Blog

Pacific nations are starting to embrace the digital finance and blockchain ‘revolution’, but there are risks that will need to be addressed, Ben Bohane writes. Throughout human history, many forms of money have been developed to allow trade; from simple bartering of goods like animals and grain, to tobacco and glass beads, gold and silver…

As Papua New Guinea approaches an election year, the country’s policymakers must confront a range of critical security issues, from climate change to organised crime, Michael Kabuni writes. Policymakers in the Pacific Island region face multifaceted security issues. That fact is not lost on the region’s leaders, as demonstrated by the 2018 Boe Declaration on…

As Bougainville marks two years since its historic independence referendum, Pacific leaders must work together to ensure the process does not falter, Ben Bohane writes. There were colourful rallies around Bougainville in late 2019 as people prepared to vote in a referendum they had waited decades for. In the carnival atmosphere, people tooted car horns and yelled “Box two, Box two!”…

Fiji continues with plans to open borders despite the emergence of the Omicron variant, whilst new analysis has warned that some Pacific countries may not be fully vaccinated for years. The emergence of the Omicron strain of COVID-19 has created worldwide uncertainty over nations’ pathway out of the pandemic. There is little known about the…

As the Pacific reopens to the world after COVID-19, it faces serious risks from transnational crime, Jose Sousa-Santos writes. When Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama announced Fiji would open its borders to international travellers on 1 December 2021, much of the focus was inevitably on the revival of the tourist sector, which comprises 40 per…

Is the party over?  Tonga’s election has seen support for the country’s two major parties disintegrate, in favour of a large new cohort of independents, Kalafi Moala writes. The people have spoken and voted for change. On 18 November, Tongans elected nine new people’s representatives and three new nobles’ representatives. Only eight incumbent people’s representatives…