The Pacific and Australia: Our shared future
The ANU Crawford Leadership Forum presents the ‘Big Picture Series: Australia in a COVID-19 world’.
Join our panelists as we explore what our shared regional future looks like, in a post-COVID world.
During the 2020 bushfires people across the Pacific raised funds demonstrating their deep solidarity with the Australian people. Many Pacific governments committed defence force personnel and funds. Prime Minister Morrison acknowledged the “loving response from our Pacific family”.
Now the Oceanic region faces a new set of challenges. Some Pacific Island countries face a potential growing threat from COVID 19 cases, with limited public health infrastructure. While other Pacific Island countries have managed to close their borders and keep out COVID-19 cases, all countries are now facing a growing economic crisis in part due to the lack of tourism. Many countries are also severely impacted by Tropical Cyclone Harold, most notably Vanuatu where it is estimated that almost 17,000 houses have been destroyed.
These challenges prompt the question, what does or shared regional future look like, in a post-COVID world?
In a post-COVID world Pacific leaders have been asking for:
- inclusion in the TransPacific bubble as a pathway to economic recovery,
- recognition of the ongoing impacts to the region caused by climate change,
- and longer term and more flexible seasonal worker program opportunities.
The ANU Pacific Institute and the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy have assembled a virtual panel to discuss these important issues comprised of Australian and Pacific Ministers discussing ‘Our shared regional future, pathways forward post-COVID’.
Speakers
The Hon. Fiame Naomi Mata’afa
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Natural Resources and Environment, Samoa
The Hon Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum
Attorney-General and Minister for Economy, Civil Service and Communications, Fiji
The Hon Alex Hawke MP
Minister for International Development & the Pacific, Australia
Chairs:
Dr Siobhan McDonnell
The Australian National University
James Batley
The Australian National University
Date and Time
Thu 18 June 2020 9:30am – 10:30am AEST
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