RNZ: Tagata o te Moana

Is Samoa closer to an election? An ex-pat judge in Kiribati gets another shot in court, why is Australia planning to recruit soldiers in PNG, New Zealand police involvement in curtailing drug trafficking in the Pacific, and the difficulties faced by Fiji garment workers.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Talofa lava! This week on Tagata o te Moana: There are calls in Tonga for a rethink of the Sabbath Observance Laws; Tinian Island, in the Northern Marianas, was a pivotal site for US Forces in WW2 and there is now a US military resurgence there; In Papua New Guinea women continue to face hardship in maternity hospitals, where giving birth on the floors is not uncommon; The former Fiji attorney general Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum attacks the current government and we hear from a Bougainvillean carver who has been in New Zealand for the past month, showing his skills and learning from local artists.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Halo oketa! First up this week on Tagata o te Moana: What's behind the growing assertiveness by the Bougainville Government; A report details systemic issues in the Solomon Islands election process; And why are turtles washing up malnourished in the Cook Islands? All that and more stories from the week on RNZ Pacific.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Kia orana, This week on Tagata o te Moana: A foreign policy expert says Trump's domestic policies are affecting US competition with China in the Pacific. New Zealand announces more recovery assistance for quake stricken Vanuatu. And Tokelau turtle hatchlings Popo and Uto have now tripled in size.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

This week on Tagata o te Moana: Pacific nations are disappointed and are trying to wrap their head around US tariffs; The ADB says economic growth in the Pacific is projected to moderate to 3.9 per cent in 2025 and 3.6 per cent in 2026; Bougainville, which is seeking independence, continues to face trauma that can be traced back to the eight years of civil war from 1989; A National Geographic rapid assessment expedition has found Tokelau's coral reefs appear to be recovering following coral bleaching.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Halo oketa wantok! First up this week on Tagata o te Moana: Tonga shaken awake by massive earthquake, Samoa declares a state of emergency to try and address crippling power outages and Tuvalu receives a new state of the art passenger and cargo vessel! All that and more stories from the week on RNZ Pacific.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

This week on Tagata o te Moana, French Minister for Overseas Manuel Valls returns to New Caledonia; the Australian government looks to fill some of the gaps left by USaid in the Pacific; the widow of the former Green Party MP Fa'anana Efeso Collins calls for an inquiry into his death; deep sea mining company denies branding accusation; Samoan tech expert Namulau'ulu Nu'uali'i Eteroa Lafaele named Young New Zealander of the Year.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

This week on Tagata o Te Moana with Don Wiseman: There will be more talks between the leaders of Bougainville and Papua New Guinea to try and resolve an impasse blocking the province's referendum on independence being tabled in parliament, we also hear from the newly installed Ulu of Tokelau and other fascinating and important stories from the wider Pacific. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Halo oketa! This week on Tagata o te Moana: The dangers of not providing enough police to regions in PNG, A Bougainville leaders group say they want to be independent by September 2027, Deep sea mining campaigners in the Cooks are accused of using charity to win people over and Tokelau prepares to celebrate a century of its relationship with New Zealand. All that and more stories from the week on RNZ Pacific.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Halo oketa wantok! This week on Tagata o te Mona: Samoan PM survives second vote of no confidence, Cook Islands considers becoming a Christian nation, we talk to a Kanak academic about possible political futures for New Caledonia and the Rainbow Warrior will return to the Marshall Islands to mark the 40th anniversary of Operation Exodus. All that and more stories from the week on RNZ Pacific.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Halo oketa wantok! This week on Tagata o te Moana: The prime ministers of Samoa and the Cook Islands both defeat votes of no confidence in their respective parliaments. We speak with a meteorologist about the three cyclones that formed in the Pacific. And a mural honoring the late Fa'anana Efeso Collins was unveiled in Manukau this week. All that and more of this week's stories from RNZ Pacific.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Kia orana! First up on Tagata o te Moana week Cook Islanders express their feelings over the Mark Brown spat with Winston Peters, New Caledonia readies to speak about a replacement for the Noumea Accord, Fiji police try to counter the illicit drug trade and we hear from Norfolk Islanders seeking self government. All that and more stories from the week on RNZ Pacific. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Kia ora! This week on Tagata o te Moana: The Cook Islands versus Wellington, Vanuatu has a new leader, a Pacific beauty pageant judge is accused of fiddling the votes and a Fiji MP shrouded in controversy after her private naked video was leaked could end up in court. All this and more stories from the week on RNZ Pacific.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Kia orana! This week in Tagata o te moana: The Cook lslands spat with New Zealand, Tonga's new leader is left with little time to make his mark, Kiribati rebuts criticism from New Zealand and the Finance Minister of Fiji is calling for a de-colonising of aid. All this and more great stories from the week on RNZ Pacific.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Kia Orana! This week in Tagata o te Moana a new government is on the way in Vanuatu. The US President Donald Trump's immediate impact on Pacific aid. A Kiribati MP has a different view on Winston Peter's cancelled visit and the King of Tonga seems to have got his way in the formation of the new government. All this and more of the best stories of the week from RNZ Pacific.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Halo oketa! In Tagata o Te Moana this week search and rescue efforts continue in the aftermath of the Vanuatu quake. Tonga is preparing to elect a new prime minister and Australia's latest refugee deal with Papua New Guinea is called a death sentence. All this and more stories of the week from RNZ Pacific. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Kia orana! In Tagata o Te Moana this week: Tonga is poised to elect a new leader after the PM resigned ahead of a vote-of-no-confidence. An MP in Bougainville welcomes a report confirming there were negative environmental and human rights impacts by the long defunct Panguna Mine. The Wellington Chocolate Factory is extending its Pacific involvement. All that and more of the week's stories from RNZ Pacific.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Malo ele lei! Coming up in Tagata o te Moana will Tonga have a new government installed next week as a vote of no confidence looms? Whats been the impact of political instability in France on its troubled Pacific territory New Caledonia? And Vanuatu's plea for nations to be held accountable for climate change is being heard at the International Court of Justice. All that and more stories of the week from RNZ Pacific.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Kia Orana! In Tagata o Te Moana this week a new generation of leaders is emerging in New Caledonia, Cook Islanders in New Zealand are consulted on seafloor mining and Samoa's opposition leader Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi says the now passed Samoa Citizenship Bill needed more work. All that and more from RNZ Pacific.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Talofa lava first up in Tagata o te Moana this week Samoans who had their New Zealand citizenship stripped by the Muldoon government get the opportunity to have it restored, the Australian seasonal worker scheme is in trouble with participant numbers declining and thousands making bogus asylum claims. All this and more Pacific stories from RNZ Pacific.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

This week....China exerts its influence at the Pacific Forum...Pasifica attend the Tangihanga of kiingi Tuheitia in numbers....The Pacific is embracing Starlink...cops going bad in Fiji...Winston Peters on the Samoa Citizenship Bill and the Pacific Music awards.

I'm Don Wiseman and today the Pacific Islands Forum summit, the next stage of the Kiribati election process ....deep sea mining drawing closer, there's upset in PNG after a journalist is shut out of a visit by the incoming president of Indonesia....and a call for spiritual leaders to be sent to NZ with RSE workers.

At the midway point in the Kiribati election newcomers to parliament could hold significant sway.......Concerns are being raised on Guam about a build up in US military assets ....Winston Peters visits the North Pacific and later on......An all-female Pacific-crewed research vessel arrives in Tonga.

Malo e lelei in Tagata o te moana today....the impasse over New Caledonia....we hear from a new woman MP in Kiribati...what can we expect from the Forum summit in Tonga and Palau claims that China is weaponising tourism.

The Kiribati election is drawing close; Fiji's soaring drug issues; The people of Guam are not happy as the US plans its new missile architecture; Google is keen to translate more Pacific languages; RNZ Pacific gets a new shortwave transmitter, and Tahiti's waves rein in Olympic surfers.

This week on Tagata: More violence in PNG; France says it will talk about New Caledonioa in September; Is mining the ocean floor now very close? A media operator in Solomons unjustly targetted by Facebook; How to save the forests of PNG; Is divorce in Fiji putting kids on the street? What Pacifika abuse victims now expect.

Today....the problems with a lack of land for homes in Papua New Guinea...France ships out armoured cars for the securiity forces in New Caledonia. and...questions are raised about invoking custom practice as mitigation in court trials in Samoa.

Ni sa bula vinaka in Tagata O Te Moana this week...Uncertainty continues to hamper efforts to return New Caledonia to normalcy as France heads into its snap election....A significant shift in the Fiji's political landscape is in the offing as time runs out for the FijiFirst opposition party to address constitutional anomalies.....There are concerns in Guam as US military activity on the island ramps up at an unprecented rate...And later on we talk to the director of the theatre adaptation of Tongan comedy Red White and Brass

On Tagata o te Moana this week: Still no clear path forward for New Caledonia a month after crippling unrest in the French Territory; We check in on the situation for New Zealand hostage Phillip Mehrtens in West Papua; New research looks at the cost of service for Pacific communities in Aotearoa; And there is stiff competition in the Micronesian Games underway in Majuro.

The focus in PNG's Enga is on relocating survivors and the surrounding communities; The role of slush funds in the PNG no confidence saga The people of Vanuatu back a constitutional reform its advocates say will end the persistent political instabiliity.

The search for bodies stops at PNG landslide site; The PNG opposition again fails with a push for a vote of no confidence; Rising concern in Guam over missiles; Who are the Pacifica who recognised in the King's Birthday Honours.

Tensions persist in New Caledonia; The scramble to find the victims of the landslip in Papua New Guinea; The New Zealand Budget comes up short for Pasifika; Some landowners in Bougainville are suing Rio Tinto over the Panguna mine, and Tonga's parliament says no to the death penalty for drug crimes.

We go behind the causes of the New Caledonian violence, ....highlight the commemorations of the arrival of the first indentured Indian labourers in Fiji 145 Years ago...the building of the biggest double hulled waka in Fiji ....these and other stories on Tagata o te Moana.

The FijiFirst Party says Frank Bainimarama will remain party leader despite his custodial sentence; The Director of Fiji's biggest sporting event has said they will consider dropping the name and branding of it's sponsor Coca-Cola for next years' 50th anniversary; A new project aims to close the existing gap on Pacific Ocean data.New Zealand Geographic and the Cawthron Institute have launched Citizens of the Sea, aiming to map the health and biodiversity of the Pacific at a larger scale than before; A new Climate Change documentary follows a crew of Pacific climate activists and Australian school students visiting the lands of the Gomeroi people in New South Wales.

Dengue in Samoa; a new approach to elections mooted in Solomon Islands; PNG to look to Africa on how to contain illegal guns; and containing emissions from plastics.

Protests in New Caledonia; Gun violences in Papua New Guinea; Tonga airline review is scathing; New Zealand's MFAT has more to do to make aid spending transparent; Building cultural capability in schools.

The fear Pacific countries are feeling amid the missile build-up; Samoa's quest to right a wrong; The impact of soaring cocoa prices; Tonga happy for China's help; Personhood for whales; A resort owner in Vanuatu shuts down a casino, saying they are unethical, and PNG cricket's on the rise

Violence erupts in Bougainville, the benefits of marine reserve areas are bigger than we may have thought, a call for a re-think on autism, rough waters for a PNG gold refining scheme, the Americans are growing their own kava and Pacifica rugby greats take the spotlight.

This week the horrific violence in Papua New Guinea and the role played by politicians; turtle wars in a Pacific paradise; the Pacific got no deal at the WTO but at least one NGO says it was a lucky escape; the Pacific continues to dominate lists of the most obese nations in the world; and Pacific fest is back on.

Tuvalu appoints a new prime minister Also A new Pasifika theatre show looks at developing healthy relationships And later... Pasifika children in New Zealand continue to live in poverty

We learn about digitising tapa from around the Pacific, Wellington's Pasifika community showcase their cultures, The captains of the Pasifika teams in the Super Rugby franchise are confident they can go far in this year's competition.

Keeping the pacific nuclear-free, in line with the Rarotonga treaty has been a recurring theme this week from the leaders of Tonga, Cook Islands and Samoa to New Zealand's visiting ministers; There are now 23 MPs on the opposition benches in Papua New Guinea ahead of an expected vote of no confidence in Prime Minister James Marape; The Cook Islands' now former deputy prime minister Robert Tapaitau has been removed from parliament;A US academic says the Biden adminstration's failure to fully engage with the Pacific during its first year is what has landed them in the transactional dilemma it is experiencing as it competes with China for influence in the region.