Pacific News Brief, June 17

In May, a public debate in Tonga’s parliament rejected a proposal to use the death penalty to deter drug offenders.
photo: VNP / Daniela Mauart-Cox

New Caledonia – Airport

The French High Commission in New Caledonia has announced that Noumea International Airport will reopen on Monday.

The airport has been closed since mid-May due to the conflict, but commercial flights resumed on a limited basis earlier this month.

on Sunday, French Information Network Reports said the gendarmerie had been regularly clearing the main road leading to the airport for a week to ensure roadblocks were not re-erected after they passed.

The High Committee also changed the night curfew to 8pm to 6am.

New Caledonia – Health

Around 300 medical professionals in New Caledonia have called on authorities to resolve the current crisis to protect the interests of patients.

The appeal is titled “Our health is at risk.”

The initiative has the support of doctors, paramedics, nurses, dentists, psychologists, surgeons, midwives, physiotherapists, speech therapists and patients’ associations, who have written a letter outlining their concerns.

They said New Caledonia’s health system was “in trouble” and they needed to take action to protect patients.

Fiji – Government

Fijian Prime Minister Sitiweni Rabuka has hinted at the possibility of establishing a national unity government, which, if established, would be a major change to Fiji’s current political situation.

If the FijiFirst party is deregistered at the end of this month due to an internal crisis, this will involve absorbing the party’s Opposition MPs into Government.

Responding to questions, Rabuka also insisted that the current issues within the Fiji First party would not have any impact on parliamentary proceedings ahead of the release of the national budget on June 28.

According to local media reports, Rabuka said he felt sad for Fiji First as the date was approaching when the issues would be resolved or the party would most likely cease to exist.

Asked if he would consider forming a government of national unity, Rabuka said the possibility was “very high”.

Tonga – Penalty

Several international human rights groups have expressed serious concern over recent discussions in the Tonga Parliament suggesting that the death penalty be extended to drug-related crimes.

The joint statement was issued by organizations including Amnesty International and the Asian Network against the Death Penalty.

In May, a public debate in Tonga’s parliament rejected a proposal to use the death penalty to deter drug offenders.

But the group said even the suggestion that the country might consider extending the death penalty to drug-related crimes was worrying.

RNZ Pacific correspondent in Tonga Kalafi Moala said the death penalty remained in Tonga’s laws but there had not been an execution in more than 40 years.

Kiribati – Anti-corruption

The Kiribati Public Service Office conducted training workshops focusing on anti-corruption and investigative procedures.

The training was delivered by the New Zealand Serious Fraud Office in partnership with the Public Service.

The Kiribati Public Service Office has required training for the team responsible for fraud and corruption investigations.

Serious Fraud Office director Karen Chang said New Zealand had an important role to play as a partner in the Pacific by supporting initiatives to build capacity and enhance resilience.

Papua New Guinea – Fraud

Five former employees of Papua New Guinea Directories Ltd, a subsidiary of Pakistan Telecom (Telikom), have pleaded guilty to multi-million dollar fraud.

They appeared in court in Waigani on Thursday.

this The Courier The company reported five invoices issued to customers but transferred the payments into customers’ personal bank accounts over a period of more than two years.

More than US$850,000 (K3.4 million) was stolen.

PNG Directories produces the Yellow Pages for Papua New Guinea.