Comments

A thought-provoking article that rises above the finger-pointing and blame game that we often hear, to give clearer and deeper insights into the issues at stake and the direction Fiji needs to move to become a better country. For the younger generation like us, who were not around during the 1987 coup, such a short article provides such deep understandings.

Hi John, Thanks for your comment. Right at the end of the post, in smaller font, is a short data note. (Just before the disclosure section). This note has a link to the data set I created and used. The data set (a spreadsheet) has a link to the online OECD database that I got the data from. The note at the end of the post also has a link to a useful OECD PDF, which has the numbers and also some OECD analysis. Terence

Thank you Holly. I really enjoyed this article. John

Primarily the Meat Processing Industry clearly has identified and addressed the labour shortage and good on them for opting into the excellent PLS program. However, somewhat surprising is that a number of SWP absconders are finding themselves in that industry, and as photos that I have reveal, even those who have absconded and have no work rights in Australia. The lure of advertisements for anyone on a raft of visas, including the 408, where offers of relocation fees and bonuses are attractive, even though technically an SWP (or PLS) worker on the 408 or 403 cannot abscond and be employed anywhere other than by the sponsoring employer, without that sponsor's and DESE's approval. The concept of in-country quarantining is commendable, but one still wonders why covid-free countries like Vanuatu, Solomons (? maybe one or two cases) and Samoa even need to have quarantining in the first place, given that NZ and AU have a "bubble" and even interstate travellers can still cross the VIC border currently with their outbreak that far exceeds the total number of any of those countries cases, ever.

Proud to say thanks to O'Neil Deon Government in Papua New Guinea

I'm interested to hear how the Education system came to Papua New Guinea from where it was originated to black indigenous countries like PNG.

Hi Terence, can you please provide a link to the DAC data that you are commenting on? There is no data or link to it in your article, as far as I can see. Thanks

The proposal to establish five regional seats reserved for women is truly bizarre, especially when the boundaries of the five regions would fail to coincide with those of the four regions currently recognised in PNG's political system. Why would five be any better than four? In either case, how could any woman standing for one of these seats be expected to campaign across such a large area, unless perhaps she were to be the female relative of some male bigwig who owns a helicopter or can afford to hire one for the purpose? And what would the Indonesians make of an electorate called 'West Papua'? Not amused, I would imagine. At least the proposal to create 22 reserved seats, in line with current provincial boundaries, made some sort of sense. Why is it so hard to get the necessary support for this proposal? Are the male parliamentarians afraid of having so many women in their midst? Is there some problem with the current toilet facilities in Parliament House? Who knows? The idea that 22 reserved seats, or any other number of reserved seats, would reduce the chances of a woman getting elected to one of the other 111 seats does not hold much weight when the chances already seem to be just about zero. Maybe, if 22 women could prove their worth in Parliament, the chances would go up a bit.

Thank you for your response. It's true that the mainstream media have not covered speculation about possible US involvement in Fiji's 1987 coup. There is much doubt about it. An authority on Fiji and the coup, Professor Brij Lal of ANU, has all but dismissed the theory. Rabuka has sung like a canary about the coup but little mention, if any, about the US. Not even in his book. Cold War politics was well and alive back then, and the stakes were high for the US due to the Bavadra government's anti-nuclear, non-alignment policy. The US had built a reputation for helping remove and install governments. In the Fiji case, however, there has been lots of speculation but never been any hard evidence of the US hand.

Take back PNG: Prime Minister Marape and his audacious version for PNG.

I am a graduate student at Fresno State, California, researching girmit and girmityas for my graduate thesis. Dr. Singh's article and a few conversations with scholars on girmit and indentured labor, in general, have been real eye-openers for me. My first takeaway is that periodizing my research between 1879 and 1920 alone might be an inadequate framework. I cannot stop at 1920 and I have to look at the history of girmit and Fiji in a continuum. Thank you so much Dr. Singh for this great insight.

This problem of getting women into the parliament will continue, even more; most of the voters are interested in temporal goods and funds given to them directly. They feel they aren't part of the beneficiaries who experience the centralized development. However, I believe women will still be able to get elected if they play money at this quick-bucks demanding times.