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Thanks for the comment and examples Ash!

Hi Sadhana, Thanks for your comments. You're right, it is important to understand people's perceptions of corruption in the Pacific and how activities outsiders call corruption are interpreted by Pacific Islanders. Peter Larmour has certainly contributed a lot to this debate. I've tried to pick up where Peter, who is now retired, left off. Most of my research has been focused on the very questions you raise. I've examined how Papua New Guineans interpret and define corruption: https://devpolicy.org/defining-corruption-where-the-state-is-weak-the-case-of-png-20150409/ I have also examined how Papua New Guineans respond to different types of 'corruption': - https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2614179 - https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3333475 Using data from Fiji ICAC I along with other scholars have examined how those reporting to the FICAC define corruption: http://devpolicy.org/publications/reports/Trends-in-complaints-to-FICAC-2007-2014.pdf I've also sought (along with Sinclair Dinnen) to reframe debate about the nature of corruption and organised crime across the Pacific region : https://devpolicy.org/dark-side-economic-globalisation-politics-organised-crime-corruption-pacific-20161007/ (in this paper we explain that while Pacific countries are often accused of being highly corrupt, Australia plays a key role in this 'corruption' ie by being a destination for corrupt money.) We certainly need to acknowledge the structural issues - culture, poverty, geography - that shape narratives and accusations of corruption. Much of my work has argued for that. However, I also think there is a role for researchers to shed a light on how corruption actually works. Hopefully this is done sensitively and with an understanding of the broader structural dynamics at play. But if we don't understand how corruption works on the ground, policy makers (including Pacific Islanders who are leading the charge against corruption in the region) are unlikely to effectively address the types of corruption that Pacific Islanders themselves are worried about. Best, Grant

I wonder if a landlord not returning Bond to returning overseas students and frustrating efforts with all manner of claims prior to departure home would be considered corruption in Australia? Or having an application for admission to an Australian University Degree expediated because you knew someone personally, while those without the insider contacts often not even getting a reply to their emails? What forms of corruption happens in Australia? Did I read something about some Gucci watches being shared around at taxpayer expense? In Fiji, we have had the much publicized BDO allegations at the regional University of the South Pacific, with the whistleblower Vice Chancellor Pal Ahluwalia kicked out of Fiji by the very Government that came into power via a coup in 2006 with a promise to weed out corruption. In the eyes of some, including certain legal eagles, the corruption, nepotism, mismanagement as seen by layman's eyes, was all legal and supposedly within the authority of the former VC. That the BDO allegations lost the University millions of tax payer and donor dollars looks like will be swept under the carpet, as were similar allegations under the VC, that Rajesh Chandra replaced. When allegations of millions lost to corruption by the powerful gets swept under the carpet, it is much easier to turn a blind eye to the poor, under paid officer, working a hard day, supplementing his meagre income with a bribe. Neither is right, but the wrong done by the powerful with access to the best of lawyers and fancy accounting at their disposal, not to mention connections in right places should be excusable. Do ethics and principles play any role in defining corruption? For if it doesn't, lawyers are the winners, as are the powerful, for they will steal, as the common men and women do, but legally so, and get away with it time and time again, taking away opportunities from the poor person, who then resorts to the little bribe to make ends meet, which then becomes the way of life in the developing world particularly. A good contribution to research on corruption in the Pacific Grant would be to study perceptions and understanding of corruption, something I understand Peter Larmour had made a start on...in some communities I know of, if you steal from rich Peta to feed poor Pauls huge family, it cannot possibly be corruption or theft, the bible says so, no? Wonder if distribution of wealth was equitable in societies, both developed and developing, we'd see less corruption, of grand scales but that common thievery as well?

Great post Grant. Once in Indonesia way back I was posting some items home at the Kantor Pos (via the cheapest shipping possible) and when I got to pay the small customs fee, the customs officer, sitting at his desk watching a small TV, informed me he was 'closed' and I would have to wait until he was open. When would he be open again? He couldn't say, he shrugged. He then tapped his cigarette box in his top pocket and winked. 'Uang rokok' or cigarette money is slang for a small bribe in Indonesia. Being the indignant early 20 something I was with my OK language skills at the time I argued with him for a while and put on a show of waiting for about half an hour... but then had to go to work. So I just paid him the cigarette money (Rp 10,000 or about $1 or so in AUD at the time). Suddenly the customs desk was open and I could get my form stamped... Another time my friend and I had a driver that we hired together for our lengthy commute to and from work and he got pulled over by the polisi one afternoon when the traffic was especially criminal and there was a lot of lane manoeuvring going on by everyone. Suddenly the 'fine' tripled as soon as the polisi saw the foreigners in the back seat. Our driver went on a long frustrated spiel about how we were idiots and couldn't speak any Indonesian and one of us needed to go pee and was angry that's why he had done whatever he had done (which everyone else on the road was also doing). We could understand everything but just sat there pretending we couldn't! The polisi tried to talk to us and we just looked confused and he gave up on the whole attempt all together and just waved us off... we were all pretty happy with the outcome! Our driver was furious about police corruption in general though. Thankfully it has only been small 'fees' or 'taxes' etc that I have encountered from public officials rather than scary or threatening requests for bribes. For me it was not an issue to pay these if I really couldn't get out of it, even though I would have some moral indignation about it. But for the average person on a low or middle income it would really cause stress and make it harder to access government services or to earn their living.

This is a succinct version of the life and political career of a man the country loves and respects so much. Thank you Ron for this piece. The country is in mourning. Vale Sir Michael.

Thank you very much for this obituary. It has a useful timeline and summary of the life and political achievements of the Grand Chief. It’s a big day for the people of Papua New Guinea today. I realise how significant and important it is. It is a strange feeling. It is also an important day for Australia because Sir Michael Somare was a key figure during the independence negotiations and on many other occasions. He met with numerous Australian Prime Ministers over the years. I guess that in a way it's a notable day in the bilateral relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea as well. Thanks again, Amanda

Noting your article about Fiji and PNG …one of the distinctive features of both countries, which is not true of Australia, is that they are essentially agricultural societies where primary survival resources (in the form of food and housing) come from the land. It would be of interest to know how many local people have returned to their village communities as a means of being sustained during the pandemic. These things are not measurable in economic charts. I know more about the situation in Vanuatu than I do about Fiji and PNG, but in Vanuatu people who were in the urban areas and found themselves without financial income went back to their villages to maintain a sustainable life-style. Where that didn’t happen, family members from village communities provided increased food supplies to their family in the urban areas. The Vanuatu Govt formally encouraged this so as to avoid the financial impact of unemployment generated by the pandemic, in particular in the tourism industry. There is really no equivalent to this in Australia …although we have heard anecdotally that people who have been laid off work, or who have had to remain at home, have spent more time in their gardens growing their own food. Thanks for your work and the various articles that are sent via the DevPolicy site. Randall Prior (Chair, SWP Support Group, Victoria)

Thank you, Amanda. Yes, the Organic Law on the Independent Commission Against Corruption, being an ‘Organic Law’, will fall into the category of the independent constitutional institutions identified. A Constitutional Amendment will follow to reflect ICAC in the Constitution. Regards Bal

Thank you Greg Fry. I think its appropriate that both NZ and Australia stay out of this. We are damned if we do, and damned if we don't. The whole reason we were turfed out of PIF was by Bainimarama around our expression of undemocratic coups in 1987 and onwards. Self governing member states need to grow up, and make their own decisions, face the consequences of their own choices; instead of pretending to lean on others about these. And, good on Micronesia, who should not be patronised by other PIF members, but rather treated with equity. Its plain courtesy. To hang with pontificating "gentleman's agreements" which smack of neocolonial patronising snubs. And are not healthy in allegedly equal relationships within PIF member states.

Well said. Transparency is what the PIF SG appointments must practise. Authentic leadership does not run by alleged hearsay and "gentleman's agreements." These sound horribly neocolonial, and patronising to all observers.

More of a anthropological standpoint mingling with advancement in social settings and the attempt by existing law agencies to execute decisions..more of a cutting edge in contemporary laws in a new papua new guinea

Very thoughtful indeed. I cannot but help think that what's missing from the selection of the PIF SG is procedural fairness. There is no explanation of why the Micronesians got passed over. And, if as you say, they've been passed over before, then the sense of injustice must be very considerable. The proposals from PNG and Samoa must deal with the very real sense of hurt. As with any organization, there is ample room for change and improvement in PIF. The selection of the SG role should not be shrouded in clouds, but instead should be crystal clear.