Climate change and labour mobility

In an op-ed published in The Canberra Times and other Fairfax Media titles this week to coincide with Labor’s high-level visit to the Pacific, Stephen Howes argues that any serious approach to climate change in the Pacific needs to promote labour mobility, particularly for islanders with limited options, such as those from Kiribati, and that Labor’s visit could pave the way for a bipartisan agreement on Australia’s role.

Read this post by Akka Rimon, Kiribati Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and Sophia Kagan of the ILO, for more on the link between migration and climate change.

PNG’s free education policy and exam results

What do student exam results tell us about free education policy in PNG? Find out on Monday 9 November (12.30pm – 1.30pm) from Anthony Swan, Devpolicy Research Fellow. Anthony will present will present findings based on multilevel modelling of grade eight student level exam results across PNG, highlighting positive impacts but also the unintentional and negative consequences of the free education policy on student learning. This public seminar will be held at the Brindabella Theatre, ANU. Register here.

World Bank VP on global health

Have the chance to hear from the World Bank’s Vice President for the Human Development Cluster, Keith Hansen, during his visit to Canberra next week. He will present on recent events and developments in global health and discuss the Bank’s role in supporting global health initiatives. The event will be held from 5.30-6.30pm on November 11, Brindabella Theatre. Register here.

Community based climate adaptation in the Pacific

Countries in the Pacific and South East Asia are amongst the most vulnerable to disasters and the impacts of climate change, but communities are already taking action to adapt and build resilience. Since 2010, the Australian Government has invested $34 million in the Community-based Climate Change Action Grants (CBCCAG) program. In an event on Tuesday 17 November at 12.30pm (Brindabella Theatre, ANU), hear about the results of the program from various NGO representatives. Register here.

The future of aid in translation: Robin Davies in Madrid

Our Associate Director Robin Davies visited Madrid at the invitation of the Spanish development agency, AECID, on 21 October. He was the keynote speaker at a public event on the future of development assistance. He also gave a presentation to the annual conference of AECID’s cross-agency Working Group on Aid Effectiveness and Quality on the OECD/Devpolicy Partner Country Survey that he and Jonathan Pickering published earlier this year.

New Visiting Fellow

We are very happy to welcome a new Visiting Fellow to the Centre. Savitri Taylor is an Associate Professor in Law at La Trobe University. Her main area of research is refugee law and asylum policy, at the national, regional and international levels. She will be working with us at the Centre until the end of November.

We also say goodbye and thank you to Lindy Kanan who completed a Scope Global Development Internship with Femili PNG, helping to develop operational policies, and to Josephine McLaren, who was an ANIP intern with us for second semester.

Australasian Aid Conference

A reminder that our early bird pricing for the 2016 Australasian Aid Conference is about to end – register now if you would like to take advantage of the discount. Regular pricing kicks in on November 11.

Thank you to everyone who submitted an abstract for the conference – more than 85 abstracts were received. We will be finalising the program shortly.

2016 PNG Update

The call for papers for the 2016 PNG Update on 15–17 June 2016 at UPNG in Port Moresby is now open. Find out more details on the website.

Recent podcasts

If you missed any of our recent events, catch up with the podcast. Our Careers in Development panel, Paul Flanagan’s presentation on the PNG economy, and our PNG gender parity panel are all available, with many more podcasts on our Soundcloud page.

Upcoming events

What do student exam results tell us about free education policy in PNG?
Monday 9 November. 12.30pm – 1.30pm, Brindabella Theatre. Register here.

Global health and the World Bank: recent events and developments
Wednesday 11 November, 5.30  – 6.30pm. Register here.

Standing with communities: results of Australian community-based climate change action grants in the Pacific and Southeast Asia
Tuesday 17 November, 12.30pm – 2pm, Brindabella Theatre. Register here.

2016 Australasian Aid Conference
10–11 February 2016. Registrations open. Details here.

Blog highlights

Australian NGO donations increase

What’s up with PNG rice policy?

Mental health overlooked in emergencies

Update on the Yemen crisis

Global TB cases rise thanks to Indonesia

PNG’s over-valued exchange rate

On the blog

Women, the workforce, resources and violence: getting PNG companies to respond by Linda Van Leeuwen and Ashlee Betteridge

How to help the Pacific on climate change by Stephen Howes

Does merging improve aid efficiency? By Rachael Calleja

PNG’s exchange rate: evidence of over-valuation by Rohan Fox

How the global humanitarian system is failing Yemenis by Paul McPhun

The invisible health challenge for aid and humanitarian action by Hayley Channer, Megan McGrath and Alison Schafer

Strength in diversity – ACFID 2015 statistical survey By Priyanka Sunder

Climate change and displacement: can labour migration be part of the solution? by Akka Rimon and Sophia Kagan

PNG growth – the measurement challenge by Paul Flanagan

The SDGs as a systems approach: a voice from the bumblebees by Krishna Hort

In brief

Fortnightly links: of cash transfers and sloth, fundraising dilemmas, poor countries rising, and more

“I don’t dream anymore”

Coordination the name of the game to improve health care provision

An uptick in donations to Australian NGOs

What is happening to rice policy in PNG?

New Indonesia data behind rise in global TB cases

Join us at the 2016 Australasian Aid Conference

This is the fortnightly newsletter of the Development Policy Centre at Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University, published every second Friday.