This archive covers progress stories from Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Island nations. Expect reporting on environmental protection, Indigenous-led initiatives, public health advances, and policy wins that reflect the region’s distinct challenges and strengths.
The High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for Nature and People is a coalition of more than 50 countries that was formed in 2011 to encourage internal action on the climate crisis prior to the Paris Agreement.
New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta confirmed NZD $75 million of assistancehad been earmarked to support Pacific and global vaccine access and roll-out.
After being re-elected in a landslide victory last month, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern continues to make positive progressive change in the country. Yesterday, she appointed Nanaia Mahuta as the country’s first indigenous female foreign minister.
The state of South Australia for a short period earlier in October met 100 percent of its energy needs from solar power – a world-first for a jurisdiction of its size.
The solar farm, which is three times larger than the world’s current largest solar farm in northern China, is also expected to provide thousands of jobs related to construction and hundreds of jobs once construction is done.
Samoa’s land mass accounts for less than three percent of its territory, and the country is largely dependent upon the ocean for food and income. To preserve this vital resource, the Samoa Government has committed to fully managing its ocean area and protecting 30 percent by 2025 through the Samoa Ocean Strategy.
The team from Australia’s Flinders University has developed a breath test that can detect exhaled breath profiles associated with head and neck cancers, with the tool demonstrating a high degree of accuracy in early trials.
If only 10% of global cattle herds consumed the supplement, created by FutureFeed Ltd, it would be the same as taking 50 million cars off the roadways.
New Zealand’s Labour party has pledged that—if elected in the upcoming October 17 elections—all energy generation in the country will be 100% renewable by 2030. This ups a previous target of phasing out all non-renewable energy by 2035.
Kiwi company Hiringa and Hyzon Motors—a U.S. manufacturer of hydrogen fuel cells—signed a “heads of agreement” that would allow Hiringa’s hydrogen-powered electric vehicles (HPEVs) to start hauling freight as early as 2022, positioning New Zealand as a world leader in hydrogen vehicle infrastructure.
