Vote of no confidence fails in PNG
Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister, James Marape, has held on to his position, having survived a vote of no confidence on September 12th. He secured 75 votes. The alternate Prime Minister was Renbo Paita. He obtained 32 votes. There are 118 Members of Parliament in PNG. Several government members defected to the Opposition ahead of this vote. We have yet to see if they will return to the government benches.
Marape will likely face another challenge in November when Parliament resumes and the Opposition will no doubt put forward a stronger candidate to challenge him. We may even see former Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill put himself forward as a replacement for Marape. The window for challenges by way of votes of no confidence remains open until mid-2026, under current constitutional arrangements. The pre-election grace period of twelve months will then apply until the country goes to the polls again in 2027.
Cyber-attack at Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat
The Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum has confirmed that the Secretariat was a victim of a cyber-attack earlier this year. Australia’s ABC reported this along with the fact that a rapid response team had been deployed to assist the Secretariat in dealing with the incident.
Speaking to the regional media recently, Secretary-General Baron Waqa said that his team were awaiting a finalised forensic report and is not prepared to attribute the attack to any threat actor at this stage. This is contrary to ABC’s report that the Australian government has determined that the attack came from a group sponsored by the Chinese state.
When asked if he intended to make public the forensic report into the attack, Waqa did not commit either way, saying that it would need to be “furnished to our members” before a decision on its release could be made.
Pacific countries call for ecocide to be made an international crime
Pacific countries are calling on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to designate ecocide as a crime. This is a high-profile initiative by Fiji, Samoa, and Vanuatu. Their proposal calls for environmental destruction to be considered an international criminal offence alongside genocide and war crimes.
This is the first step in what will be a very lengthy process. The next step is for the proposal to be discussed in full at a later date, not yet known. If the initiative is successful, it will open the door for individuals to be prosecuted for having brought about environmental destruction. This could extend to heads of international enterprises or even leaders of governments.
Whilst it is expected to face fierce opposition from some quarters, it marks a shift over time in which several countries have created similar offences within their domestic law.
Other Pacific news
In Samoa, a dispute has broken out between the local media and the government surrounding arrangements to cover the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting.
The governments of Bougainville and Papua New Guinea have nominated Sir Jerry Mateparae of New Zealand as moderator to move forward with discussions on ratification of the 2019 referendum on independence.
In Kiribati, four candidates have been selected by the new Parliament to run for President in the next round of elections in October. The previous incumbent, Taneti Maamau, is expected to secure another term.
The President of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, travelled to the Pacific where he visited both Fiji and Tuvalu. In Fiji, he met with several Pacific leaders and called on them to push for a robust replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA).
Dr Tess Newton Cain is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Griffith Asia Institute.
