Australia's vital interests are involved in the South Pacific: the stability of the region is an important factor in our own security, and this translates into on-going defence, security, economic, aid, environmental and humanitarian activities. The island states of the South Pacific face severe challenges to the security needs of their peoples. At the same...

The author argues that the new Labor government should initiate a regional climate pact, established within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change/Kyoto Protocol framework aiming at both mitigation and adaptation. He examines possible models for such a pact, and argues for the inclusion of major emitters Australia and Indonesia and a diverse group of...

For many years, the NZ Red Cross Society (NZRC) has provided personnel for both IFRC and ICRC missions through its International Delegates Programme (IDP). The Strategic Objective of the programme is: “To recruit, train, place and support appropriately skilled personnel for International Red Cross movement field operations.” Under a four year funding arrangement which began...

The human drama of climate change will largely be played out in Asia, where over 60 per cent of the world’s population, around four billion people, live. Over half of those live near the coast, making them directly vulnerable to sea-level rise. Disruption to the region’s water cycle caused by climate change also threatens the...

The recent International Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment report (2007) has deepened understanding of the magnitude of climate change, its consequences and possible policies to reduce and mitigate its effects. The combustion of fossil fuels is the largest single contributor to carbon dioxide (CO2) and total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and, of all major...