Comments

Im an expert apple picker in new Zealand. Due to covid19 me and my team we a not allow to go down to New Zealand so please i will greatly appreciate if you can help me me whit an Australia Agriculture visa to come and work as an employee at the farm in Australia

Yeah .The speculation is could be right . why we could work in Australia because of the good laws of that country. So we have to reconsider.

There will be no age restriction on the new agriculture visa?

Thanks Ancuta, It's a very interesting suggestion. And it's good to hear about the European experience. I think the big questions to be answered regarding the potential for something similar in the Pacific would be: How would it fit within existing Pacific regional frameworks, entities and undertakings? And to what extent would it be possible to get buy-in from Pacific country governments? If nothing else it would be interesting to see some form of study conducted on the potential. Thank you for raising the issue. Terence

The HIES Report is out and poverty remains.It now appears to be systemic but, not only in Fiji. We must keep on the development radar the fact of unfinished business with the MDGs before the SDGs were introduced. HIV still exists. There is also the confounding rise in NCD's. Poverty prevails and the 'Youh buldge' with high rates of unemployment persists. There is also as per the figures the rising tide of population ageing, those 65 and over, to almost nine percent. Needless to say efforts in Fiji, and other developing countries, in achieving any of the SDG's are now negatively affected , and will be fraught with the debt-ridden effects of Covid 19 and the enduring impact of of Climate Change especially on the key economic sectors. The recent ( August 2021) IPCC Report casts a troubling shadow of climate variability on the development agenda of, especially, Small Island Development States( SIDS) including Fiji. Robust policies to stimulate the economy while protecting the vulnerable with appropriate and relevant social protection regimes will be the way forward. What should be the development thinking be. Are we still in search of the 'rising tide' of affluence that will 'lift all boats ? '

Thank you for the very interesting assessment. In Europe, a regional body called the European Commission for Democracy through Law, aka the Venice Commission, has been quite helpful in developing standards and codes of good practice in the area of elections, for countries transitioning to democracy after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Additionally, it provides expert opinions on electoral legislation. One of the recurring recommendations to national governments has been to refrain from making significant changes to the electoral system within one year from the anticipated election date. Its approach is non-directive, but dialogue with key electoral stakeholders in countries usually helps socialize its recommendations. I wonder if a similar regional advisory body would add value in the Pacific Region.

Bula vinaka Jean. Yes, there have been some very difficult situations for some of the I-Kiribati women we interviewed. For two of them, their husbands have died while they have been stuck in New Zealand. There have also been I-Kiribati workers who have died in New Zealand and there has been no way for their families in Kiribati to get closure on this loss. Repatriation of workers and other I-Kiribati (and Tuvaluans) who are living in New Zealand, and who need to get home because of family-related challenges, is proving to be very difficult to negotiate. Hopefully we will find a pathway home for those who urgently need this soon. Loloma levu Richard

Nice

Really sad for these I-Kiribati RSE workers, caught between a rock and a hard place. I live and work in Suva, Fiji. Sister died in NZ and could not return. This helps with my personal grief... knowing hundreds of others, thousands of others across the world have difficulties returning to loved ones and families... Thank you. Vinaka vaka levu, Jean H Hatch, Suva, Fiji

Thank you David. It's an interesting question (although I would substitute the word 'urban' with 'most populous communities'). It's a hard one to test with limited available data unfortunately. One point that may be of interest/relevance is that surprisingly few results change as preferences are counted. In 75% of seats in 2017 the ultimate winner was also ahead after first preferences. (See page 35 of the paper linked to in the blog post.) Thanks again for your comment. Terence

Thank you Winston. As you say, process is important for changing something as central as an electoral system. Thanks again.

It would be interesting to know empirically whether or how the urban/rural distribution of votes has impacted outcomes under both systems. There is an anecdotally strong argument that FPTP voting benefits candidates who can win the urban vote which is to the detriment of the rural vote in an electorate. LPV on the other hand means a candidate has a stronger incentive to try to appeal to both the urban and rural vote, therefore being more inclusive.