Political Briefs

The date for a general election has been set as September 7. A referendum will be held at the same time to decide whether the term of parliament should be reduced from five to four years. Cook Islands' prime minister Dr Robert Woonton says he is confident he will be re-elected and continue as prime minister.

He says he intends to campaign on the government's achievements and the need to stay on to maintain the country's economic well-being. Several independent candidates are expected to contest the election amidst widespread dissatisfaction with the current political system and doubts about the desire of politicians to introduce changes.
Among those who have already put their names forward is Jessie Sword, who is taking on the former prime minister and current leader of the opposition Sir Geoffrey Henry. Sword, a local businesswoman and grandmother of three, is up against the political heavyweight in the Takuvaine constituency on Rarotonga, where she was born and still lives.

She said she feared the country was heading for a return to the 'bad old days' of 1996 when the Cook Islands effectively went bust. Meanwhile, a Cook Islands newspaper publisher George Pitt is facing charges of criminal libel arising from a satirical letter concerning a visit to China made by Woonton published by his newspaper. The country's attorney-general said he had authorised criminal proceedings against Pitt.

Tongan soldiers head to Iraq
Tonga's democracy movement says it interprets a government decision to send 44 soldiers to Iraq as a hint that the army could be used to crush the movement's campaign for the replacement of the current government under the control of the country's monarchy by one drawn from a fully elected parliament. Tonga's present nine elected commoner MPs are outnumbered two to one in parliament by appointees of the king and nobility.

Natapei's VP joins forces with NUP
Prime Minister Edward Natapei, leader of the divided Vanua'aku Party (VP), and its main coalition partner, the National United Party, have agreed to campaign jointly for the July 6 general election Natapei went for to avoid losing a no-confidence vote attack on him mounted by dissident VP leaders and opposition politicians. Natapei has asked a court to rule that a breakaway VP faction led by a former prime minister, Donald Kalpokas, is making illegal use of the VP name.

UN team heads to Bougainville
A United Nations observer mission arrived in Bougainville in June to assess progress with the restoration of peace on an island ruined by a war between the Papua New Guinea government and secessionists and to decide whether the time is right for the election of an autonomous government.

Small islands meet postponed
The United Nations has postponed from August/September to January 2005 a small islands conference to be held in Mauritius to discuss progress made since a conference on sustainable development for small islands states held in Barbados in 1994. Mauritius asked for a delay because heavy rain impeded work on a new conference centre.

NZ considers apology
New Zealand in June was considering the offer of an apology to Tonga's acting secretary for finance, Mrs Meleseni Lomu, who was told that she would have to take a pregnancy test if she wanted a visa to attend the Pacific Islands Forum Economic Ministers Meeting (FEMM) in Rotorua. She cancelled the trip in protest.

Palau to vote for constitutional changes
Palau's citizens will vote in November of proposed changes to the country's constitution. One change would be to set term limits in the territorial congress. Others include reducing the congress from two chambers to one, combine the president and vice president on one election ticket, and enable Palauans to keep their Palauan citizenship if they become United States citizens.

Illegal issue of Solomons' passports
Controversy has arisen over the illegal issue of Solomon Islands passports to Asians, mainly Chinese newcomers only two or five years after their arrival, instead of the 10-year period prescribed by immigration law.

Minister for Commerce, Employment and Trade, Trevor Olavae, responding to complaints that foreigners were taking over businesses, including taxi and bus companies reserved for indigenous citizens, said a freeze would be applied on new wholesale and retail business approvals but local people were failing to take advantage of opportunities reserved for them.

Refugees' illegal entry
Four Melanesian independence movement refugees from the Indonesian-ruled West Papua admitted that they illegally entered the Solomon Islands from Papua New Guinea in July 2003 because of the PNG government's hostility towards them and because they were refused permits to go to or travel via Australia.

They said they were leaving the Solomon Islands after being granted political asylum by the Netherlands, the former ruling power in West Papua

NZ judge joins Samoa's Supreme Court
A New Zealand judge Anne Gaskell, has joined the Samoa Supreme Court for three-and-a-half years to ease the chief justice's workload.