Julie Bishop to open 2017 Australasian Aid Conference
We are pleased to announce that the Hon Julie Bishop MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs, will deliver the conference opening address on 15 February 2017. Minister Bishop spoke at the first Australasian Aid Conference back in 2014, and we look forward to welcoming her again to learn of the government’s second-term aid agenda. If you haven’t registered for the conference yet, there’s still time – details here.
New audit of Australian aid transparency
At the end of December, we launched the findings of our 2016 Australian aid transparency audit. The audit, conducted by Camilla Burkot and Virginia DeCourcy, examines the public availability of information about Australian aid projects on the DFAT website, and finds a significant decline. You can read our two-part blog series summarising the findings here, and download the full report here. ABC News and Radio NZ International also covered the audit.
Devpolicy Blog reader poll
We’re in the process of a blog redesign, and we want to get your input – so we’re running a short reader poll and invite you to give us your feedback. It’s completely anonymous and should take no more than 5 minutes to complete. You can access the poll here. Meanwhile, if you missed it, check out our 2016 blog review and best blog.
People news
The New Year brings new beginnings. Dr Amanda Watson joins the Development Policy Centre as a Visiting Lecturer in Public Policy at the UPNG School of Business and Public Policy. Also supported by the Pacific Leadership and Governance Precinct, Mr Ani Rova, an economics lecturer at UPNG, has arrived in Canberra to commence a two-year Masters in International and Development Economics at ANU. Our 2017 Greg Taylor Scholarship awardee, Dr Neelesh Gounder from the USP Department of Economics, joins us for three weeks to conduct research into the relationship between migration and exports in Pacific island countries. PNG-based Fellow Dr Carmen Voigt-Graf returns to Canberra, where she will further the research she began while based at the PNG National Research Institute.
Upcoming events
World Development Report 2017: Governance and the Law
5 – 6.30pm, Tuesday 14 February, Molonglo Theatre, Crawford School, ANU. Details here.
Australasian Aid Conference 2017
14 – 16 February, Crawford School, ANU. Event details here.
Blog highlights
Mango rash and migration: a farmer’s perspective
Latest podcasts
Economic diversification and tax reform in Papua New Guinea
On the blog
From immersion, to empathy, to action: is Virtual Reality a game-changer for communicating development? By Tom Perry
The beginning of the end of “free education” in PNG? By Anthony Swan and Grant Walton
Pacific Predictions: what will 2017 hold for the Pacific? By Tess Newton Cain
A closer look at the 2016 Australian aid transparency audit by Camilla Burkot and Virginia DeCourcy
Stories and memories of Port Moresby by Rohan Fox
Best of the blog 2016 by Camilla Burkot and Stephen Howes
Has the PNG economy been in recession? By Nelson Atip Nema and Stephen Howes
Mangoes, desperation and seasonal workers: labour market challenges in Northern Australia by Henry Sherrell
What happened to aid transparency under the Coalition? By Camilla Burkot and Virginia DeCourcy
Australia’s microstate visa: the inside story by Henry Sherrell
In brief
Take our Devpolicy Blog reader poll!
Fortnightly links: strategic comms, UK aid, SDGs, menstrual hygiene management, and more
Foreign Policy White Paper: submissions now open
This is the fortnightly newsletter of the Development Policy Centre at Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University, published every second Friday.
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