The president of the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) says journalists need greater protection when reporting on organised crime networks.

Speaking at a panel discussion on organised crime in Savusavu, Kalafi Moala said journalists investigating drug trafficking face increasing threats to their personal safety.

Moala, who is also RNZ Pacific correspondent in Tonga, recalled an incident involving a journalist from Tonga’s Kele’a newspaper who reported on Tongan gangs.

• READ MORE: UN adviser tells Pacific journalists to probe ‘accountability’ in climate change, disaster funding
• Other PINA reports

A gang member went to the newspaper’s office the following day and threatened the journalist.

Moala pointed out that in Tonga alone, organised crime has become more sophisticated.

He said as crime grows, continued reporting and scrutiny are needed, but journalists must be protected from threats and violence while doing their job.

Pacific media professionals from across the region are in Fiji for this year’s PINA Media Summit. The summit, which officially began today, will shine a spotlight on issues facing many Pacific newsroom across the region.

Moala told RNZ Pacific he hoped the summit will address some of the fundamental issues facing journalism in the region.

“In terms of storytelling, in terms of engagement with government and other powers, how do we do research to be able to do stories? How do we fact-check our stories?

“Those are fundamental things that I think it needs to be brought back and re-emphasised in our training. And the reason for that is there are a lot of young people that are coming in.”

More than 200 people are taking part in the PINA summit. Moala said this was its biggest gathering yet.

He told RNZ Pacific that PINA still needed to exist.

“It is an association where it allows us to be able to stand together on the key principles of our profession, of our faith. It is always better to stand together than to stand alone.”

Women in media
A Fiji media leader says Pacific women in media continue to face challenges in the industry, including accessing information from government agencies.

Rosi Doviverata from the Women in Media Fiji organisation said delays in responses can hold up reporting on issues affecting communities.

She told RNZ Pacific Waves reporters could sometimes wait two or three months for answers.

“That can be really frustrating, and we have people in the community asking why have not you reported this, and that is mainly because we are waiting on ministries to respond to those issues,” she said.

Speaking prior to the launch of the PINA media summit in Savusavu, Doviverata said support from colleagues and editors could help Pacific female reporters advance in their careers.

“For us in Fiji, we have seen we are where we are because of that male allyship,” she said.

“We are active, we are engaging with different organisations, because of that support.”

Concern is mounting among Fiji civil society over signs the government may extend the length of Parliament in order to push through constitutional changes.

Fiji’s government has hinted that a new constitution could be in place by Christmas Eve.

Cabinet has endorsed the Constitution Review Commission’s report to be presented in Parliament and has supported a request for a special sitting this week.

• READ MORE: Fiji targets new constitution by Christmas Eve as watchdog warns of ‘self-coup’ risk
• Other Fiji constitution reports

In a joint statement, leading civil society groups warn that a rushed constitutional process could amount to a “self-coup” if it delays the next general election.

Elections are due to be held by February 2027, but the Rabuka-led government has not announced a date yet.

The civll society groups have called on MPs across party lines to reject any constitutional timetable that risks taking Fiji beyond the democratic life of the current Parliament.

The groups include the Centre for Democracy and Dialogue, the Fiji Council of Social Services, the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement, FemLink Pacific, the Pacific Centre for Peacebuilding, and the Social Empowerment and Education Programme.

They called on the government to guarantee that “if any major change to the electoral system is proposed, it must be subject to a clear transitional provision stating that the next general election will proceed under the existing electoral framework”.

“The people of Fiji will be given adequate time, clear information and a meaningful opportunity to consider any proposed Constitution before any referendum is held.”

With an election looming and political parties in campaign mode, the Fiji government has hinted that a new constitution could be in place by Christmas Eve.

The move has been described by a local civil society organisation as a “grave threat” to democracy and the rule of law, while one of the minor parties in the Sitiveni Rabuka-led coalition government has distanced itself from “any attempt to rush constitutional reform”.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Fiji government said Cabinet had endorsed the Constitution Review Commission’s (CRC) report to be presented in Parliament and had supported a request for a special sitting on 22 September.

• READ MORE: Other Fiji Constitution reports

The CRC, established in March this year, conducted nationwide consultations and received submissions on Fiji’s 2013 Constitution before submitting its report and a draft constitution bill to the country’s head of state on August 31.

According to the government, the commission’s report identifies areas for reform of the 2013 Constitution.

Rabuka and other critics have long argued that the 2013 Constitution was imposed by the Bainimarama administration following the 2006 military coup.

The constitution also introduced equal citizenship for all Fiji nationals and formally adopted “Fijian” as the common national identity for all citizens, regardless of ethnicity.

“Cabinet’s decision to table the report does not constitute acceptance or adoption of all the commission’s recommendations.

‘Detailed consideration’
“The Cabinet Subcommittee on the Review of the Constitution will continue its detailed consideration of the recommendations, including their practical, legal and policy implications, and will report back to Cabinet on the way forward. This will include consideration of any transitional arrangements that may be required.”

It added that the proposed process provides that the CRC’s report will be debated in Parliament during its sitting from September 28.

“Subject to the passage of the Bill and subsequent parliamentary processes, a referendum is proposed to be held between November and mid-December 2026.

“If approved through the required processes, the new Constitution is proposed to come into effect by 24 December 2026.”

However, the Centre for Democracy and Dialogue, formerly known as Dialogue Fiji, has warned that the proposed timeline to introduce a new constitution by December 24 raises serious constitutional, legal and democratic concerns.

The centre’s CEO Nilesh Lal said the government’s proposed timeline would plunge Fiji into a period of “undemocratic rule”.

Lal said the democratic authority of Fiji’s Parliament was time-bound.

“It is derived from the mandate given by voters at a general election and expires after a defined period, 4 years in the case of the current Parliament,” he said.

‘Legally impossible’
He said a constitution coming into force in late December could make it “legally and administratively impossible” to hold a general election within the required period following the dissolution of Parliament under Fiji’s 2013 Constitution.

“If constitutional reform is used to delay the next election, extend Parliament, or allow the executive to govern beyond the life of an elected Parliament, it would amount in substance to an autogolpe, or self-coup,” he said.

Rabuka’s former deputy PM and National Federation Party (NFP) leader Dr Biman Prasad said his party would not support a “rushed process”.

“We have had constitutional upheavals in this country,” Dr Prasad told FBC News.

“In fact, we have had four constitutions and constitution-making process ought to be open, transparent and accountable. It must be the document that has the broad support of our people.”

Opposition: Rabuka ‘acting recklessly’
Fiji’s opposition leader Inia Seruiratu has also weighed in on the issue, urging the government to slow down and explain to the Fijian people “why it is necessary to have a new Constitution in force by Christmas Eve”.

“The people must be given adequate opportunity to understand what is being proposed, what they may gain, what they may lose and how the proposed Constitution will change the way Fiji is governed,” he said in a statement on Friday.

He warned that Rabuka and his Cabinet were “acting recklessly”.

“I am calling on the government to slow this process down,” he said.

The Labour Party is promising visa-free travel to Aotearoa New Zealand for Pacific Islanders.

Deputy Leader Carmel Sepuloni said Pacific Island Forum countries would be allowed in on an NZeTA for three months at a time — like 61 other countries, if the government changes.

She told RNZ Pacific it was a long-overdue decision that recognises cross-border connections.

• READ MORE: Other Pacific-New Zealand travel reports

“We’re talking about seamless travel between Pacific countries and New Zealand … and a recognition of the cost and burden that the current system puts on New Zealand Pacific families,” Sepuloni said.

“Our relationship has matured enough for us to be able to move to a place that they have access to the same electronic system that 60 other countries have. It’s the right thing to do.”

It comes after New Zealand First promised a two-year clemency period for Pacific overstayers last week. Pacific Islanders’ share of the total overstayer population has increased this year, according to Immigration New Zealand (INZ).

In February, Winston Peters accepted a petition by Samoan activist Arthur Anae to make visa-free travel a reality. He said last week that it “possibly could happen in the future”.

“The first thing you’ve got to do is regularise what it means … you leave at the end of that specific time, or before,” he said.

“As I said in that speech months ago in the forecourt of Parliament: cousins don’t rip off cousins.”

The Green Party has also signalled its support for the visa waiver. National would not be drawn on its position, saying the party would announce its immigration policy in due course.

Pacific overstayer rates on the rise
Visa overstayers in New Zealand have decreased over the year, but the share of Pacific Island visa overstayers has risen, according to INZ figures released Thursday.

INZ noted approximately 26 percent of overstayers were from Pacific Island countries, up from 25 percent last year. Meanwhile, the overall overstayer population is down 8.7 percent.

It is estimated out of an overstayer population of 19,153 currently in the country, 2541 are Tongan, and 1462 are Samoan.

Of arrivals on a temporary visa from June 2023 and 2026, 2.14 percent of Tongans overstayed, as did 1.25 percent of Samoans. These figures are well above the average of 0.13 percent for all arrivals.

According to INZ, no Pacific Island countries have been able to enter the country visa-free since 2003, when the waiver for Tuvaluans, i-Kiribati and Dei-Naoero (formerly Nauruans) was removed.

Before then, Tongans, Samoans and Fijians were kicked off the waiver in 1987, less than three months after being added, with more than 5200 arrivals, and fewer than half of those leaving once their visa expired.

Since then, INZ has regarded Pacific nationals as high-risk overstayers, despite the fact the US, China, India and the United Kingdom had overstayer numbers comparable to Tonga and Samoa — only their rates were lower because their total legal arrivals were higher.

Not addressing overstaying
When asked whether it would make overstaying more likely, Sepuloni said the policy announced on Thursday was not meant to address overstaying.

“The expectation is that the rules still apply … and our expectation is that people will follow them,” she said.

“By and large, our Pacific people follow the rules. It’s not like we have our people coming from the Pacific, and they are overwhelmingly choosing to break the rules. It’s the complete opposite, actually.”

As for NZ First’s clemency policy, Sepuloni said she thought it had not been thought through very carefully.

“I’ve dealt with a lot of immigration cases as an electorate MP, and there are always individual circumstances that don’t fit in a box.”

“It worries me that they’re saying they’ll give this two years clemency, and at that point, if you are not regulated, they will deport you, and you will never be allowed to come back.”

Anae: I’m over the moon right now
Despite the Labour policy more closely aligning with its stated goal, Anae said he was still backing New Zealand First.

“What New Zealand First has said is something that we’ve been raising for some time: the unfairness on the overstaying numbers,” Anae said.

“I’ve always treated [Labour] equally as everybody else … I think the problem that I’ve had with them is their lateness in making a statement.”

He said he felt as though there was momentum behind a political consensus on visa-free travel.

“What I’m thinking right now is this: we know Winston’s going to support us. Now we know Labour is there and I’m sure the Greens and Te Pāti Māori will support us, which means we have the numbers.”

He said for Pacific people seeking to attend weddings and funerals whose visas were not processed in time, or for those wrongly deported due to administrative errors by INZ, this could bring closure.

“We are asking for justice. We want to be treated equally as anybody else. Nothing more, just to be the same.”

Fiji’s Health Minister Dr Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu has formally declared a national HIV emergency in the country.

In a pre-recorded video press statement on Tuesday, Dr Lalabalavu said the decision was backed by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and his Cabinet due to the “seriousness of the epidemic”.

The health minister confirmed that the government’s current estimates indicated that one in every 60 adults in Fiji is living with HIV.

• READ MORE: ‘Horrendously high’ number of HIV infections in Fiji babies, says health researcher
• Dr Lalabalavu urges responsible drinking
• Other Fiji HIV reports

“Five years ago, the estimate was one in 1667. In 2024, we recorded 2060 new HIV diagnoses,” he said.

“HIV prevalence among women attending antenatal care reached around two percent. That means one out of 50 pregnant women now has HIV. These figures tell us the response must reach further and follow through more consistently.”

This week, a health researcher told RNZ Checkpoint that a “horrendously high” number of newborns were dying due to HIV-related complications in Fiji.

The NZ government’s SafeTravel website is warning people traveling to Fiji to avoid activities that could increase their risk of infection.

Second-fastest growth in Asia-Pacific
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Fiji has the second-fastest-growing HIV epidemic in the Asia-Pacific region behind Papua New Guinea (PNG).

An estimated 9000 Fijians were living with HIV as of March this year, and officials pointed to high-risk drug use contributing to the rapid rise.

Dr Lalabalavu said every diagnosis must lead to care and every person starting treatment needed support to remain on it.

He said authorities would move quickly to introduce new interventions and scale up established services backed by evidence.

“That means expanding testing, treatment, and access to pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP. It also means accelerating the introduction of a formal needle and syringe programme and long-acting injectable prevention.”

He stressed that treatment was central to the government’s response.

“It helps people living with HIV stay well, and when it achieves and maintains an undetectable viral load, it prevents sexual transmission.”

Coordinated implementation
Fiji’s Sexual Reproductive Health and HIV Programme Management Unit is expected to coordinate implementation, working through divisional and sub-divisional health services, and with community partners.

Dr Lalabalavu said Australia, New Zealand, the Global Fund, India, and the United Nations Joint Team on HIV and AIDS, and other partners were supporting the country with its HIV response.

The Fijian government had also proposed the establishment of a parliamentary standing committee on HIV and related matters, he said.

“To anyone who has been diagnosed with HIV, a diagnosis does not take away your future. Effective treatment can help you live a long and healthy life. Keep taking your medicine as prescribed, even when you feel well.

“I call on families, communities, faith leaders, schools, employers, and partners to join in this response, encourage testing, support people to stay in care, and challenge stigma wherever you encounter it.”

A “horrendously high” number of babies in Fiji are dying due to HIV related complications, says a health researcher, as the prevalence of the disease grows there.

The New Zealand government website SafeTravel says people travelling to Fiji should avoid activities that could increase their risk of infection.

In March this year, it was estimated 9000 Fijians were living with HIV and officials said high risk drug use was adding to the rapid rise.

• READ MORE: One in 60 Fijian adults now living with HIV
• Other Fiji HIV reports

Victoria University senior health researcher Sharon Mclennan told RNZ Checkpoint the situation in Fiji was “pretty bad” and had been driven partly by increased drug use.

“You see a lot of needle sharing going on, and that has been the fuse that lit this incredible increase in HIV.

Years of underfunding of the health service had also contributed to the problem, she said.

Mclennan said there had been a rise in mothers testing positive and babies being born with HIV.

“About one baby per week is being born and around about one baby per month is dying of HIV related complications… it’s horrendously high, it’s very high.”

Mclennan said there had been a push to get more people tested for HIV, but there remained issues with the availability of tests and social stigma.

“People don’t want to talk about it, because then they’ll be found out for behaviours that are not socially acceptable and they may get shunned or questioned.”

Fiji did not have a needle exchange programme, Mclennan said, but it was being discussed and planned for.

New Zealand had a role to play in helping Fiji deal with the problem, Mclennan said.

“Last year New Zealand gave $4 million towards Fiji’s Ministry of Health for support for HIV, we can certainly step that up. We can step up technical assistance.”

That included supporting Fijian people and their families living in New Zealand, she said.

“There’s a lot of movement between here and the islands… and so making sure that our Pacific populations know and are aware of HIV testing and treatment services here.”

Most New Zealanders travelling to Fiji were unlikely to be at risk, she said.

“I think the risk if you’re travelling for a family holiday over the school holidays is pretty low. But it’s still good to see that the government is taking notice and providing New Zealanders with some advice.”

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said New Zealanders travelling to Fiji should get comprehensive travel insurance, and register their details on SafeTravel.

Naoero, formerly known as Nauru, has opened its embassy in Jerusalem, becoming the third Pacific Island nation to do so.

Naoero’s Vice-President Lionel Aingimea said it sent a message to the world about where the island nation stood.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Israel had committed to sending Naoero medical equipment and water purification systems.

• READ MORE: Why most Pacific government’s stand with Israel
• Other Pacific and Israel diplomacy reports

Sa’ar visited Suva in June after the Fiji government opened its own embassy in Jerusalem last year in a ceremony attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Papua New Guinea opened an embassy there in 2023.

Sa’ar said earlier this year that Samoa was also expected to open its Jerusalem embassy this year.

Aingimea said opening an embassy in Jerusalem was a “major political decision”.

‘Strengthening of Israel ties’
“We see opening an embassy here in Jerusalem not only as a strengthening of our ties with Israel, but also as a message to the world of where we stand,” he was quoted as saying in a statement released by the Israeli government.

“There was never a thought in the minds and hearts of Naoero that we would open an embassy here in Jerusalem this year,” he said.

“What changed it? It was born in discussions between myself and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar in Fiji. I took it to Cabinet, and Cabinet endorsed it. It was an easy decision to make.”

He added that Naoero’s support for Israel had been “unwavering”.

“Naoero is historically one of Israel’s most reliable and consistent diplomatic allies at the United Nations.

“The United States stands at 93 percent of its votes supporting Israel, the Federated States of Micronesia at 88 percent, and Naoero at 71 percent. Mark my words: that 71 percent will increase very quickly.

“True friends stay consistent through both good times and hard trials, and that is who Naoero is to Israel.”

On the second day of the Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ meeting in Palau, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was asked about the potential participation of Torres Strait Islanders in the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) — one of the forum’s three sub-regional groups.

Albanese, alongside his ministers Chris Bowen and Pat Conroy, was holding a press conference at the leaders’ meeting venue in Koror. Bowen holds the climate portfolio while Conroy is Australia’s Minister for Pacific Island affairs.

Conroy responded on behalf of his prime minister.

• READ MORE: West Papua: The Pacific’s new test of Indonesia’s sovereignty narrative
  
• The Pacific’s cocaine highway: will Australia’s $600m deal really help?
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“I was honoured to be the first Australian minister to attend a Melanesian Spearhead Group as an observer in Fiji [in June 2025],” Conroy began.

“Obviously, there’s a process that is going through where the Melanesian Spearhead Group consider whether Australia would be an observer at the MSG. We’re obviously keen to make that happen because we see value in having the people of Australia as an observer through the Australian government at the Melanesian Spearhead Group.”

No mention of the people of Torres Strait Island was made, even after the reporter attempted a follow-up question.

The MSG, which as a starting point acknowledges Torres Strait Islanders as part of its Melanesian family, holds a different view.

The group’s newly appointed Director-General Dr Anna Naupa, speaking to reporters the previous day, said the MSG’s preference was for Australia to include its Melanesian communities, like Torres Strait Islanders, when engaging with it.

“Because of our attention to our Indigenous Melanesian peoples, very much that is the preference, is that we bring and we connect our communities with each other,” Dr Naupa said.

It is a difference in outlook that reflects some of the wider challenges to Australia’s engagement in the Pacific region.

Sometimes the subtleties and nuances of regional politics can be lost or completely dismissed by the Australians.

Climate contradictions
Other times it feels like Australia does not fully appreciate — outwardly at least — how closely watched it is by smaller Pacific nations.

For example, one of the major developments at the leaders’ meeting was the release of a report from the UN Environment Programme, which stated that overshooting the Paris Climate Accord goal of 1.5C was now unavoidable.

It came a day after Albanese’s government supported the opening of a new fracking project in the Northern Territory.

It was also confirmed during the week that Albanese’s government had approved the expansion of an open-cut coal mine in Queensland.

Vanuatu’s Climate Minister Ralph Regenvanu, fresh from a climate media briefing on the UN report release, pointed the finger squarely at the Forum’s largest member in Koror.

“Australia is a great partner for the Pacific in helping adaptation and renewable energy pathways, and that’s all good,” he said.

“But as I said … in the press conference, fossil fuels remain the primary driver [of rising temperatures]. And if you expand fossil fuels, you’re not recognising the declaration you signed up to yourself, which is Boe, which says it’s the greatest single threat to the peoples of the Pacific.

“So that is a contradiction that Australia needs to find a way out of,” Regenvanu said.

Climate featured heavily
Similar to previous years, climate change featured heavily in the leaders’ meeting communique this year.

Leaders signed off on the Belau declaration for urgent and inclusive climate action to keep 1.5C within reach through it. As part of that, the Boe Declaration was recalled.

Leaders also reaffirmed that “climate change remains the single greatest threat to the security, livelihoods, wellbeing and future of the peoples of the Pacific”.

For his part, Albanese did not miss a beat when questioned about whether his government’s commitment to the climate crisis was geniune.

“We all need to do more,” he told reporters.

He also made the point that Pacific leaders understood Australia’s current reliance on fossil fuels and “have respect for the position that we’ve taken” — directly contradicting Regenvanu’s words.

“They also understand with the transition [away from fossil fuels] — because they’re dealing with it as well — that the transition can’t happen overnight, that it requires strategies and policies to be put in place,” Albanese said.

It’s not new for countries in the Pacific to have different outlooks — but when it comes to these regional big issues, there’s a gap between the Australian view and those of the Pacific islands that may suggest a lack of understanding of the latter by the former.

Security arrangements
In regard to traditional security, Australia’s been building an array of treaties and bilateral agreements with different partners across the region over several years and particularly in recent months.

These include the Ocean of Peace Alliance or Veitacini Treaty with Fiji, which other parties may eventually join, the Nakamal agreement with Vanuatu, the Pukpuk treaty with Papua New Guinea, the Nauru-Australia Treaty and the Falepili Union with Tuvalu.

Despite that, it will likely have come away from this year’s forum feeling slightly short-changed because there were signs of a handbrake being applied on this security stuff, amid concerns from Pacific islanders about where it’s all heading, and how quickly it’s going that way.

As part of the Forum’s peace and security agenda, the Joint Heads of Pacific Security (JHOPS) which is headquartered at Australia’s Department of Defence, has been tabled under the review of the regional architecture.

The JHOPS brings together the heads of police, military, customs and immigration agencies from across the region. Japan and the US are observers.

Civil society group Pacific Action Network on Globalisation (PANG) has raised serious concerns about the insertion of JHOPS and a regional deployment framework into the forum-led security architecture.

Its main concern is the lack of scrutiny over the process, and the potential legal structures that may result which lock Pacific nations into security arrangements they hadn’t foreseen or agreed to.

Further consultation needed
In Koror, PANG along with the Pacific Regional NGO Organisations Alliance was represented by Joey Tau.

He told RNZ Pacific he was pleased leaders had only agreed in principle to recognise JHOPS as part of the Forum-led security architecture, noting in the communique that further consultation would be needed.

Similarly, the Waqa Moana maritime security initiative targeting illicit drug trafficking, backed heavily by Australia, was only agreed to in principle by leaders, with the overall decision seeking more consultation.

To add to that, the proposal from the Solomon Islands for a regional security treaty, which Australia’s said it was open to, has been kicked down the road. Leaders chose to note the proposal and acknowledged further consultation among members.

Overall, as Tau, pointed out, there are still major questions over the direction of the reform of the forum’s regional architecture, and the processes and people guiding it.

“We’re in a state where, not only external parties, but member states who are part of the whole architecture are driving security agreements, compacts, initiatives, without proper consultation,” he said.

For Australia, which has steadily increased its activity and engagement in the region, particularly around security, it may be questioning where exactly the speedbumps emerged at last week’s Forum leaders’ summit.

The resourcing it brings will always afford it a seat at the table, and there is no doubt its investment in the Pacific in areas such as sport, particularly rugby league has gone down well.

But understanding how to discuss contentious issues and negotiate in Pacific circles are not skills that come automatically with “big ticket” agreements and promises — they are honed through relationships, experience and being in the room.

Time in the region will also let you know that more often than not, decisions turn on a dime, as the absence of several leaders from the forum showed last week. It’s all part and parcel of politics in the Pacific region.

Melanesian countries are pushing Indonesia to facilitate a long-requested visit to West Papua by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights or have its membership in their regional bloc reviewed.

A request for the visit was made by Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) countries back in 2019, but it has still not gone ahead, despite ongoing human rights violations in the Indonesian-ruled Papua region, known internationally as West Papua.

Frustration has built up among the Melanesian countries in the intervening years that Jakarta has not yet allowed the visit to take place.

• READ MORE: West Papuan leader calls on Pacific Forum to ‘break its silence’ and denounce Indonesian military violence
• Other West Papua reports

Now the members of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) say that if a visit by the Commissioner’s office is not facilitated by Indonesia in order for a report on human rights issues in West Papua to be produced by their next summit in 2027, then Indonesia’s associate member status in the MSG will be reviewed.

The full members of the MSG are: Papua New Guinea, FIji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia’s FLNKS Kanak independence movement. The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) has observer status at the MSG, and Indonesia has associate member status.

The MSG has issued a statement from the current PIF leaders summit in Palau, saying Melanesian leaders “urged continued engagement with Indonesia to facilitate access by the end of Indonesia’s term as President of the Human Rights Council on 31 December 2026”.

MSG members requested the bloc’s current chair, Fiji, to write to Indonesia to allow the visit of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to West Papua to produce a report on human rights issues in Papua, and to have the report delivered for consideration at the next MSG summit in 2027.

2027 MSG Summit review
Leaders “affirmed that if these actions are not undertaken the Associate Member status shall be reviewed accordingly at the next MSG Summit in 2027”.

They also requested MSG member country embassies in Jakarta to “support appropriate follow-up and engagement on this matter”.

The members are also considering a proposal for MSG leaders to meet Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York last this month.

Since taking office last year, Prabowo has overseen an increase in Indonesian military deployments to West Papua where a long-running conflict with the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) has escalated in recent months, causing mass displacement of some Papua village communities in the High Papua region.

Authorities in Fiji are offering contradictory accounts of a nationwide effort to remove beggars and street dwellers from public spaces, with questions over warning notices and what support is available for those affected.

The agencies involved have been unable to clearly identify what those services are and who is responsible for providing them, or what happens to people after they are moved from their public places.

The ongoing lack of clarity has raised concerns among civil society organisations that the enforcement effort may be getting ahead of the support systems needed to make it work.

• READ MORE: Other Fiji homeless reports

Last month, The Fiji Times reported that city rangers were serving warning notices to individuals soliciting alms in public areas. The notices stated that behaviour such as persistent begging or obstructing of footpaths were offences and could lead to “enforcement actions”.

The operation has been advertised as a joint effort between the Lautoka City Council, Fiji police, and the Women, Children and Social Protection Ministry.

RNZ Pacific has repeatedly sought clarification on how the operation works in practice, on what would trigger a warning notice, what happens when someone refuses to leave, what support programmes are offered for street dwellers, and what role each agency plays.

The office of the Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection, Sashi Kiran, declined to comment on the ministry’s role in supporting street dwellers or on what programmes being offered to people being moved from public spaces.

The office of Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu would only say police were there to “ensure the safety of all parties” and would “use necessary force” if required.

When RNZ Pacific asked what that meant in practice, and what powers police would use if people refused to leave public spaces, no detailed explanations were provided.

RNZ Pacific’s specific questions to both the ministry and police remain unanswered.

‘No forced relocation’
The Lautoka City Council chairman and acting CEO Ratu Tevita Momoedonu, however, was more forthcoming, and rejected suggestions people were being forcibly removed from streets.

“There is no forced relocation here. We can’t force anybody,” he said.

He described the initiative as welfare-led, saying street dwellers were being profiled and offered relocation to shelters and rehabilitation services.

“We don’t warn people. We profile them, and we call them in meetings, and then we suggest to them the importance or the benefits of being relocated,” he added.

When asked about the support programmes being offered by the ministry, Momoedonu said they could not help.

“I can’t help you either, because the [Lautoka City] Council, we have our own jurisdictions here. We only help social welfare in profiling,” he said.

“The rehabilitation part, the relocation part, it is their (ministry and police) responsibility, not us. If they are not answering to you people, then [they] neither do us.”

Directives may be issued
While Momoedonu denied that warning notices were being used as part of the relocation effort, he did acknowledge that council notices could be issued for breaches of bylaws, and that people involved in criminal activity could be removed.

“If there are bylaws that are violated, then we can issue directives? When there are criminal elements — drinking in public place, taking drugs in public place, disturbing the peace. These are criminal elements.”

He said police assist the Lautoka City Council and welfare officers when street dwellers resist engagement, although he commented that police do not “enforce relocations”.

In Nadi, Fiji’s international gateway, a similar operation is underway.

A pamphlet from social worker Mohenesh Singh describes “Operation Loloma” as an effort to take beggars off the streets, profile and screen them, and provide “alternative means of livelihood”.

“Together, we can create lasting solutions that address the root causes of begging,” the pamphlet reads.

“The information collected will see an an individual case plan drawn up for each beggar so that the welfare of the disadvantaged individuals are taken care of by the various networks we have in the country.”

RNZ Pacific contacted Singh for comment, asking what street profiling looked like, and what support was offered for street dwellers. He declined to comment about their operation.

FCOSS ‘caught by surprise’
Civil society groups which are also involved in working on the issue say they have been left in the dark about the Lautoka initiative.

The Fiji Council of Social Services (FCOSS) executive director Vani Catanasiga said she first learnt about Lautoka City Council’s warning notice enforcement when contacted by RNZ Pacific.

“We were caught by surprise, so, I just heard that it was happening in Lautoka,” Catanasiga said.

“I was aware about it in Suva, sort of, efforts or clean up… but I wasn’t aware about Lautoka.”

Catanasiga said Fiji’s civil sector has repeatedly raised concerns around the lack of co-ordination between Fijian agencies that are working with vulnerable people.

The Lautoka operation, she said, could serve as a “case study” in what happens when co-ordination between involved parties breaks down.

“Unfortunately, in this case, it has to do with a vulnerable group. They’re already vulnerable, they’re already confused, they’re already in need of support, compassion,” Catanasiga said.

“When we don’t address persistent coordination challenges, it really just does a lot more harm. It exacerbates the harms that they already face.”

Absence of communication
In this case, Catanasiga said the issue is an absence of communication, and clarity in roles between the different agencies involved.

The additional lack of publicly available detail is concerning for organisations who are meant to be working with vulnerable people, she added.

She described the operations as “optics-led” and said while sympathised with the relevant authorities and people in authority trying to make a difference, the lack of transparency was concerning.

“It’s not to penalise those who want to do something about it. It’s about [asking], ‘okay, have we applied the right processes?’

“Sometimes in our effort to to do this, we miss the more essential work of doing the due diligence. And sometimes we react … a lot of our approaches are reactionary because it looks bad.

“It’s not an excuse to miss the essential steps of safeguarding [and] due diligence that we must apply to our work, particularly around social protection [and] checking on the social safety nets that are supposed to be there.”

‘Unsustainable’
Catanasiga also suggested authorities were relying on Fiji’s long-dormant law on minor offences to justify moving beggars and street dwellers from public places, targeting activities such as begging, loitering and drunk or disorderly behaviour.

“I understand there is a Minor Offences Act that was never operationalised. It was never applied.

“So, I think that they’re using that to justify the removal of people from the streets. So begging, all those sorts of activities, loitering, it’s covered under that act.”

While Catanisaga said she fully supported efforts to move homeless individuals into dignified work and safe housing, the current operations will be unsustainable.

“I’m just concerned about the back end processes that are supposed to be in place, the support system. If not, our efforts to get people off the streets is not going to be sustainable,” she said.

Moving forward, Catanasiga said the agencies involved to deal with the issue need to come together to complete the programme they have started.

“We always talk about dignity-centred approaches [to deal with vulnerable people]. This [initiative] is not dignity-centred approaches,” she said.

“We want to support our government, and more importantly, we want to support people who are in vulnerable positions.”

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters has blasted Solomon Islands cabinet ministers who moved against their leader on the eve of the Pacific Island Forum Leaders Meeting in Palau.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale has been forced home to deal with a motion of no confidence from his Home Affairs Minister Manasseh Maelanga.

Three Cabinet ministers, including Maelanga, have resigned from his GREAT coalition government.

• READ MORE: Solomon Islands ‘dangles over the edge of political instability’ as three ministers quit
• Missing leaders won’t derail Pacific Islands Forum outcomes, says secretariat
• Vanuatu Special Envoy calls for PIF to ‘reopen’ issue of Pacific access to West Papua
• Solomon Islands PM Wale rushes home from Palau after confidence challenge launched
• Other PIF reports
• Other West Papua reports

More ministers are rumoured to follow suit, including Finance Minister and former Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo, potentially tipping the numbers against Wale’s favour.

Speaking to reporters in Palau ahead of the summit’s opening ceremony, Peters struggled to hide his disdain.

“To think that a motion of no confidence was moved when you’re at a critical Pacific event concerns me about the people who moved the motion,” he said.

“For goodness’ sake, could you possibly have waited until your brothers, sisters and cousins have sorted out the Pacific in the meantime, just for these few days?”

Returned within hours
Wale, who reportedly first learned of the motion after landing in Palau, was on a plane back home within hours.

Peters said that the departure weighed heavy on fellow leaders, considering several heads of government had opted not to go.

“He had to get the next plane, and President [Surangel] Whipps Jr had to take him. That shows how saddened Whipps was by that, we all were, that Wale had to go home. But at least they’re trying.”

The leaders of Kiribati, Samoa, Vanuatu and New Caledonia are also sitting out the summit. Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka may stay at home, despite earlier plans.

Peters is in Koror for the next two days before swapping out with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. He refused to speculate on why so many Pacific leaders were not present.

However, reasons for their absence could include health, he noted.

Rabuka’s absence would mean a planned bilateral with his New Zealand counterpart on Thursday morning would not go ahead. Luxon said on Monday that he was not deterred.

Wale faces the fire
Barely three months into the job, Wale now faces a challenge strikingly similar to the one he had helped orchestrate against his predecessor, Jeremiah Manele.

It began with a mass resignation: 10 ministers in one fell swoop, complaining that then-Prime Minister Manele made too many decisions without consulting Cabinet.

While Manele refused to call parliament, a group of MPs wore him down, and he gave way on 7 May. In the aftermath, Wale was elected prime minister by 26 MPs in a parliament of 50. It would take that many to oust him.

Maelanga, an early contender against Wale in the PM stakes, has now made a claim nearly identical to Manele’s challengers, saying Wale had made unilateral decisions “on matters of national importance” while neglecting “proper consultation with, or the approval of, Cabinet”.

Solomon Isands journalist Lisa Osifelo told RNZ Pacific Waves that the situation was fluid.

“We might be expecting more resignations from ministers in the next couple of days,” she said

“There were probably a lot of things that have come out in the media… political appointees, the termination and the non-renewal of contracts [in] various ministries, that has probably contributed to what we’re seeing now.”

She said it was unclear how large or influential the rebel group is — but Maelanga is likely a front-man.

Wale ‘will be regrouping’
“I know [PM Wale] will be regrouping a few of the members … maybe get back to the drawing board, renegotiate, and bring their grievances or whatever they have back to the table.”

It is unclear whether Maelanga’s grievances about “unilateral decisions” include the government’s foreign policy platform.

Since Wale took office, he pledged to review the controversial security deal signed with China in 2022, reset the Australian relationship, signed a shiprider agreement with the United States, and deepened ties with Japan and New Zealand through MoUs — promising that the Solomons was a “friend to all”.

Speaking as PIF chair in July, Wale said there was “growing consensus” among Pacific states for a regional security treaty.

At the leaders’ summit this week, Winston Peters speculated that the idea would be discussed, but that Wale’s absence was a “setback.”

The first of PIF’s leaders meetings began last night.

With the final list of leaders attending the 55th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting in Palau still unconfirmed, the regional body’s policy hub is moving to emphasise the robustness of potential decisions and outcomes from the week.

The annual summit is supposed to bring together leaders from the Forum’s 18 member states to discuss and progress major regional issues. However, as of Monday morning, five members were going to be in Koror without representation at the top level.

Kiribati President Taneti Maamau and Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale are the two late withdrawals.

• READ MORE:  Vanuatu Special Envoy calls for PIF to ‘reopen’ issue of Pacific access to West Papua
• Solomon Islands PM Wale rushes home from Palau after confidence challenge launched
• Other PIF reports
• Other West Papua reports

Maamau has reportedly been unable to arrange travel in time for the meeting and also had a parliamentary sitting he needed to attend. His absence has raised a lot of concerns over cohesiveness of PIF following tensions over a lack of agreement among members at the PIF Foreign Ministers Meeting earlier this month.

Members failed to reach consensus on a statement [condemning China’s missile test at that meeting. The dummy warhead landed in Pacific waters near Tuvalu last month.

Naoero (formerly Nauru) and Kiribati, which have strong ties to Beijing, were understood to be the members which did not support a statement on it. Both those countries were also understood to be isolated from the wider collective for their stance in Suva.

Naoero’s President David Adeang confirmed this morning he would be in Koror.

Wale forced to return home
Meanwhile, Wale did make it to Palau, however he was forced to return home after a motion of no confidence was filed against his leadership.

Samoa, Vanuatu and New Caledonia are also not represented in Palau at leadership level. Instead, their delegations are being led by deputy leaders or senior ministers.

There is also uncertainty over Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka’s attendance. He has had to remain in Suva due to urgent domestic issues It sounds unlikely that he will make it.

The absence of several leaders at the meeting is being described by Australian and New Zealand media as a “regional turmoil” and a “blow to regional unity”.

But, despite the reduction in leadership-level representation, the PIF Secretariat — which is the engine room of the PIF — says progress at this week’s meeting would be significant and enduring.

Secretariat deputy secretary general Esala Nayasi told media this morning issues being tabled at the leaders’ meeting, which officially kicks off tonight, “have gone through [the PIF] officials’ meeting, and also [the PIF] Foreign Ministers’ meeting.

“So they have been quietly deliberated on, [and] their national positions that have been shared.

Come with a mandate
“We would expect, for those that are in the room — whether leaders or represented at ministerial level — they would come with also mandate to speak on their issues.

“We have comfort in our processes to deliver outcomes that is consistent and aligned on key issues.”

Nayasi was asked whether Kiribati’s decision not to send a minister could be characterised as a boycott. The Micronesian island nation is being represented by David Teaabo, the Director of Foreign Service and the former Ambassador to China.

Nayasi said that was not the view of the secretariat, and pointed to the fact Maamau was joining in a session today virtually.

“There’s no view or thought whatsoever of any case of that,” he said.

Nayasi also told reporters he would have an updated list on Tuesday morning of confirmed attendees.

Meanwhile, the meeting’s opening ceremony will be held at the Palau National Gymnasium this evening.

The week will build up to the leaders’ retreat on Thursday, where the heads of the 18 members’ delegations spend the day together without any outside parties, including their own advisers.

The 55th Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting officially kicks off tonight in Koror, Palau.

The runway leading in is already proving eventful, with at least one partner withdrawing its leader last-minute.

For those who are not acclimatised, the mugginess of Koror’s 30 degree heat is stifling.

• READ MORE: Solomon Islands PM returns home before PIF meeting to face no-confidence motion
• Pacific Elders call for climate accountability, stronger regional unity
• Vanuatu journalist denied entry to Palau while traveling to cover Pacific leaders meeting
• Other PIF reports

After five minutes in the sun, you’re sweating and whatever you’re carrying feels a few kilos heavier. Finding relief, even if it’s momentary, quickly becomes a priority.

The fury at which geopolitics is wrapped into this year’s Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) leaders’ meeting is a lot like Koror’s heat — even though you can’t see it, it’s all-encompassing and impossible to avoid.

Already, questions have been raised over the last-minute withdrawal of Kiribati President Taaneti Maamau. Now, it is also uncertain whether Naoero (formerly Nauru) President David Adeang will be attending as planned.

Maamau’s late withdrawal, and the current lack of certainty around Naeoro’s President Adeang, goes to the heart of problems around unity and outside interference in the PIF.

Lack of agreement
At the end of the PIF foreign ministers’ meeting in Suva earlier this month, the lack of agreement from members over a statement condemning China’s missile test dominated headlines.

The dummy warhead landed in Pacific waters near Tuvalu last month.

Naoero and Kiribati, which have strong ties to Beijing, were understood to be the members which did not support a statement on it. Both those countries were also understood to be isolated from the wider collective for their stance in Suva.

The lack of agreement means the issue of a statement on the missile testing was deferred to Koror. In the last few weeks, officials across the region have been working on a statement that is due to be submitted and considered this week by leaders.

Despite that, four PIF states — Australia, New Zealand, Palau and Marshall Islands — decided to go their own way after the Suva meeting and sign a joint statement released by the US government criticising China for the missile testing.

Palau and Marshall Islands, alongside Tuvalu, are the three PIF states which have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters, who is representing his government in Koror before Prime Minister Christopher Luxon arrives, made his displeasure over the lack of a result in Suva clear at the time.

No reasons laid out
“They didn’t actually lay out any reasons, apart from their disagreement, and not wishing for us to make the clear statement such as ‘we are opposed to missiles being fired into the Pacific.

“That’s what the statement should have said, and we’re still waiting for that to get laid out.”

It seems that disharmony has rolled straight from Suva into the beautiful islands of Palau.

Maamau’s decision not to attend this week, and instead send David Teaabo, his Director of Foreign Service and the former ambassador to China, means any potential statement on missile testing will not have sign-off from Kiribati’s top representative or an elected official.

It also sends a clear message over Maamau’s current discontent with the PIF. And if Naeoro’s Adeang also withdraws, there will be concerns over unity and stability of the PIF — particularly as that will leave the week short two leaders from the Micronesia bloc.

Furthermore, alongside a potential missile statement, there are high hopes for leaders to agree on the specifics of the partnerships policy which was endorsed by leaders in Solomon Islands’ last year.

The policy means the PIF partners, currently 21 dialogue partners and a group of development partners, would be divided into tier one and tier two, with the top tier having greater access to member states.

Key dialogue partners
Unsurprisingly, the behemoths-in-the room on this agenda issue is where China and the US would sit. Both are dialogue partners under the current set-up and have high-level representation in Koror.

China has its Special Envoy for Pacific Island Countries Affairs, Qian Bo, on the ground, while Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau is leading the US delegation.

Taiwan, which is currently a PIF development partner, will also be jostling for a place in the tier system. It has sent its Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung to Koror, along with a large delegation to Palau.

Notably, Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has also withdrawn from his planned schedule in Koror last-minute due to urgent domestic issues, however he may still arrive later in the week for the leaders’ retreat.

Early yesterday, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale also left Palau after less than 24 hours after a motion of no confidence was tabled back home against him. Wale is the current Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum, who was supposed to hand over the chairmanship to Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr in Palau.

Sāmoa, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu have also decided not to send leaders, however this was signalled in advance, and the states’ delegations are headed by deputy prime ministers or senior ministers.

With such significant issues due to be discussed this week, framed and threatened by the burgeoning geopolitical tension between the US and China, a lack of appropriate representation from PIF members does not bode well.

Genuine consensus and open debate among all members is critical in the current climate, particularly as outside interests continue to exert influence in pursuit of their own agendas.

Fiji is now in a generalised HIV epidemic, which means the virus is firmly established and spreading within the general population.

The number of people living with HIV in Fiji has risen sharply over the past decade.

Fiji’s Health Minister Dr Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu declared an HIV outbreak in January 2025.

• READ MORE:  ‘We’re doing something about it’ – Fiji’s health minister defends HIV response
• Other HIV in Fiji reports

The number of Fijians living with HIV had risen to at least 9000, or nearly 1 percent of the population, as of March, according to the head of Fiji’s HIV response.

The figures indicate that Fiji has a higher HIV prevalence rate than Australia and New Zealand, where the rate is estimated at 0.1 percent.

In Parliament this week, the Health Minister revealed that new infections continued to rise, with an estimated 1700 in 2025, roughly three times the level in 2018.

“2026 UNAIDS estimates indicate that about 9100 people were living with HIV in 2025, and possibly as many as 12,000, up from fewer than 700 in 2010,” he said.

“[For] adults from 15 to 49 years, prevalence has reached 1.6 percent, crossing the threshold that defines a generalised epidemic.”

Dr Lalabalavu said his ministry had increased testing and treatment, but Fiji had not yet reached the point where new infections were declining.

He said the government was expanding HIV testing, treatment and prevention, including PrEP, a daily medicine that helps prevent HIV.

The minister noted that high-risk drug use, in particular sharing of needles and syringes, was playing a significant role in the rapid rise of new HIV infections in Fiji.

“We have not yet reached the turning point,” he said.

Papua New Guinea’s Foreign Minister says he expects the issue of West Papua will be discussed at the upcoming Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) leaders meeting in Palau.

This comes as the issue of human rights abuses and conflict in Indonesian-ruled Papua region, often known internationally as West Papua, appeared to have slipped off the regional agenda.

After the PIF foreign ministers met in Suva earlier this month, there was no mention of West Papua in the meeting’s outcome statement.

• READ MORE: Other West Papua reports

Most of the talk was about regional security arrangements and the region’s response, or lack thereof, to a recent Chinese nuclear-capable interballistic missile test into Pacific waters.

West Papua is a standing item on the Forum’s agenda, but has generated a decreasing amount of discussion in the past several years as Indonesia strengthened ties with Pacific Island countries.

However, PNG’s Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko has indicated to RNZ Pacific that the West Papua issue will be discussed by Pacific leaders in Koror next month.

There has been little to no apparent progress after Forum leaders last year tasked the Forum Secretariat to work constructively with Indonesia on a proposed visit to West Papua by PIF leaders envoys in 2026, in consultation with the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Secretariat.

Stalled PIF progress denied
Tkatchenko denied that Indonesia had stalled progress on a proposed visit by Forum leader envoys to West Papua.

“No, I don’t think [Indonesia had stalled progress] at all,” he said.

“Indonesia is very open to the situation now. I think it’s just making a time and date and making it happen. I’m sure it can be brought up in the next meeting in Palau by the leaders, and if they need to work on that, so be it.”

However, there has also been a clear lack of action on a PIF resolution in 2019 to request Indonesia grant access to West Papua for the UN Human Rights Commissioner to come and look into alleged abuses.

Tkatchenko said Indonesia’s government under new President Prabowo Subianto has been open about Papua issues.

However, he said the escalating violent conflict between Indonesian military and West Papuan independence fighters in recent months had not came up for discussion in Suva.

“Well nothing was mentioned at the Pacific Island Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting in that regard, but I did make it clear that we respect the sovereignty of Indonesia, and we did elevate them for the leaders to ensure that Indonesia was in a strategic relationship with all Pacific Island Forum’s members.”

The Foreign Minister suggested Indonesia’s role at the Forum could be a growing one, “as they hold 20 million Melanesians in Indonesia, which is bigger than all of the Pacific Islands and us put together”.

“So, they hold a very important place when it comes to the representation of Melanesians in the whole of the Pacific, and especially in the Pacific Island Forum. So, that was put forward and mentioned, and the leaders will discuss that in Palau in the next coming weeks.”

PNG relationship with Indonesia
Tkatchenko said that from a PNG perspective, they had made it clear to their neighbour that they were willing to help Indonesia address its problems in Papua, if they would like help.

“And we have the indications through the new president of Indonesia and the Foreign Minister’s discussions with myself that things are moving forward for the betterment of West Papuans now and into the future.

The PNG minister was reluctant to point fingers at Indonesia over the unrest in its Papuan provinces, particularly Highland Papua.

“We have our own issues, too. I mean, we’ve had massacres and very unfortunate tribal wars and conflicts between our own people in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea that would equal or outdo what is happening in Indonesia.

“So we have our own law and order problems that we are also trying to address in that regard.

“But any human rights violation, of course, is always a worry, depending on what the circumstance is. And you know, they are our brothers and sisters, and we are concerned. And if the Indonesians need our assistance, so be it.”

Pacific Islands Forum leaders are due to meet in Palau at the start of September.

Cross-border help
Meanwhile, Tkatchenko said PNG Foreign Affairs officials had been in Jakarta finalising a cross-border treaty, which allows for help to PNG’s Ok Tedi mine in Western Province near the international border.

“The Ok Tedi mine at the moment’s in a bit of strife where the river has now basically dried up and has now gone from a river to a creek. So, the freight, bringing all the freight and goods and fuel to Ok Tedi has now ceased because of the river not being able to access proper water depths to flow the boats and barges up to the appropriate points.

“We have now got a road going through and bridges going through Indonesia for them to access fuel and goods and everything in from Indonesia.

“We have all agreed, and and this is also working with all the West Papuan landowners and the Indonesians, and of course our agreement that we have signed just recently.”

The Fiji Police Force has yet to charge any suspects four months after the alleged murder of the reportedly infamous Jone Vakarisi while he was in military custody.

Vakarisi, 37, who was widely known for being on the wrong side of the law and reportedly linked to criminal networks, died on April 17 after being taken for questioning by soldiers to the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) headquarters in Suva.

His death was initially attributed to pre-existing conditions by the RFMF commander Ro Jone Kalouniwai, who was later forced to issue a “correction” when police classified Vakarisi’s death as murder after a copy of Vakarisi’s death certificate was leaked online, exposing massive blunt force trauma to his head and chest.

• READ MORE: Fiji police confirm murder probe launched into death of man in military custody
• Other Fiji police reports

Vakarisi’s sister Melehola Tagaga told RNZ Pacific Waves at the time that he begged for his life at the military barracks in Suva before allegedly being “bruatlised to death”.

Several weeks later in May, Kalouniwai admitted that the RFMF was “at fault” for Vakarisi’s death, describing it as an “unintentional” and “regrettable” incident.

However, more than 120 days after Vakarisi’s death, an active murder investigation remains open, while no one has been charged or presented in court.

In late July, the Fiji Sun reported that the case file on Vakarisi’s death was expected to be forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

investigators ‘completing interviews’
“Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu confirmed yesterday that investigators were completing interviews with those involved before finalising the file,” the newspaper reported on July 21.

“I can state that people need to trust the process that we are following. Investigation has been done,” Tudravu was quoted as saying.

Earlier this month, the police commissioner told local reporters that investigators continue to carry out house-to-house inquiries, collect witness statements, and examine forensic evidence as the probe intensifies.

He also called for “patience, understanding, and continued public support” for the joint police and military taskforce.

Local and international human rights groups condemned Vakarisi’s death in military custody, saying it reflected a “culture of impunity” within Fiji’s military forces.

Amnesty International’s Pacific researcher Kate Schuetze said the RFMF’s shifting excuses regarding Vakarisi’s death raised “more questions than answers”.

The Fiji High Court has ruled that the Commission of Inquiry report into the appointment of Barbara Malimali as FICAC Commissioner, in its entirety, is null and void.

Justice Dane Tuiqereqere also found that the COI report was unlawful, and that its adverse findings were irrational and it has been quashed

It has also been found that President Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu and Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka failed to provide the applicants with natural justice.

• READ MORE: Judge rules COI report is unlawful and null and void, and President, PM and COI breached principles of natural justice
• Other COI reports

Malimali challenged the report with former Attorney-General Graham Leung, and lawyers Wylie Clarke and Laurel Vaurasi.

Local media said the judge has determined that the President, the Prime Minister and the Commission of Inquiry, breached principles of natural justice for not giving the applicants the opportunity to respond to the adverse findings against them.

Fiji Village News said Justice Tuiqereqere ruled that the work of the Commission of Inquiry after 1 February 2025, including the report, is ultra vires or unlawful.

He found that the extension of the Commission of Inquiry beyond 31 January 2025 was ineffective.

As a result, the actions of the Commissioner after that date, including the completion of his report dated 1 May 2025, were unlawful, Fiji Village News stated.

Justice Tuiqereqere has also found that adverse findings and recommendations against the applicants including Malimali, former Attorney-General Graham Leung and lawyers Wylie Clarke and Laurel Vaurasi were unlawful, including those relating to a meeting at the FICAC office on 5 September 2024.

‘Praise God for the win’
The applicants had further challenged the decision by the President, on the advice of the Prime Minister, to release the Commission of Inquiry report publicly.

Malimali and her lawyer Tanya Waqanika are on the island of Kadavu and responded to the ruling in a Facebook post, saying justice had been served.

“Praise God for the win,” Waqanika said in her post.

“It has been a hard battle fighting to clear Barbara Malimali’s name from the COI taxpayer funded $4m (and counting) crocodile hunting failed expedition.

“Barbara Malimali and me are here in my village and we just received the news that we WON our HBJ No 9/26 Judicial Review case against the Fiji Government (well, all the Respondents names are Govt representatives).

The judge also said the COI Chair, David Ashton-Lewis, should have provided a draft of the adverse findings against the applicants to them and an opportunity to respond before compiling the report.

The Commission of Inquiry was the brainchild of Rabuka.

In June, the High Court rejected the Prime Minister’s attempt to stall its ruling that the country’s former anti-corruption chief was illegally sacked.

In February, Justice Dane Tuiqereqere found that the President — on the advice of the Prime Minister — “unlawfully” dismissed Barbara Malimali, the head of FICAC

Disagreement from some China-aligned Pacific Islands countries has prevented regional countries within the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) issuing a joint statement against missile testing in the Pacific.

At their meeting in Suva on Friday, PIF foreign ministers failed to agree on a unified statement against China after it fired a nuclear-capable missile into Pacific waters last month, despite deep concern among most countries about Beijing’s actions.

It is understood there was a majority of countries represented at the meeting who wanted a clear joint regional statement condemning such missile testing in the nuclear-free Pacific.

• READ MORE: Pacific foreign ministers to discuss Solomons’ idea for regional security treaty
• No Pacific consensus on China missile test condemnation
• Other Solomon Islands reports

However, the Forum’s usual Pacific decision-making by consensus could not be met because Kiribati and Nauru were opposed to a strong statement condemning the testing.

New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters told media some Pacific nations were using the consensus system because they were more concerned with external partners’ wishes than those that belong to the Pacific Islands Forum, something he described as an “unusual view”.

“They didn’t actually lay out any reasons, apart from their disagreement, and not wishing for us to make the clear statement such as ‘we are opposed to missiles being fired into the Pacific’.

“That’s what the statement should have said, and we’re still waiting for that to get laid out.”

Some governments have pointed out that China is not the only country testing nuclear-capable missiles in the Pacific. The US regularly conducts tests into the Marshall Islands.

Peters said that testing in the Marshall Islands was done with the country’s consent.

Security agenda
The PIF Foreign Ministers Meeting was held to set the agenda for the annual Leaders’ Meeting in Palau later this month.

A Solomon Islands proposal for a regional security treaty was one of the discussion points, although it’s clear more consultation is required on the matter.

The Solomon Islands’ Foreign Affairs and External Trade Permanent Secretary George Hoa’au told RNZ Pacific that there was already a range of regional security mechanisms in the Forum fale.

“The missing part is to have a common thatched roof over them,” he said.

“The proposal for this single security treaty by Solomons is to provide an umbrella on top of what is already regional MOUs which are non-binding.”

A proposal from the Solomon Islands government for a regional security treaty is being considered by the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) foreign ministers in Suva on Friday, RNZ Pacific understands.

The treaty proposal forms a key agenda item at the day-long annual meeting — the outcomes of which help determine what will be discussed at the Forum leaders’ meeting in Palau at the end of the month.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale, who is also PIF chair, began promoting the concept of a regional security agreement soon after he was elected leader by his country’s Parliament in May.

• READ MORE:  No Pacific consensus on China missile test condemnation
• Other Solomon Islands reports

The idea gained pace in early June after Wale visited his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese in Canberra.

In an address he delivered at the PIF headquarters in Suva last month, Wale highlighted the need for the region to consider “bold ideas that strengthen our collective security and provide greater certainty for future generations”.

He also told ABC there was “a growing consensus” among leaders he had spoken with of “gaps that such an architecture would help plug”.

However, political experts warn a collective security treaty could change regional decision-making processes and norms by introducing mandatory consultation.

Currently, decision making and policy processes on regional security through the Forum are guided by principles enshrined in regional declarations like Biketawa, Boe, and the Ocean of Peace.

This regional cooperation is not underpinned by an international legal agreement, except in certain instances like nuclear issues, which are covered by the Treaty of Rarotonga, and fisheries surveillance under the Niue Treaty.

The PIF, through its 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, describes this type of political cooperation as the “Pacific Way”. It involves “consensus-based decision making, whilst respecting sovereignty and the principle of non-interference in national affairs”.

Converting political commitments into obligations
According to RNZ Pacific sources, those pushing for the Solomons security treaty intend to codify the existing regional security legal and policy framework, including the three declarations mentioned above.

Codification would involve setting rules that govern regional security cooperation.

Massey University Centre for Defence and Security Studies associate professor Anna Powles said the existing Forum architecture and declarations and agreements, like Biketawa, preserve sovereignty and substantial national discretion.

“The proposed treaty would convert political commitments into obligations under international law, which poses a series of questions from what obligations it creates, whether decisions remain consensual, and whether it regulates existing bilateral security partnerships.”

Dr Powles emphasised the need for governments to carefully consider what was being put on the table through the proposed agreement.

This included which decisions governments were agreeing to share, the obligations they were committing to, and whether the proposed treaty could restrict their ability to respond to national circumstances.

“Depending on what the Wale proposal contains and seeks to do, a treaty in the current geopolitical climate could risk narrowing the Pacific concept of security from the Boe Declaration, which recognises climate change as the existential threat.

“There will be concern in parts of the region that the proposed treaty could become another geopolitical instrument through which certain states seek to limit their competitors.”

Wording to be ‘critical’
Regarding shifts in the policy and decision-making processes, Dr Powles said the wording of the treaty would be critical.

“A formal collective security treaty could change regional decision-making and consensus by introducing mandatory consultation,” she said.

“Governments might be legally required to notify and consult other members about an emerging security threat, or a proposed security arrangement with an external power.”

The key question would then be who or what country would be given a formal role in determining whether an issue constituted a regional security concern, she said.

“The treaty would need to establish how collective action is authorised. If consensus is retained, every member would continue to have an effective veto.

“Members could be required to notify or consult the region before entering bilateral security agreements involving foreign police, military personnel [and] bases, or strategic infrastructure.”

Dr Powles also suggested a stronger version of the treaty may be needed to achieve this, which would have the potential to “significantly reduce individual governments’ freedom of action” and “probably be the treaty’s most politically contested feature”.

“The key distinction is between consensus over adopting the treaty and decision-making after it enters into force, or if the treaty simply consolidates existing declarations, preserves consensus and makes participation in regional responses voluntary. Its principal effect would be to give existing commitments a more durable legal form.”

‘Competing priorities’ around regional security
Pacific historian and Auckland University of Technology lecturer Dr Marco de Jong highlighted the potential trade-offs around a regional security treaty.

“There are a range of competing priorities when it comes to the formulation of a treaty.

“On the one hand, it may be to codify long-standing norms and principles, which have guided regional security cooperation thus far.

“Alternatively, it might be to embed, and serve as a chapeau for, the emerging regional security architecture, which is predominantly being driven by Australia,” he said.

“Another option is that it might seek to elevate the types of confidence-building or transparency mechanisms, and strategic-trust mechanisms, which have been in bilateral agreements to the regional level.”

Dr De Jong said those scenarios meant vastly different things for the region.

“All three of those potential purposes are in tension when it comes to genuine, Pacific-led regional security.”

Both Dr De Jong and Dr Powles urged careful consideration and discussion on the treaty proposal.

“For instance, what problem does a treaty solve that existing declarations cannot?” Powles asked.

“Which provisions or obligations would be legally binding? How will the tradition and spirit of consensus be upheld? Who will pay for the operationalisation of the treaty? Where does oversight sit? Will the Pacific Islands Forum have oversight? How will disputes be resolved, and can a state withdraw?”

Following Friday’s meeting, regional leaders are due to gather in Palau for the week-long PIF Leaders’ Meeting beginning August 30.

This is expected to be one of the Forum’s largest leaders’ summits, with dialogue partners set to attend — a departure from last year where then-host Solomon Islands excluded dialogue partners.

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World Rugby has denied reports that it gave Samoa an ultimatum to sort out problems over which body governs the sport in the country, or face a ban from international competition.

This follows reports that the Samoan government was given 24 hours — until Friday — to accept a review of its decision to withdraw its support of Lakapi Samoa.

Prime Minister La’aulialemalietoa Leuatea Schmidt announced earlier this year that he was establishing a rival union to take over the role of Lakapi Samoa (the Samoa Rugby Union).

• READ MORE: Samoa face World Rugby ban over PM’s ‘political madness’, opposition warns
• Samoan government axes Lakapi Samoa

But World Rugby denies reports that it had told Samoa that failure to accept the review would result in Samoa copping a ban — it also confirmed it is involved as a mediator to resolve issues at Lakapi Samoa.

A spokesperson for World Rugby told RNZ Pacific: “We are in active and constructive dialogue with all parties and remain focused on a positive resolution.”

Yesterday, Samoa’s opposition leader Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi said that Samoa faced suspension by World Rugby because of “a dirty political move” by the government and particularly his rival, the current Prime Minister, La’auli.

Tuilaepa spoke to RNZ Pacific after the government announced that it was pulling its support of Lakapi Samoa due to “unresolved internal issues and division” at the national rugby union, and amid reports that Samoa was risking being banned from World Rugby.

RNZ Pacific has contacted Lakapi Samoa and the Samoan government’s press secretariat for a response to Tuilaepa’s comments.

Tuilaepa stepped down as long-time chairman of the Samoa Rugby Union earlier this year after his political stand-off with La’auli threatened to stall a new funding programme for the Pacific’s three top rugby unions.

La’auli had refused to sign any new agreement with the Fijian and Tongan rugby unions until Tuilaepa and his board resigned and made way for new appointments.

Fiji fiasco
The crisis surrounding Samoa rugby has shades of the political problems which caused Fiji to be banned from the World Rugby Council in 2023 over governance concerns, after the government in 2023 effectively took control of the Fiji Rugby Union (FRU).

The following year, the FRU was reinstated as a member of the governing body’s council afterb a suspension of almost 15 months.

However, the FRU has become embroiled in more problems lately, after a dispute over player payments became public.

This week, the FRU board chairman John Sanday said the union had a plan B in place to ensure Flying Fijians players don’t make “ridiculous” demands of management in future.

This follows an incident during Fiji’s recent Nations Championship stint in Europe, where they lost all three test matches to Wales, England and Scotland.

Sanday said players demanded an increase of their daily allowances from F$500 a day to $1000, but the FRU only agreed to pay F$600 per day.

That was despite the fact that players had signed contracts pre-tour.

Sanday said the players argued that the union would make a lot of money from the three games it technically “hosted” on the northern tour.

He has now revealed the FRU will review the squad’s make-up and form a standby squad ready to play for Fiji if current players don’t change their attitude.

The chairman said the FRU was now a business, which required a changed mindset.

Fiji’s former chief prosecutor, Christopher Pryde, claims there was a racist, government-led conspiracy to get rid of him.

The New Zealand lawyer, who is in Aotearoa, spoke to RNZ Pacific Waves after corruption charges against him in Fiji were dropped this week.

Fiji’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) threw out three charges in the Suva Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

• READ MORE: Ex-Fiji Prosecutions Office Employee ‘Scared To Leave Australia’ After Leaked Corruption Allegations
• Other FICAC reports

A statement from FICAC said: “The decision was taken because FICAC has been unable to effect service on Mr Pryde in New Zealand, despite attempts to do so.”

“The proceedings concerned charges previously filed in relation to nearly NZ$150,000 in payments and reimbursements received during his tenure as Director of Public Prosecutions. Those allegations have not been determined in court,” the statement said.

“Under section 49 of the Criminal Procedure, the entry of a nolle prosequi brings the present proceedings to an end but does not prevent subsequent proceedings based on the same facts.”

‘Bitter taste’
Pryde, aged 60, has always maintained he was innocent and said the allegations against him were contractual matters rather than criminal offences.

He has previously described the charges as bogus, politically-driven and designed to prevent him from returning to Fiji to prosecute an elite group maligned in last year’s damning Commission of Inquiry into the appointment of Barbara Malimali as FICAC head.

“I am left with a bitter taste towards the current Fijian government and the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) because I don’t think they have played ball with me.

“They made up their mind they wanted to get rid of me and they employed all sorts of tactics in order to do that,” Pryde said.

Pryde claimed that the government’s tactics were designed to intimidate him, and should serve as a warning to expatriates keen to work in Fiji.

“Unfortunately it is a salutary reminder to other expatriates that might be considering taking up a role in public service in Fiji to be careful.” he said.

However, he added that the dispute he had had with the government and the JSC did not effect the relationship he had with the wider community, after living in Fiji for 18 years.

Alleged witch hunt
The Sitiveni Rabuka-led coalition government’s Information Director Samisoni Pareti declined to respond to questions by RNZ Pacific.

Pryde claims FICAC has accused him of evading diplomats who were sent by Fiji to serve him with legal documents.

“It’s ridiculous, they know where I live, they’ve had every opportunity over the last 12 months to serve me,” he said.

Last December, Pryde claimed the Fijian government committed an illegal act on New Zealand soil and sent foreign diplomats to stalk him at home.

“They sent people from the Fijian High Commission in Wellington to my home [in Christchurch] and harangued my neighbours by questioning them as to my whereabouts.

“They acted in an intimidatory way by staking out my home whilst I was away attending my mother’s funeral,” he said, adding that it was the subject of a formal and ongoing police complaint in New Zealand.

“The Prime Minister was made aware of this breach of diplomatic convention but chose to ignore it.”

“The witch hunt against me began when the acting Attorney-General, Siriomi Turaga, accused me of wrongdoing after I was seen with the former Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum at a reception at the Japanese Embassy in February 2023,” he said.

‘As long as iTaukei are on top’
Pryde was suspended on full pay for “misbehaviour” two months later and faced a further charge of receiving superannuation payments that had not been approved by the JSC in April 2024.

His superannuation ceased then his salary and all contractual benefits were “unilaterally” cut off by the Fijian government three months later.

“They [the government] want to get rid of me, it’s all part of their ethnonational agenda,” Pryde told RNZ Pacific in December 2024.

“Vulagi [foreigners] and Indo-Fijians are being replaced by iTaukei [indigenous Fijians].

“Hiring in Fiji is not based on merit, the government doesn’t care, as long as iTaukei are at the top and in control,” he said.

A tribunal exonerated Pryde on all charges in January 2025 and he was reinstated to the role, but he stayed in Aotearoa for fear he would be arrested on his return.

Several days after the Tribunal’s decision, FICAC laid fresh corruption charges on him, including receiving a NZ$100,000 gratuity without the President’s approval.

Wrongdoing denied
“I categorically deny any wrongdoing, the dispute was between myself and the JSC, whose chairman, the Chief Justice, Salesi Temo, tried and failed to convince the tribunal hearing that I had done something wrong,” Pryde said.

“Issues around the payment of the gratuity were brought up at the tribunal and they were dismissed by the tribunal. So then we have a rehash of things into another format, they failed [with the charges] in the tribunal so they got FICAC to deal with them. That’s not acceptable.”

Prime Minister Rabuka criticised Pryde last July for failing to turn up to work, seven months after he was reinstated.

President Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu then suspended his NZ$185,000 salary and benefits, following a public backlash over his absence.

Pryde said he had been living on his savings over the past year and was “relieved” that the latest corruption charges were dropped.

However, he has filed a judicial review of the President’s decision to cut his pay in the Suva High Court.

Pryde refused to be drawn on whether he would take any further action or what the future held for him workwise.

Nauru’s government has announced plans to set up an embassy in Israel.

The government said Cabinet had endorsed the deployment of a scoping mission to Israel, to assess the diplomatic, operational, and logistical requirements to establish the embassy.

“A diplomatic presence in Israel will serve as an essential platform for advancing [Nauru’s] foreign policy priorities, promoting sustainable development, and deepening bilateral engagement with one of the region’s key partners,” the government said in a statement on Wednesday.

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“The creation of an embassy in Israel represents a significant milestone in [Nauru’s] diplomatic outreach and underscores the nation’s dedication to expanding its global partnerships in support of national development and strategic cooperation.”

The statement did not specify which city the embassy would be established in, but Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Saar said it would be in Jerusalem.

In a translated social media post shared by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Saar said the Nauruan embassy was expected to be the 10th embassy in Jerusalem, and the fifth since he took office, coming after he also reached an agreement with Colombia’s incoming foreign minister on a similar move.

Fiji and Papua New Guinea are among several countries which have diplomatic missions in Jerusalem rather than Tel Aviv, which is controversial due to the sensitive nature of a territorial dispute between Israelis and Palestinians, who both claim Jerusalem as their capital.

Fiji embassy in Jerusalem
Fiji opened its embassy in Jerusalem in September 2025.

Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said earlier last year that establishing an embassy was “not a blanket endorsement of another country’s policies; it is a bridge that allows Fiji to work directly with partners”.

Fiji also reaffirmed its support for a peaceful two-state solution “where both Israelis and Palestinians can live in dignity and security”.

In March this year, Fiji’s human rights watchdog warned that the country’s pro-Israel foreign policy and diplomatic engagement worked against its international obligations and could be enabling “genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity” in Gaza.

Israel has also opened its permanent diplomatic base in Suva.

In January, Saar said that Samoa would open an embassy in Jerusalem this year.

Samoan Prime Minister La’aulialemalietoa (La’auli) Leuatea Schmidt said he instructed Samoa’s foreign ministry to begin preparations for the embassy’s opening by the end of the year, according to a recording of the speech posted on the Samoan government’s Facebook page.

PNG ‘violation’ of international law
When PNG opened its Israeli embassy in Jerusalem in 2023, the Palestinian Authority called it an “aggression” and a “violation” of international law.

PNG Prime Minister James Marape said at the time the move had deep religious significance.

“Many nations choose not to open their embassies in Jerusalem, but we made the conscious choice,” he said.

“This has been the universal capital of the nation and people of Israel.

“For us to call ourselves Christian, paying respect to God will not be possible without recognising that Jerusalem is the universal capital of the people and nation of Israel.”

The United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo and Paraguay also have embassies in Jerusalem.

The Israeli government has a formal policy of offering incentives to countries willing to open embassies in Jerusalem, including financial support for relocation and setup costs.

Fiji’s government is working on a “Diaspora Policy” focused on ensuring Fijians around the globe play a key role in the country’s economic development.

The country’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade Sakiasi Ditoka has just been to New Zealand, where he met with investors and the Fijian business diaspora.

Ditoka told RNZ Pacific the increasing interest from the diaspora across New Zealand, Australia, the United States and Europe is positive for the island nation.

• READ MORE: Diaspora policy to strengthen ties with Fijians overseas – Qereqeretabua

He said every effort is being made to ensure that interests are safeguarded and served for the mutual benefit of Fiji and her diaspora investors.

He also confirmed a diaspora policy is being finalised and will be sent to Cabinet for approval soon.

“It’s [diaspora policy] vital. It’s very important for Fiji that we engage with our diaspora. In fact, as we speak, the diaspora policy is being finalised. It’s going through the the final processes of being passed through Cabinet,” he told RNZ Pacific in Auckland on Saturday.

The policy is going through the development sub-committee level, which means that senior officials are now having a look at it before it is escalated to Cabinet for sign-off.

Wide-ranging policy
He said the policy is wide-ranging, but the central theme is “the diaspora community is very, very important to Fiji”.

Ditoka said the levels of investment members of the Fijian diaspora are putting back into the country keep increasing and help propel its economy. It includes overseas remittances, with an ever-increasing number of Fijians moving overseas for work, including sports contracts, the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme in New Zealand and the PALM Scheme in Australia.

The Fijian diaspora serves as the second-largest foreign exchange earner for Fiji’s economy. Personal remittances sent by the diaspora officially surpassed the $1 billion threshold between January to September 2025.

According to The Fiji Times, a total of 1134 Fiji residents departed the country for employment purposes in June 2026 based on the latest figures released by the Fiji Bureau of Statistics.

Employment was the third-largest reason for overseas travel, accounting for 7.9 percent of all resident departures.

The figures show that 407 people left for overseas employment for periods of less than three months, while 318 departed for between three and 12 months.

A further 409 residents left Fiji for employment periods ranging from one to five years.

F$1 billion milestone
Ditoka said the Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) recorded overseas remittances first crossed the F$1 billion milestone in 2022, and have consistently remained above this mark.

The RBF said driven by extensive out-migration and regional labour programmes, remittances have outpaced traditional sectors, like sugar and garment manufacturing, and serve as one of Fiji’s largest sources of foreign exchange, trailing only behind tourism.

More than 60 percent of these financial inflows originate from the Fijian diaspora and seasonal workers living in Australia, the US and New Zealand.

Ditoka said military personnel serving in the United Kingdom, as well as Fiji rugby players all over Europe have also contributed a lot to the remittance figures.

“It’s a marvellous thing to behold, so I encourage our diaspora to keep coming back to Fiji,” he said.

“There are many, some of them who have decided to come and settle back in Fiji, even though they’ve made their lives here in New Zealand and some in Canada, in the US and in Australia.

“Some of them have decided that if they retire, they retire back in Fiji, and we encourage them to keep doing that.”

He said discussions over the past few months have also raised the critical importance of ensuring that systems are changed to be more effective and efficient — which is something he and his ministry is working on.

“As far as the importance of diaspora is to Fiji, they are very important part of Fiji’s economic investment plan, and we continue to engage with them and try to help them in in their plans in investing and working with Fiji,” he said.

Ditoka said there have been “many choke points and blockages” raised with the government in its discussions with the diaspora in Aotearoa.

“So, those are the things I’ve committed to as minister, as well as the permanent secretary who I came with here, to go and work on to make sure that their plans to come back to Fiji is not stopped or slowed down by inefficiencies [and] ineffectiveness of systems and processes that we can work on.”

Duavata partnership
Ditoka and his Permanent Secretary Dr Raijieli Taga were joined by Fiji’s High Commissioner to New Zealand, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola, and members of the Fiji Trade Mission in Auckland in meetings in the past week.

It included the signing of a refreshed Duavata Partnership with New Zealand.

Ditoka said the Duavata Partnership (2026-2030) he signed with his New Zealand counterpart Winston Peters was a milestone in the two countries’ bilateral relationship.

He said the agreement was an important step in advancing one of Fiji’s closest relationship and builds on the success of the first agreement that was first signed in March 2022.

Ditoka said the continued growth in bilateral trade, which had reached F$1.9 billion, would be boosted by the agreement, especially as both governments work on achieving F$2 billion in two-way trade by 2030.

“The signing of the refreshed agreement comes at a critical juncture for regional diplomacy and both our nations have reiterated our dedication to the Pacific Islands Forum’s 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and the Ocean of Peace, emphasising that bilateral cooperation under the Duavata Partnership will continue to bolster wider regional solidarity, peace, and sustainable development,” he said.

“We look forward to improving and in increasing all the current things that we’re doing in our relations, as well as other issues where it’s concerned the RSE programme, as well as trade and investment, and what we can do to improve the facilities that are needed to support the work that they do.”

Ways and means talks
Ditoka and his team also met with the New Zealand Fiji Business Council with discussions focusing on ways and means that the Fiji government can help and assist both current and potential investors.

It was followed by attending the ‘Pacific Trade Invest’ and the ‘Future for investment and trade partnerships’ meetings.

He stated the “Future for investment and trade partnerships” meeting was an eye-opener as it featured small to medium-sized economies like New Zealand, Singapore, UAE, Norway, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand and Rwanda.

“Similar issues. So I think we’ve got our our list full from the things that we need to go and do back when we return to Fiji,” he said.

“For me, that was very important because it’s just going to help us expand our investment footprint back in Fiji, as well as the the mutual benefits that it’ll create for both our two nations

“Looking at the way the current international rules-based order seems to have not worked so well, we believe that we can find a way forward. Also, looking at the World Trade Organisation and how there are concerns that there’s so much inertia in the work that needs to be progressed, but some have stalled for over a decade, some more than that.

“We believe that the plurilateral arrangements such as these will probably pave the way forward for nations such as Fiji to to improve its economic position. Fiji is aiming, in its national development plan, to be a high income country by 2050, and we believe these kinds of relationships and partnerships with our international partners will help us on how to get on the right path, to get to where we want to go.”

Trade office reopening
Meanwhile, Fiji will reopen its Trade and Consular office in Auckland in early October.

Ditoka said that was a critical part of the plan to serve the diaspora better.

“The New Zealand diaspora is one of the most important of the diaspora communities of Fiji abroad, and as far as New Zealand is concerned, about 70 percent of the diaspora community live in the Auckland and surrounding areas,” he said.

“It’s important for us to have this consulate and trade commission set up to help assist in the things that they want to do.

“It’s a very important part of Fiji’s footprint in New Zealand and in helping to get the mutually beneficial relationship of the diaspora and Fiji up and running again.”

Fiji police say a man in his 50s has been taken into custody after he “allegedly issued a threat on social media” to remove the country’s 2013 Constitution or “burn the nation’s capital”.

In a statement on Monday, police added that investigations were continuing.

“The suspect in his 50s was questioned by investigators from the Cybercrime Division at the Criminal Investigations Department Headquarters on Sunday 19 July 2026, and remains in custody,” the statement read.

• READ MORE: Man in custody for alleged social media threat to burn Suva and remove Constitution

This comes as the Fiji government’s dual and parallel constitutional review and truth and reconciliation processes are underway.

Fijian social media users have been warned that “inciteful posts or the practice of sharing such posts” can result in them being prosecuted under Fiji’s criminal laws for offences such as urging political violence, criminal intimidation and malicious acts.

“While respecting one’s freedom of expression and speech, it must be practised with responsibility, as abuse and the breach of the law will not be condoned,” police said in an earlier statement on the issue on Sunday.

All Blacks captain Ardie Savea jetted out to Samoa on Sunday morning, hours after leading his team to a 40-21 win over Ireland at Eden Park.

The former Rongotai College First XV captain and head boy touched down at Faleolo International Airport less than 24 hours after ensuring the All Blacks’ record at Eden Park remained intact. The All Blacks have lost at the ground since 1994.

Savea and his wife, Saskia, are in Samoa with their three children and will travel on to Fiji before returning to rejoin the All Blacks squad for the upcoming tour of South Africa.

• READ MORE: Nations Championship Team of the Week:

Samoa Observer reported the family was met by Krista Liu of local car rental company Lulu, where they had arranged a vehicle for their stay. They were accompanied by Savea’s parents.

Savea is originally from Suimu village.

The tough looseman is part of the new All Blacks management and leadership team, that has now recorded a clean sheet in their first Test series of 2026.

Having created history in New Zealand because of their Pasifika heritage, head coach Dave Rennie and his team won three out of three in the first leg of the Nations Championship.

Cook Islander
Rennie, whose mother is from the Cook Islands, is the first with Pasifika heritage to be head coach of the All Blacks.

He has Fa’alogo Tana Umaga, who is of Samoan origin and the first Pasifika to be captain of the premier New Zealand side, as one of his assistants.

Savea is part of the 12 players in the current squad who have Pasifika heritage as well.

The side have recorded wins over France, Italy and Ireland in their first three home matches.

While there were some questions around how the side performed against both France and Italy, Rennie believes Saturday night’s win over Ireland in front of more than 48,000 fans in Auckland showed promise of what the team can do moving forward.

Although it was a was a tense start to the match, with both teams having periods on attack, it was the All Blacks who were the most enterprising and they were rewarded with the first try, with lock Patrick Tuipulotu scoring near the posts after several phases.

Savea said post-match he was proud of the team’s performance against Ireland, and applauded the squad as a whole, especially those who did not get game time, for pushing the players at trainings.

‘Control what we can’
“I think for us we only can control what we can control, and that’s our preparation,” he said. “We knew what was at stake and the best way to prepare for them was how we turned up each day and prepared.”

“Thought the lads prepared well, especially our guys that didn’t get a chance. They really pushed us to the limit at trainings and when you get that and then we get a performance like that tonight, just proud of everyone in the squad.”

Savea scored a try in the clash, showing his power when he picked up from the base of a scrum, following a penalty option, and bulldozed his way to the line despite tacklers hanging on to him.

Aumua: We’re always ready’
Tough hooker Asafo Aumua was thrust into the game earlier than planned, when Cody Taylor had to leave the field in the first spell through injury.

Aumua said captain Savea had always reminded the players that as an All Black they have to be ready for the call all the time, which he said was a practical lesson for him on Saturday.

“It was tough,” he said at the post-match conference. “Obviously, didn’t expect to come on there early, but as All Blacks, Ardie always says we’re always ready. So, yeah, just happy to get the win.

“Focusing on the next job, obviously a lineout and just took it moment by moment.”

Aumua was one of the six try-scorers in the match, getting that shortly after he took the field.

“I looked at the big screen my eyes were open, but I could just see black. I did definitely put it down. I just didn’t know if it was on the line or not.”

He said the message from Savea was for the team to keep going, keep the ball moving and keep the opposition guessing.

“Just try and keep keep the ball moving, keep it alive, try not to give the opposition rest. It’s pretty hard fitness-wise.”

Coach Rennie happy
Rennie said post-match the players had put in the hard work and that was beginning to show.

It was a big jump from the close two point 34-32 win over France at the One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch in the first game.

But as the first three wins wrapped up the first international calendar for the year Rennie and his team were also looking forward to the seven-match tour of South Africa, including three tests against the Springboks in South Africa and a fourth in the United States.

The reigning world champions will host matches in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Johannesburg again in Baltimore.

“They’re such a good side, Ireland, as we saw tonight,” Rennie admitted at the post-match conference after the Eden Park dust had settled.

“We asked a lot of questions of them and they defended really well for big parts. If you give them access into your end of the field, they can hurt you, but I thought the balance of the game was really good tonight.

“We looked after the ball really well. Our big men carried and went a little bit more direct and [we had] smarter kicking that created opportunities for us.”

Rennie said the team defended well, especially on their line as Ireland had them on the backfoot time and time again during the match.

Ireland had arrived in New Zealand with two good wins under their belt – beating Australia 33-31 and Japan 36-20 in their first two Nations Championship tests.

“They came here with a lot of confidence,” Rennie said.

“They have won a series here last time and they are a very experienced squad who have played a lot of footy together. We’re quite a new group. These guys played the Six Nations a few months ago.

“I would have taken a one-point win, but I thought we were pretty clinical when it mattered. A lot of the hard work that we’ve been putting in, on and off the field, we saw it on the park today.”

Assistant Blair confident
All Blacks attack coach and one of Rennie’s assistants, Mike Blair said he’s confident they can make history against the Springboks.

New Zealand ran in six tries off the back of some high-tempo and expansive rugby.

“Still some bits that we can do better, definitely,” he told journalists after the game.

“It sounds strange to say when you put 40 points on the board, but some really pleasing stuff, some good ball movement, some good decision making.

“Once we get into the 22, I think we’ve got some growth there. You need variety. You’ve got to have the ability to play through a team, but also to manipulate a team.”

South Africa have also won three first three matches in the series, beating Six Nations teams England, Scotland and Wales.

But Blair is confident the All Blacks can win the upcoming four-test series against the World Champions, which starts next month, if they keep growing and stay consistent.

Rennie will announce the 44-member tour squad next week, with at least 10 more players added to the current squad.

“It’s going to be a big step up for us, so we’re going to have to evolve and improve again,” Blair added.

In other Nations Championship matches at the weekend, Australia managed their first win, a 57-10 win over Italy in Perth on Saturday night.

France beat Japan 42-15, South Africa thrashed Wales 43-0 while England beat Argentina 31-24.

Pacific trio lose again
Meanwhile, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga all lost their games at the weekend.

Fiji led Scotland 17-7 at halftime, following tries from captain Tevita Ikanivere, Selesitino Ravutaumada and Elia Canakaivata.

But Scottish side came back hard in the second spell and scored three of their own tries to win 33-17.

Flying Fijians head coach Senirusi Seruvakula said it was another tough loss, following earlier defeats at the hands of Wales and England.

He said despite preparing well during the week their bench could not function as planned.

“It showed in the first half. Our bench was not good, they did not come and lift the game and that’s what the last 20 minutes showed.

“[Scotland’s] bench was good and they carried the momentum of the game until the end and they never let down their pace.”

Fiji finished the Nations Championship without a win.

Leads given away
Samoa and Tonga also gave away leads in their matches to lose in their World Rugby Nations Cup matches.

Manu Samoa led Romania 17-14 at halftime, but ended up losing by a point in Uruguay.

The Miracle Fai’ilagi captained team scored tries through Alamanda Motuga, Abraham Papali’i, Iakopo Petelo-Mapu and Fai’ilagi himself.

Romania scored five tries, one including that from Fiji-born Iliesa Lesumaitaiti Tiqe in the first half.

Tonga also suffered the same fate against Portugal, going down 32-28 to Portugal in Canada.

The Tongans managed tries through Otunuku Jr Pauta, Taniela Filimone, Telusa Veainu and captain Solomone Kata.

Portugal scored five tries, including a double to Raffaele Storti.

Both Samoa and Tonga had won a game each and lost two on the road out of their three matches.

The second round of both the Nations Cup and the Nations Championship will be held in November.

Other Nations Cup results:
Hong Kong bt Uruguay 42-40
Georgia bt Chile 49-22
USA bt Spain 29-22
Canada bt Zimbabwe 23-19

The government says it had no influence over $200,000 in funding for a documentary ahead of Fiji’s election about a Fijian cabinet minister facing down a scandal.

The Ministry of Pacific Peoples funded the film Algorithm of Shame: In the Village, Everybody Knows was released in May, and tackles the impacts of social media in closely connected communities.

Marketing describes it as a “powerful Pacific-led documentary set in Fiji that exposes the devastating impact of online shaming in the age of social media, where algorithms reward outrage, humiliation, and exposure without care or accountability”.

• READ MORE: Algorithm of Shame, Fijian documentary focuses on the effects of social media from a Pacific lens
• Other cyberbullying reports

The film focuses on two people: trans woman Rhonda who lost her friend to online abuse, and Fijian politician Lynda Tabuya.

The film’s release just ahead of the Fijian election — set for sometime between August and February, with no firm date yet confirmed — could be seen as softening the image of Tabuya ahead of her potential re-election.

Given the New Zealand taxpayer funding, it is vulnerable to accusations of political interference by another government.

However, the film’s executive producer Tuki Laumea told RNZ the New Zealand government had “no editorial control over this documentary”.

“It is incorrect to say this film is about Minister Lynda Tabuya. Minister Tabuya appears in approximately 15 percent of the film,” he told RNZ.

‘Highly topical issue’
“The film is about the highly topical issue of social media harm in Pacific communities, including its impact on young people, its links to suicide and several other serious issues related to online harm.”

“This film was shown three times on Mai TV in Fiji in May and early June. It was not made widely available online and is currently unavailable to view anywhere in the world, including Fiji and New Zealand. No wide public release date has been set.”

Tabuya, the former Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection, was consigned to the back benches over a leaked video of her dancing naked that went viral on Christmas Eve 2024.

She had been pushing to ban porn sites in Fiji, but was dismissed as a minister on Boxing Day by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka.

Fiji police later described the video leak as an invasion of privacy, and Tabuya herself said it was made for her ex-husband and that her phone was stolen and hacked.

The police cybercrime unit — acting on a complaint Tabuya had laid — eventually identified two suspects in the leak, and Rabuka welcomed her back to Cabinet in August as Minister of Information — a role he previously held himself.

He said at the time she was “well-suited to spearhead the government’s public relations machinery through the Ministry of Information” with her “personality and her accessibility to the press and the media people”.

Independently produced
In a statement, the Ministry for Pacific Peoples pushed back on questions about whether the funding could be seen as electoral interference, softening the image of a foreign Cabinet Minister beset by scandal.

A spokesperson for the ministry said the documentary was independently produced through the Moana Reo Media Fund, administered by Pacific Media Network.

“The decision to fund the documentary makers $200,000 was made independently of the ministry through an established funding process, which means editorial content of funded projects was not influenced by the New Zealand government in any way and cannot be seen as electoral interference,” a spokesperson said.

“The documentary focuses on the broader social impacts of online harm, cyberbullying and digital shaming, which are issues affecting communities globally.”

Similarly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the documentary was “independently produced and independently selected through an established funding process”.

“The government does not influence the editorial content of funded projects. This is not a New Zealand government commentary on Fijian political matters,” a spokesperson said.

Pacific Peoples Minister Paul Goldsmith said in a statement: “The Moana Reo Media Fund was funded under the previous Labour government. It is administered by the Pacific Media Network, which operates purposely at arm’s length of the ministry and ministers.”

Public interest documentary
Foreign Minister Winston Peters declined to comment.

Laumea, a filmmaker for two decades, is the co-director and co-producer of the “independently produced public-interest documentary about the impact of social media harm in Pacific communities.”

“This film received public funding, as does public-interest journalism across New Zealand and the Pacific, including RNZ and Pasifika TV through PCBL.”

“The minister is among several voices in this film, including a religious leader, a lawyer, students, advocacy groups, a counsellor, the Online Safety Commission, community leaders, a male survivor and a trans rights activist.

“Minister Tabuya is in a unique position to contribute to this conversation because of her very specific and public experience of online abuse,” Laumea said.

As geopolitical tensions increase in the Pacific region and numerous security alliances are rapidly forged, questions are being raised over whether the Ocean of Peace concept is being hijacked.

The Ocean of Peace Declaration was made last year by members of the Pacific Islands Forum, recognising the role of civil society in peacebuilding.

However, the emphasis of the initiative seems to have quickly shifted.

• READ MORE: Jeremy Rose: The nuclear-free Pacific and hypersonic hypocrisy
• Other Ocean of Peace reports

Australia and Fiji take the lead
Australia last week signed the Vuvale Union and Ocean of Peace Alliance treaties with Fiji, the latest in a series of regional pacts Canberra has forged with Pacific Islands countries.

“The Vuvale Union and the Ocean of Peace Alliance have a really strong regional component,” Australia’s High Commissioner in Suva, Peter Roberts said in a post on X.

He said the new treaties underlined Fiji’s position as a regional leader.

“I think we’ve all seen during this fuel crisis how important Fiji is as a hub. And we’ve seen on security matters how important Fiji is as a regional leader, including through Prime Minister Rabuka’s vision for the Ocean of Peace.”

According to Roberts, the treaties empower Australia and Fiji to support the Pacific region in efforts against security threats such as transnational crime, cyber crime and illegal fishing.

“Including in this Fiji and Australia supporting the establishment of the Ocean of Peace Centre, in close cooperation with the Pacific islands Forum. So you’ll see Australia and Fiji standing together in support of the stability and prosperity of the region.”

Value for money
The Vuvale Union is backed by around A$1 billion in funding for Fiji by Australia over a decade, while Australia is also funding the Ocean of Peace Centre to the tune of around A$22 million.

Geopolitical commentator Dr Connor Graham from the Lowy Institute said Australia sees great value for money in these arrangements.

He said Australia was driven by the aim of keeping China out of Pacific waters and maintaining its position as the dominant security partner in the region.

“I’d note as well, a billion dollars over 10 years is a lot of money. But it’s relatively small fries in terms of defence, and the rest of the defence budget and militarisation. So I think this sort of defence through diplomacy is quite a cost effective use of money.”

While Canberra notches a big diplomatic win, regional civil society has been left wondering where it all leaves the Ocean of Peace Declaration.

Shift away from peacebuilding?
The declaration came together off the back of significant engagement with — and made provision for the leadership of — Pacific civil society in peacebuilding, especially women and Indigenous communities.

“This meaningful inclusion was celebrated and consultation followed on the premise of institutional support for conflict prevention and mediation initiatives grounded in culture, like those that were so successful with the Bougainville conflict, or in bringing Kiribati back into the Forum,” Pacific historian and AUT lecturer Dr Marco de Jong said.

But now, with the signing of the Ocean of Peace Alliance and plans to establish the Centre, the language has shifted from being about conflict prevention, peacebuidling and mediation towards deterrence, and the countering of China through military means.

It coincides with the plan of the Australian-led Joint Heads of Pacific Security to insert itself into the Pacific Islands Forum-led regional security architecture, and to advance a regional deployment framework

Joey Tau, the coordinator of the Pacific Network on Globalisation and the chair of the Pacific Regional NGO Organisations Alliance, said that as civil society, they welcomed the original Ocean of Peace initiative

“But our main concern is that we hope such a declaration is not coopted or used as a strategy to advance external security and military interest of external parties.”

He said the Ocean of Peace concept should be something that draws from existing regional priorities and responds to legacy issues for the Pacific.

These include self-determination problems in West Papua and Kanaky New Caledonia; the planetary biodiversity crisis; exploitation of ocean resources; nuclear testing and new threats of nuclearisation in the region.

“One, the Rarotonga Treaty, which declares our region is a nuclear-free region, and secondly, other initiatives as such, need to be informed by the Pacific. And when I say Pacific, Pacific peoples.

“With the proposal of a peace institute, I think it needs further consultation. It needs to be informed by Pacific people, and one that is not determined by external parties.”

Women and peacebuilding
Pacific Women Mediators Network coordinator of political engagement Sharon Bhagwan-Rolls is concerned about the lack of focus on peacebuilding in how the Ocean of Peace initiative is being developed.

“For us, demilitarisation is at the top of the agenda,” she told RNZ Pacific.

“You can’t talk about peace with simply saying that it is the absence of violence or conflict. We have to talk about peacebuilding in the operationalisation of the Ocean of Peace Declaration, and that has been clear for us from the start.”

She said it was important not to see peace building as simply a regional security agenda.

“It is critical that the future or the operationalisation of the Ocean of Peace Declaration through the Pacific Islands Forum needs a stronger focus on peace building in practice, not simply from seeing peace through a traditional security or militarised lens, but through a civilian lens, through a civil society lens, through a people-centered lens.”

“It’s important that we don’t just see peacebuilding as simply a regional security agenda,” Bhagwan-Rolls said.

“We feel that there is a need in forging alliances to also support the forging of peace-building alliances and not just security alliances, and that peace cannot just simply stand as a word of inaction, but we talk about transformative peace.”

As far as the Ocean of Peace Centre is concerned, Dr de Jong said its ultimate purpose had not been made clear, leading to speculation within regional civil society.

“Certainly, regional civil society asked for a peace centre, but maybe they got a military base instead,” he said.

“This has, in effect, shifted the focus of the Declaration itself towards deterrence, and the countering of China through military means.”

Things are moving fast
Regional civil society is also concerned that the Ocean of Peace initiative is being dominated by Australia and Fiji — not necessarily with Pacific regional buy-in

Tau said that to declare something as regional required wider consultation, not just an agreement between two countries.

“Anything of a peace regional peace institute or anything further along those lines needs proper consultation,” he told RNZ Pacific.

“So I must caution: what stems from a bilateral agreement should not very much impact the regional steps. We have to caution ourselves around that, it calls for wider consultation, and I think that that is the proper process of informing policy.”

Bhagwan-Rolls said they would continue as a civil society peace building network, and as a feminist peacebuilding network, to bring attention to the priority issues from their members and communities right across twenty Pacific Island countries and non-independent states.

She called on the foreign ministers of the Pacific Islands Forum to ensure things don’t move too hastily and that substantive consultation with civil society peacebuilders takes place.

Mahendra Chaudhry — a former Fiji prime minister removed from power and held hostage during the 2000 coup — wants George Speight to name those behind the racist takeover.

The 84-year-old Labour Party leader, who became Fiji’s first prime minister of Indian heritage in 1999, made the comment after Speight — the coup frontman — appeared before the Constitutional Review Commission last week.

Speight emerged into the political limelight in a formal suit and glasses, after spending 24 years in a maximum security jail for treason. The ex-convict has called on the perpetrators of the country’s past political upheavals to own up, saying “if you want redemption, you have to confess”.

• READ MORE:  Former coup leader re-enters Fiji political debate with challenge to immunity and national identity
• Fiji will remain unstable while Indigenous people are economically sidelined, says ex-coup convict
• Other Fiji coup reports

However, Chaudhry told RNZ Pacific it is up to Speight to name the co-conspirators involved in the failed takeover.

“He has the answers, he knows, because he’s always been regarded as the frontman. There were people who were behind him but they remain unidentified to this day,” Chaudhry said.

“He has himself said that those who were associated with him are roaming around freely.”

Need for closure
The veteran politician said many Fijians still want to know who the masterminds were behind the coup.

“He [Speight] can help bring about closure to the whole episode because it still remains open, people don’t said know really who was behind the coup,” he said.

“Only he and [Josefa] Nata know, but they are hesitant, they are reluctant to name them.”

Nata, who was a public relations man at the time, became one of the faces of the coup along with Speight, and has admitted he played a key role as a negotiator.

Fiji has been rocked by four coups since gaining independence in 1970. The first two, in May and September 1987, were led by then-military lieutenant-colonel Sitiveni Rabuka, who is the current prime minister.

In 1999, Chaudhry was sworn in as the country’s first Indo-Fijian prime minister, but the Labour Party leader’s election stoked racial tension in Fiji.

A year later, Speight led rebel soldiers from the military’s Counter-Revolutionary Warfare Unit in an armed takeover of the then-coalition government. Chaudhry and his government were held hostage for 56 days.

He later pleaded guilty to treason and received the death penalty, which was later commuted to life imprisonment. However, he was granted a presidential pardon and released from prison on 19 September 2024.

‘Bigger issue at stake’
Nata, who also spent 24 years in jail for treason before his release in December 2023, has declined to name those who orchestrated the coup “for the sake of the families involved”.

However Chaudhry said there was a bigger issue at stake.

“The families would have supported these people when they were involved in the coup, whether they deserve sympathy I don’t know,” he said.

“It’s a question of the other people, they should be thinking about those who really suffered the pain and anguish of the coup.”

Chaudhry has his own views about who the perpetrators are but said no-one would believe him.

“We know that it was our parliamentary opposition who were involved in the coup because they wanted to get back into power,” Chaudhry said.

“So it was them and their associates, but I cannot name them.”

Rabuka did not serve as the leader of the opposition after the 1999 election, before he resigned to chair the country’s highest indigenous body, the Great Council of Chiefs (GCC).

“We know that the GCC, in meetings which were held subsequent to the coup, were in support of [the 2000 coup],” Chaudhry said.

Chaudhry defends Labour govt
Meanwhile, Speight told the commission during his submission that the events and policies that unfolded during the Chaudhry-led government’s first year in office ultimately led to his actions.

Responding on Wednesday, Chaudhry told RNZ Pacific that Speight’s explanation had no factual basis.

“It is clear that his opinion was not shared by the majority of Fiji citizens at the time,” he said.

He cited a Tebbutt-Times poll conducted in December 1999, which showed his approval rating at 62 percent and a disapproval rating of 15 percent.

He said an editorial in The Fiji Times at the time described the result as “a remarkable performance — and a ringing endorsement by the public of his performance as prime minister”, adding that it was the highest rating ever recorded in a Tebbutt-Times poll.

Chaudhry said that in just one year in office, the coalition government had introduced a series of socio-economic reforms, including removing VAT from a range of staple food items, while achieving a record 9.6 percent economic growth rate and strong business and investor confidence.

Race-fuelled coup
He argued that the campaign against his government in the lead-up to the coup was fuelled by racial politics rather than public dissatisfaction.

“It is well-recorded that the anti-Chaudhry agitation whipped up over the next few months [before the coup] came from ethno-nationalist propaganda and deliberate disinformation spread by the opposition and others, some of whom were driven by greed,” he said.

“Race was used as a weapon to fuel emotions and discredit the government.”

Chaudhry said this was why the Fiji Labour Party urged the commission during its submission to consider constitutional and legislative safeguards to prevent the exploitation of ethnicity for political gain.

Speight has never apologised to Chaudhry in person or asked him for forgiveness.

When asked if he was prepared to forgive Speight, Chaudhry replied: “I can’t answer that”.