Avoiding a Pacific Lost Decade: Financing the Pacific's COVID-19 Recovery
The Pacific's post-pandemic economic revival will rely on an internationalmulti-year recovery package of grants and loans led by Australia
Friday 22 Jan 2021 | 05:49 | SYDNEY
What's happening on 
Now is the right time to bring Fiji into trans-Pacific bubble talks
It’s peak surf season in Fiji. Usually surfers would come from all over the world to surf the famous “Cloudbreak” and holiday resorts should be packed. But Rendezvous Surf Camp, the launch pad to some of Fiji’s best breaks, excepting four guests, is empty.
One night this week, sitting
Fiji election, from the polling booth
I arrived in Suva six days before the 2018 Fijian election, it was apparent that the country was bracing itself for a tight election contest.
In 2014, Frank Bainimarama’s party, Fiji First, won in an electoral landslide. Its main opponent then, the Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA),
Fiji: elections and the slow path to democracy
It is a busy month for the Pacific islands region. Ten days ago observers watched as an independence vote in New Caledonia came much closer than polling predicted. Prime Minister Scott Morrison delivered a surprise with one of the most significant Australian policy “step ups” in the Pacific in
Fiji and human rights, the limits of influence
Fiji, the country with perhaps the worst human rights record in the Pacific, has just been elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council. The event unfortunately coincided with the death of 26-year-old Josua Lalauvaki, who had been allegedly beaten by police in Suva last month.
As is
By Bruce Hill
Australia outbids China to fund Fiji military base
The competition of who gets to fund the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) Black Rock Camp in Nadi came to close late in August, with Australia coming out on top over China. The RFMF’s chief of staff for co-ordination, Captain Eronia Duaibe, said that Australia’s bid was successful because
Sedition and Pacific media freedom
The decision by a Fiji court last week to acquit four people charged with sedition is a welcome step in the current regional debate over media rights and responsibilities.
The Fijian-language paper Nai Lalakai, part of the Fiji Times group, published a letter by Josaia Waqabaca in
Pacific island links: COP23, PNG corruption, Tonga’s election and more
By Euan Moyle, an intern with the Lowy Institute's Pacific Islands Program.
The crisis on Manus Island continues almost a month after the refugee processing centre officially closed. This powerful photo essay from the New York Times illuminates the situation for Manusians and asylum seekers in the
Pacific links: Solomon Islands PM, PNG’s cabinet, Guam and more
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop addressed an audience in Suva over the weekend to provide more clarity on Australia's new approach to the Pacific, foreshadowed last year by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. James Batley provides excellent analysis for The Interpreter. Papua New Guinea's
Pacific links: Teresia Teawia, PNG’s budget, Fiji Times sedition charges and more
Following on from Tropical Cyclone Debbie, the Pacific region is slated to experience storm activity for the next few weeks. The Pacific has said a sad farewell to trailblazing scholar and poet Dr Teresia Teawia, who passed away last week. Dr Teawia was widely known for her research on Pacific
Through social media, Fiji's youth challenge the political elite
Earlier this month, six Fijians were questioned and later detained by the Fiji Police at Suva’s Central Police Station. Three were leaders of prominent political parties and the group included two former prime ministers, a party member, an NGO leader, and a trade unionist. They were detained after
Fiji’s democracy cracks again
Last weekend Fiji's police force arrested six prominent opponents of the ruling party. Their alleged crime was breaching the Public Order Act by making remarks about the constitution at a conference convened by Pacific Dialogue, an NGO, on Fiji's Constitution Day. The arrests were nothing short of a
Principled engagement: Rebuilding defence ties with Fiji
In this Lowy Institute Analysis, Anna Powles and Jose Sousa-Santos argue that Russia’s sale of arms to Fiji underlines how the security orthodoxy in the Pacific Islands region is changing. Unless Australia and New Zealand adapt to these changing strategic circumstances they will lose influence in
Cyclone Winston recovery: Fiji reminded that proximity matters
Tropical Cyclone Winston made landfall on the two main islands of Fiji, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, as well as a host of smaller nearby islands on February 20. A category five storm with winds up to 315 km per hour, Winston is the most powerful recorded cyclone to strike the Pacific. The death toll
Fiji regroups: Coordination key to effective Cyclone Winston response
This first-hand account from strategic communications adviser Vani Vulaca tells what it was like when Cyclone Winston tore through Fiji, looks at which areas are in most need of aid, and explains the challenging logistics of coordinating disaster relief.
Fiji has had its fair share of tropical
Fiji's democracy takes a hit
By Jenny Hayward-Jones, Director of the Lowy Institute's Melanesia Program, and Alastair Davis, an intern in the Melanesia Program.
The process of rebuilding democracy in Fiji after eight years of military rule has taken a hit in recent weeks. Elections in 2014 engendered a sense of optimism for a
Fiji gets closer to its new friends: Russian arms received by increasingly authoritarian regime
The recent delivery of Russian weapons to Fiji raises many questions, including what they will be used for, how will Fiji's neighbours react, and whether it is a forerunner to an increased military presence by Russia and possibly China. What is certain is the 20-container shipment has shown Fiji's
Russia ships arms to Fiji: What will be the quid pro quo?
By Anna Powles and Jose Sousa-Santos
When the MV Saint Confidence and MV Solidat arrived in Suva Harbour last week to deliver a consignment of donated Russian weapons and equipment to Fiji, it sparked an immediate reaction. opposition MPs and security analysts have made several claims including:
The rebuild Fiji democracy project: set back by threat to police independence
Fiji's 2013 constitution calls for a separation of powers between military and police (Photo: Getty)
Fiji’s Police Commissioner Ben Groenewald ended his contract this week. The official statement from the Fiji government cited personal and family reasons for the Commissioner’s departure,
Freedom of the press in Fiji under pressure
Fiji held its highly anticipated election in September 2014, but does that make it a democracy?
There's much more to a functioning democratic system than people putting a mark on a piece of paper and dropping it in a box. Even the international election observers didn't go so far as to say the
By Bruce Hill
Fiji grabs the limelight as leaders of China and India visit
Jenny Hayward-Jones is Director of the Lowy Institute's Melanesia Program and Philippa Brant is a Research Associate at the Lowy Institute.
Pacific Island leaders have had the rare opportunity to meet the international leader of the moment, Narendra Modi, and the president of the world's
Chinese aid in Fiji coming under new pressures
I was in Fiji last week to get an update on Chinese assistance to the country, as part of a larger project I'm doing mapping Chinese aid activities in the Pacific islands, to be launched in early 2015.
Navua Hospital, built with Chinese aid assistance, Fiji. (Author photo)
Fiji is becoming
Fiji: Building a constitutional and parliamentary culture
Fiji's return to parliamentary government, following elections deemed credible by international observers and the first meeting of the new parliament, is cause for celebration. But much remains to be done to consolidate democracy under the new constitution. Both the incoming Government and the
In Fiji, Bainimarama is back, stronger than ever
The Fiji elections have delivered a crushing victory for Rear Admiral (Retd) Bainimarama, author of the 2006 coup.
The victory was crushing not only for FijiFirst, Bainimarama's party, but also for him personally. FijiFirst received 293,714 out of 496,364 votes cast, giving the party 59.20% of the
By Alex Stewart
Fiji's elections: Four lessons for Australian diplomacy
Now that Fiji has held its first elections in eight years, it is time to take stock of the lessons for Australian diplomacy. These lessons should inform Australia's approach to the Pacific island region, including in responses to future political upheaval, which is all but certain to take place.
Democracy in Fiji: Two reasons to worry, two reasons to be confident
The count in Fiji's elections is well underway following a smooth, apparently trouble-free poll yesterday. Provisional results are expected today, with the process of allocating seats in parliament to follow. It seems likely that FijiFirst, the party of incumbent Prime Minister
Fiji's election: More to do to restore democracy
After eight years of Voreqe Bainimarama's military rule in Fiji, there is much excitement about the prospects for Fiji's return to democracy with elections next week. Seven parties and one independent candidate will contest 50 parliamentary seats. 591,095 Fijians have registered to vote; 120,000
Fiji's election: Fair and free?
On 17 September, Fiji goes to the polls for the first time in eight years. This is a notable step forward given that, when I spoke to people in Suva a year ago, they were still phrasing things in terms of 'IF the election happens'. With the first pre-polling stations having opened a few days ago,
By Alex Stewart
Fiji elections: What about the economy?
During the time Fiji has been governed by the military, there has been much discussion about the impact of the political situation on economic performance. Satish Chand has argued that each coup Fiji has experienced has pushed the economy back three years, and that the aggregate erosion of the
Fiji's election: Women make their mark
By Jojiana Cokanasiga, an intern in the Lowy Institute's Melanesia Program. She is completing a Masters in Applied Anthropology and Participatory Development at the Australian National University.
Lawyers, entrepreneurs, academics and civil servants are some of the female
How Fiji outsmarted Australia
Last Friday Fijian Interim Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama began his first visit to Australia since taking power in 2006. In response to the 2006 coup, Canberra had imposed travel bans for all members of the Fijian government. These were abandoned earlier this year by the Abbott Government.
By Alex Stewart
Rights abuses continue in Fiji
Every year over 400,000 tourists flock to the pristine islands of Fiji, its celestial exterior barely revealing a turbulent political past. Fiji has been without an elected government since Rear Admiral Voreqe Bainimarama seized power in a December 2006 military coup.
That coup was the fourth the
Fiji: A flurry of election activity
It has been standard practice for a while that the interim government of Fiji and its leader, Rear Admiral JV Bainimarama, makes big announcements late in the day or during weekends. Last weekend proved no exception.
On Friday, we learned that the first elections to be held in
Fiji: Bainimarama steps down, but military still waits in wings
Almost eight years after assuming power in Fiji, Voreque Bainimarama has fulfilled his own government decree regarding the separation of military and state. On 5 March, Bainimarama stepped down as Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces. He remains in power, but that
By Jas Kaur
Australia-Fiji relations: Bishop's game-changer
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop sprang a surprise on Australia's Fiji watchers last Friday. She not only pulled off what looked like a friendly meeting with Fiji's authoritarian prime minister but also revealed she would soon be normalising relations with Fiji, officially in the freezer
Bishop in Fiji: Can Bainimarama grasp the opportunity?
This is an important moment for Fiji.
Today Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop makes her first visit to Fiji as part of the Pacific Islands Forum's Ministerial Contact Group. Foreign ministers from Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tuvalu and Vanuatu are due to meet Fiji's
Fiji: An election in 2014 and Bainimarama will stand
In what may be the clearest sign yet that Fiji Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama (pictured) intends to make good on his promise to hold elections in 2014, he has announced that he will resign as head of the military on 28 February and stand for election.
Bainimarama has promised that his
Reader riposte: Fiji's politics
John Caldeira writes:
Your article on the current Fiji political situation is quite biased and poorly researched. Compared to the racist and corrupt governments of the past, the current government in Fiji has been a godsend. Not perfect. Everyone would like to choose their political leadership by
PNG Pacific leadership: Is Fiji the start?
Donald Gumbis is a Lecturer in Political Science at the University of Goroka and a Lowy Institute intern.
Prime Minister Peter O'Neill (pictured) is acutely aware of the need to improve PNG's international reputation. Part of his plan to do this is to step up PNG's activities as a regional
Fiji constitutional referendum? Unlikely
Fiji Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has released the much anticipated Fiji draft constitution, an extensive revision of the 2012 draft released by the Constitutional Commission, led by international constitutional law scholar Yash Ghai.
The draft constitution marks a milestone in