Opinion: Penny Wong dives deep into the audacity of the Oceanic Pacific
Nurturing relationships is paramount to break down unequal power dynamics – especially in working for women rights. By ‘Ofa-ki-Levuka (‘Ofa) Guttenbeil-Likiliki From the 1990s to the early 2000s, Oceanic writer
The false Pacific dilemma of choosing between U.S. and China
For some observers, the signing of the China-Solomon Islands Treaty has opened a can of geostrategic worms for the Pacific (Australia, NZ and FICs), presenting a false dilemma that FICs ought to choose who is to be
Comment: Making Sense of Multi-layered Security Frameworks
Security is a priority in the region. It has been so since 1971, when the earlier version of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) – the South Pacific Forum (SPF) first met in Wellington on 5-7 August that year. At that
Don’t saddle Pacific Islands with disaster debt
Pacific Islands are facing a serious debt crisis that has been worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting shutdown of the tourism industry. Research based on International Monetary Fund country reports shows
The next NRL team should come from Papua New Guinea
For all the focus in the Australian media on recent developments throughout the Pacific, it’s strange that the potential addition of a Papua New Guinea team to the Australian National Rugby League appears to have
Opinion: PNG’s new health plan: “Leaving no one behind is everybody’s business”
By Di Brown, Kylie McKenna and Michele Rumsey Following nearly two years of COVID-19 prompted commentary on the vulnerabilities of the health system in Papua New Guinea, the country’s new National Health Plan
Opinion: No opposition to the Mariana Trench’s national sanctuary nomination but……
By Bea Cabrera Its mystery is a source of fascination for marine explorers, researchers and oceanographers. Filmmaker James Cameron was drawn into the Mariana Trench, located in the western Pacific Ocean about 124 miles
Australia, NZ and the PICs: a new era for PACER?
By Dr Wadan Narsey Australia has been jolted out of its self-declared “vuvale” (family) complacency in its relations to the Pacific. Following the recent political fall-out in Australia because of the
Opinion: What do the stats tell us about the impacts of COVID-19 on Pacific economies – Q4 2021
Key economic indicators from the final quarter of 2021 indicate an uneven recovery for Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) economies from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new paper from the Pacific
Australia and next steps in the Pacific
Dr Anthony Bergin and Jeffrey Wall The Solomon Islands security agreement with China is a significant setback for Australia and the region. In barely three years Solomon Islands has gone from supporting Taiwan
Opinion: Labor will rebuild Australia’s international development program
Labor’s international development policies will help re-establish Australia as a partner of choice for countries in our region in meeting economic, development, climate and security challenges. These policies will
2022: The Year to Stop the Decline of Ocean Health
OP-ED by Ambassador Peter Thomson, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean NEW YORK, 10 MAY 2022 (UNRCO)— With every breath we take, we are connected to the ocean. The ocean gives us oxygen, provides
Pacific labour mobility growth: winners and losers
One of Scott Morrison’s biggest announcements from last August’s 51st Pacific Islands Forum was to double the number of Pacific workers in Australia by March 2022 to at least 25,000. The government has come close to
Opinion: The world doesn’t care about swings in marginal seats. Climate action must spearhead a new Australian foreign policy
Late last year, more than 100 former diplomats and officials called for a new Australian foreign policy — with climate action at the centre — to help cement Australia’s future in a world rapidly shifting
Comment: Overcoming shocks to create a more resilient, inclusive future for Fiji
Fiji recorded its strongest post-independence period of economic growth in the decade before COVID-19, underpinned by rising productivity and investment, political stability, and a booming tourism industry. While the
Opinion: Global racial justice needs to be at the heart of Australian aid
The Greens’ vision for aid and development sees Australia not just contribute its fair share of Official Development Assistance (ODA), but also reimagines foreign aid, not simply as charity but as an issue of global
Palau’s controversial plan to take climate justice into its own hands
Palau’s waters contain some of the world’s richest marine biodiversity. Critically endangered hawksbill turtles and endangered Napoleon wrasse, which can grow up to six feet long and are known for the distinctive
Prime ministerial incumbency bias in PNG
Central to the selection of the prime minister in Papua New Guinea following a general election is Section 63 of PNG’s Organic Law on Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates (OLIPPAC), which was passed in 2001
Pacific Elders Voice on Climate Security
The Pacific Elders’ Voice reiterates that the primary security threat to the Pacific is climate change. This fact is clearly articulated in the Boe Declaration on Regional Security which states: “We affirm that
Felled by its own Failures – How Australia’s inaction to reform logging in the Solomon Islands has let China in
We have watched these past few weeks as the evolving situation surrounding the Solomon Islands/China security pact has unfolded. It appears that every journalist and political commentator is suddenly an expert in the
Indonesia must allow UN visit before Bali G20 meeting: Benny Wenda on West Papua
LONDON/JAYAPURA — I want to thank all the Pacific Elders for their recent statement supporting a visit to West Papua by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and urging the UN Human Rights Council to pass a
The spiralling debt crisis, and what to do about it
Global debt has reached an unprecedented high, surpassing levels experienced in the infamous 1980s crisis. For debt-burdened countries, the COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted their repayment capacity due to
Time for UBS to come clean on PNG loan
Swiss investment bank, UBS, needs to lift the transparency around how the sovereign lending sausage it sold to the PNG government was made, and what it earned from making it. UBS can respond in one of two ways to the
Canberra’s tired old script has led to a less democratic Solomon Islands and a less secure Australia
China must be hoping that Australia persists in its “business as usual” approach to Solomon Islands. An appeasement policy by Australia towards the Solomons prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, has been outstandingly
