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.
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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. -
29 Nov 2024
Australia’s banking on the Pacific
Making money in the region is not easy. But links to international finance are essential. -
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. -
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. -
8 Aug 2024
Economic diplomacy: Banking on the Pacific
Rebuilding regional banking is unlikely to pay dividends without an underlying business revival. -
3 May 2024
Can Solomon Islands’ new prime minister really be friends to all?
The success of the PM’s premiership will depend on his approach to pressing domestic problems as much as issues of national sovereignty. -
15 Apr 2024
Western banks are vacating the Pacific, and Nauru is turning to China
Financial risks are causing Western banks to flee the region, leaving a void for China to fill. -
11 Apr 2024
Pacific Engagement Visas: New developments but quotas unknown
Australia’s highly competitive new visa lottery has much leg work to do to make fair allocations between countries. -
11 Apr 2024
The Translator: “Like-minded countries”
A new series in which experts explain the sometimes baffling jargon of international affairs. -
10 Apr 2024
Solomon Islands: Democracy on the ballot
Next week, voters will determine not only political leadership but the future of democratic processes. -
22 Mar 2024
Green transition: Supercharging a sustainable future for the Asia‑Pacific
An ambitious path of competition and collaboration with China would ensure the region’s economic non-dependence. -
15 Mar 2024
A “climate defence force” for the Pacific
By harnessing human, environmental and resource security, Canberra can counter Beijing’s coercive tactics in the region. -
8 Mar 2024
State of play for Pacific women in 2024
When the playing field is levelled, the dividends are doubled, both in politics and sport. -
23 Feb 2024
The bigger political game in the Pacific
It’s true there are many actors and issues unfolding in the region, but Australia, the United States and China play a central role in driving aid and strategic competition. -
15 Feb 2024
The state of play in PNG: A momentous start to 2024
Domestic deals and political spills threaten to overshadow economic progress in the land of the unexpected. -
15 Dec 2023
Gains, pains, and dubious claims from the Pacific Labour Mobility Survey
The large-scale survey produced limited data on complex issues and is no substitute for culturally appropriate social research. -
31 Oct 2023
Infrastructure for influence: Pacific Islands building spree
Even with stabilising debt and higher revenues, the region’s needs still outpace funding. Partnerships are key. -
31 Oct 2023
Pacific aid enters a new era
The latest Lowy Institute Pacific Aid Map demonstrates that there is no going back to the way things were. -
17 Oct 2023
Empowering women in the Pacific: A collaborative effort to confront online abuse
A regional symposium was an important step in tackling technology-facilitated gender-based violence. -
29 Sep 2023
Japan risks its reputation in Oceania with Fukushima discharge
A rollcall of Pacific Island nations have very different views on the release of treated radioactive wastewater. -
14 Aug 2023
What does the new International Development Policy mean for the Pacific?
Australia has outlined its case for being the preferred regional partner, but the Pacific needs less talk and more action. -
18 Jul 2023
A Pacific power play could prove the Quad’s relevance
Off-grid households across the region are desperate for electricity that doesn’t come with (China's) strings attached. -
23 Jun 2023
Bracing for 3000 Pacific Engagement Visas
Australia’s new permanent resident scheme must prioritise the people of the Blue Pacific who will be most impacted. -
8 Jun 2023
PNG’s trade ties with China are set to strengthen
Canberra has committed to bolstering agriculture assistance, but free trade agreements may leave Australia in second place. -
7 Mar 2023
PNG voices: regional partnerships must be based on respect
Righting perceptions of an asymmetric relationship between PNG and Australia comes down to listening. -
27 Feb 2023
Answers needed on the Pacific Engagement Visa
Beyond practicalities, it’s unclear whether this is a genuine “Pacific family” partnership or geopolitical convenience? -
24 Feb 2023
The Australia-New Zealand alliance in a war with China
The potential for conflict in the region should have Canberra and Wellington thinking about shared strategic risks. -
25 Jan 2023
Chinese aid to the Pacific: decreasing, but not disappearing
With fewer Chinese finances available and less demand from Pacific countries, geopolitical competition is opening up. -
19 Jan 2023
Weaving webs of statecraft in the Pacific Islands
Gaining influence in the region is about tools and techniques, not just the actors. -
28 Nov 2022
Confident, competent, inconsistent: Australia’s strategic personality
Canberra’s report card receives a solid “pleasing result” on Southeast Asia, but a “could do better” on the Pacific. -
11 Oct 2022
The Global Fragility Act in PNG: can the US succeed?
A seemingly radical approach that relies on prevention and relinquishing control may be a foreign policy game-changer. -
4 Oct 2022
Building a better development finance institution: Australia’s opportunity
Canberra can learn a lot about risk appetite and the culture of financing from those already in the space. -
27 Jun 2022
Pacific labour mobility and the existential threat of climate change
Australia needs to walk the walk on emissions, migration targets and resettlements to make itself a good neighbour. -
27 May 2022
Labor’s Pacific plan: ticking the economic box
Tightening up on fees charged for remittances will ensure millions of dollars get to households across the region. -
26 Apr 2022
Fixing Australia’s failing Pacific Step-up strategy
Supporting domestic interest groups in the region will bring success, and should be high on Canberra’s “to do” list. -
24 Mar 2022
Climate change in the Pacific – what Australia needs to do
Canberra’s insipid approach to climate action undermines trust and endangers vital interests close to home. -
17 Feb 2022
The Pacific Islands become collateral damage on drug superhighway
Australia and New Zealand must address the fallout from an appetite for illicit drugs. The Pacific is relying on it. -
15 Oct 2021
France-Australia: Welcome back, Your Excellency, urgent matters await
AUKUS was a blow to Australia’s French romance but the Pacific region needs the two regional powers to kiss and make up. -
7 Oct 2021
Pacific Step-Up needs a Covid-era reboot
Australia must bolster its vaccine assistance with practical fixes, starting with energy and cold-storage solutions. -
24 Sep 2021
AUKUS: France’s strategic outcry
After the drama of recalled ambassadors in the wake of a new Indo-Pacific strategic deal, it’s time for dialogue. -
23 Sep 2021
Economic diplomacy: After AUKUS in trade, aid and technology
Commercial links may be China’s response to the submarine deal. -
11 Aug 2021
Pacific needs partnership, not just leadership
Richard Marles on a multidimensional regional challenge, from aid and migration to climate change and strategic denial. -
15 Jul 2021
Economic diplomacy: Little Australia spends slowly in the Pacific
Can a step-up speed up? And what of the economic and cultural benefits of migration in Covid times? -
2 Jul 2021
Forgiveness not permission: A feminist foreign policy
If Australia wants to adopt a values-based approach to the world, the next step is obvious. -
21 Jun 2021
The risks of escalating strategic competition in the Pacific Islands
Becoming tangled in power politics can create divisions between – as well as within – nations across the region. -
20 Apr 2021
Accountability is the path to better governance in PNG
A more inclusive environment and more responsive public-service initiatives will lessen the citizen-state divide. -
26 Mar 2021
Facebook’s monopoly danger in the Pacific
The social media giant’s move to “unfriend” Australia highlighted complex threats to information security in the region. -
1 Dec 2020
The UK’s unwelcome foreign aid cut
Amid a pandemic and shifting geopolitics, the aid budget was a victim of its own size – and domestic pressures. -
24 Nov 2020
PNG budget: Pluses and minuses
A spending surge aims to steer the economy out of crisis, but high debt and heavy interest pose another risk.