Covid-19’s toll on Papua New Guinea

Covid-19 has triggered cascading impacts in PNG’s health, economic, social, civil and administrative sectors while undermining the government’s capacity to address them.

Australia’s foreign aid is shaped by domestic politics

The Pacific Step-up is billed as one of the “highest foreign policy priorities” of Australia, however, unfavourable domestic political forces have shaped Australia’s foreign aid budget, shrinking its overall size for the past decade.

Building resilience to economic coercion in the Pacific

Economic rather than military might pose the gravest threat to the Indo-Pacific island states as China’s President Xi Jinping is aggressively using China’s growing economic power to achieve secure his strategic aims.

Keeping eyes on Pacific water quality from afar

A Griffith University researcher has overcome a key challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to lead a monitoring program in Vanuatu aiming to improve the water quality of a popular lagoon used for fishing and swimming.

High tension cables

Undersea internet cables connect Pacific islands to the world but growing geopolitical tensions between the United States and China is tugging at the wires.

Spotlight on gender-based violence in PNG

Violence against women is a wicked policy problem that plagues governments across the world. Papua New Guinea is no exception, indeed it has some of the highest rates of violence against women in the world.

Sharing information across the Pacific

A regional maritime information centre for the Pacific would provide a one-stop shop for data about threats in this vital maritime domain.

Fiji walks the tightrope between the USA and China

With the resurgence of COVID-19, Fiji once again sees itself at the centre of great power rivalry as assistance arrives from both the United States and China.

Samoa’s first female prime minister takes charge

After a long political stand-off, Naomi Mata’afa Fiame has become the first woman prime minister of Samoa, and the second-ever woman head of government in the Pacific islands region.

Tides that bind: Australia in the Pacific

In his new book, “Tides that Bind: Australia in the Pacific”, ALP Deputy Leader Richard Marles urges Australians to build better relationships with our friends in the Pacific, boost regional development and maintain peace in the region.

France in the Pacific

In a speech made during a visit to French Polynesia, French President Emmanuel Macron underlined the benefits of French protection in the region, within the framework of France’s Indo-Pacific strategy and with New Caledonia’s impending independence vote in mind.

Supporting a ‘blue recovery’ in the Pacific: GAP Summit report

The inaugural GAP Summit for the Pacific and Small Island Nations called for new public-private partnerships between Australia and the Pacific that should stem from realising the true value of the Pacific’s societies and environment.