Vanuatu

At this month's Honiara summit, amid intense lobbying by Indonesia, MSG leaders deferred a decision on the United Liberation Movement for West Papua's application to become full members while adequate membership criteria is developed.

According to RNZ, Charlot Salwai said since last year membership criteria had been developed which stipulates full members needing to be a Melanesian state.

However, Mr Salwai said one of the full MSG members, New Caledonia's FLNKS Kanak movement, is not a state but a political movement aspiring for independence.

RNZ reports the Minister made the statement to small farmers on Ambrym Island when he witnessed the government's cattle restocking programme in action at the weekend.

Two-hundred-and-sixty head of cattle were provided to farmers on Ambrym.

Under its Vanuatu Livestock Policy, the government wants the national herd to reach half a million by 2025.

The Minister said the government is also calling on farmers to expand the numbers of pigs, goats, chickens and ducks they are farming.

The three-day meeting – held in Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu – attracted delegates from 13 of the 15 countries participating in the Pacific Hazardous Waste Management Project, known as PacWaste.

PacWaste is a €7.85 million project funded by the European Union and implemented by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) to improve regional hazardous waste management across the Pacific.

OFC Club Licensing Manager Chris Kemp and FIFA Consultant Robbie Middleby introduced the club licensing system and the five pillars that make up FIFA Club Licensing.

Kemp used Iceland's recent success at the UEFA Euros in France as an example for Vanuatu.

"They reached the quarter-finals of the tournament with only a population of just over 330,000, approximately the same as, or just over, that of Vanuatu," Kemp said.

Early this month, Emae islanders took an oath to protect their home and forbid the use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides or foreign farm inputs on their island instead choosing organic farming methods for good soil health and rich natural flora and fauna.

RNZ reports the Minister for Agriculture and Livestock, Matai Seremiah, will be there when the cattle arrive.

A national re-stocking programme has already boosted herds in Torba and the Penama province and another 300 cattle are being distributed in Malampa and Tafea.

RNZ reports species other than albacore and yellowfin tuna brought in by the cannery's contracted trawlers are expected to be made available at cut rate prices on the Port Vila market.

The Department is considering an MOU with the Cooperative Federation to assist the local fishermen in selling their catches.

Last week the Federation marked World Cooperative day with a ground breaking ceremony for a new fish market to enable local fishermen to sell their catch.

Mr Kaluat was responding to calls by the chiefs to set up a screening body that will engage the chiefs from different islands and urban centers to screen the applicants for seasonal work in Australia and New Zealand.

Chairman of the Port Vila Town Council of Chiefs and member of the Malvatumauri National Council of Chiefs claimed a system was already put in place in 2009 and implemented only once then was abandoned. The call also came after 29 RSE workers from Ambrym island were banned from re-engagement in the Pacific Seasonal Employment scheme.

RNZI reports they attended recent workshops by the Channels of Hope programme to learn how they could provide effective counselling on family violence within their communities.

Programme manager Pastor Fiama Rakau said it was the first time church leaders had addressed violence as an issue in Vanuatu's culture.

The award was presented during the launching of the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) at the Food Agriculture Organization (FAO) Headquarters in Rome, Italy recently.

Vanuatu’s Permanent Representative to the FAO, Ambassador Roy Mickey Joy, received the award on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Livestock, and Bio-Security and the Government as a whole. Vanuatu joints two other FFA members States of Tonga and Palau to receive the FAO Awards in recognition for their effort to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing in their fisheries.