Comments

Completely agree. Thank you Annabel. It is simply disgusting what is going on.

Thank you Annabel.

Thank you Annabel. Well said.

Thanks David. I'm sure Aderito and Gobie can respond more fully on the infrastructure points. Characterising foreign interests was a challenge - because of course only some of those interests are overtly stated, others inferred, and still others much more hidden. In the paper we select the foreign powers we look at based on who are the largest funders in each sector and then discuss their motivations and interests for working in a given sector. It's hard not to fall into caricature in doing that at some points, and also to separate out the official interests of states vs the interests of individuals and companies that are often seen to be associated with particular states. On the multilateral institutions, while I agree they are not quite one and the same with other foreign actors, they are certainly not local and still operate with their own distinct motivations and interests. I don't think any single aid recipient country feels terribly empowered in shaping such institutions' interests, even if they are nominally members.

It seems that little has changed in the 70 years: it is just the names of the players change. The multilateral institutions are less able to put it over large countries such as India or Indonesia but smaller states such as Timor Leste and Pacific states have little opportunity to shape what’s on offer. Invariably on a take it or leave it basis, not unlike many bilateral donors.

Are you aware of the detailed urban land use plan from the late 90’s funded by AusAID?

I’m interested in working.

Hi Maun Aderito, Gobie, and Lisa, thanks for sharing this case study. I'm curious about how you define 'foreign interests'. In the case of infrastructure development, it is notable that financing is predominantly from Timor-Leste's own sovereign resources, with modest use of confessional borrowing and ODA. You single out Indonesia and China as two important sources of foreign interest but don't articulate what these countries' interests are, or how the 'national interest' articulated by political actors in these countries is reflected in the commercial engagements of their, including state-owned enterprises. I'm also curious about your characterization of multilateral institutions as foreign. Surely the whole point of these institutions is that they have a distributed membership and a governance structure that gives all member countries, including Timor-Leste, an opportunity to shape their policies and operations?

I would like to be one of kiribati women working overseas. I’m happy to join this job.

I would like to be one of those people.

Thank you, Dr Aqorau for sharing some hard truths about the “aid business” and how sovereign countries in the Pacific and its regional bodies should be operating beyond the traditional donor-driven model. PNA’s success sets the benchmark for all other spheres of development at a bilateral, regional and multilateral level and out-migration is no exception even if it isn’t really donor funded per say. It still involves resource management of human capital and the same lessons from PNA can be applied to governance arrangements for participation in PALM/RSE (temporary labour mobility schemes), PEV/PAC (permanent migration) and any other kind of self-funded out-migration pathways. Closer to the region, the Philippines governance model of out-migration proves this. While the scale is much bigger to that of any Pacific island country, it does set the gold standard for sending countries who decide to strategically position themselves for financial independence. Worth aspiring to and needs Pacific-led ingenuity. For too long, Pacific countries have been on the back foot for out-migration instead of spearheading cooperative governance arrangements of its human resources within and beyond the region that transforms the narrative of “brain drain” to “brain gain”. Thank you for your challenging and inspiring insights.

Can you explain where does the LLGSIP come from? Is it from the PSIP, DSIP or national government?