Comments

A welcome turnaround. But I am not sure what the "good grounds" for drawing climate funds from aid budgets are. Given the long way that many Pacific Islands are from establishing basic systems of service delivery and management one would have to be pretty sure that adequate aid funds were still going towards that before any excess "space" is diverted to climate projects - unless of course recent evaluations showed that these were also securing such basic systems. What do you think with regards to the grounds for drawing climate funds from aid budgets?

The UNEP fared pretty well in the Australian Multilateral Assessment in 2012 - satisfactory in most areas, strong in a few, including contributing to/supporting with Australia's aid priorities. The funding cut really makes you wonder what the point of the AMA was. Particularly given the likely prominence of sustainable development in the post 2015 era (this being a big part of the UNEP's work), it seems strange. The apparent lack of explanation for the decision seems to align with one of the common features of the current government - an inability to effectively sell policy decisions. If the rationale for the cut was more money for actual programs/less for the UNEP's policy and normative leadership, this should be spelt out.

It appears that Julie Bishop will have lots of environmental credentials to promote at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in in Lima this week. On top of the A$200m contribution to the Green Climate Fund, the government announced yesterday that it is allocating $31 million over six years for research to assist in the management of coastal and marine water quality in Australia’s tropical regions, including the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef.

Many thanks for this blog Stephen. Please see <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/counterpoint/pacific-islands-trade/5946312" rel="nofollow">this link</a> for a discussion I had with Amanda Vanstone regarding labour mobility and the PACER-Plus negotiations. It aired on Radio National's 'Counterpoint' program earlier this week. Regards, Wesley

Now that Australia has announced an A$200m contribution to the Green Climate Fund overnight, it seems that we may have an answer to where the UNEP savings have gone. But the fact that UNEP and the Green Climate Fund complement rather than duplicate each other's work means the UNEP cut remains puzzling (except perhaps for the fact that the Fund isn't likely to scrutinise Australia's domestic climate policies). And then there is the question of where in the aid budget the other A$199m of the Green Climate Fund pledge will be drawn from.

Sam Koim has effectively outlined the symptoms and problem. How will PNG overcome these impediments is the question? Clearly many in PNG have decided that 'if you can't beat 'em, join ‘em', and just given up. The judicial process introduced into PNG by Australia was at the time in 'sync' with an independent and accountable public service and a disciplined and clearly viewed independent system of law enforcement. Discipline and law enforcement are now out of 'sync' with the judicial process, the legislature (Parliament) and the executive (Senior Public Servants). No one should suggest that so called 'western democracies' don't have similar problems about corruption and malfeasance. It has taken centuries of trial and error to establish any anti corruption processes and to develop sufficient public awareness and information systems to inform those who want to be informed. Apparently it's not possible to make a quantum leap forward without a sufficient amount of coercion and pain. You only have to look at countries like China for an example. But is this the type of methodology that PNG must endure in order to change the current paradigm and would it work with PNG cultures anyway? However, while communal decision making is traditional the George Orwell scenario that 'some (end up) more equal that others' seems to always present itself doesn't it?

Hi Carmen, Great piece of writing! I am sure you will enjoy more of Port Moresby and PNG, its "land of the unexpected" theme. I have had an Israeli, couple of Aussies, couple of German's come to my humble abode to spend a night or two in the mosquito net and catch the bus 9 route... Or put them on the plane to experience Goroka then bus ride along the Highlands highway or the Madang highway and even doing the banana boat cruise from Alotau to Samarai These were the expatriates who ventured beyond imagination what PNG had in store for them and their love of this beautiful place which is my home, their home! Being able to indulge with you in a coffee the other day was great and we will catch more to do this and that to make you stay memorable!

Hi Palms Australia, Thank you for your comment. As you point out above, environmental sustainability, like other development issues, take on different forms across scales, and an understanding of local knowledge and priorities is essential to any successful development or aid intervention. In Timor, sometimes aid/development organisations are based in major population centres, and their staff head out into the more remote areas for short term observations. They may potentially miss out on the more intricate aspects of local livelihoods that longer term engagement can reveal.

Hi Joe, Thank you for your comment. Indeed, Timor-Leste is, and will continue to be susceptible to the effects of climate change. I have yet to explore from this angle, and suspect there are few in-depth studies on this topic. Australian-funded Seeds of Life program has Climate Change Research and they predict Timor-Leste will experience an increase in temperature of 1.5 degree Celsius and up to 10% increase in rainfall in the coming 50 years (have a look at the resources on their website). This will invariably affect local livelihoods, and presumably have varying impacts across the six agro-climatic zones that characterise the country.

Hello Sandra Hope all well with you. I am a researcher based in the UK doing some research on the youth sector in the Solomon Islands for a new programme/fund - Queens Young Leaders - that is about to launch there. It would be great to know if you are experienced in this area and would be willing to have a chat with me. Looking forward to hearing from you. Sally

An interesting speech by Minister Bishop at the 'celebration' of 40 years of aid tonight. On the upside, there was genuine recognition of the achievements of Australian aid over time, and of the people who have contributed to it. On the downside was the graceless lack of acknowledgement of anyone from the other side of politics from the last 40 years - Spender, Hasluck, Howard got a mention but no Whitlam, Evans, Bilney, Rudd ... Downer was mentioned for his opening of the bridge in Vietnam which he had vowed to stop when in opposition. The opening of the Thai-Lao bridge was mentioned though no mention of Keating. There were Ministerial quotes on the wall in large letters about the need for the aid program to be more entrepreneurial, echoing the piece in The Canberra Times last week with the Minister simultaneously urging aid staff to be less risk averse, while noting that she had shut down AusAID because it had lost (small amounts of) money from fraud. Mixed signals?

Thanks for sharing Carmen. Enjoy your time in POM.