Introduction by Croakey: As we wait to hear whether Australia will co-host COP31 climate negotiations next year with Pacific Islands nations, Vanuatu’s climate minister Ralph Regenvanu has expressed disappointment about the Federal Government’s decision to extend the life of Woodside’s North West Shelf gas project.
“This is not the leadership we want to see from Australia, if they are to be the host of COP at the same time,” Regenvanu told The Guardian. While “very disappointed in what’s happened”, Regenvanu said he continued to back Australia’s bid for COP31.
In this month’s edition of her column, Pacific Islands focus, Isabelle Zhu-Maguire shares the latest announcements by the re-elected Labor Government during Foreign Minister Senator Penny Wong’s recent visit to the region.
Zhu-Maguire, PhD candidate at the Coral Bell School of Asia and Pacific Affairs, Department of International Relations within the Australian National University, also reports on an outbreak of poliomyelitis in Papua New Guinea, domestic and family violence and contaminated fish in the Samoan islands.
The quotable?
…the Lowy Institute released a report showing that China is starting to call on developing nations, including in the Pacific, to repay loans.”
Isabelle Zhu-Maguire writes:
Content warning: This article mentions domestic violence against women and children.
One of the major health concerns in the Pacific this month is an outbreak of poliomyelitis in Papua New Guinea. The World Health Organization confirmed the outbreak after samples of the virus were found in soil around the capital Port Moresby and in two healthy children during a routine screening in Lae.
Due to effective vaccination campaigns, global polio rates have decreased by over 99 percent since 1988. Papua New Guinea was polio-free from 2000 until 2018 when the most recent outbreak occurred.
In response to renewed concerns about polio – a highly infectious disease, which mostly impacts children under five years, and is spread through faecal–oral transmission (often due to contaminated water) or via oral–oral transmission – the Papua New Guinea Government has approved 13 million kina (US$3.19m) to fund a nation-wide vaccine rollout and is receiving help from UNICEF to create a response plan.
Domestic and family violence
Another significant public health issue in the Pacific is the high prevalence of domestic and family violence and deaths, as reported in multiple news outlets including RNZ Pacific, ABC Pacific, Fiji Village and Pacific Media Network.
Fiji has one of the highest rates of domestic violence in the world, with approximately two-thirds of Fijian women experiencing some form of violence during their lifetime.
According to RNZ Pacific, the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre had 530 new visits for counselling from January to September 2024, and 707 new visits in all of 2023.
Shamima Ali, Coordinator for the Crisis Centre, told ABC Pacific Beat that it’s not just Fiji, it’s “around the Pacific”. As well as Fiji, approximately two-thirds of women in Kiribati, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands also experience domestic violence – “double the global average”.
While the increase in women reporting over time is a good thing, Ali said, “we haven’t been able to change the circumstances so that once they come out there is ongoing help in terms of accommodation, in terms of safety, in terms of law enforcement, and so on, and that is where we fall down”.
This powerful article, ‘When home becomes hell’, by ABC Pacific journalists, documents personal stories of violence.
Further reading: Culture, Religion and Domestic Violence: Reflections on Working with Fiji and Tuvalu Communities, by Dr Sara N Amin, The University of the South Pacific, Fiji, Selina Momoyalewa, Fiji and Sepola Taata Peniamina, Fiji in International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy.
Health sovereignty
‘Pacific health systems: Breaking the aid dependency cycle” is a great opinion piece by Pala Leka, postgraduate student in Global Health and Health Leadership at UNSW, for the Lowy Institute’s Interpreter publication. It highlights the issue of ‘dependency’ affecting much of the public health infrastructure in the Pacific.
Leka discussed how the lapse in USAID funding has highlighted that reclaiming “health sovereignty” is key for sustainable health across the region.
Finance, economics and development news
In early June, the Asia Development Bank (ADB) hosted its annual meeting in Milan, Italy, which proved to be highly important for many Pacific Islands.
Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand made headlines for standing up for Pacific countries, with both nations using their addresses to urge the Asia Development Bank to ensure the project procurement process for Pacific Developing Member Countries (PDMCs) align with the Pacific Quality Infrastructure Principles.
Also at the Asia Development Bank meeting, the Cook Islands asked the bank if it could receive all the funding it is entitled to under Asian Development Fund 14 (ADF14) within the next four years. Fiji and Tonga have given the ADB approval to raise bonds in their local currencies, a request that Fiji has been making since 2018.
The ADB has also said that it would begin consultations with Pacific member states to guide and develop its ‘Pacific Approach’ and has promised to open a new office in the Solomon Islands.
The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands’ (CNMI) Governor, Arnold Palacio, has publicly attributed their economic ‘slump’ to geopolitical tension.
As an unincorporated territory, Palacio has cited American tensions with Beijing as preventing Chinese economic activities in the CNMI. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has echoed these concerns for the whole Pacific region, in particular blaming US tariffs on its downgraded economic forecasts for the region.
Also in finance and economics news, Samoa’s parliament failed to pass its annual budget in parliament. This has meant that Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa has had to concede defeat and triggered an early election in Samoa. This comes off the back of months of political instability between Mata’afa and her former political party, the FAST party, which expelled her earlier this year.
Finally, the Lowy Institute released a report showing that China is starting to call on developing nations, including in the Pacific, to repay loans.
China has “transitioned from capital provider to net financial drain on developing country budgets”, it says. This report came out as China was preparing to host various Pacific Foreign Ministers for the third China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers’ Meeting – the first of which to be hosted in-person.
Resources and environment news
As happens most months, deep sea mining in the Pacific Ocean made the news in May. US President Donald Trump signed an executive order that directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to expedite the permitting process for deep-sea mining.
Ocean Ancestors’s spokesperson, Louisa Castledine, told RNZ Pacific that this is US efforts at “contemporary militarisation of the Pacific region”.
In related news, Pacific environmentalists have criticised former Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) head, Henry Puna, for joining the board of Cobalt Seabed Resources (CSR), a deep sea mining company.
Also this month, fisheries officials and delegates from the 17 members of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) met in Niue. This meeting included the handover of the FFA chair to Niue and progress on the FFA’s strategic plan review.
In other environmental news, Samoan villagers are still concerned about the contamination of fish near the site of the Manawanui boat that sank late last year.
Also this month, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has approved a global shipping emissions levy – the first of its kind. The levy will raise about US$10 billion a year – this is merely a fraction of the US$60 billion Pacific and Caribbean nations were advocating for.
Regionalism and other geopolitical news
This month, Pacific Island Forum’s Secretary General, Baron Waqa made his first official visit to Kiribati. Waqa and the Forum’s team completed a high level consultation in Kiribati in which members from various ministries recommitted their government to principles of regionalism.
Finally, Aotearoa/New Zealand has committed to continue to support police training in Fiji and Samoa. Aotearoa’s Police Commissioner Richard Chambers visited Fiji and Samoa in early May to discuss drug trafficking, customs, intelligence sharing, and corruption and has pledged ongoing support to the Pacific Detector Dog Programme (PDDP).
Australia’s role in the Pacific region was also highlighted this month. Seventeen days after Labor’s re-election, Foreign Minister Senator Penny Wong travelled to Fiji, compared to three days after the last election. In this trip, Australia recommitted to the “Vuvale Partnership” between the two nations and announced AUD $4 million (US$2.56 million) in new funding to support Fiji’s HIV response and launch of a new clinical services plan.
Wong also announced $50 million in financial support for Tonga over the next four years, specifically focused on health, economic support and gender. She also met with Vanuatu’s Prime Minister, Jotham Napat, to highlight new cooperation on disaster recovery, climate action, labour mobility and trade. Finally, Wong recommitted Australia to staying tariff free in its trade relationship with the Pacific Islands.
Cook Island’s Prime Minister Mark Brown visited Sydney to meet with Australia’s re-elected Minister for International Development and the Pacific (as well as Defence Industries), Pat Conroy. In the meeting, the two men reaffirmed their nations’ willingness to work with one another, the Blue Pacific, security and UN’s climate conference, COP31.
On COP31, it is likely to be announced in mid-June if Australia will host the UN’s climate conference. Just after Australia’s election, Palau’s President Surangel Whipps Jr congratulated the Albanese Government on its re-election, calling it a “win” for the Pacific given Labor’s bid to host COP31.
However, during a press conference in Tonga, Wong was pressed to defend her Government’s domestic climate action track record.
Only days after this press conference, the Labor Government approved Woodside’s North West Shelf Extension, the country’s largest gas project. I can only assume this will be a contentious topic if COP31 is hosted down under.
About the author
Isabelle Zhu-Maguire is a PhD candidate at the Coral Bell School of Asia and Pacific Affairs, Department of International Relations within the Australian National University. Her thesis investigates the ways in which Australia listens and responds to the climate advocacy of Pacific Island Nations.
She has conducted extensive research into the experiences of women in Afghanistan and their perspectives and realities living through conflict, oppression, and climate change.
Isabelle has also been advocate for greater youth inclusion within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Family and domestic violence support services
If you need help immediately call emergency services on 000
1800 Respect National Helpline: 1800 737 732
Women’s Crisis Line: 1800 811 811
InTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence: 1800 755 988
Men’s Referral Service: 1300 766 491
Mensline: 1300 789 978
Lifeline (24-hour Crisis Line): 131 114
Relationships Australia: 1300 364 277
UN Pacific Region Resource Book
Croakey thanks and acknowledges Isabelle Zhu-Maguire for providing this column as a probono service to our readers.
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