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by Louisa Wall* Across the Pacific, a quiet but deeply consequential struggle is playing out -not through war or occupation, but through something more deceptive: the political and psychological surrender of sovereignty under the guise of help. “They just want to help,” some say, referring to powerful foreign actors –…
by Terence Wood Look at the Australians, they’ve tried every approach to giving aid here, and nothing’s worked. She worked for a small organisation and was new to Papua New Guinea. She was being hyperbolic — some Australian aid to PNG has worked well enough and a few projects have…
by Penny WongAustralian Foreign Minister Op-Ed Three years ago, I promised Australia would listen, learn and deliver on Pacific priorities. That is what we have done, and I am inspired by what we have accomplished together –hand in hand with the Pacific family, because we share an ocean and a…
by Mihai SoraLowy Institute Pacific governments will ultimately judge Australia on concrete actions rather than friendly gestures Anthony Albanese’s Labor government first took office in May 2022, after an election campaign in which Foreign Minister Penny Wong lamented her predecessors had overseen Australia’s “worst foreign policy blunder in the Pacific … since…
From Transparency Solomon Islands In the aftermath of a second round of resounding support for your leadership Transparency Solomon Islands is calling on you to action against GRASSHOPPING. The continued grasshopping of Members of Parliament has resulted in Prime Ministers be it you or those in the past wasting a lot…
by Paul TurnerBritish High Commissioner to Solomon Islands A psychologist friend once told me that a child’s first thousand days were the most important. It is in those thousand days that life’s foundations are laid. I figure if a child has a thousand days, a diplomat in a new country has…
The Government for National Unity and Transformation (GNUT) appears to be in a state of desperation to regain its numerical strength raising concerns over its stance on the One China Policy. This follows GNUT’s acceptance of North Malaita Member of Parliament and Umi For Change Party representative, Daniel Waneoroa, as…
by Charley Piringi Australia is the sixth of the seven continents, vast and mighty. It is so different from my home in the Solomon Islands, yet bound to it by history, culture, and the deep blue expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Stepping onto this vast continent for the first time…
by Teiba Mamu Project manager Small Grants Programme in Solomon Islands After several years working with the Small Grants Programme funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and administered by UNDP, I thought I had a good sense of what “remote” meant in the Solomon Islands. I’ve been to the…
by Manasseh Maelanga Minister of Infrastructure Development Solomon Islands The ocean has always been central to the life and prosperity of the Solomon Islands, serving as our highway for sustenance, connection, and trade. Our traditions have taught us to respect the sea and navigate in harmony with its rhythms. However,…
