In all seriousness, the South Pacific does not have term limits, but it is uncommon to see a third consecutive term in the region. The Prime Minister has already declared that they will not be seeking reelection in February. That means that you, yes, you have the opportunity to prove yourself over the next three months and become an active and contributing member of the community in our government! I look forward to seeing which of you becomes our next Prime Minister!

New American Dictatorship/Legend as Minister of Culture (MoC) (formally the Minister of On-Site Events - MoOSE)
Concrete Slab as Minister of Foreign Affairs (MoFA)
Drew Durrnil/Banexet as Minister of Defence (MoD)
United States of Vietnam/Vietnam as Minister of Integration (MoI)
The Age of Utopia/Of_the_Ages as Minister of Roleplay (MoR)
Emagination/Em as Director of the Office of World Assembly Legislation (OWL)

Feel free to consult any of these incredible individuals if you have a suggestion or would like to get involved in the region's governance within their area of focus.

I'd also like to take a moment to thank the outgoing Cabinet for their contributions over the last term. We look forward to your contributions outside of the Cabinet!

1) The Assembly passed an amendment to the Citizenship Act. The amendment closed an oversight that forces the Citizenship Committee to contact an applicant, even if the applicant did not provide any contact information.

2) The Assembly is discussing removing the Chair of Assembly elections from determining citizenship status. Currently, the law says that all elections determine the eligibility for continued citizenship, but only legislators can vote in Chair elections. The discussion seeks to close this gap in the law and is part of the larger Elections Act discussion.

3) Discussion on reforming the Elections Act has begun in the Assembly, with several topics being discussed. The main argument right now is clarifying who is to act as the Prime Minister in the event the office becomes vacant. Various solutions have been proposed, but none appear to be making more headway than others. I look forward to updating y'all on the progress being made in the next fortnightly briefing.

In the meantime, if you want to have a say in the governance in the region and provide your opinion, consider becoming a citizen and joining the Assembly. Let me know when you are ready to get off the couch.

*gets in rocking chair*
When I was a young member of the region (circa 2016), the Chair of the Assembly was often a position where new individuals would stick their toes into the water of regional politics. It is, at its core, an administrative position and is all about keeping the Assembly work going. If, at the end of a term, the Assembly is still working well, legitimacy (for lack of a better word) is given to the outgoing Chair, and thus they begin their political rise.

Ironically, I lost my own bid for Chair of the Assembly in 2018 (by two votes) and ended up leaving the region for a couple of years, but unlike me, you have the chance to begin your rise through the Chair of the Assembly position, if you so wish. All it takes is getting off the sidelines and making that next step.

Earlier this week, the South Pacific was faced with a massive rise in people suffering from what can only be described as a "Zombie" virus. All containment efforts failed, and the virus affected every nation in the world. The regional government organized and put forth a valiant effort and began to combat the virus. Over the course of the 36 hours the Zombies freely roamed, the region lost about 90% of its population. However, the remaining 10% was among the groups of regional survivors globally, one of the largest in fact.

However, we must remain vigilant... these Zombie viruses tend to rear their ugly heads yearly. We must take time to learn from our mistakes and mistakes this year so that next year, we have an even higher chance of survival.