Published daily by the Lowy Institute

Pacific island links: Fiji elections, Niue, Solomons budget, Fiji-Tonga, Pacific services and more

Pacific island links: Fiji elections, Niue, Solomons budget, Fiji-Tonga, Pacific services and more
Published 17 Jul 2014   Follow @CainTess

A weekly round up of news, commentary and analysis from and about the Pacific island region:

  • In Fiji, the People's Democratic Party is the first to release its manifesto ahead of the September elections. It includes a commitment to review the constitution and take Fiji back into the Pacific Islands Forum.
  • Will increased tourism be enough to reverse the population decline of Niue? If so, the New Zealand Defence Force is not helping (h/t @mjfield).
  • In a significant step forward for transparency, the government of Solomon Islands has published a report of actual income and expenditure against the 2013 budget.
  • Tuisugaletua Sofara Aveau is Minister of Information, Communication & Technology in Samoa. He  has collaborated with his wife to write a theme song for the forthcoming UN Small Islands Developing States conference.
  • Kalafi Moala provides historical  context to a longstanding geopolitical conflict between Fiji and Tonga.
  • Whilst members of the Melanesian Spearhead Group are meeting to discuss cooperation on aviation and tourism, Fiji and Solomon Islands have withdrawn landing rights for each other's airlines.
  • Matthew Dornan and I have been thinking about why it is so hard to deliver services on a regional basis in the Pacific.
  • Karl Claxton & Natalie Sambhi take another look at the influence of Indonesia in the Pacific regional order.
  • A recent Praxis panel looked at opportunities and challenges for women's economic empowerment in the region: 



You may also be interested in