Australian PM reveals question for Indigenous Voice referendum

Canberra, March 23 (IANS)

Chief of the Army Simon Stuart said in a statement on Thursday. "We will conduct a thorough investigation into this incident to determine the cause and ensure the platform remains safe to operate."

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese MP Welcomes Samoan Prime Minister

Wednesday 22nd March 2023; The Prime Minister of Australia, the Honourable Anthony Albanese MP, welcomed the Honourable Fiamē Naomi Mata’afa, Prime Minister of the Independent State of Samoa to Canberra on 22 March 2023. The Prime Minister’s bilateral talks reflected the long-standing relationship between Australia and Samoa, underpinned by mutual respect and trust. The Prime Ministers affirmed their strong partnership and commitment to work together on shared challenges and priorities to support a stable, prosperous, and resilient Pacific region. Prime Minister Albanese also acknowledged Prime Minister Fiamē’s historic achievement in being elected Samoa’s first female Prime Minister, and her contribution to gender equality in Samoa and the region.

Prime Minister Albanese recognized Prime Minister Fiamē’s regional leadership and expressed his appreciation for her significant contribution to Pacific unity. Amidst an increasingly complex regional outlook, the Prime Ministers acknowledged the centrality of the Pacific Islands Forum in driving collective responses to shared regional challenges such as climate change, economic recovery from COVID-19, and regional security. The leaders welcomed Kiribati’s return to the Forum. They also underlined their commitment to continue to work together to contribute to a stable, prosperous, and resilient Blue Pacific, based on the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, regionalism, and a Pacific family-first approach to peace and security.

The Prime Ministers acknowledged the urgent need to accelerate international action to address the existential threat of climate change. Their discussions reinforced their commitment to work together to advance real and significant climate action and drive the transition to net zero, welcoming Australia’s commitment to place Pacific voices at the center of international climate discussions. Prime Minister Fiamē expressed support for Australia’s bid to host COP31 in partnership with the Pacific. The Prime Ministers acknowledged their support and co-sponsorship of Vanuatu’s request for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on climate change.

The Prime Ministers discussed how Australia and Samoa could work together to strengthen climate resilience in Samoa and the region, recognizing the threat climate change poses to the livelihoods, security, and wellbeing of Pacific peoples. They reaffirmed Samoa and Australia’s close security partnership, which encompasses cooperation on maritime surveillance and ocean stewardship, policing, and cyber and transnational crime.

The Prime Ministers reflected on the impacts of COVID-19 on our economies and how Australia could support Samoa on its journey and reforms toward economic recovery and resilience. They discussed how the PacificAustralia Labour Mobility (PALM) program could best operate to ensure mutual benefit, including ensuring the program delivers for all Samoans. Prime Minister Albanese welcomed the work underway to refine Samoa's labor mobility policy settings, and outlined the steps Australia was taking to ensure the scheme provided further opportunities for skills development. The Prime Ministers agreed to reflect these developments in a Memorandum of Understanding that would guide the PALM partnership.

The Prime Ministers welcomed continued cooperation on Samoa’s human development priorities, including health, education, social inclusion, and tertiary scholarships.

They also welcomed progress towards support for Samoa’s infrastructure priorities through the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific.

The Prime Ministers welcomed the strong people-to-people links between Australia and Samoa, with some 98,000 people of Samoan descent living in Australia. They recognized the important unifying role of sports in our relationship –promoting excellence, health, gender equality, and social cohesion. They celebrated the achievement of Australia and Samoa’s national teams in reaching the Rugby League World Cup final in November 2022. The Prime Ministers acknowledged the other ways in which people-to-people linkages bring Samoans and Australians together – in faith, business, and community. The Prime Ministers discussed Australia’s new Pacific Engagement Visa and its possibilities to further deepen people-to-people, business, and educational linkages.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday revealed the question voters will be asked at the referendum on establishing an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

In a press conference, Albanese announced that the Referendum Working Group has landed on a question for the referendum, which is expected to be held in the second half of 2023, reports Xinhua news agency.

If successful, the Voice will advise Parliament on issues relating to Indigenous peoples.

It will also be put to voters that the constitution be amended to include a new chapter titled "Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples". Making the announcement, Albanese pleaded with Australians to support the Voice.

The Prime Ministers expressed their support for the Pacific Islands Forum’s efforts to revitalize the Pacific Leaders’ Gender Equality Declaration to advance gender equality and inclusion in the Blue Pacific. Formalizing this commitment to boost Australia-Samoa links, the Prime Ministers signed a Bilateral Partnership Arrangement, Ole fala folasia i lo ta va (‘’the map that guides us’). The Prime Ministers warmly welcomed the closer cooperation the Partnership Arrangement will engender across the pillars of climate and disaster resilience, security cooperation, economic growth, human and socioeconomic development, and people-to-people linkages.

The Prime Ministers reiterated that the partnership between Australia and Samoa is based on transparency and respect for sovereignty.

The Prime Ministers agreed to continue to work closely together to further strengthen the partnership between Australia and Samoa and cooperation in support of a stable, prosperous, and resilient Blue Pacific.

Australians will be asked whether they approve of an alteration to the nation's constitution to recognize the "First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice".

Any proposed amendment to the constitution must be passed by an absolute majority of each house of Parliament.

In order to pass, a referendum must be approved by a majority of voters as well as more than half of voters in at least four out of six states.

Aus zoo welcomes 1st southern white rhino calf born in decade

male Kifaru who were paired in 2019 as part of the Australasian rhino regional breeding and conservation program.

Werribee Open Range Zoo Director Mark Pilgrim said that the calf is being provided with around-the-clock feeds of colostrum obtained from its mother.

Canberra, March 23 (IANS) The Werribee Open Range Zoo in the Australian state of Victoria is celebrating the arrival of a southern white rhino calf, which is the first calf of this threatened species to be born in captivity in almost a decade.

The zoo said in a statement on Thursday that following a 16-month pregnancy, first-time mother Kipenzi gave birth just before 4 a.m. on Tuesday to the female calf who weighed just over 60 kg, reports Xinhua news agency.

Both Kipenzi and the newborn are being carefully monitored by veterinarians and zookeepers.

According to the statement, keepers observed an absence of healthy bonding after birth, with the calf not thriving as expected during the first hours of infancy. It was later brought to the zoo's vet clinic for medical checks and supplementary feeding.

This is the first calf born to nineyear-old Kipenzi and 13-year-old

"The calf's health has begun to improve, and it is now in the process of being reintroduced to mum," Pilgrim noted.

"However, it will continue to remain under veterinary care during these critical early days.

Southern white rhinos are currently listed as "Near Threatened" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List with their population in decline.

IUCN estimated that there is a total of 10,080 remaining in the wild, facing significant threats such as poaching and the illegal trading of rhino horn.

Pilgrim believed that the arrival of this precious calf is an important achievement in the fight to save the species from extinction.

"We are excited that visitors will be able to view the pair once we have navigated these typically high-risk early days following the birth," the zoo director said. The newborn calf will be also named in the coming weeks through a voting competition.