- The PNG government has secured a US$500 million loan from Credit Suisse. The government has not said what it will be used for, but it is likely to be a mixture of restructuring domestic debt and funding the 2016 budget deficit.
- Rio Tinto has divested its 53.8% stake in Bougainville Copper. This will leave the PNG government and Autonomous Bougainville Governmen (ABG) with equal stakes in the mine.
- ABG John Momis has accused the Papua New Guinea government of endangering the Bougainville Peace Agreement, arguing the ABG should be given a controlling interest in the mine. ABG has hinted at legal action.
- The inaugural Bougainville Chocolate Festival is also underway this week. It is a part of the ABG’s commitment to diversified and sustainable economic growth.
- Yesterday John Howard launched the latest volume in the official history of Australian peacekeeping. Authored by Bob Breen, the volume is about Australian peace support operations in the Pacific between 1980-2006.
- I spoke to ABC's Pacific Beat on Monday about how the new Australian government should be dealing with the Pacific, calling for a long-term strategy.
- Representatives in Guam have expressed a desire to hold a plebiscite in their November elections to address options of self-determination including; becoming a state of the US, free association with the US, and complete independence.
- Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare marked the National Healing and Apology Program week with an emotional speech and public apology for the suffering his people experienced during the civil conflict.
- A Fiji opposition SODELPA party spokesman told ABC’s Pacific Beat that the Fijian Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum controls too many portfolios. He is responsible for nine departments and ministries, including the Ministry of Economy.
Bougainville Chocolate Festival Photo courtesy of Facebook user Aloysius Laukai