@benmackey.bsky.social
AAP Pacific Editor. prev NZ Corro. I take the job seriously & social media less so. π§ bmckay@aap.com.au
a piece on the recent PNG/Bougainville drought and the challenge to get relief to some of the world's most remote islands and atolls. with contributions and photos from CARE Australia
t.co/CZhTtnPlUH
so sad
26.03.2025 22:16 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
Interview with Rob Sherman, the ex-Australia & NZ technical director and now Fiji coach on the challenges minnow nations face
nit.com.au/13-03-2025/1...
Sydney FC striker Jaushua Sotirio's late-career defection from Australia to New Caledonia
www.canberratimes.com.au/story/892118...
A feature on Fiji's path through qualification and their attempts to lure more eligible players to represent the Bula Boys
www.1news.co.nz/2025/03/20/f...
New Zealand 3-0 New Caledonia match report (not sure why the big G credits Reuters here...)
www.theguardian.com/football/202...
Did New Zealand enjoy the easiest World Cup qualification of all-time? (Not quite, but for decades)
sportnation.nz/article/the-...
NZ Football want to re-ignite Soccer Ashes clash with Australia after qualifying for 2026 World Cup
aapnews.aap.com.au/glance/news/...
reporting thread on Oceania FIFA World Cup qualification over the past fortnight... π³πΏ π«π― β½ π΅π« π³π¨
26.03.2025 04:34 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
A piece today on Winston Peters' diplomatic tour of New York and DC. The foreign minister has let on very little, and that's deliberate.
www.canberratimes.com.au/story/892057...
Of course we knew USAID cuts would kill many, many innocent and poor people, despite what Trump & Musk say. This piece suggests more than one million this year alone due to cuts in HIV treatment. The gut punch is that medicines cost 12 cents a day.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Adding this to top of my thread. I agree this is so important, it is helpful and it's healing. Coming off today's beautiful Unity Hui
15.03.2025 02:56 β π 78 π 38 π¬ 0 π 0
Guy who doesnβt even respond to the mothers of his children: reply to my email or youβre fired
22.02.2025 19:58 β π 14699 π 2707 π¬ 526 π 386
pretty direct messaging from the new Vanuatu PM
22.02.2025 02:36 β π 4 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
Collins told AAP she wanted to head to US to meet Hegseth in coming months, that would likely be after Peters travels to meet Rubio. (No reprise of their double-act, sadly)
Our write-up of China's naval adventure:
www.northweststar.com.au/story/889846...
Collins also gave an interview to Al Jazeera, she blamed Labour for defence attrition:
"It was to do with the way that the previous government had used defense to run COVID lockdowns and managed isolation facilities. So we lost a lot of people through that."
www.aljazeera.net/politics/202...
On the JD Vance speech she saw in Munich, Collins said she "agreed with a quite a lot of what he said about democracy and freedom of speech". Her main takeaway from Munich was the need to up defence spending. (This will obviously be happening through the Defence Capability Review and May budget.)
21.02.2025 01:28 β π 2 π 0 π¬ 2 π 3"(NZ) were the pretty much the only people that I'm aware of that got told. Certainly a lot of the Pacific nations, that ICBM (missile), which could be nuclear-capable, what they got told was nothing until after it was happened." Collins on ZB
21.02.2025 01:26 β π 0 π 1 π¬ 1 π 1Also said China's intercontinental missile test last October did Beijing reputational damage in the Pacific.
"The consequence that I saw was that a lot of Pacific nations that had only seen the really great side of China, which is economic growth ... suddenly felt very disrespected." cont...
On Russia aggression: "I think they got away with (the 2014 annexation of) Crimea, and they saw a moment of what they seemed as weakness in the West, and they thought they'd do it again and take over Ukraine in 10 days.
Will they get away with the ground invasion?
"We certainly hope not."
On Monday, PM Chris Luxon said he was "open" to New Zealand sending a peacekeeping force to Ukraine. Yesterday, Collins told AAP this:
"NZ and Australia have spent a lot of time, and particularly men's lives, defending democracy in Europe, and we don't want to have to do it again."
Fascinating media round from NZ Defence Minister Judith Collins in last 24 hours. Beginning with Trump's deranged comments on Zelenskyy, NZ's approach to proposed Russia-Ukraine peace talks:
www.canberratimes.com.au/story/889836...
seven days to put it in writing
29.01.2025 01:32 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
and now we only have a week to submit on this. what gives!
29.01.2025 01:02 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
wonderful turn of phrase from Samoa opposition leader Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi that should enter the global political lexicon (from the Samoa Observer π°)
28.01.2025 03:11 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
a final story from Port Vila: a longer piece on the long recovery to come from the earthquake. ni-Vanuatu are used to dealing with cyclones but this disaster is something else entirely
www.canberratimes.com.au/story/886968...
update to this story: a fresh coalition looms with voters again spreading preferences widely. Gloria Julia King may lose her seat according to unofficial results in circulation. However, another woman may win: Marie Louise Milne in Port Vila.
www.canberratimes.com.au/story/886869...
Vanuatu elects fewer female MPs than basically anywhere on the planet: just six in 45 years. I spoke with the only woman MP of the last parliament, Gloria Julia King, on the struggles women face getting selected and elected.
www.thesenior.com.au/story/886869...
An election day report - now the wait begins for results. Polling day has passed without reports of major incidents (so far) - a few grumbles about voting tweaks like needing ID & long lines. Which would be a triumph given the recent earthquake.
www.northweststar.com.au/story/886768...
