Nauru
Western banks are vacating the Pacific, and Nauru is turning to China
Nauru has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Bank of China “to explore solutions and options to its banking issues”.
The China–Nauru MOU will cause further…
Pacific Engagement Visas: New developments but quotas unknown
Australia is surprisingly low-key about the recent launch of its new subclass 192 Pacific Engagement Visa lottery that aims to welcome 3,000 new permanent migrants …
State of play for Pacific women in 2024
As 2024 rang in, an historical vote was taking place in the Pacific. Hilda Heine, former president of the Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI) and first ever female head of state in…
From “poop diggers” to allies: Chinese social media reacts to Nauru’s switch
On 15 January, when Nauru switched its diplomatic recognition to Beijing, “Nauru severs its ties with Taiwan” was the top trending topic on Weibo. For two weeks following, we…
Digital dominoes: Australia’s strategic play in the Pacific
Pacific Island countries, with their sprawling geography, have been caught in a digital divide. Lack of critical, digitally enabling infrastructure slows down development progress…
Japan risks its reputation in Oceania with Fukushima discharge
Japan’s decision last month to begin discharging treated radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean from its destroyed Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant is fairly unpopular…
Is the sun setting on the era of Bainimarama and FijiFirst?
The long-running row between the former Fiji government and the Suva-based University of the South Pacific (USP) has come back to haunt former Fiji prime minister Frank…
Never too late to get the kids off Nauru
Over the past six years, we have witnessed the steady, if not accelerating, deterioration of the mental and physical health of refugee children on Nauru. Their suffering has been…
A new court for Nauru
In January, as Nauru celebrated 50 years of independence, President Baron Waqa announced that his country would cease to use the High Court of Australia as its highest…
Nauru ABC ban: Australia damned by faint criticism
He fainted on me. Big bloke, my local guide on Nauru, who in the sunbaked heat took me Topside on the island to steal a look at the refugee camp among the scraggy rocks known as…