December 2024
Qantas, Virgin to resume flights to Vanuatu after earthquake
The two Australian airlines are both operating Port Vila-Brisbane services on Sunday and Jetstar is running a flight on the same route on Monday.
- Holly Hales
Australian rescue teams race to Vanuatu after huge earthquake
The Red Cross said at least 14 people had been killed, and hundreds injured. Social media videos showed rescue efforts through the night for people trapped in buildings.
- Charlotte Graham-McLay
September 2024
New Zealand nearly triples fees for foreign tourists
Like many popular travel destinations, the shaky isles have struggled with the impact of visitors on the natural environment and local infrastructure.
- Lucy Craymer
August 2024
New Zealand to push through law to reverse ban on oil and gas exploration
The law would end the ban, in place since 2018, on exploration as the right-of-centre government plans to lure investment to the country’s oil and gas sector.
- Renju Jose
New Zealand cuts rates in a rapid change of tune
The RBNZ’s pivot to easing is a dramatic shift after it said in May it considered raising rates and wouldn’t cut them until the second half of 2025.
- Tracy Withers
July 2024
New Zealand inflation slows to three-year low
Three of the country’s main banks brought forward forecasts for RBNZ rate cuts after the inflation report.
- Matthew Brockett
June 2024
Assange ‘won’t be silenced’ after guilty plea deal
Julian Assange is officially a free man, with the WikiLeaks founder now a convicted felon after pleading guilty in a remote US Pacific island courthouse.
- Andrew Tillett
New Zealand shakes off recession but no relief yet
Gross domestic product gained 0.2 per cent from the previous quarter, when it declined 0.1 per cent, Statistics New Zealand said on Thursday.
- Tracy Withers
Agriculture wins carbon price reprieve in New Zealand
Farmers had protested against previous proposals to impose a regulated price on methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions from late 2025.
- Tracy Withers
May 2024
NZ government cuts taxes even as deficit widens
The tax cuts are almost identical to the pledge Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s National Party campaigned on ahead of the October election.
- Matthew Brockett
Fears of second PNG landslide and disease outbreak
The blanket of debris has become more unstable after rain and streams trapped between the rubble.
- Rod McGuirk
Papua New Guinea landslide toll revised up to 2000
The unstable terrain, remote location and nearby tribal warfare are hampering relief efforts in PNG.
- Renju Jose and Lewis Jackson
PNG landslide death toll estimates raised to 670
Crews have given up hope of finding survivors buried deep under the soil and rubble after a landslide slammed into a village on the Pacific island.
- Rod McGuirk
Macron urges calm in high-stakes New Caledonia visit
The French president has met political and business leaders in an attempt to ease tensions following days of deadly unrest over electoral reforms.
- Claire Rush and John Leicester
- Analysis
- World politics
What’s really behind the riots in New Caledonia?
New Caledonia, one of five island territories spanning the Indo-Pacific held by France, is central to Macron’s plan to increase French influence in the Pacific.
- Gabriel Stargardter
Why a small Pacific island territory is upending nickel prices
New Caledonia possesses an estimated 25 per cent of the world’s nickel resources and accounts for 6 per cent of global production of the metal.
- Rishi Lyengar
First Aussies home from riot-hit New Caledonia after RAAF rescue
French authorities have given permission for evacuation flights to take off and land in Noumea.
- Andrew Tillett
Airforce on standby to evacuate Australians as French police pour into New Caledonia
Roads were blocked and the airport remained shut, stranding 3200 people, including 300 Australians, in the Pacific nation after a week of riots.
- Kirsty Needham
- Opinion
- Pacific diplomacy
Penny Wong must speak up on New Caledonia
It’s time for Australia’s foreign minister to act as the honest friend and tell France that they are mishandling their Pacific territory.
- Hamish McDonald
‘Massive’ French police force arrives in riot-hit New Caledonia
Deadly violence has raged across the French Pacific territory this week over electoral reforms pushed in Paris, forcing France to impose a state of emergency.
- Kirsty Needham and Camille Raynaud
April 2024
Solomon Islands PM steps down after elections
Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare formed close ties with China during his terms in power and said he had been vilified for it.
- Rod McGuirk
Pro-China Solomon Islands PM fails to win majority
Manasseh Sogavare has failed to win a majority in parliamentary elections, setting the stage for coalition negotiations.
- Ben Westcott
January 2024
China, Papua New Guinea in talks on policing, security cooperation
Beijing approached PNG in September with an offer to assist its police force with training, equipment and surveillance technology, says the country’s foreign minister.
- Kirsty Needham
Australian companies close operations in Port Moresby amid violence
Westpac, ANZ and Santos, which have sizeable presences in Papua New Guinea, have increased security and are considering whether to reopen offices.
- James Eyers and Angela Macdonald-Smith
- Updated
- Papua New Guinea
Fuel queues, soldiers patrol streets under PNG state of emergency
The rioting has caused a political crisis in the country and sparked calls for Prime Minister James Marape to resign.
- Lewis Jackson, Alasdair Pal and Nick Squires