Results for Pacific Islands

Grants of $16.5 million for the Blue Pacific Finance Hub, which aims to build ocean and coastal resilience in countries threatened by the impacts of climate change was announced by the Asian Development Bank with the Global Environment Facility and the Nordic Development Fund at COP27, in Egypt.

Eighteen senior students at Beulah Adventist College were excited to receive laptop computers on 4 November, under a national programme to encourage further online learning, funded by government.

Tongan students have made their mark in the international sport of Robotics. Five students from the University of the South Pacific Tonga campus returned home, after winning the silver medal at the 2022 FIRST® Global Challenge in Geneva, Switzerland held on 13-16 October.

A special event today marks the official opening of Tonga’s first ever large-scale Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) by the Prime Minister Hon. Hu'akavameiliku. The two Battery Energy Storage systems are deliverables of the Tonga Renewable Energy Project (TREP) located at the Popua Power Station and at Matatoa, Tofoa. The project, worth a total of $16.7 million USD, is jointly funded by the Asian Development Bank, Green Climate Fund, and the Government of Australia, and implemented by Tonga Power Limited with assistance from the Government of Tonga.

Pacific Island countries aim to strengthen their regional seismic network and find ways to improve their multi-hazard early warning systems in the South-West Pacific region, where about 30% of global seismicity is observed and 15% of deadly tsunamis are generated. The challenges were addressed at the 7th Annual Meeting of the Oceania Regional Seismic Network was held for the first time in Nuku’alofa, on 17-19 October, followed by the 7th Session of the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System Working Committee on 20-21 October.

This week South Pacific Defence Ministers and senior military leaders came together in Tonga for what was a vital meeting. Australia will be there as a partner and a friend, as together we confront common threats to our collective security, including climate change, transnational crime, cyber-attacks and natural disasters. I’ll be working with the Defence Ministers right across the region to boost our defence cooperation, to find more opportunities for our servicemen and women to work alongside each other in a spirit of partnership, so that our forces become more capable and more interoperable. - The Hon Richard Marles MP, Deputy Prime Minister of Australia.

In Tonga, the price for petroleum will slightly increase staring from tomorrow, 18 October, 2022. The Competent Authority (TCA) approved the new retail petroleum prices for October – November. The Government’s subsidy of 20 seniti has ceased after it had been extended for the past three and a half months.

With only a few days left until Mate Ma'a Tonga embarks on its Rugby League World Cup campaign with its first match on 18 October, Head Coach Kristian Woolf is confident that the squad is going to do very well and make the Kingdom of Tonga proud.

The New Zealand Government has announced the re-opening of two more visa categories for migrants to become residents there starting this November.