Stories by Mackenzie Smith

Two former Fiji parliamentary staffers claim they were made to resign over a video they filmed showing the prime minister shoving an opposition MP.

Facing international pressure over major unrest in Papua region, Indonesia's government has pointed blame at West Papuan independence groups. Audio

Thousands of Papuans in Indonesia are occupying the governor's office, a protest organiser says, after several government buildings were torched in the provincial capital Jayapura on Thursday.

Calm has returned to the West Papuan regency of Deiyai, where at least two protestors and a soldier were killed in a bloody clash on Wednesday, Indonesia's Foreign Ministry says. Audio

Footage has emerged showing Fiji's Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama grabbing and shoving an opposition MP, contradicting key claims from the governing party and Mr Bainimarama over the incident.

New Zealand is supporting a new rollout of human rights monitoring in the Pacific. Audio

Tonga is mulling a Facebook ban, as the Kingdom struggles to contain a torrent of online abuse and threats on the platform directed at the monarchy by pro-government forces.

Tonga's Supreme Court has ordered a company linked to the kingdom's royals to pay security for legal costs before it can appeal a controversial ruling against it.

Tokelau's High Court has backed the government's dismissal of two public servants, but found it unlawfully withheld pay from them, in the first-ever decision from the NZ territory's highest court.

A kava bar in Auckland's downtown is hoping to win hearts and minds over the drink, especially among Pākehā, as the Pacific's favourite bitter elixir makes gains in international markets.

Analysis - In touting its new "elevated" engagement in the Pacific, Indonesia has been eager to stress it will work within New Zealand and Australia's efforts in the region, writes Mackenzie Smith.

Vanuatu's internal affairs minister says his government was not told by China what, if any, charges were laid against six people who were deported from the country last week.

The British High Commissioner to New Zealand and Samoa says the UK stepped back too much from the Pacific in the past.

The main organisation advancing West Papuan independence abroad has committed to ending the use of child soldiers by armed rebels fighting under its flag.

Indonesia will use a landmark business and trade exposition next week in New Zealand to launch a fresh diplomatic push in the Pacific.

Samoan officials say the expulsion of misbehaving seasonal workers from New Zealand and the blacklisting of their villages in Samoa, is a one-off.

A rebel group waging war against the Indonesian state in West Papua claims it's using child soldiers within its ranks. Audio

Tokelau's village councils are considering a site for a runway on the atolls, its leader says, re-igniting controversial plans for air services to the territory.

New Zealand authorities are investigating a prominent Samoan church with links to a cryptocurrency labelled as a fraudulent pyramid scheme.

Niue is building a new multi-million dollar parliament funded by New Zealand, which will replace its aging and cyclone-weathered Fale Fono.

Efforts are underway in Vanuatu to repatriate dozens of Bangladesh migrants who say they were trafficked there. Audio

Chinese developers in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) are facing increasing opposition from local communities, with one company blaming racism for setbacks it has faced there.

A billion-dollar global cryptocurrency scheme labelled a scam has targeted New Zealand's Samoan community, according to three people who claim they were cheated out of tens of thousands of dollars. Audio

Two Samoan churches which allegedly invested in a banned cryptocurrency are being investigated for money laundering, the country's central bank says. Audio

At least one Samoan church has been implicated in a global multi-billion dollar cryptocurrency scheme authorities say is a fraudulent scam.