South Pacific News

The growth of vibrant economies and stable societies among Pacific island countries is at the heart of the Pacific Plan. It is a collective ambition that can be realised when heads come together in Rarotonga to add stimulus to the momentum for progress that the peoples of the Pacific richly deserve.

The University of the South Pacific Council meeting in Vanuatu from 16-17 May appointed Mr Ikbal Jannif of Fiji, as the new Pro-Chancellor and the Chairman of the USP Council.

Human rights activist and sole Papua New Guinea (PNG) female elected parliamentarian Dame Carol Kidu was dragged by police Saturday while protesting the illegal eviction and partial demolition of Paga Hill Settlement, housing some 2,000 residents.

Tonga’s Minister for Labour, Commerce and Industries, Hon. ‘Isileli Pulu moved at the Forum Trade Ministers Meeting at Majuro, Marshall Islands on May 11 for school fees and the right for a temporary jobs for students from Forum Island Countries in Australia and New Zealand to be incorporated into the PACER Plus free trade agreement negotiation that is still in progress.

A total of eleven States and Territories in oceania have agreed to join the “One tree one day a life” initiative, a move that would make the Pacific a leading producer of oxygen on the planet, a veritable oxygen lung for the world.