Comments

Malo Ema! Yes. And the King trying to assert a role in the day to day affairs of government is making for days of living dangerously!

Including sections on sustainable practices in poultry farming could be a great addition to the blog.

Hi Natasha, I'm originally from Enga, PNG and married to a Tuvaluan and got my Tuvalu citizen through my wife , I recently moved here to Tuvalu in 2022 to settle with my wife and four kids . We got this opportunity last year and we tried both in the Tuvalu ballot. My wife didn't make it and I received a notification of selection. Before starting to do our documentation I thought it's going to be costly. But when we go through our documentation I realised how cheap everything here and easy to obtain such documents as police clearance and passports costs. Full health examination is cost $30 for adults and free cost for kids under 18. We both secure our job offers from one company in Bundaberg, Australia and it commence when we arrived in Australia. Our medical examinations was finalised from the Bupa medical visa services last week, so we are now waiting for our visas. I've been searching through the Australia home affairs page about processing time and I can't find a processing time for the Pacific engagement visa. Would you mind give me a hint about how long we gonna wait for our visas? Thank you very much Natasha. I find your article very informative and I would to subscribe for more news from you. You have a blessed day. God Bless.

The saying that 'politics makes for strange bedfellows' has never been more true in light of this week's political developments in Tonga.

You have brought up a very superb points, thanks for the post.

Hi Bernadette, Sorry to hear of your situation. It’s understandable your frustrations pending a visa decision that has impacted on your job security. Unfortunately, a valid 12-month job offer is a current PEV requirement. While trying to email Immigration to follow up can be pointless, there is no harm in uploading a separate letter of urgency into your immi account explaining your situation and requesting an estimated visa decision turnaround time so you and your prospective employer can plan accordingly. I hope this helps and continue to persevere. Thanks, Natasha

I have a passport but need my BC re-issued and have been trying for months, from Australia, to get it happening via email (nobody ever answers phone lines) and I get a reply maybe once or twice a month. It is infuriating.

Hi Eileen, The 2024 PEV round closed 1st August. If you did not receive a "notification of selection" then you are unsuccessful for this round. You can register again next year when the ballot opens for 2025. Thanks, Natasha

Dear Natasha, I have been selected for PEV and secured a job in Melbourne 2 months ago but due to the fact the visa is still pending for further assessment, I lost the job. Australian Home Affairs contacted me last month for me to provide documents from my daughter's father which I have. Recently I secured a job again and lost it because the visa is still pending. Do I really need to secure an employment or should I wait for the visa to be granted then I look for employment? I remember that I stated in the PEV site that successful applicant must secure employment before the visa will be granted.

Hi Peter. Yes, that's possible. In the Census, each person can claim up to two ancestries. So it is possible to identify the number of people who claim only Pacific ancestries, as well as those who claim both Pacific and other ancestries.

As a P.S to the above, I've now had a chance to read Masood Ahmed's thoughtful 2024 Mitchell Oration and note this significant qualifier somewhat hidden away in his address: https://devpolicy.org/development-cooperation-in-a-contested-world-20241206/ "Third, development assistance providers must rebuild domestic support through frank discussions about both moral imperatives and self-interest in addressing global challenges. " Governments of all persuasions struggle with sufficient tax collections to satisfy voters' domestic preferences and demands in straitened times. Not least of all - during the many years of Australia's foreign aid programs. In my decades of experience with persuading Governments that targeting our aid to reduce overseas poverty is "a good thing", I suggest that this would have been made easier by the respective Minister of the time making regular announcements on the results from our aid dollars. Thus having those frank discussions to gain that domestic support for the poorest of the world's poor and help to reverse that "shift in many wealthy nations toward inward-focused policies."

Is it possible to provide a breakdown into people who are fully of Pacific Islander heritage and people who are just partially of Pacific Islander ancestry, mixed with other ethnic groups?