Tag Archives: Melanesia

Jobs: SSGM Pacific Research Fellow Positions

The State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Program, School of International, Political and Strategic Studies, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific is seeking to appoint two Pacific Research Fellows with ongoing research interests in Melanesia (PNG, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu, New … Continue reading

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Job: Pasifika Outreach and Research Fellow Position

The State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Program, School of International, Political and Strategic Studies, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific seeks to expand and deepen our outreach and research capacity on migrant Pacific communities with a special emphasis … Continue reading

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Reminder: State of the Pacific Conference (SOTP 2013) and Pacific & PNG Update 2013

Pacific and PNG Update 2013 June 27-28 Hedley Bull Lecture Theatre 1, Ground Floor, Hedley Bull Centre, Building 130 Last year we revived the Pacific Update tradition with a one-day event. This year, the Update returns as a two-day conference. June 27th is on the Pacific island region, and June 28th on PNG. This is an event not to be missed for anyone working on the region. The keynote speech […] Continue reading

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The Pacific Plan and non-self-governing territories in the Pacific

In the latest Podcast from the State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Program (SSGM), Nic Maclellan “discusses the capacity of United Nations agencies, the Pacific Islands Forum and other regional organisations to advance decolonisation initiatives in the region” with specific … Continue reading

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Breaking the Spell: update on sorcery and witchcraft conference

“Widespread practice and belief in sorcery and witchcraft are not only linked to brutal violence and killings in Melanesia – they are stifling the development and modernisation of the region” writes Belinda Cranston. Read her article, or more about the … Continue reading

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Pacific Buzz (June 5): PNG death penalty | Fiji loan block | SDP to exit Ok Tedi | Pacific workers in Oz | More

A roundup of political and economic news by the Pacific Institute of Public Policy and the Development Policy Centre. POLITICS PNG repeals Sorcery Act, enacts death penalty The parliament of Papua New Guinea has responded to a spate of globally publicised crimes with legislative amendments. In the same session that the Sorcery Act, which provided a defence for violent attacks on suspected sorcerers, was repealed, the parliament voted to apply the death […] Continue reading

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Pacific Buzz (May 22): French Polynesia on decolonisation list | Major powers court leaders | Australian aid budget | Fishing deals

A roundup of political and economic news by the Pacific Institute of Public Policy and the Development Policy Centre. POLITICS French Polynesia re-inscribed on UN decolonisation list Former president Oscar Temaru managed a last minute political victory, seeing French Polynesia re-inscribed into the United Nations decolonisation list on the same day he handed over his presidency to Gaston Flosse. The resolution was introduced to the 193-member UN General Assembly by Solomon Islands, Nauru, […] Continue reading

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Big enough for all of us: geo-strategic competition in the Pacific Islands

China’s growing engagement in the Pacific Islands has fueled talk of great-power competition in the region.  But viewing China’s activities in the region in geo-strategic terms is inappropriate and potentially counter-productive.  Australia and the United States should focus on cooperating with…

Publication Type:  Analysis

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Final Report of the Solomon Islands Truth & Reconciliation Commission unofficially released

At the height of the ethnic tensions in Solomon Islands, in 2000, the Solomon Islands Christian Association requested that a Truth and Reconciliation Commission be established. Further to the passage of an Act of Parliament in 2008, this came about in 2009. In February of 2012 the Commission presented its five-volume report to Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo. Under the terms of the governing Act, ‘The Prime Minister on receiving […] Continue reading

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Would an Independent Service Delivery Authority accelerate service delivery in Solomon Islands?

In my previous blog I considered the peace and stability service delivery dividend that RAMSI has contributed to in Solomon Islands since 2003 against recent evidence that service delivery gains may be slowing down. I asked whether the slowdown is due to questions of political governance, and what could be done about it. In this blog I consider whether an idea from Paul Collier about a dedicated state / non-state […] Continue reading

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Service delivery in Solomon Islands: a good start, but where to from here?

Delivery of public goods such as roads, schools and health services lies at the core of AusAID’s poverty reduction goals in Solomon Islands (SI). The logic that supports this approach is compelling: developmental change and poverty reduction is driven by ordinary people having access to public goods that expand their life options and horizons. RAMSI/AusAID are by far the largest donor in SI, contributing about AUD$222 million in FY12/13 (about […] Continue reading

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When Monsoon Asia met Melanesia (and Dutch Hollandia became Asian Jayapura)

My recently-published paper, Monsoon Asia and Melanesia presents a comparison between two ‘stylised’ historical entities. ‘Monsoon Asia’ represents Southeast Asia and particularly the Malay Archipelago – present-day Malaysia and Indonesia. ‘Melanesia’ is representative of the island of New Guinea, though the discussion revolves mostly around west New Guinea (in modern Indonesia). The Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua are seen as the historic meeting ground, or zone of transition, […] Continue reading

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Kago, Kastom and Kalja: The Study of Indigenous Movements in Melanesia Today (Cahiers du Credo) (Volume 2)

Edited by Marc Tabani and Marcellin Abong, Pacific-Credo Publications (April 2013). [purchase through Amazon.com] “This volume, bringing together six ethnographic papers and an epilogue first presented at ASAO sessions in 2009 (Santa Cruz) and 2010 Alexandria), includes a wealth of … Continue reading

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Fiji constitutional referendum? Unlikely

Fiji Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has released the much anticipated Fiji draft constitution, an extensive revision of the 2012 draft released by the Constitutional Commission, led by international constitutional law scholar Yash Ghai.

T… Continue reading

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PNG slowdown pushing regional growth lower in the Pacific

In the latest issue of the Pacific Economic Monitor, released yesterday (March 26), the ADB forecasts that the average rate of growth in its 14 developing member countries in the Pacific region will fall to 5.2%, as earlier gains from major foreign investments and public infrastructure projects fade. The performance of the region’s larger natural resource exporting economies (Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Timor-Leste) continues to drive the economic outlook, […] Continue reading

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