Samoa govt to tackle tax on church ministers
The Samoa Government starts its planned repeal of the tax on church ministers.
This measure is considered one of the key reasons the FAST Party won the election.
MPs were told on Monday there are seven amendments being made to the Income Tax Act.
The Samoa Observer reports the chief executive of the Ministry of Revenue, Matafeo Avalisa Fautuaalii, saying the tax of church ministers, which started in 2018, had earned nearly half a million dollars, [$480,000] by October this year.
All of the 39 church denominations in Samoa accepted the previous government's tax law, except the largest denomination, the Congregational Christian Church Samoa.
Replacing this source of revenue is expected to be part of a supplementary budget which is due to be tabled in today's session.
Vanuatu has received more than 28-thousand doses of Johnson and Johnson vaccines from the Covax programme.
Vanuatu's Minister of Health, Sailas Bule, said the government of Vanuatu asked for Johnson and Johnson vaccines to better respond to the challenges of distance and storage, as other covid vaccines cannot reach the people who live in remote areas.
Mr Bule said Vanuatu's ministry of health has a distribution plan in place for getting the covid vaccine to remote areas including the west coast of Santo.
He said Vanuatu should be proud it has remained Covid free apart from five cases that have been managed at the border.
"Cyclone Harold and Cyclone Pam have damaged health facilities and presented challenges, and he applauded health workers and donor countries for helping Vanuatu overcome the challenges presented by the impacts of Cyclone Harold and Cyclone Pam and now Covid-19," he said.
PNG has the potential to produce vast quantities of renewable energy
Papua New Guinea has been told it could become a huge supplier of green products because of its potential to produce renewable energy.
Fortescue Future Industries chief executive, Julie Suttleworth, told PNG Prime Minister, James Marape, her company has already identified 19 gigawatts of electricity from several hydro sites.
PNG Business News reports her saying the company also believes it can generate 4.3 gigawatts from geothermal power on New Britain.
She said if all these projects were developed it would produce over 10 million tonnes per year of green hydrogen, or about 13 million tonnes of green ammonia.
Ms Suttleworth said the company is currently committed to making 15 million tonnes of green hydrogen per year, and a portion of this will definitely come from PNG.
Auckland Rugby Union's new president is a woman, first woman to hold the position in its history
Former Auckland and Black Ferns Captain Seiuli Fiao'o Fa'amausili has been elected president of the Auckland Rugby Union, becoming the first woman to hold the position in the Union's history.
Black Ferns captain Fiao'o Faamausili with the Laurie O'Reilly Memorial Trophy. Photo: Photosport
The Marist Rugby Club stalwart is the most capped female Auckland Rugby player with 106 games in the Blue and White jersey and 57 caps for the Black Ferns (tied most of all-time), including four successful Rugby World Cup campaigns.
The detective constable has been a cornerstone in the legacy of female and Pasifika rugby in New Zealand representing the union from 1999-2018, winning 15 Domestic Championships with Auckland.
The appointment of Fa'amausili comes after Saveatama Eroni Clarke's three-year term as President comes to an end.