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  • 12 Jun 2025
    • Australia
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea

    Australia-PNG relations at 50: Pride, politics and the price of partnership

    Mihai Sora
    What if more locals decide that Australia is rewarding bad behaviour at the top of PNG’s politics?
  • 4 Jun 2025
    • Aid & Development
    • China
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea

    How Papua New Guinea is rewriting Pacific education partnerships with China and more

    Bernard Yegiora
    District-led programs are driving a new demand for technical degrees and signalling a new agency in foreign relations.
  • 19 May 2025
    • Australia
    • Pacific Islands
    • Fiji
    • Nauru
    • New Zealand
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Solomon Islands
    • Tuvalu
    • Vanuatu

    After listening, what’s Australia’s next move in the Pacific?

    Mihai Sora
    Pacific governments will ultimately judge Australia on concrete actions rather than friendly gestures.
  • 16 May 2025
    • Australia
    • Papua New Guinea

    Why the NRL's numbers don’t add up

    Hugh Piper
    Perth’s NRL plan spotlights the risks of a Papua New Guinea franchise.
  • 5 May 2025
    • Papua New Guinea
    • United States

    A derelict memorial to aviatrix Amelia Earhart reflects America’s selective interest in PNG

    Gordon Peake
    During Trump mark one and Biden, US interest in Papua New Guinea took off; will it continue?‎
  • 12 Mar 2025
    • Australia
    • Defence & Security
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea

    Papua New Guinea: Shhhhh … don’t use the word “Alliance”

    Oliver Nobetau
    PNG’s sovereignty need not come at the cost of the safety and well-being of its own people.
  • 12 Feb 2025
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea

    A “National Interest Analysis” would strengthen PNG’s foreign policymaking

    Patrick Kaiku , Molly Kola
    Robust domestic procedures are crucial, not least to improve public understanding of government actions.
  • 6 Feb 2025
    • Climate change
    • United Nations
    • Pacific Islands
    • China and the Pacific
    • Fiji
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Samoa
    • Solomon Islands

    The global contest for the Pacific

    Michael Wesley
    Geopolitical fears of growing Chinese influence in Oceania are not the only interest Australia has in the region.
  • 5 Feb 2025
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea

    Sir Julius Chan: PNG’s “last man standing”

    Ian Kemish
    Reflecting on a political life championing local development and courting international controversy.
  • 18 Dec 2024
    • Aid & Development
    • China
    • Indonesia
    • Taiwan
    • Russia
    • Trade
    • Climate change
    • Technology
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Solomon Islands
    • United States
    • Southeast Asia

    What I’ll be watching for in 2025

    Susannah Patton , Melanie Pill , Sam Roggeveen , Robert Walker , Mihai Sora , Hilman Palaon , Oliver Nobetau
    Lowy researchers gaze at their crystal balls – with questions, more than answers, for the year ahead.
  • 27 Nov 2024
    • Climate change
    • Technology
    • United Nations
    • Pacific Islands
    • Fiji
    • Nauru
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Samoa
    • Solomon Islands
    • Tonga
    • Tuvalu

    The Pacific disinformation playbook

    Meg Tapia
    A surge in connectivity has exacerbated the region’s challenges, undermining trust in science and government.
  • 28 Oct 2024
    • China
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea

    China’s language diplomacy in Papua New Guinea

    Bernard Yegiora
    Local Mandarin programs are gaining momentum as a tool to foster closer relations.
  • 21 Oct 2024
    • Australia
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea

    PNG’s NRL bid: Making the most of the high-stakes game

    Oliver Nobetau
    Accountability is not just a question for donors but for the recipient country, too.
  • 15 Oct 2024
    • Australia
    • Diplomacy
    • Papua New Guinea

    Three unanswered questions for Australia’s PNG Rugby League dream

    Hugh Piper
    Could Australian diplomacy enter novel terrain: professional sports administration?
  • 14 Oct 2024
    • Aid & Development
    • Australia
    • Papua New Guinea

    How Australia can get better results in Papua New Guinea

    Peter O’Neill
    A former prime minister offers a frank appraisal of the neighbourly relationship.
  • 20 Sep 2024
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea

    The days lost to PNG’s development and economy over votes of no confidence

    Catherine Wilson
    Diminished parliamentary productivity has ramifications not only for the progress of legislation but the well-being of the nation.
  • 16 May 2024
    • Asean
    • China
    • India
    • Southeast Asia
    • Australia
    • Australia's Economy
    • Papua New Guinea

    Economic diplomacy: Budgeting for deglobalisation

    Greg Earl
    Keeping up with the worldwide shift to industry policy is stretching boundaries of both economics and diplomacy.
  • 7 May 2024
    • China
    • Australia
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea

    PNG-China: What’s to gain in any policing deal?

    Oliver Nobetau
    It seems we’ll be hearing more about this prospective arrangement.
  • 2 May 2024
    • Pacific Islands
    • Bougainville
    • Papua New Guinea

    Bougainville’s future: The hard questions

    Oliver Nobetau
    There are good reasons to take time before Bougainville cuts loose from PNG.
  • 18 Apr 2024
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea

    It’s important to acknowledge PNG’s own interests with China

    Michael Kabuni
    And a big part of that is bargaining power with the West.
  • 11 Apr 2024
    • Australia and the Pacific
    • Pacific Islands
    • China and the Pacific
    • Fiji
    • Nauru
    • New Zealand
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Solomon Islands
    • Tonga
    • Tuvalu
    • Vanuatu

    Pacific Engagement Visas: New developments but quotas unknown

    Natasha Turia , Akka Rimon
    Australia’s highly competitive new visa lottery has much leg work to do to make fair allocations between countries.
  • 10 Apr 2024
    • Australia and the Pacific
    • Pacific Islands
    • China and the Pacific
    • Fiji
    • New Zealand
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Solomon Islands

    Solomon Islands: Democracy on the ballot

    Meg Keen , Oliver Nobetau
    Next week, voters will determine not only political leadership but the future of democratic processes.
  • 15 Mar 2024
    • Australia
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Australia and the Pacific
    • Australia's Army
    • Australia's Defence Challenges
    • Australian Defence Force
    • Pacific Islands
    • China and the Pacific
    • Fiji
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Vanuatu

    A “climate defence force” for the Pacific

    Thomas Lonergan
    By harnessing human, environmental and resource security, Canberra can counter Beijing’s coercive tactics in the region.
  • 8 Mar 2024
    • Australia and the Pacific
    • Pacific Islands
    • Fiji
    • Nauru
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Solomon Islands
    • Tonga
    • Tuvalu
    • Sex and Gender

    State of play for Pacific women in 2024

    Jessica Collins
    When the playing field is levelled, the dividends are doubled, both in politics and sport.
  • 23 Feb 2024
    • Climate change
    • Bougainville
    • China and the Pacific
    • Papua New Guinea

    Geopolitics, but what of other Pacific players?

    Nic Maclellan
    Politics is a missing element of a new Lowy Institute assessment.
  • 15 Feb 2024
    • Australia and the Pacific
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea

    The state of play in PNG: A momentous start to 2024

    Oliver Nobetau
    Domestic deals and political spills threaten to overshadow economic progress in the land of the unexpected.
  • 7 Feb 2024
    • Aid & Development
    • Australia
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Sex and Gender

    Whose security is really at stake? Gender must be prioritised in Australia‑PNG security agreement

    Sarah Morley
    More police can’t be the answer when police have long been part of the problem.
  • 7 Feb 2024
    • China
    • Papua New Guinea

    China’s message problem in PNG

    Denghua Zhang , Bernard Yegiora
    Local doubts about mining projects appear at odds with government enthusiasm.
  • 25 Jan 2024
    • Migration
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea

    Practical steps to alleviate Papua New Guinea’s unemployment crisis

    Natasha Turia
    A good start is workable systems to ensure paperwork can be completed in a timely fashion.
  • 19 Jan 2024
    • Australia
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea

    Beyond the try line: What PNG’s NRL team means for development

    Kingtau Mambon , David Poka , Maholopa Laveil
    The plan is to spend big – but is this the right field?
  • 29 Dec 2023
    • Australia
    • Papua New Guinea

    Keeping languages alive in the family

    Hannah Sarvasy
    How many Australians can speak one of Papua New Guinea’s many Indigenous languages – even those who work there?
  • 22 Dec 2023
    • Australia
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea
    • United States

    Why did PNG sign a Defence Cooperation Agreement with the US?

    Patrick Kaiku , Faith Hope Boie
    For Port Moresby, this deal is mainly about modernising PNG’s Defence Force – not a geopolitical ploy.
  • 19 Dec 2023
    • Australia
    • Defence & Security
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea

    Australia–PNG security agreement: A revamp for Pacific partnerships

    Oliver Nobetau
    A technical perspective into the intended operation of the bilateral security deal between the close neighbours.
  • 27 Nov 2023
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea

    Papua New Guinea: Learning the lessons of language

    Hannah Sarvasy
    Preserving PNG’s linguistic kaleidoscope is as much a connection with the past as a path to the future.
  • 23 Nov 2023
    • Technology
    • Pacific Islands
    • China and the Pacific
    • Fiji
    • Nauru
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Solomon Islands
    • Tonga
    • Tuvalu
    • Vanuatu

    Digital dominoes: Australia’s strategic play in the Pacific

    Mihai Sora
    Enhancing the region’s digital connectivity goes beyond influence. It’s about sharing prosperity and security, too.
  • 1 Nov 2023
    • Aid & Development
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea

    Loans, not grants, already proving costly for PNG

    Maholopa Laveil
    The latest Pacific Aid Map shows the PNG debt burden is growing and risks loom on the horizon.
  • 29 Sep 2023
    • Japan
    • Australia and the Pacific
    • Pacific Islands
    • China and the Pacific
    • Fiji
    • Nauru
    • New Zealand
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Solomon Islands
    • Tonga
    • Vanuatu

    Japan risks its reputation in Oceania with Fukushima discharge

    Derek Grossman
    A rollcall of Pacific Island nations have very different views on the release of treated radioactive wastewater.
  • 22 Sep 2023
    • United Nations
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Solomon Islands
    • Tonga
    • Vanuatu
    • United States

    The US–Pacific Islands Partnership, one year on

    Meg Keen , Daniel Mandell
    Recognising that it cannot go it alone, Washington needs to coordinate its development efforts with like-minded partners.    
  • 21 Aug 2023
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea

    Putting a PNG stamp on security

    Meg Keen , Mihai Sora
    As world players jostle for influence, the price of admission may be stronger economic engagement.
  • 16 Aug 2023
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Recommendations

    The Fix: We still really don’t know PNG

    Maholopa Laveil
    Your weekly Interpreter feature about issues, resources or helpful distractions that might otherwise be missed.
  • 2 Aug 2023
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea

    Can PNG afford more debt?

    Maholopa Laveil
    Betting on the potential of future resource wealth has proved a risky strategy. History holds valuable economic lessons.
  • 5 Jul 2023
    • Australia
    • Defence & Security
    • Papua New Guinea
    • United States

    The downsides for Australia from the US‑PNG defence agreement

    Henry Storey
    Sovereignty concerns about the American deal will create additional hurdles for Australia-PNG Defence Treaty currently under negotiation.
  • 29 Jun 2023
    • Bougainville
    • Papua New Guinea

    Bougainville – What’s next?

    Joseph Nobetau
    The 2019 referendum saw an overwhelming vote for independence, but the outcome is still unclear.
  • 8 Jun 2023
    • China
    • Australia and the Pacific
    • Papua New Guinea

    PNG’s trade ties with China are set to strengthen

    Maholopa Laveil
    Canberra has committed to bolstering agriculture assistance, but free trade agreements may leave Australia in second place.
  • 17 May 2023
    • Australia
    • Diplomacy
    • Papua New Guinea
    • United States

    Biden’s trip cancellations reveal pitfalls of a crowded diplomatic calendar

    Daniel Flitton
    Bailing on Australia and PNG highlights the growing risk of disappointment when leaders are clambering to summits here, there, everywhere.
  • 18 Apr 2023
    • Pacific Islands
    • China and the Pacific
    • Melanesia
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Solomon Islands
    • United States

    Not the Indo-Pacific: a Melanesian view on strategic competition

    Patrick Kaiku
    The states of the southwest Pacific are not interested in a zero-sum contest between the United States and China.
  • 23 Mar 2023
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea

    Papua New Guinea: media under threat

    Thierry Lepani
    A new draft government policy is set to put journalistic freedoms to the test.
  • 7 Mar 2023
    • Australia and the Pacific
    • China and the Pacific
    • Papua New Guinea

    PNG voices: regional partnerships must be based on respect

    Andrea Connor , Maholopa Laveil , Leonie Baptiste , Londari Yamarak , Hannah Sarvasy
    Righting perceptions of an asymmetric relationship between PNG and Australia comes down to listening.
  • 1 Mar 2023
    • Australia
    • Papua New Guinea

    Reflections on the 29th Australia-Papua New Guinea Ministerial Forum

    Natasha Turia
    More action led outputs needed.
  • 27 Feb 2023
    • Australia and the Pacific
    • Pacific Islands
    • Papua New Guinea

    Answers needed on the Pacific Engagement Visa

    Akka Rimon , Michael Kabuni , Jope Tarai , Natasha Turia
    Beyond practicalities, it’s unclear whether this is a genuine “Pacific family” partnership or geopolitical convenience?
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