Development Policy Centre Podcast

The 2018 PNG Update was held at the University of PNG on 14-15 June. In this ANU-UPNG research showcase, we hear about some of the recent collaborative research by academics from the two universities, including on health phone services, decentralisation, the impact of family and sexual violence on education, infant industry protection, and health expenditure performance.

The Sustainable Development Goals are, in part, an encouragement for countries around the world to look after their environment and reduce the damage being done to ecosystems. This is particularly important in the Pacific, where many countries are resource-challenged. This panel at the 2018 Pacific Update, held in Suva on 5 and 6 July, made a valuable contribution to such discussions. It explored Pacific world heritage, how to implement environmental-economic accounting for sustainable resource use and development in the region, and compensation valuation approaches of ecosystem services and biodiversity of customary land resources and native fishing rights in Fiji.

Many countries are exploring ways to shift their energy sources from fossil fuels to renewable energy, but how do renewable energy ambitions affect donor-funded rural electrification efforts in Pacific Island countries? What is the experience of small island states when it comes to power sector reform? How can Fiji move towards a more sustainable future for its energy? These are some of the many questions answered in this panel on energy at the 2018 Pacific Update, held in Suva on 5 and 6 July.

Tourism contributes real resources to Pacific Island countries, but there is still much to be done. In this panel at the 2018 Pacific Update, held in Suva on 5 and 6 July. we heard about building an inclusive tourism sector, the tourism-growth nexus in Pacific Island countries, social capital in the region, and the role of crafts and souvenirs in Vanuatu and Solomon Islands.

As the occurrence of extreme environmental events increases due to climate change, how do households in Solomon Islands respond, and how does this relate to household net worth? This panel at the 2018 Pacific Update (held in Suva on 5 and 6 July) answered this question, and discussed negotiating a climate consensus and assessing climate finance readiness in the Asia-Pacific region.

Urban-to-urban forced displacement is misunderstood and under-prioritised, explained presenters on this panel at the 2018 Pacific Update, which was held in Suva on 5 and 6 July. This session described some outcomes on partnerships between aid actors, governments and the private sector, particularly how these partnerships resulted in certain outcomes for urban communities in the Pacific, as well as looking at the role of ethnic Fijian women in disaster management planning at the community level.

Small island developing states, particularly many Pacific Island countries, are considered to be among the most at-risk regions in the world from climate change. In this panel at the 2018 Pacific Update, held in Suva on 5 and 6 July, presenters discussed measuring the effectiveness of climate change adaptation at the community level; the neoliberal ecological modernisation framing of vulnerability and dispossession in the climate change agenda; evaluating climate change relocation in Fiji; and gender transformative climate change action.

As part of the 2018 Pacific Update (held in Suva on 5 and 6 July), in this panel on health, we heard about spending better on health in the region, food and nutrition security, reorienting towards people-centres integrated care, and knowledge translation for SDG implementation.

Tess Newton Cain caught up with the Hon Ralph Regenvanu on Vanuatu’s foreign policy priorities, challenges, and getting through to voters.

As part of the 2018 Pacific Update (held in Suva on 5 and 6 July), this panel on gender and social analysis included presentations on child protection systems in the Pacific, gender and politics in Tonga, and menstrual hygiene in Fiji.

The 2018 Mitchell Oration was delivered by Professor Sir Richard Feachem on 28 June at ANU. He spoke about reengineering the aid industry, the aid debate, some inconvenient truths, and the case of Australia.

The 2018 Pacific Update was held on 5 and 6 July at the University of the South Pacific's Laucala Campus. In Panel 3a - Labour mobility, presenters discussed various aspects of labour mobility in the Pacific region, including new sectors and markets, and the PACER Plus Agreement.

This aid evaluation forum on 30 May focused on the evaluation of funding from Australia's bilateral health aid program to multilateral organisations to increase and extend their support to the health sector in PNG. The evaluation was presented by one of its authors - Ian Anderson, an Associate at the Development Policy Centre - and discussed by an expert commentator - Colin Wiltshire, a Research Fellow at the ANU Department of Pacific Affairs. This was followed by closing remarks by Peter Versegi, First Assistant Secretary of DFAT's Office of Development Effectiveness.

This aid evaluation forum on 30 May focused on the evaluation of Australian support for PNG's road infrastructure through the PNG Australia Transport Sector Support Program. The evaluation was presented by one of its authors - David Slattery, Director, ODE, DFAT - and discussed by an expert commentator - Stephen Howes, Director, Development Policy Centre.

This aid evaluation forum on 30 May focused on the evaluation of Australia's response to the drought in PNG in 2015-16. Following opening remarks by Wendy Jarvie, a member of DFAT's Independent Evaluation Committee, the evaluation was presented by one of its authors - Bernard Broughton, an Independent Consultant - and discussed by an expert commentator - Mike Bourke, an Honorary Associate Professor at ANU.

For the sixth edition of Devpolicy's aid budget breakfast on Wednesday 9 May 2018, we expanded our analysis, covering not only the Australian aid budget, but also aid trends in Australia and overseas. Following the eighth straight year of aid cuts, this podcast also looks at how Australia compares to other countries, where the money is going, and more. Speaker: Stephen Howes, Director, Development Policy Centre

This forum on 11 April focused on the recent DFAT evaluation of effectiveness and credibility of Australian support for advocacy and disability-inclusive development. The evaluation was presented by Karen Ovington, one of the authors, and commented on by Mika Kontiainen, Director of the Disability Section at DFAT, and Colin Allen, Chair of the International Disability Alliance. The event was chaired by Peter Versegi, First Assistant Secretary of the Office of Development Effectiveness, DFAT, and closing comments were provided by Jim Adams, Chair of DFAT's Independent Evaluation Committee.

Australia’s Seasonal Worker Programme has delivered over A$144 million in net income gains to the Pacific, according to a new World Bank report. In this podcast of the report launch, Jesse Doyle, Social Protection Economist at the World Bank, presents the report, examining the costs and benefits of the scheme for Pacific households, and workers experiences, and making recommendations for reform. This is followed by comments from Senator Claire Moore, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific; Michael Fryszer, Managing Director of Connect Group; Melissa Denning, Assistant Labour Attache at the Timor-Leste Embassy; and Michel Kerf, World Bank’s Country Director for PNG & the Pacific Islands.

We are all touched by slavery, according to Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, one of the most decorated federal prosecutors in the United States. Former Ambassador-at-large and senior advisor to the Secretary of State on trafficking in persons, Ambassador CdeBaca built his legislation in to policy, transforming US anti-trafficking efforts and including the voices of victims, workers, and communities in decision-making. In this podcast of a seminar, held at ANU on Monday 26 March 2018, he shares insights from his distinguished career combatting labour exploitation and human trafficking in global supply chains, and discusses decent work as a development and counter-trafficking objective.

In 2017, Rashmii Bell edited the first-ever anthology of writing by Papua New Guinean women: My Walk to Equality. It captures the daily challenges faced and positive contributions being made by the women of PNG to improve the livelihoods of self, community and nation. In this vein, Tess Newton Cain caught up with Rashmii to talk about her background and experiences as an author, including what has influences her voice. They also discusses PNG’s literary landscape, particularly what the future might hold for literature and publishing in Papua New Guinea.