Commentary

Vanuatu, amongst its Pacific neighbours, is trying its best to be optimistic but is also bracing itself against any changes rippling from the decision of Australia’s Coalition Government to slash $4.5b in foreign aid. Change is inevitable, but no one knows yet how Vanuatu will be affected.

If Pacific voices are to be heard in the post-2015 debate, our leaders and thinkers need to step up their presence on the international stage. We must deconstruct colonial thinking and start truly conducting ourselves as independent states.

The Pacific already has a successful model for dealing with global business interests. The PNA is not the only example of a functioning regional entity, but it is a leading example of how small islands can come together to generate significant benefits for their countries.

As each Forum country representative returns home after the Majuro Forum meetings, one question looms highest among all others: what has been discussed, decided, or achieved during these annual meetings that will make a difference to member countries?

When there is attention by global media on ocean-related issues in the Pacific, it usually centers on big-time commercial fisheries and the revenue it generates. Rarely, however, is there media focus on local, relatively small-scale efforts to establish and maintain marine protected areas

While media freedom is a legal fact in most Pacific island constitutions, it is the practical application of it to our cultures that matters. This twisted notion of media freedom is what is being flaunted unfortunately in Tonga, and most of the South Pacific island states.