At independence, the PNG Public Services Commission (PSC) was a mighty body, with control over the entire public service. So powerful was it that the commissioners were referred to as “gods”. But the public service was seen as unresponsive and performing poorly and in the mid-1980s the PSC was...
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The falling demand for seasonal workers
Evidence over nine months to the end of February 2024 shows a declining demand for Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme seasonal workers — those who used to be under the Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP), now absorbed into the PALM scheme as short-term PALM workers. Figure 1 shows...
Bearing the heavy load of Hela province’s family violence
The second time I met Sergeant Alice Arigo of the Tari Family and Sexual Violence Unit (FSVU), who is known in the community as Alice, she was taking down the statement of a woman who had been brutally beaten, holding her pen in one hand while cradling the woman’s infant baby in the other. It was...
As protests grow in New Caledonia, Australia backs France’s Indo-Pacific Strategy
As the French National Assembly and Senate debate changes to New Caledonia’s electoral laws, there are protests in the streets of Noumea. On Saturday 13 April, tens of thousands of supporters and opponents of independence rallied in the capital, mobilising around proposed changes to voting rights...
How foreign intervention paradoxes have harmed Afghanistan
The international community has played a significant role in Afghanistan since 2001, which can be...
Perhaps the numbers aren’t looking so good for Sogavare in the...
Who will emerge as prime minister from Wednesday’s elections in Solomon Islands? The prime minister...
West Papua Mini Film Festival: a review
I came to this evening of short films not sure what to expect. I have a history with West Papua...
Decriminalisation of same-sex relations in Cook Islands
On 14 April 2023, during the second reading of the Crimes (Sexual Offence) Amendment Bill 2023...
Global aid 2023: comparing apples with apples
Last night the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released its...