by Iva Tora About eight weeks ago, I received a call from Brij Lal suggesting I interview him. I had been sharing regular email exchanges and telephone conversations with him over the course of the previous year. We had been collaborating…
By Tess Newton Cain The new year brings opportunities and challenges for the Pacific. There are big questions being asked across the region – questions that go to the heart of how countries, peoples and regional organisations see themselves and…
By Charlotte Bedford For Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme employers applying for new and ‘fresh’ (returnee) recruits under New Zealand’s quarantine-free travel (QFT) arrangement with Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu, a condition is the repatriation of long-term RSE workers from QFT…
The Labour Mobility Unit at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade is urging all seasonal worker program candidates to remain focus as they prepare to undertake the employment opportunity in Australia. In light of the recent civil unrest,…
By Anthea Mulakala, Hongbo Ji On 10 January, the State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China released the much-awaited white paper, China’s International Development Cooperation in the New Era. China’s two previous white papers, in 2011 and…
The Australian Coalition Government did something very unusual in the aid budget last night. It increased foreign aid. It kept the headline aid figure at $4 billion (as per last year’s forward estimates), but then said it would spend another…
On behalf of the USPSI students, We the USPSA-SI executive and council are rendering our support with other regional campus student bodies towards Prof. Pal Ahluwalia. Our support for Prof. Pal is not base on our legitimacy to our USPSA…
by Biman Chand Prasad The impact of COVID-19 on the world economy is going to be devastating. Indeed, COVID-19 has already decimated the Pacific island economies. Even the two largest economies in the region, Fiji and Papua New Guinea, do…
Written by Joel Negin Donald Trump’s sharp criticism of the World Health Organization (WHO) and slashing of US funding to the institution has successfully distracted some attention from the woeful American response to COVID-19. Perhaps unsurprisingly, some Australian politicians have…
By Adam Burke Disasters and crises – floods, earthquakes, wars, and of course pandemics – shine an unforgiving light on society’s problems and tensions. As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads across conflict zones, the impact will be unpredictable and potentially catastrophic.…