Papua New Guinea
Prime Minister James Marape will personally oversee the country’s Correctional Services, as former corrections minister Joe Kuli will leave cabinet along with five others.
It comes after two recent prison escapes.
Three prisoners were shot dead last weekend after scaling the fence at Baisu prison in the Western Highlands, with five others critically injured.
The jailbreak was attributed to crumbling infrastructure.
Local media also reported last week that 38 inmates broke out of Kerevat prison in East New Britain and were still at large.
Fiji
Police minister Ioane Naivalurua says more than NZ$3 billion worth of illicit drugs have been circulating in the country in the past three years.
Naivalurua told parliament on Monday that $1.2 million was allocated in the Budget to help establish the Counter-Narcotics Bureau.
fijivillage.com reported that during the budget debate, the police minister said that more than 2400 drug-related cases were recorded last year alone.
However, he said joint operations between the police and the military had seen drug cases drop by nearly a third during the first quarter of this financial year.
Fiji
The Fijian government says it has paid out over FJ$7.4m in compensation to former Vatukoula mine workers.
It said nearly 300 beneficiaries have received their full entitlement of $25,000 dollars each, with 63 more to go.
Workplace relations secretary Maritino Nemani said it recognises the resilience of workers in the Vatukoula mine strike, a dispute that lasted more than three decades before resolution in 2024.
Vanuatu/Papua New Guinea
Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea have agreed to strengthen cooperation between the countries’ police forces.
The Vanuatu Daily Post reported the agreement paves the way for more collaboration in law enforcement, intelligence sharing and regional security.
The agreement was signed in Port Vila by local internal affairs minister Andrew Napuat and PNG’s police minister John Pundari.
Pundari said security threats across the Pacific are increasingly interconnected, and require stronger cooperation between neighbouring countries.
Tuvalu
Police commissioner Matatia Makaili has called for more support for regional security.
Makaili spoke to the United Nations General Assembly Summit last week.
He called on the international community to establish four Pacific-focused UN coordination frameworks – to strengthen maritime security, enhance law enforcement capacity, improve responses to the climate-crime nexus, and support regional prosecution efforts.
He said Tuvalu – a nation of 11,000 people – is responsible for safeguarding more than 750,000 square kilometres of ocean with limited policing capacity.
The Australian Federal Police supported Tuvalu to take part in the summit.
Pacific/New Zealand
New Zealand’s foreign minister will meet with Niue’s prime minister and MPs from Fiji and Samoa, in Auckland on Thursday.
Winston Peters’ office said he will hold talks with Niue’s Prime Minister Dalton Tagelagi, Fijian foreign affairs and external trade minister Sakiasi Ditoka, and Samoa’s commerce, industry and labour minister Afioga Fata Ryan Schuster.
Afioga and Ditoka are attending the Future of Investment and Trade Partnership Ministerial Meeting in Auckland, as guests of New Zealand.
Peters said in what he called “these uncertain geostrategic times in our region”, it’s important that New Zealand connects with fellow Pacific leaders.
Fiji
Defence Minister Pio Tikoduadua says the military must never involve itself in politics ever again.
It comes after the Republic of Fiji Military Forces copped a funding cut in last month’s budget.
Tikoduadua said military intervention in politics weakens democratic institutions and erodes public trust, fijivillage.com reported.
The military budget lost around FJ$14m and is projected to lose another $1m next year.
The military said at the time it respected the concerns that military spending should be reduced because Fiji is not engaged in warfare.
But it also said it saw itself as essential in efforts against the drug trade and corruption – and its social value.
West Papua
Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto has announced what he calls the discovery of new gold reserves in West Papua.
The Antara state news agency reported a cross-agency expedition led by the National Research and Innovation Agency discovered gold reserves and several new mineral deposits in Papua’s mountainous region.
Subianto announced this in a speech urging Indonesians to foster a sense of optimism for the country’s future and to utilise these resources.
He said Indonesia’s future is very bright, but added that they need to stop corruption, smuggling, narcotics, and online gambling.
El Niño
The United Nations says it is ready to disburse money to get ahead of the El Niño weather pattern.
The UN said the last El Niño in 2023-2024 left tens of millions of people in need of food, water, sanitation, and agricultural support.
The UN said it is ready to disburse up to US$100m from the Central Emergency Response Fund.
It said more than $20m has already been allocated for anticipatory action in six countries.
