July 24 Pacific News Brief

Vanuatu – Lawyers

The Vanuatu Law Office says they are continuing to work despite a shortage of lawyers.

this Vanuatu Daily Post The Office of the Attorney General (OAG), the Public Prosecutor’s Office (PP) and the Public Solicitor’s Office (PS) are all reportedly in need of more lawyers.

Attorney General Arnold Kiel Loveman said his office has several open positions, including chief national counsel, junior national counsel, senior national counsel and assistant senior national counsel.

Working lawyers say the workload has become unbearable.

“The number of cases they deal with every day is just too much,” the attorney general said.

Solomon Islands – Visa

The Solomon Islands Prime Minister is seeking to establish a reciprocal visa arrangement with Japan.

At the recent PALM leaders’ summit, Jeremiah Manele expressed his interest in the immigration arrangement to Foreign Minister Kishida Fumio in Tokyo.

this Solomon’s Star Prime Minister Kishida has reportedly acknowledged Manele’s request and said he will consider the proposal.

Solomon Islands passport holders can currently travel visa-free to over 140 destinations, most of which are in Asia, Africa and Europe.

Australia and New Zealand have faced increasing pressure from Pacific leaders in recent years to consider reciprocal visa arrangements with Pacific island nations.

Fiji – Drugs

Fiji Police have once again called on the nation to work together to combat the illegal drug trade in the country.

The move comes after schoolchildren in the north of the country were arrested for drug possession, the Fiji Times reported.

The divisional police commander, Kemueili Baledrokadroka, told this newspaper that a 14-year-old student who was arrested recently told police that he was a long-term drug user.

Valedroca said marijuana is more prevalent than methamphetamine in the North.

He called on the Vanua and leaders to work together to help solve this “serious problem”, saying the police could not do it alone.

Samoa – Survey

Samoa’s civil aviation authorities are investigating after a Talofa Air flight from Apia to Pago Pago lost its front wheels during landing.

Eight passengers were safe after the plane made an emergency landing on Monday.

Mataua Aasa-Matai, a passenger on the plane, said on Facebook that the plane’s wheels “tilted and popped out” as it landed.

“A tribute to our pilot who bravely and confidently flew the plane and landed it safely,” she wrote in the post.

Toleafoa Jeffrey Hunter, owner of Talofa Air, told samoa observer The Civil Aviation Administration and the company are jointly investigating the matter.

Hunter said the most important thing was that the plane landed safely and no one was injured.

Fiji – Visitors

Data from Statistics Fiji shows that the number of tourists arriving in Fiji in June this year increased by 2.3% compared to the same period last year.

This year, the number of tourists exceeded 92,000, while in 2023 it was 90,000.

Data from June showed that the number of inbound tourists has fully recovered after the epidemic, and is even 8.1% higher than before the epidemic.

Last month more than 91,000 tourists visited by air and another 1,200 by sea.

Most of those arriving by sea are fishermen, and about 500 are yachtsmen.

Bougainville – Investors

Papua New Guinea’s Autonomous Region of Bougainville chairman Ismail Toroama said landowners needed to work with reliable investors.

He said some exploration licenses had been awarded to various local joint ventures, but the projects came to nothing because the landowners colluded with non-genuine investors.

Mr Toroama said Government stood ready to use the Bougainville Foreign Investment Act to help landowners vet investors.

He also said bypassing the government meant landowners and their investors could struggle to meet government compliance standards.

Cook Islands – Tobacco

The Cook Islands Ministry of Health approves almost all tobacco retailers.

Under the new Tobacco Products Control Amendment Act 2024, all approved persons will be able to sell tobacco from August 1.

The bill would raise the legal age for selling tobacco products from 18 to 21.

The bill also prohibits the manufacture, importation and sale of imitation tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and e-cigarettes.