PM Fiame, supported by the Speaker of the House, has survived an attack on her leadership from within her own party, but further instability is likely.| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
Asofou So’o & Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson look at what's next for Samoa after PM Fiame Naomi Mata‘afa's government splintered, and then collapsed.| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
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These diverses films leave will Australians better informed about West Papua, its history and current developments, says 'Alopi Latukefu.| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
Regardless of your view of US President Donald Trump, it is undeniable that his record of using his particular style of personalist and populist politics to bend the established norms, institutions and administrative machinery of the US state to his will has been much more successful during his second term than during his first. In ... Read moreDisclosure This research was undertaken with the support of the Gates Foundation. The views are those of the author only. About the author/s Cameron ...| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
Productivity is the single most important driver of long-term wage growth, improvements in living standards and national competitiveness. Yet, until now, Papua New Guinea has lacked robust, sector-specific measures of productivity to guide wage setting and economic policy. A new study, the first of its kind, fills that gap. Commissioned by the Employers Federation of ... Read moreAbout the author/s Martin Davies Martin Davies is Professor of Economics at Washington and Lee University, Visitin...| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
This is the third article in the four-part Beyond aid: new directions in development finance series on the key debates at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), which was held in Seville, Spain in June 2025. FfD4 offered many reminders of how far the global development finance architecture has shifted in the ... Read moreDisclosure This series is based on research funded by the Asia Foundation. The views expressed are those of the authors only. About the auth...| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
Pandemic preparedness must be at the forefront of political attention globally. Every country — low-, middle- and high-income — must be actively preparing for the risk of another pandemic. But preparedness cannot happen in isolation. A key element of preparedness is global cooperation, ensuring no country is left behind when the next pandemic strikes. The ... Read moreAbout the author/s Michel Kazatchkine Michel Kazatchkine is a member of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness a...| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
On 4 June 2025, with the support of the Shifting the Power Coalition and ActionAid Australia, I had the honour of presenting a heartfelt testimonial about our work at the Hauskuk Initiative — through the power of poetry — during a high-level, multi-stakeholder plenary session titled “Leave No One Behind” at the 8th Session of ... Read moreAbout the author/s Naomi Woyengu Naomi Woyengu is the Founder and Executive Director of the Hauskuk Initiative Association based in Madang, PNG, whi...| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
In the Pacific, food is more than sustenance — it is identity, culture and community. Yet for many Samoan families, food has increasingly become a source of concern rather than comfort. In Samoa, the Cost of the Diet Analysis in Samoa report, by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the United Nations World Food ... Read moreAbout the author/s Alpha Bah Alpha Bah is Representative and Country Director of the United Nations World Food Programme's Pacific Office. Seuseu Joseph Tauati ...| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
Kanji Watanabe, the senior Japanese bureaucrat who is the central character in Akira Kurosawa’s movie Ikiru, learns he has terminal cancer. After decades of stamping meaningless files, he realises he has achieved nothing satisfactory in his life. In one harrowing scene, he sits in the dark while his son and daughter-in-law discuss his death, not with ... Read moreAbout the author/s Galib Mahmud Pasha Galib Mahmud Pasha is a postgraduate student at the Australian National University. He is ...| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
A person I respect deeply uses the phrase “soft bigotry of low expectations” to describe problems besetting Papua New Guineans working in the development sector. In other words, there is a pernicious assumption that Papua New Guineans are capable of less because of their background and they can get patronised to high heaven when they ... Read moreAbout the author/s Gordon Peake Gordon Peake is a writer, podcaster and consultant, and a campus visitor at the Development Policy Centre. His f...| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
This is the second post in the four-part Beyond aid: new directions in development finance series on the key debates at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), which was held in Seville, Spain during June 2025. One of the central issues at FfD4 was the mounting international debt crisis. The OECD estimates ... Read moreDisclosure This series is based on research funded by the Asia Foundation. The views expressed are those of the authors only. About the author/...| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
In Indonesia, every president carries a nickname reflecting how they wish to be remembered or how their supporters choose to frame them. Sukarno, the nation’s first president, is still celebrated as the Father of Proclamation for his role in declaring independence. Suharto, who followed him, became known as the Father of Development as well as ... Read moreAbout the author/s Garry Rosario da Gama Garry Rosario da Gama is a PhD student at Crawford School of Public Policy. His research is foc...| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
In August, we published a progress report on how the successful Pacific Engagement Visa (PEV) 2024 ballot applicants had fared, but at that time we only had data up to April. Now we have more recent data from the Department of Home Affairs, up to end of July. (Note that we are writing exclusively about ... Read moreDisclosure This research was supported by the Pacific Research Program, with funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The views are those of the authors only. Abou...| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
The 13 September editorial in the newspaper The Australian, provocatively titled “China’s Cultural Revolution forced on to the Solomons”, framed Solomon Islands’ adoption of aspects of China’s “Fengqiao Experience” as a lurch towards authoritarianism. It raised legitimate concerns about surveillance, policing experiments and the erosion of freedom. Yet, in concentrating almost entirely on Beijing’s role, the ... Read moreDisclosure The author is currently employed by the Offi...| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
When Cameron Hill posted a link to this year’s Australian aid attitudes blog on LinkedIn, a commenter suggested the data showed that support for aid was rising over time. As I read that I thought to myself, “you’re seeing things”. Needless to say, I was wrong. They weren’t seeing things. I was missing them. Bar ... Read moreDisclosure This research was undertaken with the support of the Gates Foundation. The views represent those of the authors only. About the author/s Terence Wood...| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
Most of the energy at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development was found at the side events.| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
Australian aid | PNG and the Pacific | Global development policy| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
The notion of “locally led development” should be reserved for leader-led development through local communities, civil society, churches, small businesses and Indigenous NGOs; something that pre-exists and endures independently of external aid, regardless of the benefits it derives from such aid. DFAT released its Guidance Note on Locally Led Development last year to critical acclaim, ... Read moreAbout the author/s Mark Moran Mark Moran PhD is a development effectiveness analyst, writer ...| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
The Seasonal Worker Program (SWP), now under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme as its “short-term” stream, was launched in 2012 with two objectives: “to contribute to economic development in partner Pacific countries” and “to provide benefits to Australian employers and the domestic economy”. There is ample evidence to assess the SWP against its ... Read moreDisclosure This research was supported by the Pacific Research Program, with funding from the Department ...| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
With the golden jubilee celebrations having just passed, Papua New Guinea is equal parts festive and reflective. The national broadcasters have played their part in fostering the latter: screening history-themed documentaries and news segments in between the comprehensive live coverage of official events across the nation’s capital. Universities and training centres such as the Somare ... Read moreDisclosure Funding for the Revitalising the PNG Dictionary of Biography project is provided by...| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
Australian aid Australia has been supported by over 100 other countries at the 80th United Nations General Assembly session in New York at the launch of a new global Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel. Foreign Minister Penny Wong also announced $15 million in funding to support “new, concrete measures to keep humanitarian personnel ... Read moreDisclosure Material for this update has been collected by Devpol staff; editorial responsibility lies with Cameron Hill. Devpo...| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
As Papua New Guinea celebrates 50 years of independence, we reflect on progress made in improving health and strengthening relationships. Our experience through a major program on maternal and child health, Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies (HMHB), is that having strong, resilient health systems is a key foundation for independence — and the partnerships that sustain ... Read moreAbout the author/s James Beeson Professor James Beeson is a Deputy Director (Research Strategy) and Head of the Mal...| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
Polopa means “go ahead, I will come after you”. It is the name given to the Polopa-speaking people of the Southern Highlands Province — a population of about 10,000 people living in the Erave local level government area. They live in nine council wards: Kerabi, Balowei, Tiri, Waraga, Waposale, Kele, Puputau (Mt Tawa), Sirigi and Sopuse. ... Read moreAbout the author/s Busa Jeremiah Wenogo Busa Jeremiah Wenogo is a Papua New Guinean development economist who specialises in issues relati...| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
The delay on the Australia-PNG Pukpuk security treaty invites consideration of the risks of disproportionate investment in defence, says Michael Kabuni.| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
Keith Jackson remembers deceased PNG historian and politician John Wako, an actor in and chronicler of PNG' shifting fortunes before and after independence.| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
The story of the relationship between the two national universities is also the story of the relationship between two nations, says Sinclair Dinnen.| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
A factsheet on how to apply for Australia's 2024 Pacific Engagement Visa and ballot.| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
The Murder in the Pacific series reveals wider truths about the sustainability and impact of aid projects, says Gordon Peake.| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
Strengthening online safety and security is essential to ensure digitalisation benefits all Timorese citizens, say Tim Mann and Juvita Pereira Faria.| Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
