Features

There are no simple public policy solutions that do not have adverse effects. Both the rural politicians and the expert committee have failed to see the effect their proposal would have on the SWP workforce in Australia.

Seasonal Worker Programme Under Threat

By Richard Curtain
Several factors are threatening the viability of the Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP). These include the call for illegal workers in horticulture to be given the right to work via an amnesty, and the effect of the requirement for growers to pay workers overtime.
Vuniivi settlement in Lami, Fiji.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Foreign Aid

By Stephen Brown
Across the Global South, the COVID-19 pandemic has reversed years of socioeconomic progress, disproportionally harming poor people. Low- and lower-middle-income countries in particular are struggling more than ever to find the resources to support their citizens’ health and wellbeing at this time of crisis.
“Change takes time and effort. Youthful enthusiasm is a wonderful thing although I have learnt quickly that influencing policy, legislation and other established societal structures is at best very slow and maybe slow."

“Change Takes Time and Effort”

“Don’t wait for others to drive the change: A lot of people have ideas, a lot of people will come up and give great advice or will criticize you for not doing enough on a certain issue, but not a lot of people are really prepared to do the actual work.”
Casket being sprayed at Momote airport before being released.

COVID-19 and the Haus Krai

By Michelle Nayahamui Rooney
Papua New Guinea’s COVID-19 situation is worsening. As vaccines arrive, PNG battles disinformation, confusion, and resistance to the vaccine.
Following a successful pilot, the SWSAS is now being extended nationwide and operated as a commercial venture by Appello Services.

Supporting NZ’s Seasonal Workers to Remit and Save

By Charlotte Bedford
Since the establishment of the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme in 2007, Pacific seasonal workers in New Zealand have largely been locked out of the benefits of superannuation schemes that facilitate long-term savings for retirement.
The first meeting of the South Pacific Forum in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1971.

Pacific Way(s) and Regionalism

By Tarcisius Kabutaulaka
The tumultuous dispute over the selection of the Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), which led to Micronesian countries deciding to withdraw from the premier regional organisation, provides an opportunity to re-examine the idea and vision of Pacific regionalism and the concept of the “Pacific Way”.
Conspiracy theories are spreading faster than COVID-19 on PNG social media. Posts claim COVID-19 is an invention of the West to control population, that Papua New Guineans are guinea pigs for vaccines and that God is protecting Melanesians from catching the disease.

Social Media “Bullshit” Threatens Control of COVID-19 Outbreak in PNG

By Sue Ahearn
A PNG Member of Parliament died from COVID-19 this week, but it still wasn’t enough to convince many Papua New Guineans that the virus is real and is probably out of control in their country.
President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Hon. Ishmael Toroama.

Good Governance in Bougainville is Being Undermined

By Joseph Nobetau
Supporting good governance is the cornerstone of international development assistance.
The lack of large-scale population-level testing in PNG means numbers estimated could be misleading. Only about 55,000 tests have been conducted so far, in a nation of about 9 million people.

Risks Ahead as COVID-19 Cases Surge in PNG

By Michael Kabuni
A year after the first COVID-19 case was reported in Papua New Guinea, the first week of March 2021 has seen the highest weekly increase in reported cases in the country. This blog summarizes the current situation in PNG, and the risks that lie ahead in tackling the current outbreak.
Chief Eric Gnokro of Lelegia village in front of a pile of illegally felled Tubi logs at Korona, San Jorge.

Pillaging People’s Tubi Trees

By Ofani Eremae
At Korona logging base on San Jorge island in Solomon Islands’ Isabel province, the logging machinery lay quiet.

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