The PALM Scheme is a collaboration between Australia and eligible Pacific nations, as well as Timor-Leste, supporting groups to work temporarily in Australia in fields such as horticulture, meatworks, hospitality and care industries.

Applications for the visa cost $25 and close on July 18, with successful applicants selected by random ballot rather than skill or merit.

UN Police Adviser Faisal Shahkar met 100 recruits in Brisbane, congratulating participants from 11 Pacific nations on completing the first UN peacekeeping course tailored for the region.

The Pacific’s small media environments generate marginal returns on investment, making it difficult to retain staff or reinvest in infrastructure.

For the first time in a decade, Australia’s foreign aid has crossed the $5 billion mark — a significant milestone revealed in Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ March budget.

Rabuka congratulated Albanese on his landslide win and thanked the Australian Government for its consistent support for Fiji’s development and broader Pacific solidarity.

“There’s no reason why Solomon Islands logs cannot be processed in Fiji rather than in distant Asia”

The culture of the Pacific Islands is markedly distinct from Western cultures due to its collectivist nature, which prioritises group aspirations over individual aspirations.

"We must move from fragmentation to functionality. From competition to complementarity. From inwardness to integration."

Participating nations alongside the AFP include Samoa, Kiribati, Fiji, Timor-Leste, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Tonga, Tuvalu, Federated States of Micronesia, and Nauru.