Pacific women target equal representation at leadership level

Women leaders in the Pacific want to see more of them in leadership roles including equal representation in their respective parliaments.

Delegates at the Pacific Women in Power Forum in Fiji this week. Photo: Fiji govt

Delegates at the Pacific Women in Power Forum in Fiji this week agree there is a need for training on economic empowerment, integrity and leadership for women in the region.

Opening the forum, Fiji President Jioji Konrote, urged the delegates to share their experiences and knowledge on key issues that will help Pacific women into leadership roles.

"We all know the under-representation of women at any level of governance and decision-making can result in democratic deficit. It has been proven, time and again, that diverse groups make better decisions. This is particularly true when it comes to the task as challenging as representing the views and interests of citizens in any country."

Jioje Konrote paid tribute to the late Fiji speaker, Doctor Jiko Luveni, for her contributions to the development of women in the country.

In the last decade, resources have been dedicated to programmes aimed at increasing women's political leadership and participation, but progress has been slow, the forum heard.

For the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), it has been non-existent or even declined as in the case of Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.

Samoa's Deputy Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mata'afa, said while the Pacific had a long way to go, there were options for parliaments to consider to create change.

"A challenge for us here in the Pacific is that we are not sure how the process for Temporary Special Measures (TSM) would be implemented" she said.

TSMs aim to increase the number of women elected to parliaments through the electoral gender quotas.

Fiji President Jioje Konrote meets a delegate in Nadi. Photo: Fiji govt

Samoa is the only country in the Pacific, which has adopted the TSMs that guarantees a minimum of 10 percent of MPs are women.

Other Pacific countries have only introduced the TSMs at a sub-national level.

"One of the positive things about the Samoa situation is that it has presented a model that can easily be replicated if other countries wish to do so," said Fiame.

The Cook Islands' Health Minister, Vainetutai Rose Toki-Brown, said the theme of the Forum: "It's About Time: Women Changing the Pacific" was fitting.

"I believe that the Cook Islands has stood up to the challenge of this bold statement with six women MPs out of 24 members and a woman speaker - this being the highest numbers ever," she said.

"Another historical development for Cook Islands women is that for the second time only, the Leader of the Opposition is the Democratic Party's Tina Browne. The role of the leader of a political party has been a male dominant position for 53 years - but not anymore.

"We also made history with the election of a 22-year-old woman MP, Te Hani Brown, who is the youngest MP ever in the Cook Islands and in the Pacific."

Fiji speaker Ratu Epeli Nailatikau highlighted the need for more equal representation to ensure stable and prosperous societies.

"Not only are we tasked with breaking the chains of intergenerational poverty, but also, we are similarly challenged to break the cycle of gender inequality, now and for all generations to come," he said.

"Women are an essential, crucial catalyst to sustainable developments, so let us ensure their empowerment so we can live in a more equal, sustainable, stable and prosperous world.

"Pacific women have always been extremely influential behind the scenes, but now all over the region they are finding a new and very clear voice in public life and we must do everything possible to make that voice heard, listened to and acted upon not only regionally but internationally," Ratu Epeli said.

Thirty women MPs from six Pacific countries participated in the forum organised by the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) Pacific office in Suva.

The meeting was funded by the governments of Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

Plan to expand Vanuatu cabinet encounters pushback

There's been some pushback to the Vanuatu prime minster Charlot Salwai's proposal to expand the size of the council of ministers, or cabinet.

Prime Minister of Vanuatu Charlot Salwai Photo: Supplied

Currently, the size of the cabinet can not exceed a quarter of the number of MPs.

However, Mr Salwai wants this to be increased to a third, which means cabinet can be increased from 13 to 17 ministers.

Vanuatu's parliament is to have a special sitting tomorrow to debate the required constitutional amendment.

Tess Newton Cain of TNC Pacific Consulting said Mr Salwai's ostensible reason for the expansion is that some ministers have been assigned too many portfolios, and they need to be divided up to be more manageable.

"More realistically this is about shoring up stability on the government side. Certainly, some of the media reporting and the social media commentary indicate that this has been a push from government backbenchers who are wanting access to ministerial portfolios."

The president of the Leaders Party of Vanuatu, Jotham Napat, told the Daily Post that his party opposes the plan, describing it as an abuse of power for the interests of politicians.

He questioned whether the people of Vanuatu or its politicians stood to gain from the proposed expansion, and whether ministerial efficiency was at the heart of the matter.

"The Prime Minister must assess the performance of some of his ministers. If some of the current ministers are not performing and he increases the number of ministries, it will not make any difference."

Ms Newton Cain said the proposed expansion was just one of a number of significant planned political reforms that the Salwai-led government has been consulting on.

These also include reforms relating to registration of political parties and candidates.

"So all of these things are quite significant things to try and bring about in the lead-up to elections next year," she explained.

"So there's quite a lot going on, quite a lot of moving parts. It's hard to know at this stage which of them will land. If they all land then it means that the political environment in Vanuatu come those elecions will be quite significantly changed.

"This one in particular (the cabinet expansion)... there's been quite a lot of pushback, both within the political class and elsewhere. So we're yet to see that one will land."

"In terms of other reforms that are still going through a consultation period, again there's been quite a bit of discussion on whether people are really comfortable with all that they would envisage."

Solomon Islands police condemn threats ahead of election

Just days out from the election in Solomon Islands Police Commissioner Matthew Varley has condemned candidates' supporters who have reportedly been inciting people to vote using threats of intimidation and violence.

Solomon Islands Police Commissioner Matthew Varley updates media on election security operations. Photo: RNZ Pacific/ Koroi Hawkins

Mr Varley said police will not tolerate such behaviour and he is calling on members of the public to report any such activity so police can take action.

He said there are also reports of messages being given to communities that property previously provided under Rural Constituency Development Funds will be taken back if they do not vote for particular candidates.

"All of these types of threats to people to influence votes are wrong and they are illegal and they are against the Electoral Act. But they also go to the very heart of a safe and free election and quite frankly if people are out there encouraging that sort of behaviour we want members of the public to report that to the police or electoral officials so that we can take action."

A nationwide alcohol ban will be declared in Solomon Islands for the National General Election on Wednesday next week. Commissioner Matthew Varley announced the ban which he says will most likely also be extended to cover the counting period following the election.

The Central Market in Honiara which feeds the capital will also be closed on election day.

China to launch agricultural training in Pacific

China is launching an agricultural training programme for Pacific Island countries to bring their industries in line with Chinese standards.

A meeting between China and eight Pacific states kicks off in Fiji today, where agreements on agricultural cooperation are expected to be signed.

The Cook Islands assistant minister for agriculture, Patrick Arioka, said the meeting would see more people-to-people exchanges between China and the Pacific.

"So the aim is to offer agriculture technology training and offer training courses for the Pacific Island countries and the first training course for agriculture officials is to be launched in late April of this year," he said.

In Fiji are officials from Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Cook Islands, and Niue.

The meeting is part of China's Belt and Road initiative.

Mr Arioa, who is in Fiji, said the countries had joined a 2020-2022 action plan on agricultural cooperation between China and the Pacific, although a strategic direction had yet to be identified.