Pacific News In Brief For March 20

Thursday, 20 March 2025, 9:39 pm
Article: RNZ

Vanuatu - security

Vanuatu's new prime minister says his government intends to "revisit" a security agreement with Australia, arguing it does not reflect his country's priorities including climate change and travel mobility for its citizens.

Jotham Napat, who was elected in February, said the pact with Canberra had to be taken "back to the drawing board" as he sought a "win-win situation" in a renegotiated deal.

He told the Guardian that "an official waiver-free agreement with Australia" is needed as part of the new deal so citizens could more easily travel between the two countries.

Napat had already spoken about these terms to Australian officials including the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, and they were "happy for the two countries to revisit the security agreement".

The bipartisan security deal, signed in 2022 but yet to be ratified by either nation, aims to strengthen cooperation in areas including disaster response, policing, cybersecurity and border security.

Climate change is mentioned once in the document, under a section on "Environment and Resource Security".

Solomon Islands - human rights

A Human Rights Watch report says the rights of the Walande people in Solomon Islands are undermined by issues, including limited access to land and sea-level rise.

The 66-page report is called, There's Just No More Land': Community-led Planned Relocation as Last-resort Adaptation to Sea Level Rise in Solomon Islands.

Until the mid-2010s, the Walande community lived on a small island off the coast, but following devastating "king" tides in 2009, the entire community relocated to the mainland.

Human Rights Watch found the Solomon Islands' government has taken important steps to support communities facing the most acute impacts of the climate crisis, but has not yet fully put them in operation.

Tonga - health

Tonga's Ministry of Health says 6 new cases have shown as positive on a rapid dengue test, as of Wednesday.

This brings the total to 308 cases: 170 of these are from Vava'u, 100 from Tongatapu, and 38 from 'Eua.

As of Wednesday, there 12 people in hospital.

Fiji - climate

Fiji's deputy prime minister Biman Prasad has urged stronger political leadership in climate action.

He spoke at a debrief for the Political Climate Champions in Nadi, as the leader of Fiji's COP29 delegation last year.

Prasad called for early engagement with COP30 hosts to push Pacific priorities.

He said the time for vague commitments is over, and real political will and action is needed.

Aotearoa New Zealand - health education

Pacific scholars in Aotearoa say the scrapping of the 2020 Relationship and Sex Education Guidelines is a backward step.

The Ministry of Education has reverted to using guidelines implemented in 2007, and a new curriculum will be devised this year.

University of Auckland research fellow Dr Analosa Veukiso-Ulugia said the 2020 guidelines gave space for Pacific communities to see themselves in education, reflecting their worldviews, values, diverse sexualities, and experiences.

University of Otago senior lecturer Dr Edmond Fehoko said removing the Relationship and Sexuality Education framework risks silencing vital conversations that empower Pacific current and future students to navigate identity, relationships, and well-being.

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