Tagata o te Moana for 16 March 2019

The Solomon Islands Electoral Office says the arrival of Australian and New Zealand personnel to provide logistical support for next month's election will also bring a sense of security for voters; the Bougainville President, John Momis, says he and Papua New Guinea Prime Minister, Peter O'Neill, have reached agreement on how they can work together on the referendum process; groups opposed to sea bed mining in PNG want the government to cancel licenses given to embattled miner Nautilus; Indonesia has accused Papuan independence campaigners of faking a humanitarian crisis in troubled Nduga regency; New Zealand's Amalgamated Workers Union has been seeking to clarify the role it can play for seasonal workers from Pacific Island countries with the governments of their home countries; A report into Papua New Guinea maternity services estimates 2000 women are dying every year during pregnacy and childbirth, and there may be up to 20 000 stillborn and neonatal deaths; Papua New Guinea has some of the worst rates of tuberculosis in the world and they have got worse in recent years; Papua New Guinea has some of the worst rates of tuberculosis in the world and they have got worse in recent years; the Polyfest has changed so much over the past 44 years and as a result, then annual cultural carnival is becoming increasingly diverse.