Pacific Beat

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Australia has stymied efforts by the small island states to get Pacific-wide consensus on their declaration for stronger action on climate change. Leaders sat through lengthy negotiations during their retreat at the Pacific Islands Forum meeting in Tuvalu, with the talking going on well into the night. But ultimately, Australia's reservations on several key policy points meant a new, weaker declaration was drafted.

It's been more than a month since Mount Ulawun erupted in Papua New Guinea, but there are renewed fears the initial disaster is turning into a humanitarian crisis.

A Fijian politician who was allegedly assaulted by Fiji's Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama says he's still waiting for answers from the police. Pio Tikoduadua says he's in the dark about how the probe is progressing.

During a session with Civil Society Organisations, Samoan and Tongan Prime Ministers said the issue of West Papua could not be ignored by the region any longer. Their intervention would appear to strengthen the cause of Melanesian leaders, particularly Vanuatu, who have been lobbying hard for the Free West Papua Movement.

On the program:

Pacific leaders will try to hammer out a consensus on climate change in a private meeting at the Pacific Islands Forum in Tuvalu today. Earlier in the week the group of smaller island states signed a declaration calling on countries to improve their emissions reduction targets and phase out the use of coal in the power sector rapidly. But as the discussions continue, New Zealand has been caught in the middle of the Pacific's push, and Australia's push-back.

Scientists in Fiji, in collaboration with researchers in New York, have just completed a trial looking at how a mobile phone app could assist in diagnosing mental illness — and if it's if rolled out, they say the project could help tackle the country's high rates of suicide and depression.

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When the Prime Ministers of Australia and New Zealand fly in to join their regional counterparts for the Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting, they will be greeted with powerful message on climate change from the people of the host nation, Tuvalu who fear for the future of their country. In particular Australia will be urged to stop producing and burning coal, and to do more to cut carbon emissions.

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Ahead of his arrival at the annual meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum leaders in Tuvalu, Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison is promising half a billion dollars to help the Pacific tackle the impact of climate change. But it's not new money, it will be re-directed from existing aid programs.

The Solomon Islands' taskforce, set up to investigate whether the country should make the diplomatic change from Taiwan to China, has just wrapped up a low-profile visit to Papua New Guinea

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For almost three years there has been no radiotherapy available for cancer patients in Papua New Guinea. As a result hundreds of people have been left to try desperately to raise funds for treatment overseas or face the prospect of going home to die. The legislation needed to allow the country's only radiation machine to be restarted passed parliament more than six months ago, but the machine is still out of action.