Development Policy Centre Podcast

Australia currently holds or has contracted other countries to hold 3,052 people in immigration detention, including 50 children in Nauru (data from end March 2016). Most are from developing countries, including Iran, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, China and Afghanistan. The Global Detention Project is a Geneva-based non-government organisation formed in 2014 to investigate the use of immigration detention as a response to global migration. The Development Policy Centre’s Associate Director spoke with its Executive Director, Michael Flynn, shortly before the 14 June 2016 launch of the project’s new website and online database at the UN’S Geneva headquarters. Timed to coincide with a meeting of the Human Rights Council, the launch was based on a case study of Australia and its neighbours. Michael Flynn talks about the origins of the Global Detention Project and its plans for the future, Australia’s immigration detention policies and practices in a global context, and the role of international organisations in connection

Speakers: Anna Solomon, Secretary, Department for Community Development and Religion, PNG; Denga Ilave, Operations Manager for Femili PNG; Kymberley Kepore, Chief Executive Officer of the Oil Search Foundation. Chaired by Sally Moyle, DFAT. Rates of family and sexual violence in Papua New Guinea are among the highest in the world, with some estimating that 70 per cent of women experience physical or sexual assault in their lifetime. Children are also significantly affected. While much is said about the levels of violence, less is heard about important work being done in all sectors of Papua New Guinea to address this pervasive issue. The new approaches being taken warrant broader attention both within and outside of Papua New Guinea. At this event, the Development Policy Centre and the Lowy Institute brought together a panel of exceptional Papua New Guinean leaders from government, civil society and the private sector.

Speaker: Dr Albert Schram, Vice-Chancellor of Papua New Guinea’s University of Technology. Despite its age, the PNG university system is not yet mature. The challenges regarding the quantity and reliability of its funding, and recent legislative changes have not made things better. Efforts to create a solid governance structure, and develop the PNG University of Technology despite its financial constraints and difficult operating environment, contain many lessons for universities in developing countries. Internationalisation – engagement with Australian and other foreign universities – has been a critical key to unlocking Unitech’s potential.

This discussion focused on the recent Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) Office of Development Effectiveness (ODE) evaluation report, Building Women’s Leadership: the contribution of Australia Awards Scholarships. This was the second part of our April 2016 aid evaluations forum. Speakers: Dr Karen Ovington, Assistant Director, ODE, DFAT; Ms Cheryl Johnson, Assistant Secretary, Scholarships and Alumni Branch, DFAT; Dr Rose Amazan, Lecturer, Contextual Studies in Education, School of Education, University of New England.

This recording is the first part of our aid evaluations forum held in April 2016. It looks at The Performance of Australian Aid report, which is the government’s own annual report card on the aid program. Speakers: Mr Scott Dawson, First Assistant Secretary, Contracting and Aid Management Division, DFAT; Professor Stephen Howes, Director, Development Policy Centre, ANU

At our fourth annual aid budget breakfast the morning after the 2016-17 budget a panel of experts discussed what the 2016-17 budget means for the future of Australian aid. Speakers: Stephen Howes, Director, Development Policy Centre, Crawford School, ANU; Jacqui De Lacy General Manaager, Global Strategy, Abt JTA; and Anthony Swan, Research Fellow, Development Policy Centre.

This is the recording of the launch of the 2015 New Zealand Stakeholder Survey in Wellington, NZ, in March 2016. Devpolicy's Terence Wood outlines the key findings of the survey, with discussion from Dr Wren Green, Director of NZ’s Council for International Development. More details on the survey here: https://devpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au/aid-stakeholder-survey/2015

Speakers: The Hon Sir Julius Chan MP, GCL GCMG KBE CBE, Governor, New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea; His Excellency Mr Charles Lepani, Papua New Guinea’s High Commissioner to Australia; Mr Bill Farmer AO, Former Australian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea. Born on a remote island to a migrant Chinese father and an indigenous mother, Sir Julius Chan overcame poverty, discrimination and family tragedy to become one of Papua New Guinea’s longest-serving and most influential politicians. His memoir, 'Playing the Game', is an important autobiography by one of most prominent and influential founding fathers of modern Papua New Guinea. This book launch was presented by the Development Policy Centre at Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University, in partnership with The Pacific Institute and The State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Program, ANU College of Asia & the Pacific.

Speakers: Sahar Yassin, Humanitarian Advocacy Lead, World Vision Jordan; Emma Wanchap, Acting Manager of Policy and Government Relations, World Vision Australia; Kevin Boreham, Lecturer, ANU College of Law; Stephen Howes, Director, Development Policy Centre. How do we even begin to think about the scale of the Syrian conflict, when so many lives are endangered every day? World Vision and Europe’s largest independent economics consultancy, Frontier Economics, released its report 'The Cost of Conflict for Children: Five Years of the Syria Crisis'. Panellists from The Australian National University and World Vision’s Jordan and Melbourne offices discussed the findings of this report, field perspectives and their implications for international law, policy and the operations of humanitarian organisations responding to this global crisis.

Research Officer Ashlee Betteridge interviewed Abdul Wasey Mullahzada, outgoing Medical Coordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières‎ (MSF) in Papua New Guinea, about MSF's new report on the family and sexual violence epidemic in PNG, ‘Return to Abuser’.

As the Syrian conflict reaches five years, much of the humanitarian world’s attention is focused on addressing the needs of the millions of refugees who have fled. But there are also many who have remained within Syria’s borders, and those who have stayed to serve them. Dr Lama Mouakea is among them. She is the Executive Director of the Syrian Family Planning Association (SFPA), a member association of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). Camilla Burkot recently met with her to discuss SFPA’s work and the challenges that Syrian women and girls, in particular, are facing.

Over one million refugees and asylum seekers entered Europe in 2015, and over 100,000 entered in the first two months of 2016 alone, according to IOM estimates. What has the impact been on European aid budgets and policies? In this interview, Camilla Burkot discusses these and related issues with Wolfgang Jamann, Secretary General and CEO of CARE International. Blog available here: http://devpolicy.org/aid-refugees-europe-interview-wolfgang-jamann-20160309 Full transcript available here: http://devpolicy.org/pdf/blog/Transcript_interview-with-Wolfgang-Jamann-23Feb2016.pdf

Chair: Chris Roche, La Trobe University In this submitted interactive session panellists at the 2016 Australasian Aid Conference, panellists discussed and debated forces that have led to change and continuity, and the aid policy making process more broadly. Panellists: David Hudson, La Trobe University and ANU; Jo Spratt, ANU; Ben Day, ANU; and Jennifer vanHeerde-Hudson, La Trobe University and ANU.

Speaker: Dr Mark Dybul, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Dr Dybul has worked on HIV and public health for more than 25 years as a clinician, scientist, teacher and administrator. After graduating from Georgetown Medical School in Washington DC, Dybul joined the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, where he conducted basic and clinical studies on HIV virology, immunology and treatment optimisation, including the first randomised, controlled trial with combination antiretroviral therapy in Africa. Dybul became a founding architect and driving force in the formation of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, better known as PEPFAR. After serving as Chief Medical Officer, Assistant, Deputy and Acting Director, he was appointed as its leader in 2006, becoming U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, with the rank of Ambassador at the level of an Assistant Secretary of State. He served until early 2009. Before coming to the Global Fund, Dybul was co-direc

This submitted panel, developed in conjunction with the Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium (SLRC), discussed livelihoods, basic services and social protection in conflict-affected situations in eight countries – DRC, Uganda, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka – based on a six-year panel research program led by a team based at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI).

Speaker: Kitty van der Heijden, Director, World Resources Institute Europe Office Topic: After the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and with massive funding commitments coming out of the Paris climate change discussions, the international community now faces the real work of translating vision and commitment into action. Some countries think the SDGs will make little difference to their development effort; others are anticipating major changes. So are the SDGs more than a PR device? Will they make a difference? What will public, private and non-governmental actors need to do better, more, or differently to achieve the SDGs? Strategy alignment, integration of economic, social and environmental dimensions into decision making and the respect of the core principles of inclusion will be key factors for success. In a universal framework, policy coherence for sustainable development, both domestic and international, is equally essential. What can we learn from the early adopters on the policy s

Speaker: Peter Varghese is the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Mr Varghese took up his position as Secretary on 3 December 2012. Prior to that, Mr Varghese held a wide range of senior positions in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra and overseas. He was Australia’s High Commissioner to India (2009 to 2012) and Malaysia (2000 to 2002), and also served in Tokyo, Washington, and Vienna. Mr Varghese was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2010 for distinguished service to public administration, and was awarded a Doctor of Letters honoris causa by the University of Queensland in July 2013 in recognition of his distinguished service to diplomacy and Australian public service.

Speakers: Frank Jotzo, Crawford School (chair); Howard Bamsey, Adjunct Professor, Regulatory Institutions Network, ANU and formerly Australia’s Special Envoy on Climate Change; Jaehyoung Lee, Professor, Korea University School of Law and Legal Advisor to Korean delegation to UN climate change negotiations; Professor Stephen Howes, Director, Development Policy Centre, ANU. The Paris negotiations on climate change are a critical event for anyone with an interest in international development. This international panel, with leading analysts from Australia and Korea, analysed Paris outcomes and their consequences.

Speakers: Julia Newton-Howes, Chief Executive, CARE Australia; Eun Mee Kim, Dean and Professor, Graduate School of International Studies and Director, Institute for Development and Human Security, Ewha Womans University; Ye Jiang, Director of the Institute for Global Governance Studies, Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS); Professor, School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Anthea Mulakala, Asia Foundation (chair). Are the new Sustainable Development Goals relevant for Asia? What if anything will they mean for domestic and development cooperation policies and practices of the Asian powers, such as China, Korea and Indonesia? What difference, if any, will the SDGs make for Asia?

Presentations: Designing context-relevant development programs: a problem-focused political economy analysis tool for aid practitioners (Lisa Denney, Overseas Development Institute); Everyday political analysis (David Hudson, University College London; Heather Marquette, University of Birmingham; and Sam Waldock, UK Department for International Development, Rwanda); How large, traditional aid programs can be politically smart: experience from Southeast Asia (Thomas Parks, DFAT); The evaluation of politics and the politics of evaluation: playing the game to change the rules? (Chris Roche, La Trobe University and Irene Guijt, Oxfam Great Britain). This panel discussion was part of the 2016 Australasian Aid Conference. All conference presentation slides available at: https://devpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au/annual-australasian-aid-conference/2016/abstracts