New Zealand

In the TV3 Reid-Research poll - released last night - Kiwis were asked whether they wanted change now that they had seen the final four alternative flag options.

Only 25 percent said yes, while the majority said no.

But PM Key - who has previously voiced his support for the silver fern on the flag - said the question asked was too basic, as there were people who had yet to make up their minds.

He told Morning Report fewer than 50 percent of people want to keep the current flag, and that number was falling.

This comes after scathing criticism from the PNA chief executive after the Pacific Island Forum leaders decision to look into the merits of replacing the PNA's Vessel Day Scheme with a New Zealand style quota management system.

New Zealand's Shane Jones says regional leaders want a year given to look into the future of tuna fisheries management in the Pacific and he says the PNA should heed their wishes.

The senior national officer, Captain Andrew Blackburn, says the buildings are being refurbished to address potential electrical hazards and ensure they can better withstand cyclones.

Around 40 NZDF engineers, plumbers, carpenters and electricians are working alongside 20 military engineers from China, the United Kingdom and the United States to build a new fuel depot.

The depot will support maritime patrols working to combat illegal fishing in the northern Cooks.

Ioane Teitiota is currently being held in Mt Eden Prison awaiting deportation after being picked up by Immigration officers on Tuesday morning, after his bid to claim climate change refugee status was dismissed.

Immigration New Zealand said Mr Teitiota's wife and three children, who don't have citizenship, have also been served with deportation orders and it "will be engaging with them to facilitate their departure."

It has also been granted a warrant to keep Mr Teitiota in custody until Monday when a bail hearing will be held to decide whether he should stay in jail.

Defending his government's policies on climate change in parliament, Michael Woodhouse said that the government is making a significant contribution towards greenhouse gas mitigation, and helping Pacific Island countries through aid.

He said Pacific Islanders want to stay in their own countries and that to suggest they want to dash to New Zealand to be saved is a form of colonial paternalism.

Ioane Teitiota was picked up by immigration officers early on Tuesday morning - the culmination of a case that began in 2011 when he overstayed his visa.

Mr Teitiota has been fighting deportation since then, arguing that he, his wife, and their three New Zealand-born children will face rising sea levels, extreme weather and crop destruction as a result of global warming if they are forced back to Kiribati.

There are about 1700 lawyers in the Pacific, excluding Australia and New Zealand, and about 100 of them are expected at the two-day conference being run by the South Pacific Lawyers Association.

Its chairman, Ross Ray QC, says the meeting will include sessions on issues such as document drafting, case analysis, commercial law and legal aid.

He says the conference is a good opportunity to promote ties between the different law societies across the region.

The leaders of Tuvalu, Papua New Guinea and Fiji have expressed hope that Mr Turnbull, who was this week sworn in as prime minister after ousting Tony Abbott as Liberal Party leader, could be a champion for Pacific countries battling rising sea levels and intensifying weather systems.

The change in Canberra came a week after the Pacific Islands Forum meeting highlighted a growing chasm between the Pacific countries and Australia and New Zealand on the issue of climate change.

“Australia and New Zealand have shown themselves to be the worst of neighbours with their self-serving approach to climate change. They will be remembered for their callousness in the face of the grave threats facing Pacific islands, as people are forced to leave their land and lose their livelihoods through climate change,” said Ritter.

“Australia and New Zealand have inadequate national targets are, they are frustrating global talks, they are beholden to big polluters - and now they are blocking a united Pacific voice.”