
Last month was the annual 51st Pacific Islands Forum when our neighbours to the East met. Do you know anything about this inter-government agency and what they talk about? Are Australia or New Zealand even members?
4ZZZʻs Eliot Rifkin and Toni Pankaluic chatted about the Pacific Islands Forum with Tess Newton-Cain an Associate Professor at Griffith Asia Institute who attended the Forum.
For a deep dive…
Check out Tess Newton-Cain’s bio and the Pacific Hub project she leads at Griffith Asia Institute. Read their latest research on how China engages with Pacific island countries when it comes to climate change.
For more on what The Pacific Island Forum is: brief background or an in-depth summary. Discussed at the most recent forum was the 2050 Blue Pacific Continent Communique Strategy. For further commentary on this year's forum, here is a blog co-written by Tess.
Here are some recent articles regarding Australia's relationships with the Pacific islands region:
To gain a basic overview of the three island regions from the Pacific:
August 25 was the national recognition day of when the Commonwealth Government formally recognised Australian South Sea Islanders (ASSI) as a distinct cultural group. For more on the history and importance visit here.
Toni Pankaluic is a Journalist and contributor to Brisbane Line

Your 9AM Zedlines with Stella and Em

Your 8am Zedlines with Sarah, Vivek and Alec.

Your 11AM Zedlines with Cass and Hailey

Your 10AM Zedlines with Georgie and Lachlan

Your 9AM Zedlines with Cass and Hailey

Your 8AM Zedlines with Lachlan and Georgie

Your 11AM Zedlines with Jules, Clementine and Livinia

Your 10AM Zedlines with Dane, Livinia and Jules

Your 8AM Zedlines with Clementine, Jules and Dane

Your 11am Zedlines with Yuchen, Dan, and Charlie

Your 10AM Zedlines with Asha, Ava and Ethan

Your 9am Zedlines with Dan, Charlie and Yuchen image source Bernard DUPONT via flickr

Your 8am Zedlines with Ava, Asha, and Ethan image source Romain Pontida, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons.

Your 11AM Zedlines with Eden, HG, and Stella

10am zedlines with Vivek, Em, Sarah, and Alec.
IMG: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:David_Littleproud_MP_2018_%28cropped%29.jpg

Your 9AM Zedlines with Em, Stella, and Eden

Your 8AM Zedlines with Vivek, Sarah, Em and Alec

Your 11am Zedlines with Lachlan and Hailey.

Your 10AM Zedlines with Georgie and Cass

Your 9AM Zedlines with Hailey and Lachlan.
Img Credit: VISHWANATH, Pexels
Your 8AM Zedlines with Georgie and Cass
IMG Credit: Thinboyfatter, Flickr

Your 11AM Zedlines with Jules, Dane and Clem

Your 10AM Zedlines with Clem, Zayna and Livinia

Your 9AM Zedlines with Livinia, Dane, Zayna and Jules

Your 8AM Zedlines with Dane, Clem, Jules and Zayna

Your 11AM Zedlines with Sarah, Ellen and Alannah

Your 9AM Zedlines with Sarah, Alannah and Ellen

Your 8AM Zedlines with Miko and Niamh
IMG: “National Day of Action: Stop Black Deaths In Custody - Melbourne/Naarm” by Matt Hrkac, CC BY 2.0