For DevPolicy blog, I outline the rise and fall of the Bougival Accord in New Caledonia, and look at the long-running and vexed debate over voting rights for the looming provincial elections, which must be held by 28 June. devpolicy.org/after-bougiv...

After Bougival: New Caledonia's failed constitutional reform - Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre

The collapse of the Bougival process leaves New Caledonia facing elections amid disputes over voting rights and constitutional reform.

devpolicy.org

Legislation for a new political statute for New Caledonia has passed its first hurdle, adopted by the French Senate in a 215 – 41 vote. However, my Islands Business report shows increasing criticism of the proposed reform, as it now heads to the National Assembly. islandsbusiness.com/news-break/f...

French Senate votes yes on New Caledonia law, but opposition grows

LEGISLATION to implement a new political statute for New Caledonia has passed its first hurdle

islandsbusiness.com

My report for Inside Story looks at the new report from France’s national human rights body CNCDH, which details violations of human rights and “violent, often disproportionate repression” by French security forces during the 2024 crisis in New Caledonia. insidestory.org.au/violent-ofte...

“Violent, often disproportionate repression” in New Caledonia • Inside Story

A new report documents France’s abuses of human rights during 2024’s unrest in the Pacific territory

insidestory.org.au

Donald Trump withdraws the US Ambassador from the Marshall Islands and quits the UNFCCC, GCF and IPCC. So it's no surprise that RMI President Hilda Heine is strengthening other partnerships. My Islands Business report looks at Heine's state visit to Australia. islandsbusiness.com/news-break/l...

Looking south: Marshall Islands president visits Australia

MARSHALL Islands President Dr. Hilda C. Heine has made a state visit to Australia, the first by a Marshallese leader in more than three decades.

islandsbusiness.com

The Elysée-Oudinot Accord, a new agreement on constitutional change for New Caledonia, has been signed in Paris. My Islands Business report looks at key elements of the deal, the ongoing opposition of the FLNKS and the lengthy timetable for implementation in law. islandsbusiness.com/news-break/n...

New Caledonia agreement signed in Paris

AFTER four days of talks in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron and five parliamentary groups from New Caledonia have signed the Elysée-Oudinot Accord – an agreement on constitutional and economic...

islandsbusiness.com

Bowing to reality, the French government has abandoned plans to hold a referendum on 15 March for a new political statute for New Caledonia. My report for Islands Business looks at shifting French policy, which has divided legislatures in Paris and Noumea. islandsbusiness.com/news-break/f...

France delays New Caledonia referendum

BOWING to reality, the French government has abandoned plans to hold a referendum on March 15 to consider a new political statute.

islandsbusiness.com

Pacific leaders have begun to adopt Oceanic diplomacy to solve contemporary problems in international relations. Now, a long-awaited book brings together an amazing collection of articles on Pacific diplomacy, drawing on history, culture and negotiation. doi.org/10.26021/16153

My Islands Business report looks at last week's visit to #NewCaledonia by France’s Overseas Minister Naïma Moutchou. Locals had hoped that her visit would end uncertainty over political and economic reforms, but she flew home leaving many unanswered questions. islandsbusiness.com/news-break/m...

Minister’s New Caledonia tour leaves unanswered questions

WHEN France’s new Overseas Minister Naïma Moutchou toured New Caledonia last week, New Caledonians hoped that her visit would end uncertainty over political and economic reforms. Instead, Moutchou fle...

islandsbusiness.com

Honoured that my essay “Reporting the Nuclear Pacific” has been included in the inaugural edition of the new journal Pacific Media (the successor to the long running Pacific Journalism Review). It looks at the ethics and challenges of working with affected communities. ojs.aut.ac.nz/pacific-medi...

Legislation to defer New Caledonia’s provincial elections has been deferred to a committee, avoiding debate in the National Assembly. My report for Islands Business @IBIupdate looks at parliamentary manoeuvring in Paris to push through the Bougival Accord. islandsbusiness.com/news-break/m...

Manoeuvring in Paris delays decision on New Caledonia elections

Legislation to defer New Caledonia’s provincial elections has been delayed until next week, as parliamentary manoeuvring in Paris

islandsbusiness.com

Last month, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka opened Fiji’s new embassy in Jerusalem. My Inside Story report looks at recent Pacific diplomatic support for Israel - a sharp contrast to international condemnation of Israeli policy in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. insidestory.org.au/palestine-an...

Palestine and the Pacific • Nic Maclellan

Why have island nations been so prominent among supporters of Israel?

insidestory.org.au

The resignation of French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is the latest political earthquake in Paris - but it’s sending tsunamis as far as the Pacific islands. My report for Islands Business looks at the implications for #NewCaledonia and #FrenchPolynesia. islandsbusiness.com/breaking-new...

Another Paris earthquake sends tsunamis to the Pacific

ACROSS the Pacific Islands, people know that earthquakes can trigger tsunamis that travel across vast distances.

islandsbusiness.com

Ten years after the publication of ‘The New Pacific Diplomacy’ (ANU Press, 2015), Greg Fry and Sandra Tarte have a new article revisiting the role of diplomacy by Pacific island states on key issues such as climate change, law of the sea, and regional security. www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....

During six months of conflict last year, the health sector in #NewCaledonia suffered major staff turnover, with many French doctors, nurses and paramedics leaving the islands. My Islands Business feature looks at efforts to rebuild and renew health for all. islandsbusiness.com/news-break/f...

In New Caledonia, the independence coalition Front de Libération Nationale Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS) has formally rejected the Bougival Accord. The FLNKS has called for direct talks with the French State, to develop a pathway to full and sovereign independence. islandsbusiness.com/breaking-new...

New Caledonia’s Front de Libération Nationale Kanak et Socialiste #FLNKS will hold an extraordinary Congress next Saturday, 9 August, amid growing opposition to the Bougival agreement. My Pacnews feature looks at decolonisation debates within the independence movement. pina.com.fj/2025/08/04/f...

In the last days of the Pacific War, US bombers flew from the island of Tinian to drop atomic weapons on #Hiroshima and #Nagasaki. My report for Inside Story shows, on the 80th anniversary of the bombings, that the United States is again readying Tinian for war. insidestory.org.au/tip-of-the-s...

Tip of the spear • Nic Maclellan

Eighty years on, America prepares for war in the Pacific

insidestory.org.au

To unpack New Caledonia’s Bougival Accord, I speak with ‘Pacific Mornings’ in Aotearoa. In the interview, I outline many steps still needed to implement the deal: persuading supporters, legislative change in Paris, and a referendum in New Caledonia next February. www.facebook.com/watch/?v=192...

With New Caledonia’s new political agreement, the devil’s in the detail. My feature for Islands Business magazine looks at the Bougival Accord, signed on 12 July, and the long (and likely contested) process to implement its provisions. islandsbusiness.com/news-break/d...

Devil in the detail of New Caledonia's "historic" agreement

Meeting in France, New Caledonian political leaders have signed an agreement on the political and economic future of the French dependency.

islandsbusiness.com

Emmanuel Tjibaou, president of New Caledonia’s Union Calédonienne party, says the FLNKS will join political status talks this week in Paris. Before leaving for France, Tjibaou told me that “we want to resolve this now, and that is why I am committed to dialogue.” islandsbusiness.com/news-break/t...

Tjibaou on New Caledonia talks in Paris: “We want to resolve this now”

“We want to resolve this now, and that is why I am committed to dialogue.” That's Emmanuel Tjiabaou, President of the Independance Party UC.

islandsbusiness.com

Australia’s bid to host the 31st UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP31) in 2026 is still not locked in. Türkiye – the other bidder from the Western European and Other States group – has just ramped its campaign to host next year’s climate summit in Antalya. www.france24.com/en/live-news...

Turkey tussles with Australia to host 2026 UN climate talks

Turkey on Wednesday doubled down on its pitch to host 2026 UN climate talks, defying calls to step aside and let rival candidate Australia stage the high-profile global event.

france24.com

Release of a major report on the consequences of French nuclear testing in Mā’ohi Nui. The parliamentary report (in French) makes 45 recommendations for economic, health, educational and cultural initiatives, to address legacies of 193 French nuclear tests www.assemblee-nationale.fr/dyn/17/rappo...

Frontiers are spaces of exception--places of sacrifice and extraction; sponges for violence that you must control for fear that your enemy will if you don't. And for US strategists, the Pacific itself is a frontier

From Australia to New Caledonia, conservative politicians are arguing about flags, opposing public display of symbols of indigenous sovereignty. My report for Inside Story looks at the fight over flags displayed on the New Caledonia driver’s licence. insidestory.org.au/flag-fall/

Flag fall • Inside Story

From Australia to New Caledonia, symbols of Indigenous sovereignty are proving divisive in both predictable and unpredictable ways

insidestory.org.au

1966: 80 Indigenous workers at the Newcastle Waters cattle station in the Northern Territory walk off the job, led by Lupna Giari and supported by Dexter Daniels, demanding immediate pay equity. The campaign spread to Wave Hill station, where a walk-off was led by Vincent Lingiari. #NRW2025 1/4

From ITLOS to ICJ, developing states are mobilising to call for new international legal norms, to ensure that industrialised nations meet obligations on climate, development and oceans protection. My report for Islands Business magazine looks at new initiatives. islandsbusiness.com/news-break/c...

Changing legal obligations on climate action

Pacific Small Island Developing States and other developing nations are mobilising to call for new international legal norms.

islandsbusiness.com

Sad news, with the death of Motarilavoa Hilda Lini, a ni-Vanuatu campaigner for indigenous rights, Melanesian solidarity and a Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific. A warrior to the end, as Vanuatu’s Prime Minister Jotham Napat says: “Rest in Peace soldier, for you have fought a great fight.” Vale.

My report for Islands Business looks at the collapse of negotiations in #NewCaledonia. Anti-independence Loyalist leader Nicolas Metzdorf bluntly states: “We will never accept independence, independence in association, or a trajectory towards independence.” islandsbusiness.com/news-break/n...

This week, the Pacific Theological College will transition into the new Pasifika Communities University (PCU), transforming its structure and education program. My report for Islands Business looks at the adaptation of the regional ecumenical institution. islandsbusiness.com/news-break/p...

Ecumenical service this morning at the Pacific Theological College in Suva, as PTC transforms its structure into the Pasifika Communities University. To be launched this week, PCU will restructure theological education and development through “whole of life” Pasifika philosophy and spirituality.