Australia Asia Pacific Media Initiative

AAPMI is a group of Asia Pacific media experts, including former diplomats & executives, journalists & technologists with decades of experience in the region.

[Ben McKay @benmackey]

woke up furious about this. public-funded journalists are criticised and criticised and criticised - and thats fine, its part of the deal - but they have been utterly betrayed by management here. dozens will be sacked for it. unforgivable!

https://t.co/TA2wtitTDG

[Michael Field @MichaelFieldNZ]

Long respected, but an easy target - imagine RNZ Pacific now doomed as financial scandal revealed in state owned broadcaster Radio NZ
https://t.co/khoTKThepe

[Nic Maclellan @MaclellanNic]

The Pacific Islands Forum has deployed a high-level mission to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, to seek investment in renewable energy and funds for the Pacific Resilience Facility. But do UAE’s oil exports and the Iran war complicate the Forum agenda?
https://t.co/GE4AT2pqHl

[Reuters Asia @ReutersAsia]

Hong Kong court sentences activist Joshua Wong to 10 years on national security charge https://t.co/3F2WzapjZv

[In-depth Solomons @idsol23]

FEATURE : Missing Millions and Rusting Wrecks: The True Cost of the Natural Shipping grant in pictures.Latest by @cpiringi7.
Read More ⤵️ ⤵️
https://t.co/cLD6L1Lpep

[Mai TV Fiji @maitvfiji]

Government agencies are stepping up coordination to deliver urgent assistance to communities affected by Fiji’s worsening drought, with authorities warning that conditions could deteriorate further over the next three months.

Speaking to MaiTV, Minister Responsible for the National Disaster Management Office and Public Works Ro Filipe Tuisawau said the response was being coordinated through the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), bringing together agencies responsible for agriculture, utilities and infrastructure to monitor the situation and respond to communities in need.

Read more: https://t.co/zZbinw9hkS

[Stephen Dziedzic @stephendziedzic]

Australia hits a stumbling block in Fiji with domestic political pushback on Ocean of Peace treaty + Vuvale Union. Parliamentary committee recommends govt defer approval of both treaties and undertake "further negotiations" with Aus. But Fiji's Foreign Minister vows to push ahead

[CPJ Asia @CPJAsia]

CPJ calls for the immediate and unconditional release of International Press Freedom Awardee Sai Zaw Thaike and all imprisoned journalists in Myanmar, and for the withdrawal of charges brought against them in retaliation for their reporting. #FreeThePress

[Stephen Dziedzic @stephendziedzic]

Media Watch takes aim at the FM over Australia's silence on the Samoan PM's campaign against the Observer and the "fundamental" importance of a free press: "so fundamental, she’s clearly decided to give a free pass to the Samoan PM"
https://t.co/ov0msLcT6i

[Samoa Observer @samoaobserver]

Following a Samoa Observer report on Sunday titled “The PM’s ‘Heil Hitler’ moment, the Prime Minister’s apology admitting to the remarks the following day has rippled across the globe with the largest and most influential news publications and broadcasters carrying the story. https://t.co/y2oqt16sZH

[Nic Maclellan @MaclellanNic]

Veteran journalist Mary-Louise O’Callaghan – a long time monitor of Solomon Islands affairs – has some sharp words in The Interpreter about the Australian government’s plan to pour buckets of money into MP’s Constituency Development Funds.
https://t.co/iqiGFYixEp

[Deepcut News @deepcutnews]

Albanese's proposal to water down Australian copyright to appease AI companies is a "terrible betrayal", writes Richard Flanagan in a blistering piece.

"The government’s secret proposals on AI copyright effectively amount to handing over our culture to a handful of anti-democratic oligarchs and raising the spectre of Australia becoming a vassal state."

"A government that doesn’t understand its nation’s culture is a government incapable of leading the nation."

https://t.co/WRN9yL1shD

[Karen Middleton @KarenMMiddleton]

Anthropic & Open AI want Aust govt to weaken copyright law so they can shift model training to Aust. What they dont say is an Aust opt-in/out system would let them copy global material without paying, as long as it’s copied in Aust. My piece here: https://t.co/1wTWVG8kR4

[Cook Islands News @CINewsOnline]

Cook Islands News editor Rashneel Kumar has launched the South Pacific’s first independent fact-checking network at the 8th Pacific Media Summit in Savusavu, Fiji. https://t.co/Tg74h3pSkv

[Nic Maclellan @MaclellanNic]

Congratulations to Emmanuel Nyipiengo Kouriane, the first Kanak to gain a PhD in Public Law at the University of New Caledonia, after completing his doctoral thesis on decolonisation and transitional justice in New Caledonia.
https://t.co/QOcGroTsx7

[Stephen Dziedzic @stephendziedzic]

Interesting. South Pacific Defence Ministers Meeting- with Australia, Chile, Fiji, France, NZ, PNG and Tonga- signals it will slow down push to expand Pacific Response Group's mandate- taking a detailed look at immunity issues + a "phased approach" re stabilisation missions

[The Spectator Index @spectatorindex]

BREAKING: Trump administration has been ordered to restore White House access to CNN, MS Now and Politico.

[Michael Field @MichaelFieldNZ]

https://t.co/7E2m8iTh2y

[devpolicy.org @devpolicy]

Labor has effectively abolished the third-year backpacker visa: an 84% cut, down to just 5,000 spots via lottery. Combined with second-year cuts, total visas fall 44%. Stephen Howes says this could mean 18,300 fewer backpackers on farms.

https://t.co/LvQlyDdJKh

[Nic Maclellan @MaclellanNic]

Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba Mara, the Tui Nayau in Fiji, has called on Parliament not to approve the Fiji-Australia Vuvale Union or the Ocean of Peace Alliance (Veitacini Treaty) without ��a full, fearless, and independent account” of how the treaties impact the nation's sovereignty.