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2005 ARCHIVE:
SECURITY:
THE LEGACY OF THE WARRIOR
Wansolwara: 26 November 2005
The new edition of Eyes of Fire, authored by journalist and media academic David Robie, revisits the Rainbow Warrior bombing atrocity of 20 years ago, giving new insights into an event that shocked the world. By Imran Ali
SECURITY:
INSIDE THE INTRIGUE AT PINA
Matangi Tonga: 25 November 2005
The internal politics of PINA and the goings on of various television companies in the region produced better copy than Tongan politics at the PINA conference. The logistics of the PINA operation continued to be an issue. By Pesi Fonua
DEVELOPMENT:
JOURNALISM PNG-STYLE AND THE RAMU NICKEL MINE PROJECT INFORMATION WAR
Asia Pacific Network: 12 November 2005
Prominent Papua New Guinean journalist, columnist and journalism teacher Kevin Pamba has become the news over the Ramu nickel mine controversy. Aid activists allege he is too close to mining interests and claim he was involved in an "interview" incident where a landowner opponent of the mine was assaulted in Madang.
HEALTH:
'IGNORED' WEST PAPUA AIDS PANDEMIC TROUBLES HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS
Te Waha Nui Online: 10 November 2005
Health workers and human rights activists are upset that the HIV/AIDS pandemic in West Papua was virtually ignored at a symposium in Auckland last month. With an estimated 47,000 AIDS/HIV sufferers, Papua New Guinea was high on the agenda at the Pan Pacific Regional HIV/AIDS Conference but West Papua was only treated to one small ad hoc meeting. By Britton Broun
MEDIA:
DAVID ROBIE WINS PACIFIC MEDIA FREEDOM AWARD
Scoop: 8 October 2005
A two-day Pacific media conference was capped with the annual awards and an Auckland University of Technology journalist and academic, David Robie, won the major prize - the Pacific Media Freedom Award. The PIMA judges said Dr Robie’s role in Pacific media education was unrivalled, and he had been a strong advocate of journalism training in both the South Pacific and New Zealand for many years. Report at IJ Net
TERRORISM:
TWENTY YEARS LATER, RAINBOW WARRIOR STILL BURNS
Pacific Islands Report: 22 September 2005
David Robie’s account of the Rainbow Warrior will bring back memories to many Pacific Islanders, growing up in the 1980s. The book enables readers to evaluate the pervasive influence of great power politics on small island nations, mostly dependent on aid, imports and special trade arrangements. By Sanjay Ramesh
HEALTH:
THE CURSE CALLED BRAVO
Asia Pacific Network/Spasifik: 18 September 2005
The French sabotage of the Rainbow Warrior hogged the newspaper headlines in July 20 years after the event. But little coverage was given to the actual cause of the bombing - nuclear testing in the South Pacific and the impact on Pacific Islanders. The Rongelapese and Tahitians are still suffering from the legacy of decades of American and French nuclear tests. DAVID ROBIE, the only New Zealand journalist on board the bombed ship, looks behind this sordid act of state terrorism in a New Zealand port.
DEVELOPMENT:
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION AND PROTECTIVE POLICY IN FIJI
Asia Pacific Network: 8 September 2005
There are serious contradictions between affirmative action and protectionist ideals on one hand and indigenous culture on the other for indigenous Fijians. The anomaly between the two has a potential of unravelling the "experiment" on indigenous progress. This in turn can lead to both political and economic instability and fierce provincial competition for financial resources. By Sanjay Ramesh
TERRORISM:
BRINGING THE WARRIOR BACK TO LIFE
Te Waha Nui: 26 August 2005
'I have always maintained that colonialism and nuclearism in the Pacific are part of the same evil,' says the late Prime Minister of Vanuatu, Walter Lini, in his preface to David Robie's Eyes of Fire.
TERRORISM:
AUTHOR SHOWS COURAGE OF CONVICTIONS
Gulf News: 21 July 2005
Twenty years on, both the legacy of the US nuclear testing at Rongelap Atoll and the death of photographer Fernando Pereira in the Rainbow Warrior bombing evoke anger - as shown in the preliminary speeches by longtime campaigners Bunny McDiarmid and Martini Gotje, as well as by the author David Robie at the relaunch of Eyes of Fire.
TERRORISM:
HYPOCRISY IN WAR ON TERROR - RAINBOW WARRIOR AUTHOR
Stuff (Fairfax NZ) Top Story: 18 July 2005
The bombing of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior by French secret agents 20 years ago highlights the hypocrisy surrounding the war on terror, says the author of a book about the sinking of the protest ship. Speaking on Waiheke Island on Saturday at the relaunching of an updated edition of Eyes of Fire: The Last Voyage of the Rainbow Warrior, David Robie said there was a lot of hypocrisy about terrorism.
TERRORISM:
MITTERRAND AND THE RAINBOW WARRIOR AFFAIR
Democracy Now (US): 14 July 2005
 DAVID ROBIE talks to AMY GOODMAN on the legacy of the Rainbow Warrior affair after two decades. The interview focuses on revelations that President Mitterrand authorised the attack in New Zealand. Transcript
TERRORISM:
AT THE END OF THE RAINBOW
The Waikato Times: 9 July 2005
The French sabotage of the Rainbow Warrior 20 years ago tomorrow backfired disastrously. Mounting Pacific and global pressure forced France to abandon nuclear testing 11 years later. DAVID ROBIE, the only New Zealand journalist on board the bombed ship, looks back on the legacy of this sordid act of state terrorism in a New Zealand port.
TERRORISM:
SADDER TALE BEHIND THE RAINBOW WARRIOR
Auckland City Harbour News: 6 July 2005
David Robie, the only New Zealand journalist on board the Rainbow Warrior, visits the bombing site on Marsden Wharf and recalls the sabotage outrage by French secret agents. By Jared Savage
TERRORISM:
JOURNALIST TO LAUNCH NEW RAINBOW WARRIOR BOOK
 Asia Pacific Network: 16 June 2005
An independent journalist who was on board the bombed Rainbow Warrior 20 years ago has written a new edition of his book, Eyes of Fire: The Last Voyage of the Rainbow Warrior. David Robie was the only New Zealand journalist on board the ennvironmental campaign ship. Order now! - South Pacific Books Ltd
OBITUARY:
LIFE AND DEATH OF AN ACTIVIST
The Waikato Times: 4 June 2005
Peace campaigner Owen Wilkes took his own life last month, leaving partner May Bass utterly bewildered that she'd never seen it coming. she talks to Denise Irvine about a man who 'didn't realise how much he was loved'.
TERRORISM:
SADDAM'S UNDERPANTS ARE NOT THE ISSUE. BUT THE THE LAW IS
Asia Pacific Network: 22 May 2005
The United States and its British acolytes have brushed aside international law - and the protections it implied for us all - to pursue their crusade to control Iraq and intimidate its neighbors. Saddam's underwear is not the issue. Law is. By Charles Glass
FIJI:
PARDON ME: WHAT IS FIJIAN RECONCILIATION AND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE?
Asia Pacific Network: 22 May 2005
While the world is concerned about politically motivated acts of terrorism and human rights abuses, the Fiji government of is intent on introducing a law to grant amnesty to all kinds of terrorists - the Reconciliation Bill. By Jone Dakuvula
OBITUARY:
TIRELESS WORKER FOR GLOBAL PEACE DIES
 Pacific Media Watch/NZ Herald: 14 May 2005
Owen Wilkes, the New Zealand peace activist who once faced jail for allegedly spying in Scandinavia, has died at Kawhia. He was 65. By Phoebe Folconer/Photo by David Robie
FIJI:
NEW COUP PLOTTERS FACE REGIONAL MILITARY STRIKE, WARNS AUTHOR
Asia Pacific Network: 12 May 2005
Coup plotters in Fiji trying to stage another "56 hostage sideshow" would face major regional military intervention, warns Michael Field, co-author of a new book about the failed May 2000 putsch.
MEDIA:
FREEDOM AND MEDIA: MAKING NEWS IS NOT WITHOUT ITS PROBLEMS IN THE PACIFIC
Asia Pacific Network: 9 May 2005
The author is concerned with media freedoms and human rights, and here deals with several of the challenges which have been made to any reasonable flow of information - in one compact volume. By Dr Lee Duffield
MEDIA:
GRAFT THREATENS TO DEVOUR SCRIBES
Indian Newslink: 1 May 2005
Lack of training and low wages are threatening the autonomy of journalists in Fiji, New Zealand media educator David Robie has warned. By Sudesh Kissun The case for better watchdogs
SECURITY:
BRIGADIER SHOCKS AND AWES: THERE IS NO WAR ON TERROR
Sydney Morning Herald: 27 April 2005
The so-called global war on terrorism does not exist, a high-ranking army officer has declared in a speech that challenges the conventional political wisdom. In a frank speech, Brigadier Justin Kelly dismissed several of the central tenets of the Iraq war and the war on terrorism, saying the "war" part is all about politics and terrorism is merely a tactic. By Cynthia Banham
LABOUR:
RACISM IN THE NZ JOB MARKET - AN INDO-FIJIAN PERSPECTIVE
Asia-Pacific Network: 21 April 2005
The irony for many Indo-Fijians leaving Fiji for New Zealand is that they intended to escape overt racism and discrimination, not knowing they were jumping in the middle of it. By Thakur Ranjit Singh
MEDIA:
THE MEDIA WRAP - MEKIM NIUS AND PACIFIC JOURNALISM TRAINING
 Radio Australia - On The Mat: 7 April 2005
Do Pacific journalists need a university-level education? Are there really cultural differences between western and Pacific styles of journalism, and are local reporters doing a good job?
Bruce Hill speaks with David Robie, Associate Professor of Journalism at the Auckland University of Technology, about his experiences training reporters in PNG and Fiji.
RELIGION:
POPE JOHN PAUL II, A REACTIONARY IN SHEPHERD'S CLOTHING
Green Left Magazine: 6 April 2005
Karol Jozef Wojtya, known as John Paul II since assuming the office of pope in October 1978, will be remembered as one of the most significant, though certainly not the most progressive, figures in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. By Barry Healey
MEDIA:
FIJI'S DAILY POST STORY AND THE AGRICULTURE SCAM - BOLLYWOOD PLOT POSSIBILITIES
Asia Pacific Media Network: 5 April 2005
Detective-Inspector Nasir Ali’s story to the President of Fiji about senior officers conspiring against him to derail the agriculture scam investigation will make a very refreshing Bollywood movie plot. Nasir Ali’s real life story will very well suit Amitabh Bacchan's profile as a powerful character who has been fighting and exposing corrupt politicians and corrupt police officers. By Thakur Ranjit Singh
MEDIA:
THE PERILS OF SOUTH PACIFIC REPORTING
Asia Pacific Media Network: 22 March 2005
David Robie says media in the South Pacific is a revolving door -- bright young graduates aren’t paid well enough to face the stressful and often dangerous job of being reporters.
MEDIA:
TERROR THREAT TO PACIFIC MEDIA
Panpa Bulletin: March 2005
Lack of professionalism, pressure and intimidation from government or from rebel or terrorist movements threaten the independence of journalists in the South Pacific, warns author David Robie.
MEDIA:
THE SOUTH PACIFIC ROUND - A PROFILE FEATURE
The Dominion Post: 12 March 2005
Citizens of the politically turbulent states that are New Zealand’s neighbours deserve better news media. David McLoughlin talks to an old Pacific hand, the author of Mekim Nius.
MEDIA:
COUPS, POLITICS AND THE PACIFIC MEDIA
Spasifik Magazine: March 2005
Tough challenges face Pacific journalists. A new book, Mekim Nius, explores the issues as more Pacific media people migrate to New Zealand. By David Robie
MEDIA:
MEKIM NIUS BOOK LAUNCHING AT AUT IN IMAGES
AUT School of Communication Studies: 1 March 2005
Journalism programme round-up of Mekim Nius book launching pictures and story at Auckland University of Technology.
News story | Pictures
MEDIA:
GREEN MP CALLS FOR BETTER NZ MEDIA COVERAGE OF PACIFIC
 Auckland University of Technology: 25 February 2005
Green Party foreign affairs spokesman Keith Locke (pictured) has called for better South Pacific coverage by New Zealand news organisations, saying the media fails to adequately explain the region. And he called for New Zealand media to publish more reports by Pacific Islands journalists. Photo by Del Robie
News story | Full text of speech
MEDIA:
SOUTH PACIFIC MEDIA: DILEMMAS AND SOLUTIONS
Scoop: 25 February 2005
One of the biggest problems faced by journalists working in the South Pacific is that questioning authority doesn’t sit well with traditional values. Many have spoken of a culture of conservatism in traditional Pacific societies, and in his new book Mekim Nius: South Pacific Media, Politics and Education, New Zealand journalist David Robie shows how this does not bode well for the Fourth Estate. By Yasmine Ryan
MEDIA:
AUTHOR CALLS FOR NZ HELP FOR PACIFIC MEDIA
Auckland University of Technology: 14 February 2005
New Zealand must take a higher profile in media training and help raise journalism standards in the South Pacific to strengthen democracy in the region, says an AUT academic and author of a book being launched next week. Dr David Robie, author of Mekim Nius: South Pacific Media, Politics and Education, says more effort needs to be made to boost the region’s media skills in reporting national development and covering conflict, coups, sedition, treason, human rights violations and corruption.
MEDIA:
WIDER PACIFIC MEDIA ROLE ADVOCATED
New Zealand Herald: 10 February 2005
Media in the Pacific Islands are neglecting a nation-building role that is critical to developing countries, says Pacific media commentator Dr David Robie. Robie, a senior lecturer in journalism at Auckland University of Technology, says while many Pacific newspapers and other media triy to fit the New Zealand and Australian mould of journalism, they are missing good examples in the developing world like in the Philippines and India. By Angela Gregory
MEDIA:
A WAKE-UP CALL FOR PACIFIC JOURNALISM
Pacific Islands Report: 13 January 2005
Anyone wishing to understand the intricacies and challenges of practicing and teaching journalism in the South Pacific will find Mekim Nius, the latest publication by David Robie, an authoritative and informative source ... This book is a wake-up call to the Pacific media industry and governments over pay, working conditions and training for journalists.
Review by Shailendra Singh
DISASTERS:
THAILAND'S BODY FARM: HEARTACHE BY NUMBERS
Sunday Star-Times: 9 January 2005
The wave of destruction is over, but the horror continues. An independent journalist meets the Kiwi DNA detectives sent to Thailand to deal with the grisly and harrowing task of identifying the tsunami's victims. By Jon Stephenson
DISASTERS:
FRESH TENSIONS IN CONFLICT ZONES IN TSUNAMI-HIT COUNTRIES - ACEH, TAMIL
BBC World: 7 January 2005
Fresh tensions between government and rebels in the two countries worst hit by the tsunami disaster threaten to undermine aid efforts. In Sri Lanka, the Tamil Tigers have warned of serious consequences if government soldiers are not withdrawn from welfare camps. In the Indonesian province of Aceh, the government and rebels have accused each other of attacks.
Quake disaster reports:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/world/2004/asia_quake_disaster/default.stm George Monbiot on the politics of tsunami aid:
http://www.pmw.c2o.org/2005/reg4607.html
MEDIA:
NEW SURVEY PUTS PACIFIC TRAINING, PAY UNDER SPOTLIGHT
Asia Pacific Network: 16 December 2004
Fiji journalists have less training and lack journalism qualifications compared with Papua New Guinea but are better paid, according to a new study on Pacific media. However, wages and salaries for journalists in both countries are poor with almost half of surveyed Fiji journalists being paid $10,000 a year or less and more than two-thirds of PNG journalists in the equivalent K10,000 band. A summary of the survey findings, conducted in 2001 by Auckland University of Technology senior lecturer in journalism Dr David Robie, was presented at the Australia-based Journalism Education Association (JEA) conference in Suva, Fiji, last week. The full findings have been published in Mekim Nius.
MEDIA:
NEW BOOK CHALLENGES PACIFIC DONOR MEDIA TRAINING CULTURE
Asia Pacific Network: 16 November 2004
A new book is being published that challenges the South Pacific's culture of short course media training funded by international donors. Mekim Nius also exposes media and the region's politics.
Pictured: Fiji Times publisher Tony Yianni
MEDIA:
ROSS STEVENS AND UNI TAVUR: A KIWI PUBLISHING LEGACY AMONG WANTOKS
Pacific Journalism Review: 9 November 2004
NZ journalist Ross Stevens was the founding lecturer of the Pacific's first journalism school and his legacy included Uni Tavur, a newspaper that began publishing at the University of Papua New Guinea in 1975. By David Robie
MEDIA:
FEW NZ JOURNALISTS SPEAK MAORI
Pacific Media Watch: 7 November 2004
Barely one in five New Zealand journalists can speak Maori, one of the country's two official languages, a new national survey of journalists has found. And most of them describe their fluency as merely "moderate" or "minimal", reports Pacific Journalism Review.
MEDIA:
TRIBUTE TO THE FAR EASTERN ECONOMIC REVIEW
Asia-Pacific Network/Hongkong Standard: 2 November 2004
To anyone outside journalism, the level of mourning for the death-by-corporate-downsizing of the Dow Jones-owned weekly Far Eastern Economic Review magazine this past week might seem a tad excessive. But I would argue that concern for the demise of this institution - a staple of reporting on the region since shortly after World War II - is both necessary and deserved. By A. Lin Neumann
MEDIA:
THE ART OF DARKNESS - 'KURTZ' IN WEST PAPUA
Asia-Pacific Network/Spinach7: 23 October 2004
‘Kurtz is dead,’ said Mark Davis, SBS Dateline presenter, using the dead-pan, at-toned voice he occasionally wheeled out when Big Bad News had to be delivered. ‘He died of pneumonia and associated tropical ailments. He’s being buried in West Papua and he’s not coming back,’ he added, just in case I had any doubts about the terminality of the event. by Jack Strocchi
NEW ZEALAND:
TVNZ FINALLY BROADCASTS TWO STUNNING DOCUMENTARIES
Asia-Pacific Network/Scoop: 22 October 2004
Perhaps 75,000 people have already seen Someone Else's Country, Alister Barry's feature documentary telling the story of the politics of Rogernomics. It has come to be regarded as a New Zealand classic. After eight years TVNZ is finally screening it - along with In a Land of Plenty.
NEW ZEALAND:
SECOND HIKOI PHOTO ESSAY
Asia-Pacific Network/Scoop: 19 October 2004
Te Waha Nui journalist Edward Gay's pictures of the hikoi in Auckland - images of Maori, Pakeha, politicians and gang members.
NEW ZEALAND:
IN AOTEAROA, IT'S THE YEAR OF PASIFIKA
Asia-Pacific Network: 22 September 2004
'There’s no denying 2004 is the year of Pasifika in Aotearoa - and we still have three months to go. From the entertainment stage to the rugby field, from the halls of wisdom to the corridors of business, Pacific Islanders have been stamping their mark in the Land of the Long White Cloud.' By Kalafi Moala
FIJI:
ETHNIC TENSIONS AND THE RULE OF LAW
Asia-Pacific Network: 22 September 2004
The attempted coup by George Speight on 19 May 2000 and the instability and dislocation that followed had severe repercussions for the rule of law. It underscored the fragility of the concept and its susceptibility to assault by destructive forces within our society. By Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi
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