Australia’s strategic anxiety and emphasis on security in the Pacific Islands region have increasingly dominated bilateral affairs in the past decade. This paper argues the result has been a reconfiguration of valued development cooperation, risking a neglect of historical and contemporary reciprocal relations, which in turn can undermine diplomatic trust-building.

This report documents the findings and recommendations of the Joint Review of the Australia and New Zealand funded AUD$20.3 million Mama Graon – Vanuatu Land Program (MGP), commissioned by the Governments of Vanuatu, Australia and New Zealand in late 2012. The MGP was designed to support implementation of the Vanuatu Land Sector Framework (VLSF), a...