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.

The Regional Perspectives Project was about listening to, and learning from, Pacific people on a range of topics that reflect Pacific priorities, including relationships with other countries. This report presents a summary of the key findings from Phase 2 of the research undertaken in Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

This report reaches five main conclusions for the implementation of e-government and digital government initiatives, and it concludes with four recommendations for future programming of international support in the area of ICTs and e-government.

The Whitlam Institute has published this policy research into the relationship between Australia and some of its closest neighbours. The research shows a broad range of people in three of Australia’s closest Pacific countries – Solomon Islands, Fiji and Vanuatu – are concerned Australia does not know how to engage successfully as part of the...

Vanuatu’s water resources are often contaminated and groundwater in cities is increasingly coming under pressure. There is little provision for the treatment and disposal of sewage and wastewater, which allows waste to leach into other water systems.