Tagata o te Moana is a weekly Pacific programme, broadcast on Radio New Zealand National (Saturdays at 5.30pm). It features news, interviews, and discussion of issues. Presented by Don Wiseman.
The programme for 21 April 2007 includes the following:
- There’s been a positive reaction to commitments made by Fiji’s interim government after talks with the European Union in Brussels this week. The interim administration has made wide-ranging commitments including: the lifting of the public emergency regulations by May; upholding the 1997 constitution; and preparing for a general election by March of 2009. It’s also agreed to facilitate investigations into all human rights abuses; respect freedom of expression in the media; and provide regular dialogue on its progress. Dubravka Voloder reports, and there are comments from a spokesman from the Citizens' Constitutional Forum; and from the Director of the Pacific Concerns Resource Centre.
- Monday will be a day of mourning in the Solomon Islands for the 52 people who died in the tsunami earlier this month [on 2 April 2007]. As Janine Sudbury reports, the disaster has united the people of the country, which has been troubled for a number of years. The Editor of the Island Sun newspaper, Richard Toke, comments on the crisis.
Members of the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination Team, which helped Solomon Islands coordinate different activities following the earthquake and tsunami, left the country last week. There are comments from Amalia Fawcett, of World Vision New Zealand, and also from government spokesperson Alfred Maisulia.
- Tongan business people, government, and civil society have begun working together to try and resurrect the Tongan economy, and put it on a more stable and productive footing. A three-day National Economic Summit earlier this week identified changes needed in agriculture, regulatory controls, land tenure, and tourism. There are comments from the Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce, Paula Taumoepeau, and from the Executive Director of the Civil Society Forum of Tonga, Edgar Cocker.
- Vanuatu police say investigations into last month’s violence on the edge of Port Vila that left three people dead, have been hampered by witnesses being reluctant to give evidence. While 108 people have been charged with rioting in relation to the clashes between the people of Ambrym and Tanna Islands on March 3rd, only one person is facing a murder charge. Johnny Blades reports, and there are comments from Vanuatu's Deputy Police Commissioner, Major Arthur Caulton.
- The latest census in the Cook Islands shows that while there’s been an increase in the country’s overall population, there are large numbers leaving the outer islands. The census was carried out on 1 December 2006, and shows an 8.6% increase over five years to a population of 19,569. Elma Maua reports that the increase in population is in part due to the arrival of migrant workers and tourists. There are comments from the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Wilkie Rasmussen.
- The first round of the French presidential election is imminent, with voters in French Polynesia going to the polls tomorrow. In Tahiti, local support committees for some of the twelve candidates have been campaigning for weeks. In the face of the political instability in Tahiti, the presidential race has assumed additional significance, as Walter Zweifel reports.
- Some Niueans might lose their land if the government goes ahead with its plan to change the land titling process. The Niuean government is looking at ways to change the process following controversial comments made by Niue’s Premier, Young Vivian. Niueans living overseas may forgo their land if they stay away too long, and do not claim title. In the 1970s, there was a move by the Niuean government to restrict title to Niueans living on Niue only. The government dropped this plan after a public outcry. Dubravka Voloder reports.
In Niue land is customarily owned, and cannot be sold. If a person wants to claim land, they can ask the family for a piece of it, yet this often leads to disputes and the matter is then referred to a land court.
- Increasing pressure is being applied on the New Zealand government to ban the import of kwila tropical timber, mostly sourced from Indonesia’s Papua. Endangered kwila wood has a dominant place in the New Zealand retail market for outdoor furniture and decking timber. This was a key finding of a recent survey of Auckland retailers, undertaken by members of the Indonesian Human Rights Committee. Papua is home to the last of the intact old-growth forests in the Asia-Pacific region, but forests are fast disappearing as they’re destroyed by the rapacious activities of the timber barons. The Committee’s Marie Leadbeater speaks to Johnny Blades.