News
Recruiter says there's 'a lot of angst' as farmer demand for seasonal workers falls
Demand for Pacific Island seasonal workers is falling after a post-COVID boom in numbers, and some say one reason is changes requiring labourers receive at least 30 hours of work each week.
Published: Source: Pacific BeatTopic: Rural
analysis
China's man in the Pacific has been booted out of office — and Australia is breathing a sigh of relief
Manasseh Sogavare switched his country's diplomatic relations from Taiwan to China and amplified combative stoushes with Western democracies. What does his departure as prime minister mean for Solomon Islands and the region?
Published: Source: ABC NewsTopic: Foreign Affairs
Solomon Islands' pro-China leader Manasseh Sogavare withdraws from the race to be next prime minister
Solomon Islands' pro-China leader, Manasseh Sogavare, has withdrawn from the race to be the next prime minister following the country's national election.
Published: Source: ABC NewsTopic: Elections
NSW Waratahs trounce Drua to claim fifth Super Rugby Women's title
Snapping a three-year premiership drought, the Waratahs dominate Fijian Drua 50-14 in the Super Rugby Women's season decider to complete an undefeated campaign.
Published: Source: ABC NewsTopic: Rugby Union
David was lonely and homesick for Timor-Leste, then a flyer in an abattoir tearoom changed everything
How country-town carpenter and musician Billy Barker's "simple gesture" led to a group of Timorese meat workers performing at one of Australia's biggest music festivals just 12 months later.
Published: Source: ABC South West VicTopic: Culture
analysis
Albanese's 'brotherly' Kokoda trek with Marape showed uncommon warmth at a time of frosty geopolitics elsewhere in the Pacific
It was a big gamble, both logistically and physically, to commemorate the Battle of Kokoda with a trek and to give a robust display of unity between two countries, but James Marape's words of welcome were the stuff of dreams for the Australian…
Published: Source: ABC NewsTopic: Foreign Affairs
Vanuatu is importing its own foreign workers as labourers move to Australia and NZ for higher pay
Pacific Island nations are looking abroad for workers, and taking control of labour mobility schemes at home, as they look to address labour shortages hitting employers. But experts say it's too early to say whether they're succeeding.
Published: Source: ABC NewsTopic: Immigration
Australian-born judge David Lambourne closer to deportation from Kiribati
An Australian judge is a step closer to being deported from Kiribati after the country's parliament voted in favour of his removal from the High Court.
Published: Source: ABC NewsTopic: Political Parties and Movements
A Russian explorer's skull collection ended up in an Australian university. Their descendants want them back
Nearly 1,500 Pacific ancestors are held in 13 museums and universities across Australia — but for the most part, the institutions are not repatriating remains and some believe there are cases that "might prove impossible".
Published: Source: The PacificTopic: Colonialism
War heroes found in 'Twiggy' Forrest PNG expedition to be honoured in special memorial
Families of four fallen Australian airmen will remember their lost loved ones at a special memorial west of Brisbane today, after billionaire Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest found their wreck south of Papua New Guinea.
Published: Source: ABC NewsTopic: Unrest, Conflict and War
Baby otters' first public outing, Japan's royals host a garden party — the Asia Pacific this week in 20 photos
A pink Moon rises, baby otters meet the public for the first time, a rare white squirrel is spotted playing in a Beijing park and China hosts an amazing sand sculpture competition — it's been another busy week across the vast Asia Pacific region.
Published: Source: ABC NewsTopic: World Politics
From building Blackhawk landing pads to collecting intelligence, the work of peacekeepers can be downplayed
Australian Defence Force personnel and federal police officers have participated in 62 global peacekeeping missions since 1947, which one vet says "can be very complex, very confronting, especially when you're unarmed".
Published: Source: ABC Central VictoriaTopic: Peacekeeping Forces
'All sorts of corruption': Solomon Islands MPs head to hotels to pick the PM in 'extraordinary' process
An intense period of political horse-trading is underway in Solomon Islands after no political party won enough seats in last week's election to form government on its own.
Published: Source: ABC NewsTopic: Elections
Eight decades after their death, two Australian soldiers are helping advance an unlikely industry
In the last days of 1943 a brave young Australian soldier, whose family played an influential role developing Australia's irrigation industries, lost his life trying to save wounded comrades in the mountains of Papua New Guinea.
Published: Source: LandlineTopic: ANZAC Day
Albanese and PNG PM walk, talk and catch a breath together, as they climb Kokoda Track
As Anthony Albanese and James Marape continue an unprecedented joint trek up and down the mountains and valleys, they walk with a shared purpose: to acknowledge their history, to embody the friendship of two nations and to promote peace in the…
Published: Source: ABC NewsTopic: Federal Government