NEWSPAGE 14 March
2011

NEW ZEALAND: New play: Samoa mo Samoa

(Photo: Sugapepelo)

SAMOA: PM vows to 'vastly improve' in face of stronger opposition
Source: Savali News via Pacific Media Watch

The Human Rights Protection Party swept back to power with a landslide victory in the Samoan general election on Friday.

But a beaming Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi is not getting carried away.

“Only 16 old members have come back,” he said, “and there are 20 new faces, including six independents.”

“The message, therefore, is very clear, very simple. If we don’t perform in the next five years, more members will go. The party is also reminded that the platform of projects and programmes have already been laid down in the party manifesto.

“The mandate for the new government is huge and will have to vastly improve in terms of productivity, service delivery and good governance.

“That is the only way to beat the calls for a change of government - which will no doubt get louder and louder. We will certainly have to work twice as hard as we did the last five years.”


Rolling up sleeves

Tuilaepa said that once a Cabinet has been appointed, the new government would immediately roll up the sleeves and go into projects and development mode.

“There is plenty of work to be done. Our priorities are climate change-related projects and inter-related sectors, agriculture, health, education and energy renewal.”

The HRPP has gone a seat better than the 35 it won in 2006. But importantly, said the Prime Minister, is that it has again managed to secure the necessary two-thirds majority in the House.

“Yet again, it is an indication of the high level of confidence the country has in us . Having the two-thirds majority means that we will have control of the house to improve essential legislations.’

Tautua Party deputy leader Palusalue Faapo II Saturday morning congratulated the Prime Minister and the HRPP on yet another victory at the polls.

“We are happy with the 13 members we now have," said Palusalue.

“We have the numbers to be recognised as a legitimate opposition party in the house. We now have our work cut out for us. We have to provide a strong opposition to the ruling party in the house.”

Photo Caption: Still from a Samoan elections video.
 

AUSTRALIA: Study opening for Fijian students in Australia
Source: Fiji Times

Fijian students, parents, and career counsellors in Suva, Nadi and Lautoka will participate in a showcase next week by nine educational institutions offering study opportunities in Australia.

Targeting students interested in enrolling for full fee-paying courses in Australia, the showcase aims to provide exposure to the variety of study programmes on offer.

The Australian educational institutions that will participate in the showcase are the Australian Maritime College, Aviation Australia, Griffith University, James Cook University, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Sunshine Coast TAFE, the University of Canberra, the University of New England and the University of Southern Queensland.

The areas of study range from programmes in maritime and fisheries to aircraft maintenance, cabin crew training, engineering, law, medical science, mass communication and sports management, among a host of others.

Australian Trade Commissioner Dan Williams says Australia's role in education in Fiji is considerable with a number of local institutions offering Australian courses and content.

"This is supplemented by our institutions in Australia that welcome students from the Pacific with open arms," Mr Williams said.

Australia provides education services to about 500,000 international students at any one point in time.

"This means interested students from Fiji will not only receive tuition from institutes experienced in working with international students but they will also be exposed to many different cultures and contacts from around the world."

The showcase opens for two days at the Holiday Inn in Suva on Monday before opening in Nadi on Thursday, 17 March and in Lautoka the next day, Friday 18 March.
 

(Photo: Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme)

NIUE: Niue hosting the biggest climate change conference for the Pacific
Source: Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme Press Release

Over 100 people will gather this week in Alofi, Niue to discuss an issue that is at the forefront of the region - climate change.

The Pacific Climate Change Roundtable (PCCR), held every two years, is bringing together participants from all the countries and territories in the region and the different organisations that have an interest in climate change and its impacts, seeking to help pave a way forward on how we address this.

Next week in Niue, it will also be an opportunity to hear of achievements made based upon the outcomes of the last PCCR which was hosted in the Marshall Islands in 2009.

“Climate change has always been a high priority for us, we are looking forward to people coming to Niue for the meeting and we hope the outcomes will be successful for everyone.” said Niue’s Premiere, Mr. Toke Talagi.

“In Niue we understand the importance of ensuring we can build our resilience through climate change mitigation and adaption, but we are also working to ensure that we can build our economic resilience and sustain our own developments over the long term.”

The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) has worked with partners over the past months to ensure the meeting has a regional view and input.

It is hoped the PCCR will bring about better dialogue and contact between professionals, technical officers and people who work on climate change. It is planned that these discussions will have a specific focus on areas such as the SPREP study on climate change finance.

“For SPREP it’s a very important meeting, we take the view that is a meeting for the region as we’ve worked with other regional agencies and key donors to collaborate on the agenda and we’ll continue to collaborate as we move forward,” said Mr. David Sheppard, Director of SPREP.

Mr. Andrew Yatilman, Director of the Office of Environment and Emergency Management in the Federated States of Micronesia is looking forward to the PCCR helping to open doors with accessing funding towards climate change adaptation.

“We have been doing planning and a lot of discussion in meetings over this month, but we notice that the actual implementation of adaptation projects is not happening because of no resources. We hope the meeting in Niue will come up with concrete actions on how to access funding towards climate change adaptation.”

The Cook Islands will also be attending the PCCR in Niue next week, and the new Government has put climate change as an issue of high priority for them and they are looking forward to a successful PCCR meeting.

“The environment is our number one asset, it underpins our tourism industry which is our number one economic driver and if we don’t look after it or fix it the problems associated with it very quickly, we put at risk our ability to earn through the tourism industry,” stated Mr. Mark Brown, the Minister of Finance for the Cook Islands.

For more information on the Pacific Climate Change Roundtable, 2011 in Alofi Niue, please visit: http://www.sprep.org/climate_change/PCCR/index.asp

The meeting will be held in Alofi, Niue from 14 to 18 March, 2011.
 

(Photos: Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat)

VANUATU: Pacific Islands Forum launches 40th anniversary
Source: Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat Press Release

The Pacific Islands Forum has launched its 40th anniversary by seeking insight into “Pacific Regionalism: Past, Present and Future”.

This was the theme of the first of a series of public lectures delivered last week by the Prime Minister of Vanuatu and Pacific Islands Forum Chair, Honourable Meltek Sato Kilman Livtuvanu, in Port Vila, Vanuatu.

The lecture marked the launch of the Pacific Islands Forum’s 40th Anniversary celebrations.

“These 40 years span a history of shared efforts by our Leaders, past and present, to improve the lives of Pacific citizens,” said the Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Tuiloma Neroni Slade.

“The Pacific Islands Forum’s initiatives and development efforts over this period have been pioneering substantive and, I believe, notable successes covering the whole spectrum of modern development. In reflecting on the path travelled thus far, we must now pave the way for further gains and learn from the lessons of our past.

“In this 40-year journey the region has been guided by the wisdom and foresight of Forum Leaders, for it is their Vision for a region of peace, harmony, security and economic prosperity that Pacific communities strive for, so that we can all lead free and worthwhile lives.”

Mr Slade added that there was still much to be done to achieve the Leaders’ Vision.

“The catalogue of what needs to be done, in each Forum country and across the region, is long and the myriad of tasks exceedingly difficult.

“The 40th Anniversary Leaders Lecture Series presents a rare opportunity to not only celebrate our efforts and endeavours to date, but to also seek from our Leaders further guidance on the way forward.”

Mr Slade said that in recent years, Forum Leaders have clearly recognized that the Pacific has moved, and by global forces is being moved, into a period which calls for new approaches to a whole range of shared challenges.

“The changes in an ever globalizing world intensify almost by the day, and so should we shape the content and pace of Pacific efforts for more targeted and effective cooperation and integration.”

Mr Slade highlighted that the Pacific Plan has provided the region with a mechanism for shaping our longer-term future.

“At this 40th year juncture, it is necessary and right to ask whether we are on the correct path; whether we are utilising the Pacific Plan well; and whether it is helping Member countries and communities to take the region forward to deal with new and emerging challenges.”

The public lecture was held on Thursday 3rd March at the University of the South Pacific (USP) Emalus Campus Conference Centre in Port Vila and broadcast to USP campuses across the region.

The event was held in the margins of the High Level Conference on Climate Change held in Port Vila from 3-4th March 2011.

Photo Captions:

Photo 1 - Prime Minister of Vanuatu and Pacific Islands Forum Chair, Hon Meltek Sato Kilman Livtuvanu (Right), delivers the keynote address.

Photo 2 - (L-R) Secretary General Tuiloma Neroni Slade and Vanuatu Prime Minister, Hon Meltek Sato Kilman Livtuvanu, facing the audience; including Premier of Niue, Hon Toke Talagi and President of Kiribati, HE Anote Tong.
 

Photo 3 - Premier of Niue, Hon Toke Talagi, take part in the discussions from the audience.

Photo 4 - Audience at the inaugural PIF 40th Anniversary Leaders' Lecture Series in Port Vila.

(Photo: Pacific Islands Applied GeoScience Commission)

WORLDWIDE: New service to improve mapping
Source: Pacific Islands Applied GeoScience Commission Press Release

SOPAC has introduced a navigational positioning service into the region that could make a major contribution in improving the safety of lakes, rivers and the ocean, according to Robert Smith, SOPAC’s Senior Advisor Marine Geophysics.

Mr Smith said that the service is called MarineSTAR and utilizes a combination of more than 50 satellites, permanently located base stations and a small transmitter/receiver computer called a Rover, that when operated together, can ensure pinpoint accuracy of a location within 10 centimetres.

In the MarineSTAR network, a base station is a permanently placed reference point that gives a fixed location that the Rover, working with the satellites, can instantly determine.

“Because our survey work is essentially on the water, our position, the speed and direction we are traveling, are computed by the Rover, based on data received from the Marine Star network of satellites and base stations.

This provides an exact position in real time (real time means exactly that, what is happening now), to ensure that the mapping is accurate to within 10 centimetres.

He said an additional advantage is that the Marine Star system only requires a single Rover unit. “Everything else is provided by the company. It is certainly more cost effective, more efficient and fast.”

Previously Mr. Smith’s team needed assorted equipment to achieve the same accuracy including a portable base station with a limited range of 40 kilometres.

“That meant that every time we went out of range we had to pick up all the equipment and reposition it to a new site to keep in range. It was costly in time, efficiency and expense.”

Mr. Smith said his work addresses a range of activities from surveying the increase of sediment in a river that could result in flooding to charting the seabed of a harbour to ensure that the depth of the water is consistent with the draft of large ocean going vessels.

He said with today’s standards, existing charts in the region were in serious need of updating to modern electronic chart plotters used on vessels of all sizes.

“A ship going through these waters is reliant on current charted data and without frequent updates, it may run the risk of going aground; although well used sea routes are closely monitored to ensure safe shipping lanes and berths.”

“But the acquisition and upgrading of our positional mapping capabilities with the MarineStar Positioning Services will not only revolutionize the future of mapping and charting for SOPAC, but will contribute to a new future resource for improvement in charting the region to internationally recognised standards,” he said.

Mr. Smith said that SOPAC would initially use the system for work offshore Beqa Channel and Rovondrau Bay in Fiji to determine the stability of the seabed and the type of sedimentation that may causing the disturbance. It would then be used in Tonga to collect data for tsunami risk modeling.

Photo Caption: Peni Musunamasi, an Electronic Engineer with SOPAC, shows the MarineSTAR Rover, used to help calculate exact locations at sea of up to 10 centimetres.