Dubravka Voloder
Dubravka Voloder is a journalist with the ABC's Asia Pacific Newsroom. She has also worked for RNZ and the BBC, and has reported from Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific and across Europe. You can follow her on Twitter @Volodub
Latest by Dubravka Voloder
This school is seeing more kids arrive without food. It's stepping in to help
As families struggle to keep their kitchens stocked, the cost-of-living crisis is drawing attention to the role of schools in providing healthy food to students — something that experts say also promotes their mental health.
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A new Pacific visa is expected to be a hit — but some warn it could bring challenges for the region
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By Doug Dingwall, Dubravka Voloder, Fiji reporter Lice Movono and Tonga reporter Marian Kupu
The first Pacific Engagement Visas will be granted in late 2024. Experts and community leaders welcome the scheme, but say the government needs to manage it carefully.
Police officer dies in New Caledonia riots after being shot in the head, as France declares a state of emergency
By Dubravka Voloder and Jenny Cai with wires
Four people have now died in the unrest, with French officials saying a police officer died from a gunshot wound.
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'Trash, burn and loot': Parts of New Caledonia ablaze as riots turn violent leaving three dead
By Dubravka Voloder, foreign affairs reporter Stephen Dziedzic and Jenny Cai with wires
Three people have been killed as violent protests and looting rock New Caledonia, according to an official of the French Pacific territory.
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'It's so shameful': Seasonal workers, tourists stranded as Air Vanuatu enters voluntary liquidation
Ernst & Young confirms it has taken control of the airline after the Vanuatu government appointed it as voluntary liquidator of the company.
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A Russian explorer's skull collection ended up in an Australian university. Their descendants want them back
Nearly 1,500 Pacific ancestors are held in 13 museums and universities across Australia — but for the most part, the institutions are not repatriating remains and some believe there are cases that "might prove impossible".
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On Tanna in Vanuatu, a new register is bringing children with cerebral palsy back from the margins
By Melissa Maykin and Dubravka Voloder
The first register of its kind in the South Pacific will identify children living with cerebral palsy to help improve understanding, reduce risk factors and meet their needs.
'What I experienced was traumatic': Mums turning to homebirths after negative experiences in hospitals
The ABC has heard from several women who gave birth at home after a negative hospital experience, as part of its Birth Project investigation. It comes as a Senate inquiry into birth trauma was recently launched in NSW.
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Dive into Wansolmoana — 'one salt ocean' — Australia's new repository of Pacific culture and history
The gallery houses artefacts of deep cultural significance to the diaspora in Australia, including a rare 1,000-year-old replica Rotuman headdress.
Labor expands Pacific immigration with new visa legislation
By foreign affairs reporter Stephen Dziedzic and Dubravka Voloder
The Pacific Engagement Visa will give to opportunity to 3,000 people from the region each year to permanently settle in Australia.
Indigenous bodies advise the parliament in several Pacific countries — here's how they work
Several of Australia's Pacific neighbours have encouraged the country to adopt the Voice. So, how do they ensure Indigenous voices are heard?
'The science is clear and undisputed': Pacific nations bring climate change case at international court
Small island countries say they are sick of "empty promises" and want legally binding obligations clearly spelled out for major polluters at the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea.
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'It works like a green wall': How planting certain trees could help reduce risk of deadly fires like in Maui
Many Pacific nations face similar conditions to Maui, where flammable African grasses have overtaken land cleared for agriculture. In New Caledonia, communities are now planting fire-resistant trees that can act as green fire breaks and slow the spread of blazes.
Pacific countries are not 'outposts' to grow labourers for Australia, Samoan PM says
Samoa's Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa has raised deep concerns about the mass exodus of Pacific Island workers to Australia and New Zealand.
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'I apologise institutionally, but also as a human being': New Zealand ancestral remains returned after 150 years
A delegation from New Zealand is in Germany tasked with repatriating around 100 Māori and Moriori remains looted or traded during colonial times.
Caitlin planned for a water birth, but a diagnosis in labour changed everything
Women of migrant backgrounds are more at risk of developing some pregnancy complications, which can limit their choices for their pregnancy care and lead to more medical interventions during birth.
Months after twin cyclones hit Vanuatu, Janet says her children's schooling is still being affected
There are warnings that millions of children in the Pacific risk losing access to education due to natural disasters and emergencies.
Ni-Vanuatu seasonal workers pay among the world's highest fees to send money home
Pacific Australian Labour Mobility scheme worker John Firiam says sending remittances to his wife and five-year-old daughter in Vanuatu is more important than ever after the recent twin cyclones.
In 2023, queer Pacific Islanders still 'fear for their livelihoods, their actual existence'
Pacific queer activists call for greater acceptance, decriminalisation during Sydney WorldPride celebrations
Vanuatu hit with magnitude-6.5 earthquake as second major cyclone in two days bears down on Port Vila
By ABC Pacific's Nick Sas and Dubravka Voloder
Vanuatu's capital is bracing for its second major cyclone in two days, after part of the country was hit with a magnitude-6.5 earthquake on Friday morning.
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Less than 1pc of the world's stem cell donors are Pacific Islanders, but these rugby players want to change that
With donors from diverse communities already under-represented in the Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry, it is difficult for patients from Pasifika backgrounds to find the right match.
Could Vanuatu's 'activities on the world stage' have made it the target of a month-long cyber attack?
Almost a month after a ransomware attack on Vanuatu's government, the country's public service remains crippled and hospital staff have resorted to using pen and paper.
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Pacific nurses resign for aged care work overseas
An exodus of over-qualified Pacific Island nurses who are taking up aged care jobs in countries such as Australia has experts concerned the "brain drain" is leaving critical gaps in the region's healthcare systems.
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When Liv went for pregnancy checks she felt 'so sad and hopeless'
With language barriers affecting prenatal care for mothers from non-English speaking backgrounds, there are calls for interpreters to become permanent members of staff at Australian hospitals.
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'It's like an exodus': Pacific workers abandon local business to fill Australia's worker shortage
A mobility scheme to bring in hospitality workers from the Pacific Islands to fill labour shortages may be "good for Australia", but local businesses say there has been an exodus and now they are struggling to find skilled workers when the tourism industry needs them the most.
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