Samoan circus

Fiji

Samoan circus show continues

THE Magic Circus of Samoa will continue its five-month Fiji tour despite allegations that the ringmaster, Bruno Loyale, owes money to organisations in Papua New Guinea. A spokesman for sponsor Coca-Cola said the company believed the show would be great family entertainment. Magician Loyale, toured PNG for nine months in 1990 with his circus then called Circus Bruno.

Reports from PNG said Loyale was warned by police after he allegedly abandoned a circus there. He has been accused of leaving behind nine lions, three camels, a chimpanzee, a python and an elephant. He is also accused of owning US$BO,OOO to at least three companies. The circus held its first show in Suva last month where it will perform until early this month before moving to other districts of Fiji. ★ ★ ★

Call on Australia

to open market

FIJI has called on Australia to make its market more accessible to South Pacific products following the launch of Australia’s ministerial statement on the region last month. In a press statement, Fiji, which is the largest economy in the region, welcomed Australia’s reform agenda.

Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka agreed that island states needed to improve their economic performance and bring down the rate of population growth. However, he said island nations will not achieve the economic growth they are capable of if Australia and New Zealand don’t open their markets wider. Rabuka also reiterated his call on Australia to revise the SPARTECA (South Pacifc Regional Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement) preferential trading agreement. Fiji argued that Australia should give preferential access to products made with less than 50 per cent local content.

Meanwhile, Vanuatu Prime Minister Maxime Carlot Korman has called for increased trade between island states to help boost the region’s poor economic performance. And Solomon Islands says Australia did not say anything new in its policy statement and it’s a matter of getting down to carrying out the reforms. A spokesman said Solomon Islands was already doing that with its structural adjustment programme and

logging initiatives.