Oceania Australia Nationwide ban on use of private mobile phone for early childcare workers will be discussed at ministry level, with other measures for child protection: a National Educator Register, tougher penalties for noncompliance, mandatory safety training for staff
Oceania Papua New Guinea The country's first five coronary bypass graft surgeries have been successfully performed at Port Moresby general hospital by a mixed team of PNG and Singapore doctors from 15 to 19 August
Oceania New Zealand The Building Act will allow councils to merge their building consent functions, with private operators doing more consenting work instead of current liability regime; changes to the system will be the largest in decades and clear the way for more building
Oceania Fiji Movie 'Bati' was screened at Whanau Marama New Zealand International Film Festival: it is the first ever Fijian feature film selected for NZIFF, filmed in Suva and the highlands of Namosi, with a Fijian cast and crew
Oceania Palau The Oneisomw community hosted a training and clam farm setup led by Nature Conservancy to provide the community with tools for sustainable aquaculture; 3.600 bear paw clams were stoked, 75 giant clams, locally extinct, reintroduced to Chuuk lagoon
Oceania Tuvalu Andrew John Fakaua Ponton, a Tuvaluan film director, has made his debut at the Whanau Marama New Zealand International Film Festival with 'Bati', a boxing drama set in Fiji, bringing to the screen the voices of Pacific culture
Oceania Micronesia The new Revenue Management System has been launched: it is a major national milestone supported by the World Bank, designed to modernize collection and management of public revenue to improve service delivery, transparency, and trust in institutions
Oceania Kiribati Dengue cases have increased significantly across the Pacific this year, with Kiribati seeing an outbreak peak
Oceania Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine in her keynote speech opening National Ocean Symposium underlined the importance of individual participation and of taking personal and community-level actions to keep the ocean environment healthy
Oceania Tonga The legal marriage age has been raised from 15 to 18 with newly passed bill after years of concern over underage unions in Tonga; the reform comes alongside an amendment making more explicit in law the country’s ban on same-sex marriage
Oceania Papua New Guinea Millions of Kina have been lost in the past two weeks due to power blackouts and internet failures, says the PNG Manufacturing Council, adding that it is not a problem of capacity but of poorly run grids and mismanaged maintenance
Oceania Palau New mothers at Belau National Hospital are voicing growing concerns over the hospital’s breastfeeding policy, which mandates that infants are to be fed exclusively breastmilk, highlighting the emotional toll of the policy
Oceania Australia National office vacancy average rate has reached 15% as the market fails to absorb the offer of new towers and demand remains weak in key cities; many fear that if working from home came into law it would also slow recovery of the hospitality sector