Papua New Guinea, a nation of now almost nine million people, continues to evolve and adapt. Edited by Professor Stephen Howes and Professor Lekshmi N. Pillai, this book is highly recommended for students, policy-makers and anyone interested in understanding this complex and fascinating country.

From a slow start in 2008, Australia’s Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP) has become a growing source of employment in the Pacific, and an important part of the seasonal workforce for Australian farmers. This report recommends ways to improve SWP governance, both in Australia and in the sending countries, with the objective of promoting the sustainable...

Previous aid review panels have been asked to write reports to provide a foundation for the policy to follow, and it is a pity that the government hasn’t trusted this panel with a more substantive role, writes Stephen Howes.

A report released last month by the Department of the Environment and Energy shows that Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 are estimated to be just 1.6% below their 2000 level. This means that, come June, we will have missed Australia’s decade-long, bipartisan and treaty commitment to reduce emissions by 5% by 2020 relative to...

The Australian Government’s Pacific Labour Scheme (PLS) provides workers from nine Pacific island countries for employment in rural and regional Australia for up to three years. It marked one year of operation on 30 June and according to some, there was little to celebrate. However this article argues it’s early days yet.