Stories about Oceania from February, 2009
Fiji: Samoan PM criticisizes Fiji's government
Bloggers in Fiji and around the Pacific are remarking on recent comments by Samoa’s Prime Minister harshly criticizing Fiji’s military government. Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said in an interview that he believes Fiji’s self appointed Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has no intention of relinquishing power. He also called on the people of Fiji to reclaim its government
New Zealand: Blog ‘Blackout’ protest stalls anti-pirating law
A large swatch of New Zealand’s political blogosphere shut down its websites for a half-day on Monday, February 23 in protest of a copyright law that could have required internet service providers from disconnecting users who download pirated materials like movies or music
Thailand: Australian gets royal pardon
Australian Harry Nicolaides has been granted a royal pardon after spending almost six months in a Thai prison on lese majeste charges. New Mandala posted a statement from Harry's brother. Bangkok Pundit examines the lese majeste law.
Indigenous Activists Seek New .indigi Domain
Marginalized and oppressed for centuries, indigenous peoples – native communities around the world often considered minorities by states – are seeking Internet autonomy. Encouraged by the opportunity to create new generic top level domains (gTLD), some activists want registration of their own Internet domain – [dot] indigi. But will they...
Fiji: Bloggers react to police commissioner's ‘crusade’
Bloggers in Fiji are commenting on the police commissioner’s recent outburst recorded by television cameras at a meeting with Indo-Fijian officers warning them with termination if they continue to air their complaints directly to the media
Fiji: Minimum wage increase postponed
At the beginning of February, Fiji’s workers and trade unions were preparing to receive a roughly 20 percent increase in the country’s minimum wage. Business leaders won a reprieve when Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama postponed the wage increase until July 1.
Victorian Bushfires stir compassion and conflict
The grim toll of the Victorian bushfires now has 201 confirmed deaths, including a volunteer firefighter, and 1834 homes destroyed. There have been moving, controversial, bizarre and even innovative responses in the blogosphere to the tragedy.
East Timor: Suai Media Space Challenges the Digital Divide
In this second post of a series to celebrate the 9th anniversary of the arrival of the Internet in East Timor, Sara Moreira interviews Australian documentary-maker Jen Hughes - founder of Suai Media Space, whose main objective is to make the voices of Suai youth heard all over the world - and discusses the fight to minimize the digital divide even without broadband connection in Suai.
Australian wildfires and web tools
With devastation so widespread, and the threat of Australian bushfire continuing, citizen journalists have had a hard time getting near the scenes. Yet, the internet is full of pertinent information for those living in affected areas about the continuing spread of fires and those outside who want to stay tuned.
Australia: Bushfires devastate Victoria
It is being called Australia’s worst natural disaster. Bushfires have devastated the South East. The worst impact is in Victoria with more than 100 confirmed deaths and more than 750 houses incinerated. Whole towns such as Marysville have been wiped out, destroying their communities.
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