Comments

Sorry Gerard, I don't know why, but I didn't receive the usual email that notifies me when someone comments on one of my posts. I don't know if it explains the entire relationship, but your comment makes a lot of sense, and it's something I hadn't thought of. Thank you for sharing the insight. Terence

Pacific islanders living in australia on other visa sub classes will be eligible to apply!

Great article. One question is how much gold is still there, yet to be mined? Ten years is too long for zero returns.... There are too many regulators and authorities in the resource sector and none of them got it right, rather than taking the easy way out in shutting the mine for some 3 years .... I won't be surprised if the developer leaves in 10 years time due to low prospects (the mine just resumed this month BTW).

When will the new visa be available to apply for? Will it be possible for Pacific Islanders already living here in Australia to apply?

A balanced keynote; the parallel with social media is an interesting one. Couple comments: > particularly jobs reliant on manual or routine tasks Routine yes, manual no. A graphic designer is more threatened by recent AI advances than, say, a barista. Software engineers might be next, while manual workers have less to worry about, at least in the near future. > AI solutions are likely to exacerbate existing inequalities Yes, but AI can also level the playing field. For students, it can serve as a virtual tutor to support learning, when private tutors are unaffordable (https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/13/4/410). International development has a role to play in fostering positive uses of AI to reduce inequality.

Perhaps another explanation for the lesser gender focus in countries where women's empowerment is lower is that aid activities are supposed to be by mutual agreement between donor and recipient countries. Aid activities are not supposed to involve donors tromping over local sensibilities, which may include male counterparts being resistant to gender-based activities. Clearly, this is a conundrum with no easy solution, although one may be to include in project designs NGOs that do happen to implement gender activities.

Thank you, Ryan! I really appreciate that… The book has some great history, it’s the narrative I couldn’t quite buy into... Hope all is well in Canberra. Let’s stay in touch.

Great review, Matt, although you convinced me not to read it. And a hearty congratulations on graduating and on the new job back home. Sorry I missed it all, and hope all is well.

An excellent review of the current situation which is affecting international trade and tourism also.

Well done 👏. ..indeed, an essential step forward for Vanuatu democracy!! thank yu tuma.

Congratulations on a nice and sanguine piece. Given the overly alarmist debate that usually accompanies almost any issue in Vanuatu it is nice to see well reasoned pieces by people who know their subject. It is always worth remembering that there is no correlation between political instability and development or economic growth in Vanuatu, in fact one could argue the opposite in that most of the most important reforms were actually implemented during a similar period of instability in the early 2000's and based on more instability seen in the mid 90's. Secondly, from a behavioural standpoint this bill would discourage people standing as members of a party and thereby encourage people to stand as individuals (as they are allowed to do by the Constitution). We have seen this in other jurisdictions that tried something similar. It is not always possible to legislate away a problem, As Vanuatu found with the National Disaster Management Act (which arguably creates a bigger disaster than that which it is supposed to respond to) this bill could ironically lead to more instability and not less.

Thanks, Elizabeth, for this.