Pacific Beat

Pacific congratulations for Australia's new PM Scott Morrison comes with a warning on climate change. Meanwhile the Australian Opposition have accused Mr Morrison of neglecting the Pacific in his ministerial reshuffle.

PNG's Foreign Minister Rimbink Pato has congratulated Australia's new Prime Minister Scott Morrison and expects his government will continue its close relationship with Australia, but he wouldn't be drawn into commenting in detail on the instability in Australian politics that's led to the new leader down under.

The Pacific Islands Forum is expected to shine a light on Australia's offshore processing centres on Nauru.

On the program: How will the PNG government respond to the latest eruption on the Manam volcano, that's seen hundreds of people flee, and Australia has a new Foreign Minister, so will there be any shifts in the new government's foreign policy?

On the program: Canberra's leadership saga continues, and advocates raise the alarm about the declining mental health of refugees on Nauru.

Plans to merge two crucial electoral bodies have been dropped in Solomon Islands, but the government has secured the number of MPs it needed to, to amend the country's constitution for electoral reforms.

A twelve year old girl is reportedly in hospital in Nauru after attempting to set herself on fire inside the island's regional processing centre.

On the program today:

Australia to review the way its perceived in the region, with the Foreign Minister launching a "Soft Power" review;

A sense of urgency for parents in PNG to vaccinate their children against polio, with fears the crippling virus will spread;

Pacific police chiefs meet this week to discuss key challenges, including how to deal with growing cases of cybercrime;

Claims elements within the soft drink industry are lobbying against policies aimed at reducing the Pacific's sugar intake;

Why Tonga's Prime Minister is challenging his Pacific counterparts to a weight-loss competition;

And there's a new era for rugby league in Vanuatu, with the first ever women's game that's also breaking down cultural barriers.

On the program: Australia's Minister for International Development and the Pacific says she's tendered her resignation following yesterday's leadership challenge; and transparency advocates in Solomon Islands outraged at a planned $20 million Solomons dollar payout to parliamentarians.

On the program: New Zealand's Prime Minister says her government has approached Nauru with a direct offer to resettle refugees held in Australia's offshore detention centre there, but says Australia and Nauru are both opposed to the proposal; and the school term begins next week in Vanuatu, but for the estimated 800 pre-school and primary-aged children who have been relocated from Ambae island to Maewo there’s a problem: the government has identified there aren’t enough schools to accommodate them all.