Archive: ‘A subversive in Kanaky’ – something out of a B-grade police movie?
French police and soldiers harassed and arrested Islands Business correspondent David Robie during an assignment in New Caledonia in January 1987. It was his...
Archive: Challenging Goliath – New Internationalist 1986
When Aotearoa (NZ) banned nuclear warships from its ports it was seen as David standing up to Washington's Goliath. But behind Prime Minister David...
Archive: Gaston Flosse’s iron grip in Tahiti
Victory was complete. Gaston Flosse crushed all opposition at the polls. David Robie in Pape’ete asks how powerful can he become as France’s newly...
Archive: Tahiti: Caricature of the leader
By David Robie
One political cartoon depicted President Gaston Flosse as a vampire. A potted "species" note in the opposition newspaper Te Teo o Te...
Archive: Tahiti: French first for Flosse
By David Robie
Born a demi in the Mangarevian village of Rikitea in 1931, Gaston Flosse is the first Pacific Islander to become a minister...
Archive: Tahiti: The third flag of Faa’a
By David Robie
Two flags fly outside most town halls in "French" Polynesia. One is the Tricolore of the French republic; the other is the...