Comments

Thank you so much for this excellent article. It exposes the lack of a sensitive and well-informed diplomatic approach. This process should and could have been undertaken in a spirit of partnership and equality, rather than a high-stakes one, all too reminiscent of colonialism. It raises questions yet again about what the over-used term "Pacific family" really means - the powerful and wealthy uncle forcing compliance with threats and a cold shoulder, or the respectful relative who listens deeply and sees the concerns and realities of their relatives? Can we ask our experienced diplomats to pose the following question to themselves and their colleagues: what happens when family members treat each other this way? I see this as an embarrassing and even shameful episode in Australian diplomacy. I hope that our diplomacy can improve, guided by a deep understanding of our white privilege, and a true demonstration of decolonising approaches in all our relations with this beautiful country, Vanuatu, and with the rest of our Pacific neighbours.

I think MEL is much needed in the context of PNG to really establish effective management of PALM, and PEV as there is no sound research base that understudies cultural behavioral and emerging trend issues of the contemporary PNG labor migrants for short, medium to long term job. There is a research gaps sender, remittances and local institutional set ups. My concern is that PNG and Australia have not settled the migration and development nexus conceptually and is not well implemented by all stakeholders. It is argued that MEL will be used to explore the problematic areas. Therefore I as a researchers do support Mathew in the MEL is a process multiplyer for effectiveness in aid meeting development targets.

It is very challenging here at the PNG provincial level to find the appropriate organization to network with to get assistive devices for disability in this particular case amputees. Are there organizations out there who can support in this case? Please advise.

My sincere thanks to the two authors for raising this important issue. As the authors and many others would know, the problem of medicine stock-outs is not unique to Manus Province. I have known of many occasions in Madang Province when people were not able to receive, or even purchase, the medicine they needed. A friend of mine who lives near Angoram in East Sepik Province recently travelled to Madang to purchase medicine she could not secure in Angoram. Dr Colin Wiltshire has conducted research on public financial management. He explored this issue in a research report on the health sector in Papua New Guinea that was published in 2020 and is available at: https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/items/b3d0a1d0-087b-4495-8be0-a8f7faa130f9 I was happy to assist with preparation of this report and I recommend it to anyone who wants to look into these issues in further depth. Thanks again to the two authors of this valuable blog post. Amanda

It is not realistic to suggest that better MEL makes a better facility. Most facilities operate with goals that can't be measured. In my experience, the same conditions that make for better aid in general also make for better facilities. A lot of it comes down to staff and counterparts.

Mauri ...e rabwa n am articles... with due respect I feel that one important factor that you have overlooked especially in the case of Tuvalu is the land size vs population. Tuvalu has an extremely limited land area, approx 27 sq. km compared to Kiribati 811 sq.km. Land in Tuvalu cannot be sold outright because they are scarce and precious to the land owners and their families. Tuvalu current population is around 10k, and with this number the country is already experiencing signficant pressure on its scarce land, limited natural resources (water, marine & land resources etc..), housing etc. Imagine if the 6k to 7k diaspora were in Tuvalu, the population will be 17k, our situation and living condition and the pressure on our limited natural resources will be far worse. Grateful for the migration pathways provided by Australia and NZ, they ease such potential situation. It also important to note that the large portion of the 6k or 7k Tuvaluan diaspora orignated during the period when Tuvalu and most of the PIC were visa free to NZ. Those original diaspora faced significant hardship from NZ Immigration dawn raids when their visas expired. Many spent their money on lawyers and immigration advisers to regularise their immigration status. Some were fortunate, and most from the amnesties that were granted.

Actually you want to say that when children speak out for themselves and fight back against any parents, teachers or elders for anything bad or unwanted behaviour towards them, then you call it disrespectful. Children also have full rights to fight back any unwanted activities or behaviour towards them and since it's not in compatibility to your situations and thinking and not according to your whims and fancies, you call it disrespectful. Remember children don't have any liability to satisfy any whims and fancies of the teachers and principal or the school authorities

Corporal punishments should be totally eliminated from both schools and homes and anywhere else. Whenever any segment of the society were hurt and faced abuse or beating we have raised our voices and actions have been taken legally and by all means to condemn it, then if children are also facing abuse, beating, torture or oppression then at that point of time also we need to raise our voices and take stringent actions to condemn such issues of child abuse. Like for example whenever women have faced torture and oppression, they have raised their voices and actions have been taken against it, when labourers faced torture and bad conditions they have also protested, raised corcerns regarding it and actions have been taken to condemn and when people from lower caste or race have faced discrimination and torture they have also fought against, voices have been raised and actions have been taken to stop these discrimination, oppression and torture against women, labourers and people of backward castes and race backgrounds protests and fights have been done and actions have been taken to stop it, then equally if children also face torture, beatings, abuse and oppression, then at that point of time also we need to raise our voices and stringent actions should be taken to totally stop and condemn it as children are human beings of tender age. Moreover if hitting or hurting any human beings are bad and unacceptable in nature so children are also human beings that too of tender age, so it's even more naturally bad and unacceptable to hurt them.

Thank you very much for your two blog posts. You have identified an alarming recent trend. You have also helped to highlight the vulnerability of Pacific newsrooms. Thank you.

Unless our leaders decide a new foreign policy to suit the great power competition, our next diplomatic moves and strategic engagements remain abstract and baseless only to regret later.

"Economic stability is an achievement. Structural transformation is the real test. The true measure of development is not how long a country can sustain external support, but how effectively it transforms that support into self-sustaining prosperity." I found the article particularly insightful because it extends the MIRAB model beyond economics into the realm of political economy. The concept of a "stability trap" is especially compelling: remittances and aid not only protect households and public finances, but may also weaken the political urgency for structural reforms, domestic revenue mobilisation, and economic diversification. However, I believe the discussion could be taken a step further. The stability trap may also reflect path dependency, where prolonged reliance on external finance gradually shapes institutions, public expectations, and policy choices in ways that make structural transformation increasingly difficult. It also raises an important question of moral hazard: if external inflows continuously cushion economic shocks, do governments and citizens face fewer incentives to undertake politically difficult reforms? Viewing MIRAB alongside New Structural Economics (Justin Yifu Lin) suggests that aid and remittances should be treated as catalytic capital rather than permanent income support. Instead of financing recurrent consumption, they should build productive infrastructure, human capital, innovation ecosystems, digital transformation, and competitive industries. Likewise, Benefits Realisation Management (BRM) reminds us that development should be evaluated not by the amount of aid disbursed, but by the lasting public value it creates - higher productivity, stronger institutions, diversified exports, quality employment, and fiscal resilience. The comparison between Tonga and Mauritius is particularly instructive. Despite similar structural constraints as island economies, Mauritius successfully transformed itself through strategic industrial policy, investment in education, institutional quality, and economic diversification. As Acemoglu and Robinson argue in Why Nations Fail, inclusive institutions - not geography or external resources alone - ultimately determine long-term prosperity. Another dimension worth exploring is the transition from remittance dependence to diaspora investment. Rather than serving primarily as a source of household income, diaspora communities could become investors, entrepreneurs, mentors, and knowledge partners. Similarly, the blue economy, digital services, renewable energy, and climate-resilient infrastructure provide opportunities for SIDS to convert external finance into sustainable sources of productivity and competitiveness. Perhaps the article also invites us to distinguish between resilience and competitiveness. A country can become highly resilient to external shocks while still failing to increase productivity, innovation, exports, and domestic value creation. Ultimately, the central issue is state capacity - the ability of governments to transform external finance into long-term public value through effective institutions, adaptive governance, and evidence-based policymaking. Perhaps the next evolution of the MIRAB framework is not simply to explain why dependency persists, but to identify the institutional tipping points at which external finance transitions from consumption financing to productivity financing, allowing stability to become a foundation for structural transformation rather than a source of institutional inertia.

Ron and Rita were lovely people to know. Ron was a warm economics colleague at USP when we were going through difficult times. We also shared a passion for golf which we enjoyed at the rough courses around Fiji.