Was the ABC shanghaied by Beijing?
By John Fitzgerald Inside Story April 18, 2016 China needs no help in silencing its critics at home and abroad. So how did Australia come to be part of the problem, asks John Fitzgerald.
indonesia
Lights out for Earth Hour 2016 around the world
Earth Hour has seen the lights go out again in many of the world’s largest cities, each with its own local focus on energy concerns.
No regrets over Sandline affair: Sir Julius
Papua New Guinea’s former prime minister Sir Julius Chan says that if he had been allowed to continue with the infamous Sandline operation to put down the Bougainville civil war in 1997, he would have been able to bring the island under control.
Frost and drought wipe out PNG, Solomons highland crops
El Nino-driven drought and frosts in the normally tropical highlands in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands has brought Tasmania-like weather to the region, a regional administrator said.
Robust Australian budget q&a draws call for defining aid
One aspect that hasn’t changed between this Australian budget and the last is the downward direction of aid and development funding as cuts of more than seven billion dollars over five years, signalled in last year’s budget, start to bite.
Social payback delaying return of executions in PNG
The regional furore over the Indonesian government’s executions by firing squad of eight convicted drug offenders has turned the spotlight on Papua New Guinea’s plans to re-institute the death penalty there.
What has Australia done to Nauru?
By Nic Mclellan. Originally posted in Overland, Spring 2013
Police enforce Aceh women dress code
Sharia police have begun enforcing a new law on the wearing of inappropriate clothing in Indonesia’s devoutly religious province of Aceh.
Pacific Beat 2009 year in review
As 2009 and the decade draws to a close, let’s now take a look back on a year which has seen some momentous events take place in this, our Pacific home. Bookended by the intractable political situation in Fiji and Papua New Guinea’s unchartered future with its new energy wealth, the year 2009 will instead … Continue reading “Pacific Beat 2009 year in review”
Australian govt distances itself from ‘children overboard’
Australia’s Home Affairs Minister has continued to stress that this situation should not be politicised, wary of the political repercussions of this latest people trafficking incident. It all stems from several tragedies off Australia’s north coast in 2001, when the last large-scale arrival of asylum seekers occured – swinging whole elections.
