Playing a full role in the Pacific

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is in Tonga for the Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting alongside 18 leaders from across Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia.

Digital transformation in Timor-Leste

Australia’s support for Timor-Leste’s digital transformation is a valuable investment in the region’s future.

Development and defence

22 of Australia’s 26 nearest neighbours are developing countries, and so an effective development program is key to building regional resilience, alongside a resolute stand on defence.

Australia’s new aid ambition

Australia’s new approach to aid in the Pacific will emphasise the importance of local employment in infrastructure projects in contrast to China’s approach of importing Chinese workers to build a more prosperous region.

Making friends in Timor-Leste

Adopting a people-centered approach to building a shared future with Timor-Leste is in Australia’s national interest. Developing platforms for enhancing literacy, job growth, health, and agriculture are just some of the ways Australia can build lasting relationships with its closest neighbours.

A helping hand for Timor-Leste

The economic and social future of Timor-Leste relies on more jobs at home and better labour mobility programs abroad to generate remittances, improve skills and build human capital.

Fighting the scourge of illegal fishing

Australia has an opportunity to build on its strong diplomatic foundations on regional and international issues and take the lead on combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in the South Pacific.

Australia’s Pacific funding unites the tools of statecraft

The $1.9 billion package announced in the budget to strengthen Australia’s relationships in the Pacific will involve 13 agencies across government, and uses a range of tools beyond traditional development assistance.

Reeling in illegal fishing

More effort to curb illegal fishing is vital to protect fish stocks from destruction and maintain peace and order on the seas in a time of growing international tension.

A shared vision for Australian security

Can Australia’s Defence Strategic Review build a narrative about our country’s security and defence that the public will get behind?

The art of showing up

Woody Allen once quipped that “showing up is 80 percent of life”, so Anthony Albanese should accept his invitation to attend the NATO summit in Lithuania in July and show solidarity with other Western nations standing up to the aggressive authoritarian threat posed by Russia and China.

Six faces of globalisation

A new book, “Six Faces of Globalization”, discusses international trade, transnational corporations, great power competition, inequality and environmental issues in these dangerous, polorised times.