Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Alex Perrottet of Pacific Media Watch, with Henry Yamo on Rarotonga

Reporters Without Borders has condemned the media ban on foreign journalists entering Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, as reports emerge that Australian Fairfax journalists have been denied visas.

Reports first emerged last week that the Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Rimbink Pato had banned journalists from the island while preparations were in place for the centres that will house asylum-seekers under the new arrangement with the Australian government.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs has denied rumours it's pressured the Papua New Guinea government to ban journalists from visiting Manus Island.
News of the ban emerged when an Australian journalist had a visa request rejected earlier this week.

It was later confirmed by PNG's Director General of Immigration.

PNG's Opposition has called for the ban to be revoked.

"We are dealing with international refugees, therefore international media should be allowed to cover whatever stories that transpire out of this region." Deputy Opposition Leader Sam Basil told Radio Australia's Pacific Beat.

RNZI: Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister is pledging to do more to combat his country’s high levels of violence against women.

Australia has announced a 330 million US dollar initiative to help women in the Pacific, including supporting gender equality in parliaments, economic opportunities, and to improve safety for women.Papua New Guinea elected three women in its recent elections, but Peter O’Neill acknowledges that violence against women remains a huge problem.

“I think more needs to be done, we are as government taking that responsibility seriously, we are working together with many of the NGO groups in the country to ensure that there is awareness among families, in particular the remote communities through out our country.”The Papua New Guinea Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill.

Today, the leaders are to hold their retreat on Aitutaki, where they are expected to discuss a resolution on gender equality to be included in their end of meeting communique.

- RNZI

HE memorandum of understanding signed by the Australian government to re-establish an asylum-seeker processing centre in Nauru differs in key aspects from the agreement signed last year with Papua New Guinea.

Timing is the most crucial difference.

Under the PNG agreement, the Australian government guarantees that the asylum-seekers "will have left within as short a time as is reasonably necessary for implementation of this MOU".

The Nauru document adds the no-advantage test that is a crucial element of the government's new policy. It adds to the need to process the asylum-seekers swiftly the rider that this must be in accord with a preamble that recognises "the need to ensure as far as possible that no benefit is gained through circumventing regular migration arrangements".

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Henry Yamo on Rarotonga

With looming exploitation of the Pacific Ocean’s mineral riches on the horizon,  a regional protocol was launched today to ensure deep seabed mining was controlled in a “conserved manner”.

This is the first regional legislative and regulatory framework for deep seabed mineral exploration and exploitation, introduced at the Pacific Island Leaders Forum in the Cook Islands.

Cook Islands Deputy Prime Minister Tom Marsters launched the regional framework put together by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) in response to the leaders’ call in the 2009 Forum.

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Henry Yamo on Rarotonga

Papua New Guinean Prime Minister Peter O’Neill met his Australian and New Zealand counterparts today in a move to strengthen bilateral relations between all three countries.

O’Neill met NZ Prime Minister John Key this morning for discussions which included progress on the LNG project in the Southern Highlands, the Sovereign Wealth Fund and the government’s five-year development priorities – health, education, law and order and infrastructure development.

O’Neill later met with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard to discuss Forum perspectives, bilateral relations and asylum seekers.

ABC News 
TONY EASTLEY: The Prime Minister Julia Gillard has met Nauru's president Sprent Dabwido and the prime minister of Papua New Guinea Peter O'Neill to discuss the asylum seeker processing centres the Government is building in both countries.

Ms Gillard has signed a memorandum of understanding with Nauru outlining how the centre will be run but many crucial details still haven't been worked out.

Stephen Dziedzic is in the Cook Islands at the Pacific Islands Forum.

Stephen Dziedzic good morning, do we know what's in this memorandum of understanding or more importantly what's not in it?

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Henry Yamo on Rarotonga

Papua New Guinea is keen to engage with other Pacific countries on many issues – including climate change – that have an impact on all countries in the region, says Papua New Guinean Prime Minister Peter O’Neill.

But the government was also equally keen to engage with development partners as well and looking forward to doing that at the Pacific Islands Forum, he told journalists in the Cook Islands yesterday.

“However, coming to the Forum on the back of an election, we also have specific agendas which we took to the elections and need to be addressed at the country level,” he said.

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Henry Yamo on Rarotonga

Papua New Guinean Prime Minister Peter O’Neill declared today there was no ban on foreign journalists entering the country and they were free to travel there anytime – contradicting his own foreign minister.

Contradicting recent reports that foreign media had been barred by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Immigration, Rimbink Pato, he said no restriction was in place and journalists were free to go to the country.

“Restrictions only applied during the period when the asylum detention centre facilities were being inspected and assessed by members of the Australian government. We did not want any media interference during this process,” he said.

Chiefly treat ... A spectacular display of traditional and cultural music, songs and dances were provided by youths and school children of Raratonga when the 43rd Pacific Islands Forum opened at the national auditorium on Tuesday. Each leader from the 16-member PIF was carried on a platform by Maori warriors and the famous hip-swaying Tamure dancers to their respective seats at the packed auditorium. Prime Minister Peter O’Neill is seen carried off to his seat by the youths. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will attend the forum as special guest. Following the plenary, leaders will fly to Aitukaki Islands to convene their retreat session and endorsed the PIF review, progress of the implementation of the Pacific Plan and review the council of the regional organisations of the Pacific charter. O’Neill will return to PNG next Monday. The National