Comments

James was an outstanding colleague. His wry dissection of the vagaries of the Ministry of Finance FreeBalance system was a triumph of forensic scholarship. He had a neat way of enticing you into delving into an issue and an arcane knowledge and appreciation of Indonesian and Timorese political connections and the realities of Timorese political economy. He was always up for an adventure into some area one that was problematic and in charming his way through challenging moments. In addition his appreciation of Constructivist art was unsurpassed. I still recall his 'rocket chair' he built while living in Bario Pite, sliding with precision in the faulty generator lit evening.

Mr. Namorong. We are not crying to be seen as Pacifikas. It's only those few desperate people who trying to define themselves as belonging to some damn ethnical groupings. For all I care, I am from my family and that's what counts.

For me, he is a very kind person. It was a very interesting job with him when he was doing a gang survey in Dili in 2006, at that time I was also working for a gang group in Dili for the Justice and Peace Commission, Diocese of Dili. Last time we did a great survey on the national election in Timor Leste in April 2017 and we found many interesting findings. He has high journalism instincts, he made topics interesting and in-depth analysis. Adeus comphaneiro, GBU.

Mr. Peni, thank you for your comment. I would like to respond with a few points of clarification. First of all, I am a Papua New Guinean, I am the lead author of this article. More importantly, I am a Christian Papua New Guinean and I feel confident in my capacity to write with integrity on this topic. Secondly, we acknowledge openly in the blog that this study had a small sample size and that more research is needed to see how widespread these views are in PNG. The intention of this piece is not to "change the world", but to inspire other similar studies to ensure a diversity of perspectives is included in international research and responses to climate change. I understand you are trying to be constructive in your criticism, but I respectfully disagree with your depiction of the interview findings as "gossip" and "pseudo-science". If you are saying this because you think an "outsider" wrote this article, this is inaccurate. Thanks for your comments.

Thank you for this touching tribute to James, a dear friend and colleague. I first met James 10 years ago when we worked at Swinburne together, and learned so much from him over the years. His kindness, wry humour, and unwavering sense of justice will stay with me always. As well as being a talented anthropologist of Timor and the Pacific, James also had many other passions including cinema, experimental music, welding, and -- of course -- soccer. His interests and experiences were enormously varied. I really admired how James could engage with people from all walks of life, and treated everyone with kindness and respect. My shelves are full of DVDs that he lent me over the years, and which I'll treasure now. He was an incredibly funny and interesting person who touched many lives. We'll miss him greatly.

Dear Gordon, Thankyou for such a lovely, generous tribute to James. I'm his older sister Anne, it means a great deal to our family that he was respected and appreciated by his colleagues. We mostly knew the family James, but were very proud of his achievements and the things he was trying to do. We will miss his humour, generosity, kindness and great capacity to encourage. We will miss his presence in our lives always. Anne Scambary

I didn't know James well, but my office was two doors down from his at Deakin Waurn Ponds, and we had chats in the kitchen. He was a kind and friendly man. I'm shocked and saddened that this lovely man is gone. My condolences to his loved ones.

I had the privilege of working with James at Swinburne, on a project on policing and the Vietnamese community. He was so thoughtful and funny: slow to judgement and quick in analysis. A gentle, strong man with such integrity. My deep sympathy to his family, friends and colleagues.

He was always willing to share knowledge and advice and had a great dry sense of humour. A big inspiration during my time in Timor-Leste.

A very beautifully written piece Gordon! I’ve never met James though I’ve heard of his name around town. From reading this and his views on development and state-building practices in TL (of which I often wonder how much has improved today), I am certain that I would have greatly enjoyed knowing James and learn from his wealth of knowledge. May he rest in peace.

The signs are all there. Read the Bible discernment of the bible is very important also.

I've thought about you this week too. Such sadness. x