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
Australia
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
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
Commercial kava pilot off to a flying start
When the Australian government gave the green light for a two-year commercial kava pilot program in December last year, “the excitement was palpable,” Australia's Minister for International Development and Pacific,
Australia election: Climate the most important security issue, say military and political leaders
As voters in Australia head to the polls on 21 May, there is increasing debate over the link between climate change and security. Capitalising on the heated debate around the China-Solomon Islands security agreement, a
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
U.S-Solomon Islands bilateral talks a success
On the China-Solomon Islands Security Cooperation, “We have no say on the SI-China agreement. We respect Solomon Islands sovereign decision. There is no misunderstanding,” stated the White House Official.
Australian support for Pacific Commonwealth Games athletes
Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA) is partnering with the Australian Government to support athletes and para-athletes from eleven Pacific nations to prepare for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. CGA President Ben
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
Australia drops mandatory COVID pre-departure test
International travellers entering Australia no longer need to provide evidence of a negative pre-departure COVID-19
Telstra acquires Digicel PNG license rights
PNG's ICT Authority has approved and transferred the license rights of Digicel Pacific to Australian communications giant
Australia asks PM Sogavare to avoid security deal
Australia Minister Zed Seselja met with Prime Minister Sogavare in Honiara, in light of the proposed China-Solomon Islands security
Rethinking Solomon Islands security
It has been an interesting couple of weeks for Solomon Islands, with stories of policing, weapons, replica weapons and a security agreement with China dominating the local and regional media. Let’s start with the
Australia is Preferred Candidate for Rugby World Cup 2029
World Rugby has announced Australia as preferred candidate to host the Rugby World Cup
Australia to provide $258k for Fiji General Election
Australia will contribute $258k to Fiji’s Electoral Commission to support an independent audit of the National Register of
New Pacific workers scheme to deal with “slave labour” conditions
Next month (April) a new scheme for Pacific Islanders to work in Australia’s agricultural industry comes into force, after parliamentary inquiries heard evidence that Pacific Islanders have been exploited and treated
Additional COVID funding postpones aid cuts
Faced with the prospect of another cut to aid while the COVID-19 pandemic continues – and in some ways intensifies in our region – the government has again reached for the “temporary and targeted” lever to avoid
Australia hands over Blackrock as China concerns re-emerge
The opening of the Blackrock Camp in Nadi this month signified the culmination of “close to a A$100 million investment” by the Australian government designed to support Fiji’s peacekeeping and humanitarian
Solomon Islands PM says China security deal ‘ready for signing’
Solomon Islands' PM says a contentious security agreement with Beijing was “ready for
Solomons: Putting a draft security deal with China in local context
A draft MOU between Honiara and Beijing on security related issues has sparked international headlines and worried response from
Australia’s vaccine diplomacy in Pacific islands wards off Beijing: Morrison
Australia has been able to stop an “incursion” by Beijing into the Pacific islands by talking with leaders there weekly and offering vaccine aid, Prime Minister Scott Morrison
Australia’s investment in gender equity
The newly appointed Australian Ambassador for women and girls, Christine Clarke, has marked her debut press conference with a strong message against gender-based
A month on from Tonga’s Tsunami
(TONGA HIGH COMMISSION) One month ago, on the 15th of January 2022, the Kingdom of Tonga suffered from the double catastrophe of the Hunga Tonga – Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption and tsunami on the same day.
