A weekly wrap-up of news, issues and current affairs from the Pacific. The programme is broadcast nationwide every Saturday evening on Radio New Zealand National and is produced by the newsroom of Radio New Zealand International. The following rundown is supplied from the broadcaster’s news system:
1. A survey of New Zealand's political parties has found the vast majority of parties agree the country's aid budget, which mainly goes to the Pacific, is far too low and should be increased.
2. The Australian Greens say the Abbott government should release all children it is holding in asylum seeker camps.
3. An analyst with Australian thinktank the Lowy Institute [i.e Tess Newton-Cain] says there is huge concern across the Pacific at the cuts made to services provided by Radio Australia and the Australia Network.
4. One of the authors [i.e. Alys Willman] of a report into violence in Papua New Guinea says the country's security situation is forcing business owners to rely on private security companies or face victimisation.
5. US Pacific territory leaders say President Obama's proposal to expand marine protected areas in the Pacific will hurt their economies and cultural values.
6. Police in Tonga are stepping up their presence at secondary school rugby matches in an effort to curb interschool violence.
7. A New Zealand anti-violence agency [i.e. Pacific Prevention of Domestic Violence Programme] says it fully supports the Vanuatu Police for going against customary law and taking a prosecution against a man who allegedly raped his wife.
8. An academic [i.e. John McCaffery] says the Government is shirking its duty to stem the declining numbers of the country's Pacific language speakers.