Approximately 1.1 ton of white substances in crystal and powder was seized in Maqalevu, Nadi on 20 January 2024 Photo: Fiji Police Force
Fiji - investigations
Fiji's Home Affairs Minister Pio Tikoduadua says border security agencies must carry out internal investigations to flush out those staff tied to the illegal drug trade.
The Fiji Times reports Tikoduadua saying there is a zero-tolerance policy for security officers involved in the movement of drugs.
He said the police have had their hands in the drug business in the past.
Tikoduadua said he would not be surprised if other government agencies responsible for border protection are also compromised.
The minister said he would not stand for agencies protecting those staff who had been implicated in criminal activities.
Cook Islands - by-election
The Cook Islands' chief electoral officer has announced the date of a by-election to fill the Penrhyn Island seat of the disgraced deputy prime minister.
Robert Tapaitau has been removed from parliament following his conviction on three charges of using a document to obtain pecuniary advantage and one charge of conspiracy to defraud.
The byelection date is set for 12 March with candidate nominations closing at noon on 23 February.
Solomon Islands - corruption
The Chair of the Solomon Islands Independent Commission Against Corruption (SIICAC) has described the organisation as a 'tiger without teeth'.
SIBC reports Sir Frank Kabui's comments followed the Solomon Islands' score in the 2023 Corruption Perception Index.
The CPI assesses the perceived level of public sector corruption and gave the country a score of 43 out of a possible 100.
Sir Frank said the SIICAC is a tiger without teeth; it boasts a big and honourable name, but it lacks the power to bite.
Transparency Solomon Islands chairman Rodney Kingmele said the concerning score indicates alleged serious corruption issues within the public sector.
He said Solomon Islands' ranking has stagnated since 2018, when they recorded the biggest score improvement among all Asian Pacific countries.
But he said since then, little progress has been made in the fight against corruption.
Papua New Guinea - dead
Papua New Guinea's Education Minister Jimmy Uguro, died suddenly at the weekend.
He has been praised by the Prime Minister, James Marape, for his work on the government's programme on flexible and oppen distance education, and also on trying to ensure students excelling at the STEM subjects of science, mathematics, technolgy and engineering, get opportunities.
He said as a member of his Pangu Party Mr Uguro was one of the loyalists who helped hgim come to power in 2019.
Tonga - project
A 'China-Aid Wind Power' project is set to begin in Tonga in April.
The Embassy of China says the project is expected to generate 3.61 gigawatt hours of on-grid electricity per year.
The project is expected to be completed in October.
The Chinese Embassy says the project will help Tonga to reach the short-term goal of 50 percent renewable energy of its gross power generation.
Fiji - booklet
A grassroots activist group in Fiji has launched a booklet on the challenges faced by women, girls, and gender-diverse people who experience poverty and economic injustice.
The booklet , from DIVA for Equality, underscores the burden of unpaid care, domestic, and communal work disproportionately carried by women in all their diversity, and throughout their lifetimes.
It said Fiji fails to recognise or address this, leaving a majority of working-age women and particularly elderly women vulnerable to economic insecurity and poverty.
The report said Fijian feminist activists advocate for a framework as proposed by feminist economist Diane Elson, which includes recognising, reducing, redistributing, rewarding, and representing issues of women's unpaid care, domestic, and communal work.
DIVA for Equality adds a 6th facet - the need to explicitly and carefully reconfigure society and state to meet the needs of all, explicitly including women, girls, and gender-diverse individuals.
Melanesia - support
Melanesian Spearhead Group director-general Leonard Louma has welcomed the support of the Australian government as two new projects are launched.
The two projects are a policy coordination unit within the secretariat, and the 'Yut4Melanesia' initiative.
This will support youth in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to respond to climate change and find solutions for environmental challenges.
The Vanuatu Daily Post reports Australian High Commissioner to Vanuatu, Heidi Bootle saying Australia highly values its partnerships across the Melanesian region.
Samoa - role
Samoa's former attorney general Lemalu Hermann Retzlaff is to become New Zealand's Public Defender.
In this role, he will oversee the legal management of the ten public defender offices around the country and the about one hundred and sixty lawyers who work as counsel for members of the community facing criminal charges.
The director of operations and performance Elaine Hines described Lemalu as someone with excellent legal competencies who is a strategic and reflective thinker.
After completing his service in Samoa, Lemalu worked in the Crown Solicitor's Office at Kayes Fletcher Walker, before becoming the Public Defender of Waitakere in February 2021, a position he has held since.
