Blog
Jose Sousa-Santos - 27 Jul 2021
The Human Cost of Transnational Crime
William West / AFP Pacific island nations are increasingly paying the price for the high-value drug markets of Australia and New Zealand. Jose Sousa-Santos writes that transnational crime is increasing in the region and more co-operation is needed to combat it. In 2018 I was sitting at a large table in a meeting room in…
Blog
Hugh McClure - 15 Jul 2021
COVID-19 – the Pacific Response: 15 July 2021
Fiji is introducing a ‘no jab, no job’ policy for public servants, whilst Japan has committed to vaccine assistance for the region, Hugh McClure writes. Fiji’s situation continues to concern the region. The rolling seven-day average of cases there has reached 696, a marked increase from 269 a fortnight ago, and higher on a per…
Blog
Hugh McClure - 1 Jul 2021
COVID-19 – the Pacific Response: 1 July 2021
Spotlight on Fiji Fiji is refusing to implement a hard lockdown, while vaccine hesitancy is creating increased risk throughout the Pacific, Hugh McClure writes. This fortnight, this update takes a deeper dive into the rapidly evolving COVID-19 situation in Fiji. 2,626 cases were recorded in Fiji in the 14 days to 28 June, as Viti Levu…
Blog
Henry Ivarature - 29 Jun 2021
Creating an inclusive Indo-Pacific: a missed opportunity for talanoa?
Australia needs to better engage Pacific leadership around the Indo-Pacific concept, but there is also an opportunity for the Pacific to shape the region’s narrative, Henry Ivarature writes. The Indo-Pacific geostrategic narrative is an uncomfortable one for Pacific leaders. In a quote posted on social media, Dame Meg Taylor, who was until recently the Secretary-General…
Blog
Steve Sharp - 23 Jun 2021
Protecting the Pacific’s Information Environment: Pacific Media and Telling the Full Story
Pacific states must ensure that quality reporting and independent media organisations can continue to bring accurate, important stories to communities throughout the region, Steve Sharp writes. Two apparently unrelated events crystallise the dilemma faced by Pacific media professionals as their institutions bend under the weight of prolonged emergency conditions in health and politics. One was…
Blog
Anouk Ride - 17 Jun 2021
Lessons from a decade of disasters: building community resilience in Solomon Islands
Local solutions are required to boost community self-reliance in Pacific disaster response, writes Anouk Ride and colleagues. In 2009, this author was in and around Gizo, Solomon Islands talking to people about the impacts of aid in the aftermath of a tsunami and earthquake for a book chapter. At that time, government officials, service providers,…
