Helping the Pacific fight against climate change

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Ahead of the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting next week in Majuro, Marshall Islands, Fiji-based European Commissioner for Climate Action, CONNIE HEDEGAARD, writes about her reason for attending the Forum. THE Pacific region is on the front line of climate change. Its low-lying islands risk being swamped by rising sea levels and their inhabitants forced…

Feeding the chooks to keep them quiet

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SIR Bjelke-Petersen, one-time Premier of the Australian north-east State of Queensland, once referred to journalists as chooks. And each time his government was under threat because of some issues raised by journalists publicly either on the airwave or in newspapers, he would say, “it’s time to feed the chooks”. News conference was his feeding time…