Features

Pacific communities have been able to turn to traditional culture and customary systems in order to support livelihoods and wellbeing during the pandemic.

Culture as a Foundation for Development in the Pacific

By Dr. APISALOME MOVONO and Dr. REGINA SCHEYVENS
During the pandemic there have been extraordinary signs of resilience in Pacific Island states. This is despite the economic hardship caused by over two years of border closures in some countries.
Regarding Pacific Islands’ positions on China, some elites have called for a collective approach to increase Pacific unity and voice. Back in February 2019, then-Pacific Islands Forum secretary general Dame Meg Taylor urged member countries to refrain from considering their own bilateral gains only and to take a collective approach on China.

Pacific Islands Adjusting Their Policies On China?

By Denghua Zhang
Geostrategic competition between China and traditional powers is intensifying in the Pacific. A closer look at the proposed agreements will reveal much about China’s motives and can help explain Pacific Islands’ refusal to enter into the agreements.
“We're fighting against extinction at this point” Kelly adds. “But there’s still hope and enough turtles, we believe, that the western Pacific leatherback population can recover. We haven't hit the tipping point, yet.”

Solomon Islands First Female Rangers Help Save Leatherback Turtles

Sasakolo beach looks like any other in the South Pacific: a strip of sand buttressed by coconut palms, low green hill rising in the distance.
Under the Rudd government a pilot scheme for up to 2,500 seasonal workers per year from Kiribati, PNG, Tonga and Vanuatu was implemented. The scheme was made permanent in 2012 as the Seasonal Worker Program (SWP).

Australia and New Zealand in the Pacific: the Difference is Migration Policy

By Patrick Köllner
During her recent visit to Fiji, new Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced that the Australian government would create a Pacific Engagement Visa, providing a pathway to permanent residency for Pacific Islanders and their families.
Mr. Evans has more than 40 years of sustainable development and climate change experience with various multilateral development banks, private organizations, and other international organizations.

ADB Appoints Warren Evans as Special Senior Advisor for Climate Change

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) today announced the appointment of Warren Evans as Special Senior Advisor (Climate Change), Office of the President.
Australia can and should provide a lead in the Pacific region in advancing new policies to work with partners to enhance outcomes for the region, using the vehicles of skilling and labour mobility.

A Proposal For a New Regional Compact to Promote People Mobility

By Richard Curtain, Ryan Edwards, Massimiliano Tani Bertuol and Glenn Withers
The call for Australia to offer more labour mobility access to the Pacific has been a common theme of commentators (e.g. from the Lowy Interpreter and ASPI Strategist), as a key part of a response to recent geopolitical maneuvering in the Pacific.
Wang’s withdrawal of the proposed agreement and several Pacific Island countries’ tepid response to it dominated headlines during Wang’s trip.

Four Takeaways From China’s Tour of the Pacific Islands

By Jennifer Staats, Ph.D.
As U.S.-China competition in the region heats up, Pacific Island nations want to ensure engagement with both powers is on their own terms.
"We will ensure that those Pacific Islanders who come to work in Australia are treated fairly – with better conditions. We will allow workers to bring their families. And we will create the Pacific Engagement Visa – to provide a pathway to permanency for 3,000 members of our Pacific family per year."

New Australian Government Confirms its New Pacific Migration Policies

By Evie Sharman
Australia’s new foreign minister Penny Wong has wasted no time visiting Fiji, Samoa and Tonga in a whirlwind tour, in which she outlined the incoming Labor government’s new Pacific migration policies.
The launch also showcased a performance by members of the Dreamcast theatre group which highlighted key issues communities face and linked how communities can use the platform to address such issues.

PSO Launches Mobile Platform for Legal Information Through Multi-stakeholder Partnership

The launch of a new mobile platform by the Public Solicitor’s Office (PSO) means that over 460,000 mobile users in Solomon Islands, representing 66.3 percent of the population, will be able to access legal information at their own convenience from their own communities.
The launch of the PSO website coincided with a PSO office tour showcasing a refurbished office space, enhancing both the work environment for PSO staff and the consultation environment for clients.

Solomon Islands PSO Digitalization Enhances Inclusive Access to Legal Information

A new website for the Public Solicitor’s Office (PSO) will make free legal information available to support Solomon Islanders address their justice issues.

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