Fiji
Pacific Step-Up needs a Covid-era reboot
Through thickly vegetated jungle paths, teams of doctors hike for hours to reach Fiji’s most remote villages. Travelling ahead of them, as reported in The…
Fiji: Cannabis should be high on the government’s agenda
Fiji’s capital Suva has been in and out of Covid lockdowns over recent weeks, and my Netflix got a workout. I watched a TV show called “Cooked with Cannabis”. Admittedly…
Policy Briefs
Avoiding a Pacific Lost Decade: Financing the Pacific's COVID-19 Recovery
The Pacific's post-pandemic economic revival will rely on an international
multi-year recovery package of grants and loans led by Australia
Now is the right time to bring Fiji into trans-Pacific bubble talks
It’s peak surf season in Fiji. Usually surfers would come from all over the world to surf the famous “Cloudbreak” and holiday resorts should be packed. But Rendezvous Surf Camp,…
Fiji election, from the polling booth
I arrived in Suva six days before the 2018 Fijian election, it was apparent that the country was bracing itself for a tight election contest.
In 2014, Frank Bainimarama’s party,…
Fiji: elections and the slow path to democracy
It is a busy month for the Pacific islands region. Ten days ago observers watched as an independence vote in New Caledonia came much closer than polling predicted. Prime Minister…
Fiji and human rights, the limits of influence
Fiji, the country with perhaps the worst human rights record in the Pacific, has just been elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council. The event unfortunately coincided…
Australia outbids China to fund Fiji military base
The competition of who gets to fund the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) Black Rock Camp in Nadi came to close late in August, with Australia coming out on top over China…
Sedition and Pacific media freedom
The decision by a Fiji court last week to acquit four people charged with sedition is a welcome step in the current regional debate over media rights and responsibilities.
The…
Pacific island links: COP23, PNG corruption, Tonga’s election and more
By Euan Moyle, an intern with the Lowy Institute's Pacific Islands Program.
The crisis on Manus Island continues almost a month after the refugee processing centre officially…