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Cook Islands PM survives no-confidence vote

Australia & The Pacific Reader | 27 February | Vol.1 No. 261
Cook Islands PM survives no-confidence vote
On 26 February, Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown survived a no-confidence motion in the Parliament. He defeated the motion 13 votes to 9, with two ministers absent from the vote and the motion put forward by the opposition leader of the Cook Islands United Party Teariki Heather. Although Heather had acknowledged that Brown had the majority, he argued that it was his duty to his people and his country to move this motion after recent questionable decisions by Brown. Brown stood by his decisions and expressed his commitment to serving his country without being held under the constraints set by others. He valued economic and financial independence and the need to stand on their own feet. Despite the Cook citizens protesting against him, he stressed that they were not cutting ties with New Zealand, instead they were discussing a comprehensive partnership with them on equal footing. (“No-confidence vote against Cook Islands PM fails,” RNZ, 26 February 2025)

Post-conflict trauma from civil war still affects Bougainvillea’s 
On 27 February, RNZ interviewed three scholars from the Australian National University on their blog ‘Post-Conflict Bougainville’ which said the region still suffers from the crisis of violence and lawlessness. The fighting in Bougainville-Papua New Guinea civil war officially ended in 1997 and the Peace Agreement was signed in 2001 but the region still suffers. Professor Miranda Forsyth, Sinclair Dinnen, and Dennis Kuiai are the compilers of the blog. Miranda Forsyth in an interview advises the people to confront criminality, a symptom of the ongoing trauma, with a return to peacebuilding in communities. She noted that skills developed by grassroots organizations like Peace Foundation Melanesia require revitalization. Dennis also created a proposal for a Bougainville Community Peace and Security Task Unit, aimed at involving local leaders in conflict resolution and integrating state and customary understandings of justice to bring forth justice and accountability. (Don Wiseman, “Bougainvilleans still suffering from post-conflict trauma, academics say,” RNZ, 27 February 2025)

Australia & The Pacific Reader | 25 February | Vol.1 No. 260
Samoan Prime Minister survives no-confidence motion 
On 25 February, Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa survived a no-confidence vote motion in the parliament. The motion was requested by opposition leader Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, and Fiame survived because FAST members voted for her. The motion was requested due to the political turmoil last week, where the chairman of the ruling FAST party and Samoa's Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries La'auli Leuatea Schmidt confirmed they were facing criminal charges. This led to Fiame removing La’auli and other members from the cabinet while retaining her position, leading to dissatisfaction among the FAST members. This promoted the call for a no-confidence vote, but ultimately, the party members came together and defeated the motion by 34 votes in favor and 15 against. Fiame, who was Samoa’s first female President, faced challenges right after winning the 2021 elections, with her FAST Party's one-seat election win. (Christina Persico, “Samoan Prime Minister Fiame survives no-confidence vote,” RNZ, 25 February 2025)

Australia & The Pacific Reader | 24 February | Vol.1 No. 259
No-confidence vote against Samaon PM?
On 24 February, Samoa’s Parliament will decide to conduct a motion of no-confidence against Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa. The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Papalii Lio Masipua granted the opposition's formal request for a vote of no confidence against Fiame. Opposition leader Tuilaepa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi claimed that Fisme only commands 6 members and called for her and her Cabinet to step down. The Samoa Constitution requires the MP who commands the majority or at least 27  MPs to be elected as PM or continue as one. However the government reacted to the decision as an attempt to stir political drama. The no-confidence motion is a result of the political crisis that began in early January after a fallout between Fiame and the chairman of the ruling FAST Party, Laauli Leuatea Schmidt. (Grace Tinetali-Fiavaai, “Samoa political crisis: Parliament to vote on no-confidence motion against PM Fiame,” RNZ, 24 February 2025)

Nauru president defends resettlement offer 
On 18 February, Nauru president David Adeang defended his government's offer to resettle three members of the NZYQ cohort of non-citizens from Australia. A deal was struck between the Albanese government and Nauru for an undisclosed amount of money. One of three men had been convicted of murder and Adeang was convinced they had “served their time” in Australian prisons. Adeang said, “Australia is trying to send them back to their country but they are not wanted back home, so we accepted them from Australia. They are not Australian and Australia doesn’t want them.” His government granted the men a 30 year visa and the right to settle and work in Nauru. However a legal challenge faces these men as the high court ruled in 2023, it was unlawful for the government to detain someone indefinitely. This rule conflicts with another rule which allows the Australian government the power to pay third countries to accept unlawful non-citizens on a removal pathway, allowing them to be re-detained if they refuse. Plus reports by the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and other organisations reveal poor living conditions, low nutrition and inequality of treatment between residents and the settlers. This transfer would set precedent for future policies that could remove people without proper safeguards. (Ben Doherty and Sarah Basford Canales, “‘Served their time’: Nauru president backs Australian plan to resettle three members of NZYQ cohort,” The Guardian, 18 February 2025)

Australia & The Pacific Reader | 22 February | Vol.1 No. 258
Cook Islands signs agreement with China 
On 22 February, RNZ reported that the Cook Islands Prime Minister informed that he signed a five-year agreement with China to explore and research seabed minerals. A joint committee is to be appointed to oversee the training, technological transfer, logistics, and research. Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown had assured New Zealand, its partner and former colonial ruler, that the agreement was in the best interests of his country and that all decisions would be made transparently. New Zealand however was not happy with the decisions taken by Brown without consulting them. Brown assured that no decisions will be made before assessing environmental and financial impacts. He had licensed three companies to explore the seabed for nodules rich in metals such as nickel and cobalt. Brown also advertised the benefits of having a multi-million dollar industry to supply revenue to protect itself against climate change. (“Cook Islands strikes deal with China on seabed minerals,” RNZ, 22 February 2025)

Australia & The Pacific Reader | 21 February | Vol.1 No. 257
14 Pacific Island countries to receive a grant of USD 107 million from the Green Climate Fund
On 21 February, The Green Climate Fund announced that fourteen Pacific Island nations would receive USD 107 million to adapt their tuna-dependent economies. These countries face climate change issues when they contribute least to the climate change problems. The fund is to be used to create an advanced warning system to enable these nations to track changes in tuna migration. The fund was created in 2010 by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and relies on donations from wealthy nations. Trump's announcement this month to rescind USD 4 billion and withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement has severely affected these Island nations. The main issue of climate change for these nations is when the oceans warm and the tuna goes into the high seas from the Exclusive Economic Zones of these countries, which affect their income greatly. The grant will go to the Cook Islands, Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. These countries have successfully managed their tuna stocks and created sustainable fisheries in the world. However, climate change would drastically affect all these achievements and reduce the percentage of tuna caught by 2050, reducing their revenue by one-fifth. The fund will also be used to boost tuna consumption and enable the Pacific Islands to revive more unintentionally caught species. (“Climate change is robbing Pacific islands of another resource: Tuna,” Islands Business, 21 February 2025)

Australia & The Pacific Reader | 20 February | Vol.1 No. 256
Australia surveils Chinese warships detected at the east coast
On 20 February, the Australian Defence Minister reported that it would monitor three Chinese warships near the east coast of Australia and inside the Exclusive Economic Zone of Australia. The three ships have been identified as the Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang, the Renhai-class cruiser Zunyi, and the Fuchi-class replenishment vessel Weishanhu. Last week they were detected off Northeast Queensland, and after that sailed South and are currently 150 nautical miles off the coast of Sydney. The presence of these ships is unsettling for Australia in the wake of a previous incident last week in the South China Sea, where a Chinese fighter jet released flares in front of an Australian military plane. The Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles promised to keep a close watch on the activities of these ships and assured that they had not breached any international law and the ship passage was “not unprecedented”, but it was unusual. The Department of Defence, Australia, stated that “Australia respects the rights of all states to exercise freedom of navigation and overflight in international waters and airspace, under international law, particularly the UN convention on the law of the sea.” A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry Guo Jiakun, declined to comment on these activities. However according to earlier Chinese media reports, the ships have been conducting real combat exercises in the Pacific Ocean over the past month. Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command Admiral Samuel Paparo has claimed that these activities are not exercises, but rehearsals for an invasion or blockade of Taiwan. (Ben Doherty, “Australia will ‘watch every move’ of Chinese warships detected off east coast” The Guardian, 20 February 2025)

Australia & The Pacific Reader | 19 February | Vol.1 No. 255
Cook Islands PM assures bilateral deals with China do not replace New Zealand 
On 15 February, Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown convinced New Zealand that their relationship with China would not take precedence over the one with NZ. This comes after the Cook Islands signed "The Action Plan for Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) 2025-2030" with China without consulting New Zealand. Brown reiterated that seeking multilateral partners would not affect the bilateral relations with any country. Brown celebrated the partnership with China calling it “steadfast” for the past 28 years. The details of the agreement would be publicly published later according to Brown. The statement would prioritize a wide range of areas including trade, investment, and environmental sustainability. (Caleb Fotheringham, “'Deal with China complements, not replaces, NZ relationship' - Cook Islands PM,” RNZ, 15 February 2025)