The first day of the first sitting of Samoa's parliament for 2025 Photo: Parliament of Samoa
Samoa - politics
Several members of the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) in Samoa have broken away to set up their own political party.
The new party, Samoa Labour Party, has officially registered with the Office of the Electoral Commission to contest the August general election.
Its president, Faaolesa Katopau Ainuu told the Samoa Observer the party was formed after they learned that HRPP had already selected its candidates from certain districts, without informing them.
The other political parties already registered include HRPP, Fa'atuatua ile Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST), Samoa Uniting Party or Samoa Ua Potopoto, Samoa National Democratic Party, and Democracy Republic Party.
Australia - PALM
An NGO in Australia has been helping Pacific seasonal workers left homeless and stranded after their contracts ended.
Australian South Sea Islanders Port Jackson president, Emelda Davis, told the Fiji Times they have supported workers stranded at Central Station in Sydney.
Davis said many workers faced fear and confusion once their contracts finished.
She said these people don't always understand the conditions of their visas and contracts, and how to get it renewed.
She added that while not all employers are at fault, many don't understand their responsibilities.
Davis believes better training for employers, fairer visa rules and stronger community support are needed to stop more Pacific workers from ending up on the streets.
Papua New Guinea - mining
Northern Governor Garry Juffa has urged MPs, especially those from the coastal and island provinces, to consider their people's livelihoods before endorsing and embracing seabed mining.
Governor Juffa expressed his concern after the signing of a memorandum of understanding by the New Ireland government, and the announcement that it was ready to embrace seabed mining.
Juffa urged the Government and New Ireland Governor Walter Schnaubelt to stop the seabed mining activities in New Ireland, and to back an investigation by independent experts into the ramifications and repercussions of such activities on the ocean floor.
Papua New Guinea - logging
A new report in Papua New Guinea from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime shows huge discrepancies in log export values.
The UN agency's findings are based on official PNG log export monitoring reports and Chinese customs data.
The report shows foreign owned logging companies could be defrauding the PNG government and resource owners of billions of kina in revenues.
The community advocacy organisation Act Now is calling on the prime minister and regulatory agencies to take urgent action to address the discrepancies.
The report revealed that the value of logs exported from PNG, as declared by the logging companies, is 50 percent lower than the value of the same logs as declared in China by the importing companies.
This discrepancy, for the five years to 2022, is put at US$1.5 billion dollars.
West Papua - climate
A new World Meteorological Organisation report says a tropical glacier in West Papua could be gone as soon as next year.
The State of the Climate report said 2024 was the hottest year on record for the South West Pacific.
Last year marine heatwaves stretched five times the size of Australia.
Lead author, Thea Turkington said temperatures were up half a degree celsius from the average between 1991 to 2020.
"Based on the findings from satellite data there's been a reduction of the ice area by about 30 to 50 per cent," she said.
"Unfortunately if this rate of loss continues, this glacier could be gone by 2026 or shortly thereafter."
