China Group Leases Solomon Islands Provincial Capital

Tulagi highlighted . pn521

Central  Province has agreed to lease on long term the whole island of Tulagi to Chinese firm China Sam Enterprise Group Ltd to be developed into a “Special Economic Zone”.
Premier Stanley Manetiva signed the agreement with Sam Group reps in Honiara last month.
The agreement also mentioned lease of islands surrounding Tulagi to the Chinese firm.
Sam Group prides itself as one of China’s top hi-tech investors.

An Aussie View of Solomon Island "Change Makers"

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To move a country from  supposedly and actually "underdeveloped" to "developing" and developed" requires a corpus of change makers: opinion and action people who lead by example in a number of fields at national and grassroots levels.  

My line up in the Pacific would include government and ministerial leaders, leaders of NGOs, school and university teachers, feminists, youth leaders, churches, agriculturalists, entrepreneurs, village elders.  

I would not, among my first choices, have chosen those chosen by the Austrlian Broadcasting Commisssion: an athlete, a football player, a fashion designer, a tattoo artist, and  a film maker, each with a "meaningful connection to Australia" ... though they are no doubt more glamorous than my choices, and the film maker has possibilities.  Yet I suppose they could all help, one step removed. -- ACW
READ ON 

Aid: Kiwis Up, Wallabies Down (and Solomon Island Aid)

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If you’re going to ignore international norms, it’s always easier if someone else is ignoring them with you. Once, New Zealand helpfully provided Australia cover when it came to being a miserly aid donor. This is no longer the case. As Australia’s inflation-adjusted aid spend continues to slide, something odd has happened over the Tasman.

For a long time New Zealand’s aid budget moped around looking unimpressive. That’s all starting to change though   .... READ MORE

And some question marks about Australian aid to Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands Soccer Disqualification has Lessons for its General Election

■ See also my next posting pn345 on the election results.
This anonymous article by a Solomon Islander is very critical of the way its governments have performed, pointing to many instances of likely corruption, foreign influence and damage to the environment, all  to the detriment of ordinary Solomon Islanders.  The election results (pn345) with its indicate the difficulties of applying a Westminster style of elections READ ALSO the election results. 

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Tidbits from the Pacific

Hon. Talagi's feet. pn323

Niue news Independence? https://www.talaniue.com/  Brief National Assembly session:  smoking a taoga? Niue-NZ meeting, PM to NZ for medical treatment "It's my foot that is giving me problems; nothing wrong with my brain."

The latest Tongan news https://kanivatonga.nz/ Petitions, King in NZ

Discussions on Vanuatu-New Caledonia border
http://dailypost.vu/news/french-gov-t-ready-to-host-vanuatu/article_28397281-8348-5ccc-935b-848ec8d059c0.html

Solomon Islands election
http://www.solomonstarnews.com/index.php/news/national/item/21465-international-election-observers-arriving

Cyclones cost Cook Islands
http://www.cookislandsnews.com/national/weather/item/72226-cyclones-cost-cooks-30m-plus

Lowy Institute's The Interpreter: PNG, Taiwan, Pacific Islands Forum, Indonesia, Indian aid, Niue, Vanuatu economy  https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/pacific-links-tsai-s-island-travels-new-niue-more

The Social Progress Index: an Exciting New Tool to Assist Policy-Makers and the Public

Listen to Michael Green on TED by clicking1
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This is an exciting new statistical  tool, first published in 2014,  that can assist policy-makers, and the public that elects or appoints them, by measuring  social wellbeing between nations, and within nations, by region,  urban places and their suburbs, and by socio-economic and socio-cultural groupings. 

China and the Rape of Solomon Islands Forests

Click on this site (not the photo) to see a most incredibly damning video.

Do not click here. pn143

■ The Solomon Islands is China’s second-biggest source of tropical logs (after Papua New Guinea), despite the fact that the Solomon Islands are only twice as big as Beijing. 

■ The Solomon Islands exported more than 3 million cubic metres of logs in 2017, more than 19 times a conservative estimate of the annual sustainable harvest. 

Pacific Islands Weekly 24 October: Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Israel, NZ, China, Japan

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Taxi owner supports FijiFirst. The owner of one of Fiji’s largest fleet of taxis has  vowed to use its vehicles to help the FijiFirst party in its campaign. Tiko Kece base owner Ratu Lomaca Baleilevuka said the reason was that the Government had assisted them with the issuing of taxi permits. Hum!!

Dr Wadan Narsey, in my opinion, rightly,   questions a situation where Board members of Fiji's largest financial entity, the Fiji  National Provident Fund, are all appointed by Government, which is also the largest borrower from the fund (about $2B.) Worker representation was abolished in 2014. (This suggests insufficient safeguards. -Ed.)

Ro Filipe for death penalty. Chiefly SODELPA candidate

Pacific Islands Weekly: News from Tokelau, Tonga, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, PNG and Fiji

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Tokelau. NZ must mend relations in Tokelau

Tonga. Youth Parliament in Tonga

Samoa.  Small debtors should not be jailed: Samoa Law Society Vice-President

Solomon Is. Two former PM's to court for questionable $90m spend

Fiji Pre-election Merry-Go-Round, and some NZ-Pacific News

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Update. The Elections will be held on 14 November
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Two observers who will be part of the Multi-National Observer Group (MNOG) for the 2018 General Election received their accreditation  from the Fijian Elections Office today. Co-leaders of the MNOG are Australia, India and Indonesia.  

Chief Electoral Officer Mohammed Saneem has urged those of the 620,000 potential voters who have not yet registered to vote to do so  in one of the 41 registration centres  by the end of next week.