Pacific leaders

RNZ reports the Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill is chairing the 10th Pacific Islands Conference of Leaders which is meeting in Hawaii.

He says he expects the Pacific island countries to come out of the discussion with the US holding a stronger collective perspective on the region's key issues including climate change and security.

Mr O'Neill says the meeting provides an opportunity to work with US officials towards the change of government in the US so leaders can hit the ground running when the new President is inaugurated in January.

On this day, 193 world leaders, including all Pacific leaders, have committed to pursue 17 Global Goals, intended to achieve three extraordinary things in the next 15 years: end extreme poverty; fight inequality and injustice; address climate change. 

The Global Goals for Sustainable Development could get these things done. In all countries. For all people.

Immigration minister Peter Dutton was yesterday speaking with the country's Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, who had just returned from the Pacific Islands Forum Summit in Papua New Guinea, where climate change was a key focus.

Noting that the meeting was runing late, Mr Dutton remarked that it was running to "Cape York time", to which Mr Abbott replied, "we had a bit of that up in Port Moresby."

Mr Dutton then responded: "Time doesn't mean anything when you're about to have water lapping at your door," to which both Mr Dutton and Mr Abbott laughed.

The advice came from Dr Edwini Kessie when he addressed Pacific leaders who are members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) bloc of states that met in Port Moresby in the lead up to the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders summit this week.

Dr Kessie is the Chief Trade Adviser for the Pacific Islands, overseeing the Forum member nations’ free trade agreement negotiations on PACER Plus with Australia and New Zealand.

As a region, Dr Kessie said the Pacific has too many trade agreements that are overlapping and costly.

The state of the world's only healthy tuna fishery is high on the agenda for Pacific leaders, who are in Papua New Guinea's capital Port Moresby for the annual Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting.

Prime Minister John Key and Foreign Minister Murray McCully arrive today ahead of the main talks tomorrow and Thursday.

Pacific leaders will be putting their heads together to work out how to maximise revenue from the Pacific's US$4 billion a year tuna catch – and ensure more of it stays in the region.

For these small Pacific Island Nations, they are already feeling the effects of climate change and they hope that the time to act is now then later.

He has been in the front line when it comes to being the voice of the Pacific on climate change.

This PIDF meeting is again an avenue for Anote Tong to raise his concern on the topic.

Bainimarama in his opening message at the Pacific islands Development Forum said Australian and New Zealand needs to stop undermining the PIDF by actively lobbying governments and leaders of the South Pacific to not attend the Summit.

In a statement sent to FBC NEWS, the Ausralian High Commission says the PIF is stronger when it represents all of the Pacific region and works with one voice.

He told members of the PIDF that climate change now affects everyone in the World and there is a need to work together.

Pacific Island Development Forum members were also given an insight of what other countries in the world are facing in their fight against climate change.

They were urged that the best way forward is to look for a common solution that will be able to address all of the current problems.