NEWSROOM 01 June
2009

(Photo: Zoomfiji)

NEW ZEALAND: Lomu backs Rugby's Olympic campaign

(Photos: Event Polynesia Boxing)

SAMOA: Event Polynesia Boxing presents 3rd Leg of the Samoa Pro-Am Fights 2009
Source: Event Polynesia Boxing Press Release

SAMOA PRO-AM FIGHTS
Faleata Gym 1 - Tuesday 2 June, 2009

Event Polynesia Boxing is proud to present the 3rd Leg of the Samoa Pro-Am Fights of 2009. On behalf of EP Boxing and its Associate Partners, we welcome you to Faleata Gym 1 on Tuesday evening 2 June to the excitement of the Samoa Pro-Am Fights and to witness ‘Samoa’s Best Under One Roof”.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls - Fight Fans …. Welcome to the Samoa Pro-Am Fights!

More significantly, the Fights will be an annual Independence Pro-Am Fight Event for festivities and celebration of our country’s self-governance. Accordingly, to quote Prime Minister Honorable Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi's direction to Event Polynesia Boxing on the introduction of the Samoa Pro Am Fights early this year, he stated that “Samoa needs to establish the Samoa Pro Am Fights to foster the Pathway for Samoan Boxing so that our elite boxers who have represented Samoa with distinction over the years in the amateur ranks can move on to professional honors and careers. I have all the confidence that boxing is one sport that will continue to provide our country with World Champions”. Maselino Masoe is the first Samoan to become a world champion and that was from the sport of boxing.

The resurgence and revival of Samoa Pro-Am Fights and its pathway is also credited to the support of Government, TAB and our Business Partners that have given their support selflessly. “We credit the close working relationship and collaboration of all stakeholders and parties in the boxing fraternity for the current resurgence of boxing in Samoa. These bodies include Government and TAB, the Samoa Amateur Boxing Association - SABA, Tumua ma Pule, Upolu-Savaii and SPBI” according to Ale Vena Ale - Secretary General for South Pacific Boxing Incorporated - SBPI. Ale also credited Event Polynesia for the creation of the Samoa Pro-Am Fights and the collaboration process to bring all parties to work together.

It has been over two years now since Event Polynesia Boxing and Partners have presented the boxing pathway to the Prime Minister and government. The boxing pathway for Samoan boxers also include a circuit of promotions in New Zealand started in late 2007, which is the next step up for our boxers in the international arena. Through the Samoa Pro-Am Fights, Samoa has also hosted major boxing events for the first time which included the first ever world boxing event in Samoa in a WBO Cruiserweight title held in February 2008. The other significant step forward due the SPAF is the utilization of our sports facilities resulting in the

current collaboration and partnership with the Samoa Sports Facilities Authority. Hon Minister of the SSFA - Faumuina Tiatia Liuga and the SSFA Board and Management has to be commended for their receptiveness and leadership. Samoa now hosts 5 Pro Am Fight Events a year at a world class sports venue.

The Program for the Independence Samoa Pro Am Fights is as follows:

• 10.00am Thurs 28 May Press Conference at STA Fale Eleele Fou
• 7.00am Mon 1 June Boxing Clubs Assemble for Independence March Past By the Samoa College and Scopa March at Mulinuu
• 10.00am Mon 1 June SPAF Boxers Weigh-in at STA Fale Eleele Fou
• 6.00pm Tues 2 June Samoa Pro Am Fights Faleata Gym 1, Tuanaimato

The March Past organized for Independence celebrations is to pay homage to Samoa’s boxing legends and the current class of boxers including the administrators and coaches who work tirelessly to develop boxing in Samoa” stated Teleiai Edwin Puni - Managing Director of Event Polynesia Boxing. The country will witness the glitter of the multiple medals and gold trophies and medals that boxing has honored Samoa with over the years. So welcome those heroes who paved the way for Samoa and bring your gold to Mulinuu and flash them proudly.

We take this opportunity to offer our sincere Faafetai Tele to our Associate Partners including:
Afioga Tupua Fred Wetzell and Apia Concrete Products, Motor 1 from New Zealand, Faleula o Samoa, Martin Hautus, Hennies Motel, Funway Rentals, Pacific Freight Samoa Limited, Samoa Commercial Bank, Bluebird Lumber and our Media Partners TV3, Samoa Observer and Radio 2AP.

The future of the Samoa Pro-Am Fights and its Pathway lies with the financial support from Government and the Business Sector to help sustain the financial costs and continue the momentum of the Samoa Pro-Am Fights. We look forward to the public’s support to come to Faleata and witness the resurgence and be part of the winners circle. Come see firsthand the updated development of future Samoan world champion boxers right here at home.

Organizers will use the SPAF on June 2 to select boxers for the next EP Boxing Event to be held on Tues July 14 in Auckland New Zealand.
There will be 6 Top-Flite Amateurs and 5 Pro Undercard Showdowns!
The Main Event will feature Samoa’s own -Miki Otto Ropati - ‘da Hands of Stone’ vs. the African Warrior - Joseph Kwanjo in a 10 x 3 Super Middleweight Spectacular!

LET’S GET READY TO RUUUUMMMMBBBBLLEE!

EP BOXING CALENDAR 2009 - APIA,
Faleata Gym 1
Saturday 31st January
Thursday 30th April
Tuesday 2 June - Independence
Tuesday 1 September - Teuila Festival
Tuesday 8 December & Honorary Awards

Photo Captions:

Photo 1 - Professional Undercard boxers with Miki Otto.

Photo 2 - Professional Undercard boxers with Joseph Kwadwo.

Photo 3 - Main Event boxers Miki 'Hands of Stone' Otto and Joseph 'African Warrior' Kwadwo.
 

(Photo: David Brooks, AFP/Getty Images)

AUSTRALIA: Pacific Islands bullied by Australian, NZ trade officials, say experts
Source: Epoch Times

Tactics employed by Australia and New Zealand to push Pacific Island countries into signing a free trade agreement are a form of “contemporary colonization,” said academic and respected analyst on Pacific Island affairs, Professor Jane Kelsey at a seminar in Auckland last week.

Pacific Island officials involved in the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) negotiations with Australia and New Zealand are worried that they are being pressured into signing an agreement that they do not fully understand, she said.

PACER is a framework for a free trade deal between Australia, New Zealand, and thirteen Pacific Island nations.

At a Forum Leader's meeting in Nuie in August 2008, Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean pushed for free trade negotiations (PACER-Plus) to begin at this year's Pacific Leaders Forum in Cairns. Trade officials were given a mandate to devise a plan for negotiations to begin.

This, experts say, signaled a more aggressive approach.

Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG) Coordinator, Maureen Penjueli, and Communications Officer, Westley Morgan, say that Australia and New Zealand are fast tracking the process and ignoring wishes previously expressed by officials in Nuie for Forum Island Countries (FICs) to be well-prepared.

“Academics in the Pacific are predicting that 80 percent of Pacific manufacturing could close down under PACER-Plus,” said PANG last November, “leading to unemployment for thousands of workers.

“Most Pacific countries lack secure social nets, such as state welfare, to assist unemployed workers … “These expected outcomes of PACER-Plus could leave many Pacific people faced with a bleak future.”

Vanuatu Minister for Internal Affairs, Patrick Crowby, said the issue cannot be fast-tracked if advisory institutions are not set up. “How will the government fund its essential public services if we lose out on vital revenue? Depend on aid donor money? I don’t think so,” he said to the Vanuatu Post recently.

Australia and New Zealand agreed to fund a Trade Advisory Office which could support national consultations and research, but only if the FICs did not seek funding from other quarters.

Professor Kelsey said the funding is inadequate. “It undermines claims that Australia and New Zealand are genuine about helping the Pacific develop trade policy to meet the regions' development needs.”

“Those national consultations not only aren't being funded but if Australia and New Zealand have their way there won't be the time to do them properly anyway,” she said. “What we have seen, is a whole lot of behind the scenes practices that are highly manipulative.”

The FIC's do not want to go into negotiations while some of their members are still negotiating other free trade deals—the Economic Partnership Agreement that Fiji and Papua New Guinea are involved in, and the World Trade Organization negotiations that Samoa, Vanuatu, and Tonga are involved with.

New Zealand's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Murray McCully, announced earlier this month that foreign aid would no longer be directed to “poverty elimination” but linked to trade and economic development and should be compatible with New Zealand's foreign policy.

This sort of pressure, says Professor Kelsey, places the Pacific Island nations in an even more vulnerable position.

The principal reason for Pacific Island nations participating in free trade negotiations is that they are hopeful that it will lead to the opening of more doors into Australia and New Zealand for temporary migrants. “That is seen as a lifeline,” Kelsey said. “It soaks up unemployment, helps the balance of payment, puts money back into villages and households, as well as potentially creating investors.”

“But until you get to the end of the negotiations, you are not going to know what is on the table, and the promises that you made in the process of those negotiations will be very hard to take off the table if you don't get what you thought you might, at the end,” Professor Kelsey said.

Despicable treatment during free trade negotiations in the past have taught the Pacific Island nations to tread warily, says Professor Kelsey.

Samoa, Vanuatu and Tonga have experienced “unconscionable demands” in their attempt to enter into WTO negotiations—the prospect of unfettered operations by foreign businesses, privatization and big cuts in tariffs that would reduce government revenue, she said.

“To date, only Tonga has agreed to pay that price, although a statement out from Vanuatu suggests that they might actually be getting a bit closer to doing so.”

The Pacific Island Forum's member states are: Australia, the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. Since 2006, associate members territories are New Caledonia and French Polynesia. Fiji was suspended on 2 May 2009.

Photo Caption: Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at the opening of the Pacific Islands Forum summit in Niue, a tiny Pacific island state of 1,500 people on August 19, 2008 (On the right is the Vice-President of the Federated States of Micronesia, Alik L. Alik and Cook Islands Prime Minister Jim Marurai is in the center).
 

PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Tourism earns K960m
Source: The National

Papua New Guinea earned an estimated K960 million in foreign exchange last year, thanks to the record high 120,000 visitors to the country during the period, Peter Vincent, chief executive officer of PNG Tourism Promotion Authority (TPA) said.

“This is largely in line with the growing international trend for tourists looking for new and exciting destinations around the world, and we believe PNG stands to gain further in the coming years,” Mr Vincent said during the launch of TPA’s re-branding tagline and online image library last Friday in Port Moresby.

Mr Vincent said TPA was working closely with tourism industry partners to redefine the agency’s marketing strategy by focusing on specific needs of the seasoned traveller.

“We are quite confident that with our new strategic market approach, we can capitalise further on the travel and tourism market,” he said.

Mr Vincent also said for TPA’s market strategies to work, the authority needed leverage to modest budget for maximum effect, targeting well-defined audiences with relevant messages.
Charles Abel, Minister for Culture and Tourism, said the National Government had given prominence to tourism development, “with a steadily increasing budget since the introduction of tourism master plan”.

He said: “We need to provide funding beyond the current K13 million per annum … I suggest that this is sufficient, perhaps for marketing, and we need a further K13 million for the other important aspects.”

Deputy Prime Minister and Mining Minister Dr Puka Temu, said the Cabinet would consider the request in the next budget allocation.

Dr Temu launched the re-brand tagline which now reads “PNG, a million different journeys” from former “PNG Experience” alongside the online image library (by David Kirkland) aimed at showcasing many different national images that portray PNG’s unique culture and traditions and pristine natural beauties.

“The new brand name and tagline for PNG tourism signals a new era in dynamic and strategic marketing for PNG tourism board and exemplifies our desire as a nation to be well for the tourism dollars,” Dr Temu said.

He said online image library complimented the new brand name and tagline while providing that opportunity for PNG to be exposed to the outside world through the variety of colourful images on the internet.

“The challenge for the Government is to continue to create those investment and tax incentives so we can lure in more tourism investments in hotels and airlines … we are not only creating employment opportunities but also increasing their income generating opportunities,” Dr Temu said.

He praised Mr Abel, the TPA board, management and staff for their vision and motivation to market tourism in PNG, “to a level that is on par or better than our competitors in the Pacific region”.
 

(Photo: Embassy of Taiwan)

SOLOMON ISLANDS:  Asia tour a success: Sikua
Source: Solomon Times

Prime Minister Dr Derek Sikua says his 25-day tour of three Asian countries was a success.

"It has certainly been a long trip but it was a successful one. It was cost effective and beneficial to Solomon Islands," Prime Minister Sikua told a media conference just after his arrival last week in Honiara.

"It is important that we remain engaged with our friends and partners in the region and globally. The challenged we face today such as financial crisis, climate change and environmental degradation, to name just a few, are issues that individual countries cannot address on their own. It requires the collective effort and commitment of all countries concerned," he said.

Prime Minister Sikua said the Solomon Islands Government commitment to its international relations such as the ROC-Pacific Allies Summit is important as it demonstrates Solomon Islands commitments to this partnership as well as to the bilateral relationship between Taiwan and Solomon Islands.

Dr Sikua said the trip with his delegation to Indonesia "demonstrates our political commitment to the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI)" and that the presence of Solomon Islands at the highest level of representation shows to our partners and donor agencies that we do care about our marine resources and ecosystems.

"The PALM 5 Summit in Japan shows our commitment to work closely with the countries in the region and Japan to address the many challenges facing us".

"It shows that we value our relations with these countries and are serious in working with them to address these challenges," Dr Sikua said.

"What sort of signal do we send them or the region if we did not attend the Summit? I believe Solomon Islands will benefit from the funding support (50 billion Yen) announced by the Japanese Prime Minister for the Pacific Islands following the summit," Dr Sikua said.

Dr Sikua said it is also important to note that the actual benefits of such official engagements at this highest level usually come after.

He said his Cabinet Ministers and government officials will now need to work hard at their levels to follow up and ensure that Solomon Islands does benefit from the funding support that will be available for programs and projects for the CTI and the PALM 5 outcome and action plans.

Photo Caption: In Taiwan, Dr Sikua met President Ma to discuss a number of bilateral issues.
 

WORLDWIDE: MDR-TB on our shores: A daunting situation for the Pacific Islands

Source: Secretariat of the Pacific Community Press Release

Every year over the past three years, an average of 1,500 new active tuberculosis (TB) cases (equivalent to 52 cases per 100,000 population) are reported from the Pacific island countries and territories. The Micronesia subregion has the highest TB rate, with 140 cases per 100,000 pop., followed by the Melanesia subregion, with 37 cases per 100,000 pop., and Polynesia with 19 cases per 100,000 pop. TB rates in the Micronesia subregion are higher than rates reported in other subregions mostly due to high rates in Kiribati, Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia. ‘TB remains a huge burden in the Pacific islands,’ said Dr Janet O’Connor, head of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community’s (SPC’s) TB Section.

What is now alarming is the emergence of multidrug resistant TB (MDR-TB), a strain of TB that is resistant to INH and Rifampicin, the two most powerful TB drugs available for the past 50 years. A total of nine countries in the Pacific region, including New Zealand and Australia, have reported MDR-TB between 2005 and 2008. Chuuk alone has had 16 confirmed MDR-TB cases and 100 contacts since its MDR-TB outbreak in July 2008. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 900 MDR-TB cases occur every year in Papua New Guinea.

The burden of MDR-TB and its potential to escalate in the region is a big concern. Even more disheartening is the significant risk that XDR-TB (Extensively Drug Resistant TB), a strain of TB that is virtually incurable, will develop if national TB programmes fail to manage MDR-TB properly. ‘Given the poor treatment outcomes and high case mortality for MDR-TB, the TB situation in the Pacific region can only get worse,’ added Dr O’Connor.

‘The increasing HIV incidence reported in the region to date will no doubt fuel the ongoing MDR-TB epidemic witnessed in parts of the region today and the situation will be quite daunting.

‘Our region is now at a cross roads where TB and HIV are colliding and non-communicable and communicable diseases are joining forces causing disability and premature deaths. TB and HIV programmes and other partners must now reach beyond their programmes and work together to address these two diseases and thus prevent MDR-TB,’ said Dr O’Connor.

The joint SPC and WHO meeting for TB and HIV programme managers on 23-26 May in Nadi, Fiji Islands, brought together all TB and HIV/AIDS programme managers and experts from around the Pacific region for the first time in a one-day combined meeting to agree on establishing meaningful collaborative activities. TB programme managers also held a two-day meeting on strengthening the national directly observed treatment short-course (DOTS) foundation as the basis for MDR-TB prevention.