15 May 2025
Pacific health systems: Breaking the aid dependency cycle
Donor dependency is not a path to health sovereignty in the region.
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2 May 2025
Bursting the Solomon Islands stability bubble
A mass cabinet exodus sets up another leadership change amid shifting Chinese influence in the Pacific nation. -
1 May 2025
What the Pacific sees at stake in the Australian election
Climate policy, aid and regional respect hang in the balance. -
14 Mar 2025
Sunk costs: Pacific shipwrecks and the urgent call for the Nairobi Convention
An international accord to clean up shipwrecks and other waste from commerce on the high seas already exists. The region should get on board. -
12 Mar 2025
Papua New Guinea: Shhhhh … don’t use the word “Alliance”
PNG’s sovereignty need not come at the cost of the safety and well-being of its own people. -
3 Mar 2025
New Caledonia: A small step forward
The first comprehensive talks in four years at least sees the parties together in the restive territory. -
3 Mar 2025
Is this the end of aid as we know it?
The task for Western aid is not to rebuild what existed before, but to reduce dependency altogether. -
24 Feb 2025
New Caledonia: A troubled France seeks agreement about the future
With local elections overdue against the backdrop of recent strife comes the latest pitch for peace. -
17 Feb 2025
What the Pacific has said about Trump’s Paris pull-out
Listen to the region and the message is clear – wrong way, go back. -
12 Feb 2025
A “National Interest Analysis” would strengthen PNG’s foreign policymaking
Robust domestic procedures are crucial, not least to improve public understanding of government actions. -
6 Feb 2025
The global contest for the Pacific
Geopolitical fears of growing Chinese influence in Oceania are not the only interest Australia has in the region. -
5 Feb 2025
Sir Julius Chan: PNG’s “last man standing”
Reflecting on a political life championing local development and courting international controversy. -
3 Feb 2025
Strong leader preferred – Fiji’s coup legacy
Complete democratisation will remain a challenge for Fiji while former military officers continue to dominate politics. -
3 Feb 2025
The deadly consequences of disinformation in the Pacific
International partners, including Australia and India, are well placed to counter the scourge. -
17 Jan 2025
Trump’s climate retreat will cost America influence in the Pacific
So much for the solemn declarations of “family”. -
16 Jan 2025
A looming police shortage in the Pacific: Drug use can cripple a male workforce
The labour and public health consequences from expanding drugs surge in the region must be acted upon. -
13 Jan 2025
The case to keep guns out of police hands in Solomon Islands
In a country where trust in the police is already fragile, bringing in more weapons won’t help. -
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20 Dec 2024
Trump’s relations with the Blue Pacific
The second Trump administration will find a region different from when last in office. -
19 Dec 2024
Vanuatu: The challenge to build back
A crippling earthquake will test Vanuatu’s already fragile political and economic system. -
18 Dec 2024
Votes of no confidence at a time of permanent contest: A Pacific Islands year in review
With so much global attention on the region, little shifts can have big ramifications. -
11 Dec 2024
Australia’s new chequebook diplomacy in the Pacific
The potential for a bidding war should be acknowledged. -
11 Dec 2024
An ounce of prevention: Nauru deal puts defence spending in a different light
Australia’s Nauru deal is a victory for preventive diplomacy, closing off any possibility of a Chinese security presence. -
10 Dec 2024
New treaty ties Nauru to Australia via banks, security and telecommunications
But the “permanent state of contest” in the Pacific appears set to continue. -
4 Dec 2024
“Narco-subs” in the Pacific demonstrates need for effective maritime security cooperation
Criminals are always looking for an edge. Listening to what the Pacific needs and coordinating maritime security responses will help blunt the threat. -
29 Nov 2024
Australia’s banking on the Pacific
Making money in the region is not easy. But links to international finance are essential. -
27 Nov 2024
The Pacific disinformation playbook
A surge in connectivity has exacerbated the region’s challenges, undermining trust in science and government. -
7 Nov 2024
Fake kidnaps and real dangers of disinformation in Pacific Islands
Islanders have long joked about “coconut wireless” storytelling – but more understanding of these networks is needed in the digital age. -
1 Nov 2024
An all-male Pacific peace mission to New Caledonia excludes women’s voices in the crisis
Women are being made invisible, yet their actions are consequential. -
30 Oct 2024
The Translator: What is "strategic infrastructure"?
Building lines of influence in the Pacific. -
29 Oct 2024
Pacific Islands need stronger corrections systems to address transnational and organised crime
Rehabilitation is too often a forgotten arena in regional efforts. -
28 Oct 2024
China’s language diplomacy in Papua New Guinea
Local Mandarin programs are gaining momentum as a tool to foster closer relations. -
23 Oct 2024
Biases within the capital flows to the Pacific
A pervasive power imbalance stops the small steps needed for better aid outcomes in the region. -
23 Oct 2024
The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme is helping some workers but harming others – it needs to be reformed
Lopsided economic benefits are intimately linked to prevailing conditions of employment. -
21 Oct 2024
PNG’s NRL bid: Making the most of the high-stakes game
Accountability is not just a question for donors but for the recipient country, too. -
18 Oct 2024
Can Australia’s new Humanitarian Policy deliver?
The effort is laudable, and a step in the right direction, with more ambition and local engagement needed. -
17 Oct 2024
Samoa: The Switzerland of the Pacific
With CHOGM leaders about to touch down in Apia, the nation’s mandate for peace and non-violence will be on show. -
4 Oct 2024
Paris offers signs of hope for New Caledonia
Recent government statements represent a major conciliatory effort by France. -
2 Oct 2024
Kamala Harris and the Pacific Islands
Pacific Island countries want to hear more from the Democratic nominee about how she will support the region. -
20 Sep 2024
The days lost to PNG’s development and economy over votes of no confidence
Diminished parliamentary productivity has ramifications not only for the progress of legislation but the well-being of the nation. -
20 Sep 2024
Reducing the role of cash in Pacific Island economies
From QR codes to mobile wallets, innovative tech solutions can help the region transition its financial ecosystem. -
12 Sep 2024
The real risks of exploitation for Pacific workers in Australia
While neither blackbirding nor systemic modern slavery, the PALM scheme has many loopholes that should be addressed. -
10 Sep 2024
Beijing’s "one-China principle" is spreading
It is untrue that Taiwan is an "inalienable part" of China, but that's not stopping governments from Kiribati to Honduras from saying it. -
6 Sep 2024
Tonga and His Majesty’s Armed Forces: A military made for peace
This Pacific country avoided colonisation not by force, but by adopting the trappings of state. A next step awaits. -
30 Aug 2024
Long-range leaders in Melanesia: Why you need to know about them
Carefully mixing metaphors helps to understand a crucial yet underappreciated actor in Pacific politics. -
28 Aug 2024
The Falepili Union: A Pacific response to the greatest global challenges
A world-first treaty with Australia ensures Tuvalu’s statehood will continue, even in the face of a climate catastrophe. -
26 Aug 2024
The down-low on deportations and drugs in Tonga
The practice by Australia of sending criminals back to their home country can pose a risk to regional security without the proper reintegration support. -
21 Aug 2024
Australia takes a big first step to engage civil society in foreign policy
With a new multi-million dollar fund, Canberra underscores the importance of robust and transparent democracy. -
21 Aug 2024
Polycrisis in the Pacific: How leaders will respond at the PIF Summit in Tonga
A tiny capital will be host to a huge regional agenda. -
13 Aug 2024
Where to for Australia’s First Nations Foreign Policy?
The climate is right to make environmental diplomacy a centrepiece of this new approach to the world.