18 Sep 2020
Book Review: Where borders aren’t always badlands
People-to-people connections that stretch across tens of thousands of years don’t stop when lines are drawn on a map.
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7 Aug 2020
A Chinese-built airport next door to a key Australia-US naval base?
Manus Island is a vital strategic location. Why is a Chinese company being paid to upgrade its airfield? -
6 Aug 2020
For all Marape’s achievements in PNG, the biggest challenges await
Unity and bipartisanship will be tested by a raft of growing health, social, economic and foreign policy challenges. -
4 Aug 2020
Covid and crime: Twin tests for Papua New Guinea
An audacious drug smuggling attempt and a coronavirus outbreak put pressure on PNG’s police chief. -
8 Jul 2020
Consulting on Bougainville’s future: The what, who, how and when
Making progress after the overwhelming independence ballot is as much a question of bureaucratic mechanics as politics. -
25 Jun 2020
A crowded house on the Bougainville ballot
With independence negotiations looming, hundreds of candidates are running for house seats, and 25 for president. -
22 Jun 2020
Debt threatens Digicel’s Pacific dominance
The sprawling telecoms provider is deep in the red, and it might be the company’s PNG profits that help bail it out. -
19 May 2020
PNG and Covid-19: The costs of economic stress
Many people will seek cultural supports, while a few might turn to crime. But this is far from a harbinger for chaos. -
13 May 2020
The health challenge in PNG is far greater than Covid-19 alone
Dismal maternal mortality rates and deadly disease had already threatened to overwhelm a weak health system. -
7 May 2020
Digital declarations: Political ads on PNG social media must be clear
Local politicians are deploying Facebook’s paid advertising tools. The dominant social platform should take a hard look. -
4 May 2020
Notes on representing Australia in Papua New Guinea
A former High Commissioner to PNG reflects on the “high highs and low lows” of serving in a unique diplomatic role. -
21 Apr 2020
The phony war ends: PNG’s coronavirus challenge takes shape
After questions, the past few days have begun to reveal how pandemic has been silently spreading throughout the country. -
18 Mar 2020
PNG: Coronavirus promises a testing time for Marape
Although yet to have a confirmed case of Covid-19, PNG is preparing, knowing it will burden a fragile healthcare system. -
13 Mar 2020
Papua New Guinea: Journey to Ambullua
A trek to a remote village in the PNG Highlands uncovers the everyday challenges and dangers facing children. -
9 Mar 2020
Playing to strengths: The best use of Australian aid in the Pacific
Big spending on infrastructure catches headlines but replicates the work of others and may not be what the region needs. -
27 Feb 2020
Bougainville: Ringing in the change?
John Momis towered as a figure in both PNG on Bougainville, but his time as president seems to be fast running out. -
19 Feb 2020
PNG: Booting Exxon gives Marape a boost – for now
The rejection of the P’nyang LNG deal signals a new way of doing business, and a shifting landscape for US concerns. -
30 Jan 2020
The Bougainville referendum: Celebrations turn to sadness and hope
The emotional responses to the vote offer a more nuanced picture than an emphasis on hypothetical worst-case outcomes. -
16 Dec 2019
Favourites of 2019: Wewak
Far beyond the Port Moresby bubble, the capital of East Sepik Province in PNG cultivates a pleasing vibe. -
9 Dec 2019
The celebratory Bougainville referendum – stories from Siwai
Bamboo bands, drums, and groups of women singing and dancing are the backdrop as Bougainville decides its future. -
4 Dec 2019
An upbeat mood in Buka as Bougainville waits for a result
With civic joy fuelled by nothing stronger than coconuts and Coca-Cola, the independence ballot is only the first step. -
2 Dec 2019
Cultural heritage key to regional development in PNG and Australia
Exchanging ideas about successes on either side of the Coral Sea can lead the way to connecting people and institutions. -
20 Nov 2019
Bougainville referendum: Not the last word
If predictions of a vote for independence are right, figuring out the mechanics of statehood will be a struggle -
31 Oct 2019
PNG’s supplementary budget: An honest accounting
James Marape warned the economy was “bleeding”, and setting out the true fiscal position is a first step to healing. -
18 Oct 2019
Papua New Guinea’s untold media freedom challenge
Cuts by foreign news agencies, poor resourcing and cultural hurdles for local journalists are obstacles to overcome. -
10 Oct 2019
PNG’s confusing budget debate
Amid claim and counter-claim, the true state of the PNG economy is lost amid personality politics. -
9 Oct 2019
Bougainville’s predicament, independence or not
Whatever path Bougainville follows after next month’s referendum, human development is its most urgent priority. -
1 Oct 2019
PNG: Has education policy reform worked?
The ambition to improve the quality of teaching and provide free education has not entirely matched reality. -
16 Sep 2019
Quiet and unquiet graves: letter from Port Moresby
What ghostly memorials of a distant past tell us about the present. -
26 Aug 2019
The changing dynamics of Australia, PNG and the Pacific
The visit by Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Marape signalled a new chapter in a historical relationship. -
22 Aug 2019
Bougainville: A nation in waiting?
With an independence referendum looming, Australia’s interest is seeing this long-running issue resolved peacefully. -
6 Aug 2019
PNG: making sense of a massacre
From the heights of political power to the depths of violence, Hela province follows a familiar path. -
1 Aug 2019
Economic diplomacy: Guns versus butter, trade wars, and feeding PNG
Could trade talks with China be split from broader diplomacy in order to escape a security dilemma? -
30 Jul 2019
PNG: Marape’s blueprint for change in a fast vanishing honeymoon
The new PM has big ambition to write a new chapter for the country but not to put himself at the centre of every deal. -
18 Jul 2019
Karida village killings: violence and the vulnerability of women
This immensely sad and troubling episode has a context in the Pacific, and women of the region know it. -
2 Jul 2019
More women – with more chances – is key to PNG’s democratic future
Enough talk. Ensuring equal participation in politics is a challenge the new Marape government must rise to meet. -
21 Jun 2019
Australia’s aid in PNG: the need for a gendered approach
Tackling endemic domestic violence and the lack of women in parliament should be renewed as a focus across the Pacific. -
5 Jun 2019
Stepping out – and up – in the hot mess of the Pacific
<p>Personal connections matter, and Scott Morrison’s ties to the Pacific run deeper than many realise.</p> -
5 Jun 2019
The Pacific’s social politics
Damaging rumours might flash across phones, yet the answer to social media trouble lies not in bans but engagement. -
23 May 2019
PNG: the Peter O’Neill legacy
He speaks of the nation, but by his actions, Peter O’Neill’s effort to impose a sense of greatness is all about himself. -
6 May 2019
Waiting in Waigani: PNG in political turmoil
Instability threatens Papua New Guinea’s government as a rival moves against Prime Minister Peter O'Neill. -
24 Apr 2019
A billion reasons: the future of PNG’s Sustainable Development Fund
PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neill is waging battle in the courts over a predecessor’s multi-billion dollar legacy. -
15 Apr 2019
Australian media: missing in action on Bougainville
But you can count on New Zealand – again! -
10 Apr 2019
Plugging in PNG: electricity, partners and politics
<p>A big plan to connect 70% of the country to power by 2030 grabbed headlines. Delivering is the true challenge.</p> -
22 Mar 2019
Australia’s PNG gateway: far north Queensland
The far-north will be key to closer cross-border ties and Cairns hosted the Australia-PNG Emerging Leadership Dialogue. -
14 Feb 2019
The curious case of aid concentration in Papua New Guinea
The extreme concentration of aid from Australia to PNG stands out. It may be time for others to get involved. -
21 Dec 2018
Bougainville’s Panguna – “a challenging opportunity”
Opportunities in Bougainville won’t be easily or quickly realised, and certainly not without community support. -
19 Nov 2018
Conflict, romance, and PNG: the APEC Summit
For the first time in the summit’s history, leaders failed to agree on a final communique, but plenty else happened. -
9 Nov 2018
PNG and APEC: who gets to keep the Maseratis?
The APEC leaders meeting will finally occur next week, but the costs still raise plenty of questions about priorities. -
7 Nov 2018
The Orchids’ tale: PNG’s women’s rugby league team
A new documentary tells the story of the PNG Orchids at the World Cup and how they are changing perceptions of women.