Australia & Pacifics

SYDNEY, Dec 26 (NNN-AAP) – More than 100,000 properties were left without power last night, in Australia’s eastern state of Queensland, after more severe storms hit the area, local media reported.

South East Queensland was pounded by more severe storms, with the Gold Coast, Scenic Rim and Logan areas copping the brunt of the storms, according to local newspaper, The Courier-Mail.

Emergency services were kept busy with fallen trees and powerlines, with more than 100,000 properties left without electricity, the report said.

CANBERRA, Dec 22 (NNN-AAP) – The Australian government has announced that, it will not send a warship to the Red Sea, but will deploy additional troops to the region.

Richard Marles, the minister for defence, yesterday said, the Australian government had denied a request from the United States for military hardware to help protect shipping lanes in the Red Sea, following attacks from Yemen’s Houthi militia on commercial vessels in the area.

WELLINGTON, Dec 18 (NNN-RNZ) – New Zealand Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, said today, he will travel to Sydney on Wednesday, to meet with Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese.

“The coalition government will be engaging internationally with new urgency and intensity, to invest in relationships, increase prosperity and enhance our security,” Luxon said.

Australia is New Zealand’s most important partner, he said, adding that, the two countries are deeply connected and have strong people-to-people ties.

SYDNEY, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Australia's government on Friday welcomed signs that a U.S. defense spending bill which would authorise the sale of nuclear submarines to Australia is set to pass Congress after a compromise between Republicans and Democrats.

The sale is part of AUKUS - a pact with the United States and Britain to develop nuclear-powered submarines and other high technology weapons and Australia's most expensive defence project with a $244 billion price tag over three decades.

WELLINGTON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - New Zealand’s central bank chief defended its use of the Maori language in official communications on Wednesday, as the country’s new centre-right government looks to roll back the use of the Indigenous language in the public sector.

The three parties in the new coalition government last week signed agreements that outline policies to roll back the use of Maori language and require all government agencies to primarily use English for their department names and communications.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealanders can expect tax cuts, more police on the streets and less government bureaucracy, according to the three leaders who signed an agreement Friday to form a new government.

The coalition deal ended nearly six weeks of intense negotiations after New Zealand held a general election on Oct. 14.

The deal will see Christopher Luxon serve as prime minister after his conservative National Party won 38% of the vote, the largest proportion of any party.

WELLINGTON, Nov 18 (NNN-XINHUA) – The New Zealand government is contributing a further five million NZ dollars (three million U.S. dollars) to support the response to urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel.

This brought New Zealand’s total contribution to the humanitarian response to the Gaza conflict so far to 10 million NZ dollars (six million U.S. dollars).

“New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian life and the grave humanitarian situation as a result of the conflict,” Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, said, today.

SYDNEY, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Australia's government said on Saturday it had expressed serious concerns to China after an "unsafe and unprofessional" interaction between an Australian navy vessel and Chinese warship left Australian military divers injured.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said the HMAS Toowoomba - a long-range frigate - was conducting a diving operation in Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone on Nov. 14 to clear fishing nets from its propellers when the incident occurred.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Three murderers are among 81 foreigners recently released in Australia after the High Court ruled their indefinite detention in migrant centers was unconstitutional, the immigration minister said on Tuesday.

The court hasn’t released the reasons behind its ruling last week that overturned a 2004 precedent that stateless people could be detained indefinitely.

The Melbourne-based Human Rights Law Center reported last month that 127 people had been detained more than five years. The average was 709 days.

SUVA, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Pacific Collective on Nuclear Issues has denounced once again the dumping of radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear powerplant into the Pacific Ocean, calling on Pacific leaders to suspend Japan's status as a Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) dialogue partner.

The Collective, composed of civil society groups, non-governmental organizations and movements in the Pacific, issued a statement this week, during which the 52nd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting was held in the Cook Islands.