Page 4 - IB April 2021

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

“It’s very liberating. I haven’t felt this excited about politics for a long time”
Samoan leader, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa told Islands Business last year in the lead-up
to Samoa’s election. It was a sentiment clearly shared by Samoan voters, who split
right down the line. Once the official count ended, the incumbent Human Rights
Protection Party (HRPP) and the Fa’atuatua I le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) had
25 seats apiece. An independent, Tuala Tevaga Iosefo Ponifasio was also elected,
Managing Director / Publisher although he has subsequently joined the FAST camp. A 52nd member of parliament
Samisoni Pareti from the HRPP has also been added under Samoa’s gender quota rules. That means
each side now has 26 members, and the way forward is the matter for Samoa’s
Managing Editor
Samantha Magick courts.
As we go to print, the result remains unknown, but the fact that many Samoans
were ready for a change is indisputable.
Regardless of whether long-time Prime Minister Susuga Tuilaepa Sailele Maliele-
Designer
gaoi or Fiame prevails, Samoa will continue to play a critical role in regional politics
Dick Lee
at a time of great disruption. Both represent experience and continuity amongst a
cohort of newish regional leaders. Both are well connected in the region. And their
Contributors
positions on some critical regional issues are similar. Samoa’s position on ruptures
Rowena Singh
at the Pacific Islands Forum is that the appointment of the Secretary General’s
Alipate Pareti
position needs to be less ambiguous, a review of the process is underway now. But
Nic Maclellan
Samoa is also championing full membership for American Samoa at the Forum, cit-
Professor Wadan Narsey
ing the precedent set in admitting New Caledonia and French Polynesia, which has
Bernadette H. Carreon
fundamentally changed dynamics in the body.
Ambassador Kaliopate Tavola
Their positions seem aligned on the troubled University of the South Pacific.
Dennis Rounds
Fiame was a USP Council member while Education Minister and a big advocate for
Dionisia Tabureguci
a clean-up at the university, and of course, Prime Minister Tuilaepa offered to move
Timoci Tuiqali
USP’s main campus to Samoa, so Samoa’s position in that debate seems unlikely to
change.
Meanwhile, not to draw too long a bow, but it does provide a chance to reflect on
Islands Business is published monthly by upcoming elections such as next year’s poll in Fiji. As in Samoa, the Fijian diaspora
Front Page Pte Limited is an incredibly important fundraising engine for political parties, even if they
Editorial & Advertising Offices
GPO Box 12718, Suva, Fiji Islands. represent a small number of voters (around 1.2% or 7867 voters were registered
Tel: +679 9719660 overseas according to the latest Fiji Elections Office data). Similarly, remittances,
especially now, are incredibly important to both economies. In Fiji, they rose by
Emails 11% last year and while some of that can be attributed to people using formal
Editorial: editor@islandsbusiness.com channels to remit money (as they were unable to travel) and the job keeper/sub-
Subscriptions: subs@islandsbusiness.com
Advertising: marketing@islandsbusiness.com sidies available in Australia/NZ, those family ties and obligations are really holding
fast even in a time of real adversity. The question over what influence remittance
providers should have in the national conversation is a debate being held in several
Pacific Islands.
Printing:
PrintHouse, Suva, Fiji. We wanted to finish with a thank you to you, our readers and loyal subscrib-
ers. Fiji, where we are based, print and distribute the magazine from, has been
subject to new restrictions on movement due to new COVID-19 cases detected at
the border, and through local transmission. As a result, you may get the magazine
a little later than usual this month. We appreciate your continued support in these
January 2021 FJD $8 uncertain times.
www.islandsbusiness.com www.islandsbusiness.com February 2021 FJD $8

THE ECONOMIC DIAGNOSIS • TC YASA • FIJI’S FISHING CRISIS PACIFIC REGIONALISM editor@islandsbusiness.com
Solomon Islands ............. SL$30.00
Samoa ............................T10.00
Tonga .............................P10.00
Solomon Islands ............. SL$20.00
New Zealand .................NZ$10.00
New Caledonia ................ CPF500
Tonga .............................P10.00
Tuvalu .......................... AU$6.00
Palau ..........................US$10.00
French Polynesia .............. CPF500
Vanuatu ........................ Vatu500
Niue ............................ NZ$6.00
New Zealand .................. NZ$6.00
Palau ........................... US$6.00
Papua New Guinea .............K15.00
Australia .......................AU$6.00
Australia ......................AU$10.00 Hawaii ........................US$10.00 Niue ...........................NZ$10.00 Tuvalu .........................AU$10.00
Marshall Islands .............US$10.00
Kiribati ........................AU$10.00
Kiribati ......................... AU$6.00
Hawaii ......................... US$6.00
Vanuatu ........................ Vatu500
Federated States of Micronesia ...... Nauru .........................AU$10.00 Cook Islands ..................NZ$10.00 Rebuild, Reform or Re-shape?
Papua New Guinea .............K10.00
Cook Islands ..................NZ$10.00
Cook Islands ................... NZ$6.00
Marshall Islands .............. US$6.00
FSM ............................US$10.00
Samoa ............................T12.00
New Caledonia ................ CPF500
Nauru .......................... AU$6.00
Australia ......................AU$10.00
Fiji Islands.......................F$8.00
Australia ....................... AU$6.00
Cook Islands ................... NZ$6.00
US$6.00
FSM ............................US$10.00
Federated States of Micronesia ......
French Polynesia .............. CPF500
US$6.00
Fiji Islands.......................F$4.35
Hawaii ........................US$10.00
French Polynesia .............. CPF500
Fiji Islands.......................F$8.00
Hawaii ......................... US$6.00
Kiribati ........................AU$10.00
Fiji Islands.......................F$4.35
French Polynesia .............. CPF500
Kiribati ......................... AU$6.00
Marshall Islands .............US$10.00
www.islandsbusiness.com
Nauru .........................AU$10.00
Marshall Islands .............. US$6.00
New Zealand .................NZ$10.00
New Caledonia ................ CPF500
Nauru .......................... AU$6.00
New Caledonia ................ CPF500
Niue ...........................NZ$10.00
New Zealand .................. NZ$6.00
Papua New Guinea .............K15.00
Palau ..........................US$10.00
Samoa ............................T10.00
Solomon Islands ............. SL$30.00
Niue ............................ NZ$6.00
Palau ........................... US$6.00
Solomon Islands ............. SL$20.00
Tonga .............................P10.00
Samoa ............................T12.00
Papua New Guinea .............K10.00
Tuvalu .........................AU$10.00
Tonga .............................P10.00
Vanuatu ........................ Vatu500
Tuvalu ..........................AU$6.00
Vanuatu ........................ Vatu500
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4 Islands Business, April 2021