Unearthing stories that matters |
By Georgina Maka’a GOVERNMENT will seek to strike out the case challenging its controversial decision to defer the national elections from May this year to early 2024. Leader of the Independent Group in Parliament, Dean Kuku, lodged the case in the High Court last month, arguing the decision was unconstitutional. Kuku…
By Transform Aqorau A significant milestone in the history of Solomon Islands and the South Pacific was marked this week, on 24 July 2023. It was the 20th anniversary of the start of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), a mission that aimed to restore peace, stability and…
By Georgina Maka’a PRIME Minister Manasseh Sogavare has appointed his new chief of staff. Mcfaddean Aoraunisaka, 37, replaces Robson Djokovic, who died in May this year at the National Referral Hospital in Honiara of heart failure. Prior to his appointment, Aoraunisaka, who holds a masters degree in International Affairs and Strategy from Tamkang University in Taiwan,…
AUSTRALIA’S Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Pat Conroy, arrives in the country today for two days of official engagement. Conroy said a statement he is visiting to continue deepening the relationship between Solomon Islands and Australia. “My visit coincides with the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Regional…
LEADER of Opposition Matthew Wale says all stakeholders that appeared before the Bills & Legislations Committee were not consulted on the proposals Honiara City (Amendment) (No.2) Bill 2023. Wale said the stakeholders have expressed disappointment. They included the Law Reform Commission, the RSIPF, the Corrections Service, the Magistracy, Women’s groups,…
by Stephen Howes and Richard Curtain Kirstie Petrou and John Connell’s new book Pacific Islands Guestworkers in Australia: The New Blackbirds? is an important publication. It is the first book on the Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP) – now part of the broader Pacific Australia Labour Mobility or PALM scheme – which, since…
By Charlie Piringi Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare described the Australian and US approach to China-Solomon Islands relations as “Un-neighbouring”. Sogavare stated this on Monday upon his arrival home from his week-long state visit to China. “The narrow cohesive diplomatic approach by Australia and the United States targeting China-Solomon Islands diplomatic…
LEADER of Opposition Matthew Wale has described the Prime Minister’s statement when arriving in China that ‘he is back home’ as outrageous. A video posted on Twitter has shown that upon arrival in Beijing, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare told Chinese government officials ‘I am back home’. The video has triggered…
BEIJING, July 10 (Reuters) – China and the Solomon Islands on Monday signed a deal on police cooperation as part of an upgrade of their relations to a “comprehensive strategic partnership”, four years after the Pacific nation switched ties from Taiwan to China. The police cooperation pact was among nine…
By Charlie Piringi Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has called on Western nations, especially the United States, not to use LGBTIQA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual, and more) as a weapon for smaller island states to access funding. Sogavare, who is currently in China, was speaking…
