pacific, by being able to point to this type of behaviour of New Zealand, using aid as a development assistance as a bargaining chip, and by Beijing being able to tell its partners in the region, we would never do that, and certainly we would never seek to leverage our relationships in this way.
Scoop
24-05-2025
- General
- Scoop
Detector Dog Iti Retires As New Zealand Reviews Its Dog Programme For Pacific Island Nations
Article – RNZ The eight-year-old explosives detector has been sniffing out crime in the region as part of New Zealand Police Pacific Detector Dog Programme. Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific Presenter/Bulletin Editor Eight-year-old explosives detector dog Iti is now staring down retirement. Iti is part of New Zealand Police Pacific Detector Dog Programme (PDDP) and has been sniffing out potential bomb threats for years. He was on hand helping to protect Pacific leaders and delegates at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Tonga and even the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa last year. New Zealand provides trained police dogs to the Pacific region. They are sent to Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and the Cook Islands through the PDDP. '[Iti] certainly never lets you down,' his handler sergeant Chris Harris told RNZ Pacific. 'He loves to work. To replace him will be pretty tough.' The government has spent around NZ$3.5 million on the PDDP so far. A spokesperson for MFAT told RNZ Pacific that 'phase one of the programme is coming to a close', but that 'MFAT and New Zealand Police are currently in discussions over the next phase of support.' 'Securing' VIP motorcades Dogs that get sent out to the Pacific need to be fit and healthy. In August last year, for example, Iti went from 6 degrees Celsius in cold Auckland weather to 28 degrees in sunny Tonga. He was thrust into work, securing the accommodation Pacific leaders were staying at, checking their motorcades, the routes they were traveling and then even flying to a remote Island for the leaders' retreat and doing the job again. 'The transition is difficult,' Harris said. 'We are only there for a short period of time, so the dogs do not have time to acclimatise to the temperature. 'We have to manage their working load, and so it means that we would work him in shorter spells; try and get him into air conditioning to bring his body temperature down.' Working alongside local police, Iti was the centre of attention in Tonga. 'He had a bit of a profile long before I got there,' Harris said. 'They were all in open arms when he arrived, and they were really looking forward to seeing him work. 'It was really good. I felt like the Pied Piper at times. I had four or five local police following me around, which was really good. 'And if they could see him working in the operational environment and learn something from it, or pick things up that maybe they haven't seen before or done before, then that's great.' Sergeant Harris' career spans 32 years: 25 years in the dog section, 17 years as a general purpose dog handler, and currently overseeing the detector dog program in Auckland with Iti by his side. He emphasised the significance of training both dogs and handlers from Pacific countries to enhance regional security. 'They come over here and not only are we training the dogs for those teams, but we're training the handlers as well,' Harris said. 'So when they leave New Zealand, they're going back as a package and getting straight into their business. 'They have borders, but they're also a border to Australia and New Zealand. So it's very important that we maintain those relationships and we help them where we can and resource them.' 'Hidden gems' in the Pacific With the right attitude, dogs in the Pacific could also take up potentially life-saving work like old hack Iti, Harris said. 'If a dog has got a drive and he is got a good nose on him, we can certainly look at them and turn them into very good police dogs,' Sergeant Harris said. While there is a 'huge' breeding programme in Wellington, it was not that long ago that police relied 'heavily' on the public and the community to sell or gift dogs to the police service of New Zealand. 'A lot of our German shepherds, and this only goes back 15 or 20 years ago, were gifted dogs that were given to us by members of the public,' he said. 'They obviously bought them as puppies, and they did not work out at home, and they were offered to the police dogs section'. However, they still need to have the right drive and be determined, he said. He added if they meet the criteria, 'then they do make, or can make, very good police dogs.' 'It has been proven over the years. A lot of our dogs came from the streets, and they were very, very good and very, very proven police dogs.' 'There are hidden gems everywhere.'
Scoop
24-05-2025
- General
- Scoop
Detector Dog Iti Retires As New Zealand Reviews Its Dog Programme For Pacific Island Nations
Eight-year-old explosives detector dog Iti is now staring down retirement. Iti is part of New Zealand Police Pacific Detector Dog Programme (PDDP) and has been sniffing out potential bomb threats for years. He was on hand helping to protect Pacific leaders and delegates at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Tonga and even the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa last year. New Zealand provides trained police dogs to the Pacific region. They are sent to Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and the Cook Islands through the PDDP. "[Iti] certainly never lets you down," his handler sergeant Chris Harris told RNZ Pacific. "He loves to work. To replace him will be pretty tough." The government has spent around NZ$3.5 million on the PDDP so far. A spokesperson for MFAT told RNZ Pacific that "phase one of the programme is coming to a close", but that "MFAT and New Zealand Police are currently in discussions over the next phase of support." 'Securing' VIP motorcades Dogs that get sent out to the Pacific need to be fit and healthy. In August last year, for example, Iti went from 6 degrees Celsius in cold Auckland weather to 28 degrees in sunny Tonga. He was thrust into work, securing the accommodation Pacific leaders were staying at, checking their motorcades, the routes they were traveling and then even flying to a remote Island for the leaders' retreat and doing the job again. "The transition is difficult," Harris said. "We are only there for a short period of time, so the dogs do not have time to acclimatise to the temperature. "We have to manage their working load, and so it means that we would work him in shorter spells; try and get him into air conditioning to bring his body temperature down." Working alongside local police, Iti was the centre of attention in Tonga. "He had a bit of a profile long before I got there," Harris said. "They were all in open arms when he arrived, and they were really looking forward to seeing him work. "It was really good. I felt like the Pied Piper at times. I had four or five local police following me around, which was really good. "And if they could see him working in the operational environment and learn something from it, or pick things up that maybe they haven't seen before or done before, then that's great." Sergeant Harris' career spans 32 years: 25 years in the dog section, 17 years as a general purpose dog handler, and currently overseeing the detector dog program in Auckland with Iti by his side. He emphasised the significance of training both dogs and handlers from Pacific countries to enhance regional security. "They come over here and not only are we training the dogs for those teams, but we're training the handlers as well," Harris said. "So when they leave New Zealand, they're going back as a package and getting straight into their business. "They have borders, but they're also a border to Australia and New Zealand. So it's very important that we maintain those relationships and we help them where we can and resource them." 'Hidden gems' in the Pacific With the right attitude, dogs in the Pacific could also take up potentially life-saving work like old hack Iti, Harris said. "If a dog has got a drive and he is got a good nose on him, we can certainly look at them and turn them into very good police dogs," Sergeant Harris said. While there is a "huge" breeding programme in Wellington, it was not that long ago that police relied "heavily" on the public and the community to sell or gift dogs to the police service of New Zealand. "A lot of our German shepherds, and this only goes back 15 or 20 years ago, were gifted dogs that were given to us by members of the public," he said. "They obviously bought them as puppies, and they did not work out at home, and they were offered to the police dogs section". However, they still need to have the right drive and be determined, he said. He added if they meet the criteria, "then they do make, or can make, very good police dogs." "It has been proven over the years. A lot of our dogs came from the streets, and they were very, very good and very, very proven police dogs." "There are hidden gems everywhere."
