19-05-2025
Pacific kava advocates wary of Australia introducing stricter Kava regulations
A Pacific community leader in Australia who fought for the resumption of commercial kava imports fears they could be stopped again now that kava smuggling into the Northern Territory, where it's banned, has also resumed.
The illicit kava trade to remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory is back in full swing since commercial imports resumed a few years ago.
"It's just disappointing to see people went back the same government turns around and bans kava again," said Ratu Maseinawa, a leader in Brisbane's Fijian community, who lobbied hard to get commercial kava imports flowing again.
"I was not sure if I was to laugh or to cry because they were presenting the Kava seize as if though it was heroin or cocaine," said Michael Louze from the Vanuatu Kava Industry Association.
