Janet and Roselyn at RJ Flowers Orchard in Hawkes Bay Photo: RNZ Lynda Chanwai-Earle
Solomon Islands - scammers
Solomon Islanders are being warned of bogus agents posing as recruiters for the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility or PALM scheme.
In a statement issued last week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was aware of scammers collecting advance payments of up to $AU100 under the pretense of securing work for the person in Australia.
The government wants to make it clear there are no recruiting agents associated with any part of Australia's PALM scheme and there are no application fees.
In contrast, New Zealand's labour mobility program - the Recognised Seasonal Employers' scheme - does have have recruiting agents but the ministry said they all have to be registered and that applicants will not be charged a fee.
Victims of such labour mobility scams are encouraged to come forward and report the culprits to police.
Niue - study
A team of public health doctors from Auckland University has been in Niue as part of a global study of heat on human health, as a result of increasing temperatures.
TV Niue reports reported the study is funded by Welcome Trust which aims to identify ways to help mitigate the impacts of climate change on human health using four countries.
The same study will be conducted in Burkina Faso in Africa, Mexico for Latin America and India for Asia.
One way of mitigating heat was used in Africa where a material or coating is applied to the roofs of houses, and that coating will be applied to half of the estimated 400 occupied houses in Niue.
One of the occupants of the houses will wear a smart watch to monitor their health comparing the health of the people living in the house with the coating and those without it.
The actual application of the coating materials will need to take place in the dry season so the plan is to wait until April 2024.
Fiji - engineering
Fiji's engineering institute is concerned with the lack of quality graduates from local tertiary education.
Engineers Fiji secretary Roveen Permal said most graduates did not match employers' expectations, compared to graduates who have learned overseas, FBC News reported.
He said local employers have a preference for those with a diploma rather than a degree.
He said the diploma learning for the trade in Fiji was too vague.
Permal said 30 percent of engineers and technicians have left after finding jobs in either Australia or New Zealand in the last 12 months.
Papua New Guinea - murders
There have been 15 alleged murders in 15 days in Madang town, Papua New Guinea (PNG).
According to the Post Courier newspaper, the mayor of Madang Peter Masia is calling the town 'the murder capital of PNG'.
Masia said there had been an increase in killings with the latest on Monday afternoon.
He said the Madang district authority could not do much to assist police because the district funds were on hold after the dismissal of the Madang MP.
Northern Marianas - solar
A $US25 million grant to install solar panels on rooftops of homes in the Northern Marianas could land the utilities company in hot water.
The Office of Grants Management said the grant could take a big chunk out of the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation's electric power base load.
It said this could have a ripple effect on the cost of fuel and fuel delivery to the islands.
The solar panels were projected to generate about 25 megawatts of electric power - with at least 10 kilowatts distributed per household for the 2,500 households that will benefit from the project.
Fiji - El Nino
Fiji's meteorological service acting director says El Nino is normally strongest a year after it's first announced.
The Met Service said Fiji entered a weak El Nino state last month.
The event, which is one of the most significant climate drivers for the Pacific, is caused by warmer than average seawater moving from west to east across the tropical Pacific Ocean.
Bipen Prakash said Fiji usually has time to prepare for El Nino events.
"Normally, the impact of El Nino is felt the greatest a year after it's established. So, it gets established this year, usually the greatest concern is the dry season the following May which is normally May to October," he said.