Timor-Leste is one of the most petroleum-export dependent countries in the world. However, oil and gas revenues will end soon, and the Petroleum Fund may only carry the country for another decade. Time is running out for decisions critical to the nation’s future.

Charles Scheiner presents the 2021 economic survey of Timor-Leste, outlining the current economic situation, particularly in relation to the state budget, and the dominance of the Petroleum Fund in state finances. He also looks at future oil and gas possibilities, including Greater Sunrise and the Tasi Mane petroleum infrastructure project, and argues regardless of the paths Timor-Leste chooses to follow, investing in its people – through education, health and nutrition – is essential.

The presentation is a draft of a forthcoming paper in the Pacific Survey series, published in the Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies journal.


Speaker: 
Charles Scheiner is a researcher at La’o Hamutuk, the Timor-Leste Institute for Development Monitoring and Analysis, an independent, non-partisan, Timorese civil society research organisation. He specialises in the effects of oil and gas extraction, including on economics, governance, environment and revenue management.
 
>> view presentation at https://devpolicy.org/Events/2021/Timor-Leste-2021-economic-survey-10Feb/presentation-Scheiner.pdf

>> view presentation with notes at https://devpolicy.org/Events/2021/Timor-Leste-2021-economic-survey-10Feb/presentation-with-notes-Scheiner.pdf

Chair:
Professor Stephen Howes, Director, Development Policy Centre, The Australian National University

Photo credit: Charles Scheiner

Timor-Leste: 2021 economic survey

Australian foreign aid has changed considerably in the last 20 years. Dr Terence Wood discusses the findings of a recently published report that examines the changing nature of Australian government aid through the lens of publicly available data on aid flows, which provide evidence of change and allow direct comparisons between Australia and other OECD Development Assistance Committee donors. These comparisons help highlight where Australian aid conforms with international norms of good giving, where Australia lags behind the global community, and where it is a global leader.

Speaker:
Dr Terence Wood is a Research Fellow at the Development Policy Centre. His research focuses on the domestic political economy of aid in donor countries, public opinion about aid, NGOs, aid effectiveness in poorly governed states, and Melanesian electoral politics. 

>> view presentation at https://devpolicy.org/Events/2021/Change-and-continuity-in-Australian-aid-what-the-aid-flows-show-24Feb/presentation-Wood.pdf 

>> view report at https://devpolicy.org/publications/reports/Wood-Dornan-Muller_Change_and_continuity_in_Australian_aid_January-2021-FINAL.pdf 

Chair:
Ashlee Betteridge, Manager,  Development Policy Centre, The Australian National University
 
Photo Credit: DFAT/Timothy Tobing/CC BY 2.0

Change and continuity in Australian aid: what the aid flows show

The Australia Pacific Training Coalition (APTC) is a major Australian government foreign aid initiative that commenced in 2008, that has spent over $350 million, and that has turned out over 15,000 graduates with Australian qualifications. In a recent Devpolicy Discussion Paper, Richard Curtain and Stephen Howes analyse graduate tracer surveys and show that employment outcomes for APTC graduate job-seekers have worsened over the last decade. This is mainly because of falling demand for the trades and hospitality qualifications APTC has offered since inception. They suggest a more demand-led approach to course selection and a greater focus on promoting international migration opportunities to improve employment outcomes for APTC graduates. In a related Policy Brief they propose that APTC should redirect its labour mobility efforts and focus on the Temporary Skill Shortage visa and those graduates who are eligible to migrate to Australia as skilled workers.

>> view presentation at https://devpolicy.org/Events/2021/Worsening-employment-outcomes-for-Pacific-technical-graduate-job-seekers-and-one-possible-solution-10Mar/PPT-presentation-Curtain-Howes.pdf 

>> view Discussion Paper at https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3785672 

>> view Policy Brief at https://devpolicy.org/publications/policy_briefs/PB20-Helping-APTC-trades-graduates-to-migrate-to-Australia-under-the-TSS-Feb-2021.pdf


Speakers:
Dr Richard Curtain is a Research Fellow specialising in Pacific labour mobility at the Development Policy Centre, The Australian National University.

Professor Stephen Howes is Director of the Development Policy Centre and Professor of Economics at the Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.

Chair:
Sadhana Sen is Regional Communications Adviser at the Development  Policy Centre, The Australian National University.

 

Photo credit: Flickr/DFAT

Worsening employment outcomes for Pacific technical graduate job-seekers, and one possible solution

On the eve of the 2021–22 Federal Budget, Stephen Howes set out three tests for Australia’s aid budget: Will there be any further increases in aid next year? Will the government sustain any aid increases beyond this year and next? Will the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade provide an estimate of this year’s and next year’s Official Development Assistance (ODA)? In this ninth edition of Devpolicy’s aid budget breakfast, he answers those questions, provides analysis on the broader budget context and compares aid and defence spending. He also looks at specific aid updates, including how the Pacific Step-up has been funded, regional and sectoral trends, multilaterals and NGO aid. The analysis finishes with a look at some of the major aid initiatives in response to COVID-19 and Australian aid in the global context over the past decade.

>> view presentation at https://devpolicy.org/Events/2021/2021-aid-budget-breakfast-12May/presentation_Howes.pdf

>> read blog at https://devpolicy.org/2021-aid-budget-blog-20210512/

Speaker:
Professor Stephen Howes is Director of the Development Policy Centre and Professor of Economics at the Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
 
Photo credit: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

2021 aid budget breakfast

Helen Clark sat down with Robin Davies on her March 2024 visit to the Australian National University to talk about whether governments and global institutions are ready to change the way they respond to pandemics.

Clark has had a long career in public service as New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and co-chair of the Independent Panel on Pandemic Preparedness and Response.

With this episode, we're relaunching our podcast after a more than two-year hiatus. In this new season, we'll bring you a mix of interviews, event recordings, and more in-depth documentary features relating to the topics we research at the Centre, namely Australia's overseas aid, development in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific, and regional and global development issues.

You can also listen to a public lecture that Helen Clark delivered at the ANU by visiting our sister Crawford School of Public Policy podcast, Policy Forum Pod.

Helen Clark will return to Australia to address the 2024 World Health Summit Regional Meeting, which will be held in Melbourne from 22 to 24 April 2024.

Can the world’s governments agree on a better framework for pandemic response?

The small states of the Asia and Pacific region face unique challenges in raising their growth potential and living standards relative to other small states due to their small populations, geographical isolation and dispersion, narrow export and production bases, exposure to shocks, and heavy reliance on aid. Higher fixed government costs, low access to credit by the private sector, and capacity constraints are also key challenges.

The econometric analysis confirms that the Pacific Island Countries (PICs) have underperformed relative to their peers over the last 20 years.

Although these countries often face more limited policy tools, policies do matter and can help build resilience and raise potential growth. The Asia and Pacific small states should continue rebuilding buffers and improve the composition of public spending. Regional solutions should also continue to be pursued.

Dr Patrizia Tumbarello, Unit Chief for the International Monetary Fund Pacific Island Unit presented on the IMF’s recent work on small states. Vivek Suri, the World Bank’s Lead Economist for the Pacific, acted as discussant.

Presentation slides are available from the Devpolicy events page: https://devpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au/event-extra/past

Are the Asia and Pacific small states different from other small states

As troops withdraw and aid declines, this is a critical period of transition for Afghanistan. At this forum, the speakers questioned what has been achieved to date.

The event also included the Australia launch of The Asia Foundation’s Survey of the Afghan People 2013. This is the biggest public opinion poll in Afghanistan, covering all 34 provinces. Through face-to-face interviews, over 9,000 Afghan citizens revealed their opinions on security, political participation, the economy, women’s rights, and development.

The forum also scrutinised the 2013 report of the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee on Australia’s overseas development programs in Afghanistan. This critical report found that while Afghanistan ‘remains in need of substantial and continuing aid,’ to date, Australian achievements in Afghanistan may not be as substantial as initial indicators suggest.

Speakers include:

Mark Kryzer, Afghanistan Country Representative, The Asia Foundation 
Palwasha Kakar, Director of the Afghanistan Women’s Empowerment Program, The Asia Foundation 
Senator Alan Eggleston, Liberal Party, Western Australia (Chair of the Afghanistan aid Senate inquiry. 
Nematullah Bizhan, ANU PhD student working on aid to Afghanistan. He was formerly Afghanistan’s Deputy Minister for Youth among other positions.

Afghanistan: what has been achieved?

Tess Newton Cain sits down with Kolone Vaai, Principal Consultant at KVAConsult Ltd and former Financial Secretary for the Government of Samoa (1984-1990).

Blog post available here: http://devpolicy.org/pacific-conversations-the-economy-of-samoa-with-kolone-vaai-20140122/

Pacific conversations with Kolone Vaai

Alice Albright, CEO of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), was in Canberra in May to meet with the Australian Government ahead of its upcoming funding replenishment. Ms Albright has a long and distinguished career in finance and development, having worked as a banker, then spending eight years in GAVI until taking the role of COO of Exim Bank from 2009 to 2013. While she was in Canberra Jonathan Pryke sat down with her to talk about GPE, and their mission to Australia.

You can read a summary of their conversation here: http://devpolicy.org/the-global-partnership-for-education-ceo-alice-albright-on-opportunities-and-challenges-20140604

The Global Partnership for Education: CEO Alice Albright on opportunities and challenges

Many young people are interested in a career in international development. Thousands volunteer in development organisations across the country, and development studies and international relations are some of the most popular undergraduate university courses in Australia. The appeal of a career that combines doing good with international travel is undeniable. But the popularity of the field also makes it competitive, and it can be tough for students to know where to start.

This public seminar, hosted by the Development Policy Centre and the ANU Aid and Development Learning Community, gave students the chance to hear from those working in the development sector. Our panelists spoke about their own careers in the aid program, NGOs and the private sector. Students also heard about some of the entry points to a development career, such as volunteering, and had the chance to ask questions.

Speakers: Jacqui De Lacy, Abt JTA; Chris Adams, ACFID; Alwyn Chilver, GRM International; Ashlee Betteridge, Development Policy Centre, Crawford School.

Careers in development

Corruption in Papua New Guinea is widely accepted to be a major development challenge. The fight against it was recently bolstered by the introduction of a new anti-corruption taskforce. In 2011 Taskforce Sweep, a multi-agency anti-corruption taskforce, was set up by Prime Minister Peter O’Neill to investigate, prosecute and recover the proceeds of crime. The agency was initially successful in recouping corrupt funds, instigating numerous arrests and prosecuting a senior politician. But in 2014 Prime Minister O’Neill ordered the agency disbanded after O’Neill himself was served with an arrest warrant over his alleged role in a corruption scandal. While the legality of the PM’s decision is being decided in the courts, Taskforce Sweep continues to operate in an increasingly difficult environment.

In this presentation, the Chairman of Taskforce Sweep, Sam Koim, reflected upon his experiences in fighting corruption in PNG. He explained the institutional arrangements that led to Sweep’s initial success and outline the issues that threaten these arrangements. The presentation highlighted what these challenges mean for ongoing anti-corruption efforts in the country.

The challenges of fighting corruption in Papua New Guinea

Tewodros Melesse is the Director-General of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, a federation of 152 national member associations, working in 170 countries, focused on achieving universal sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). During a recent visit to Canberra, he spoke with Camilla Burkot about IPPF’s work in the Pacific and around the world. 

Transcript available here: http://devpolicy.org/pdf/blog/Transcript_interview-with-TewodrosMelesse-13Aug2015.pdf

Universal rights and quality of life: an interview with Tewodros Melesse

Dr Linda Van Leeuwen is a Capacity Building Specialist for Anitua, a landholder company based on the island of Lihir in Papua New Guinea that provides a wide range of services to resource companies. She also heads their corporate social responsibility work, predominantly focused on eliminating violence against women (EVAW). Linda has also been involved heavily with the PNG Business Coalition for Women, as a founding board member and chair of its addressing violence working group.

During her recent visit to Australia as part of the ANZ PNG gender parity symposium, Linda discussed with Ashlee Betteridge the challenge of gender violence for businesses operating in Papua New Guinea, and the steps that businesses, particularly in the resource sector, could take to assist their staff and wider communities. 

Gender-based violence and PNG business: a conversation with Linda Van Leeuwen

Vincent Bernard is the Geneva-based head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Forum for Law and Policy, and Editor-in-Chief of the International Review of the Red Cross. During his recent visit to Canberra as part of the ICRC’s global cycle on the principles guiding humanitarian action, Vincent sat down with Camilla Burkot to discuss the militarisation of aid and the role of humanitarian actors in contemporary conflicts.

Humanitarian principles amid the militarisation of aid: an interview with Vincent Bernard

Research Officer Ashlee Betteridge interviewed Abdul Wasey Mullahzada, outgoing Medical Coordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières‎ (MSF) in Papua New Guinea, about MSF's new report on the family and sexual violence epidemic in PNG, ‘Return to Abuser’.

Interview with MSF's Abdul Wasey Mullahzada on family and sexual violence in PNG

In this podcast, Devpolicy welcomes John Ma’o Kali, CMG, OBE, Secretary, Department of Personnel Management, Papua New Guinea Government.

The Papua New Guinea’s Department of Personnel Management plays a critical role as a central agency in the Government’s policy initiatives and implementation of the Public Sector Reforms.

You will hear Mr John Ma’o Kali, Secretary of Papua New Guinea’s Department of Personnel Management, examine the size and shape of the PNG’s public service, the successes and challenges of the PNG’s public sector, and identify areas of priority and reform in public sector management.

Mr Kali also discusses the Pacific Leadership and Governance Precinct, a new initiative between the governments of Papua New Guinea and Australia that aims to strengthen leadership, governance and public sector capacity in PNG.

This seminar was presented as part of the Development Policy Centre’s PNG Project, with funding from the Australian Aid Program through the Pacific Governance and Leadership Precinct.

Development Policy Centre

State of the PNG public sector - Mr John Ma'o Kali

Gender inequality and violence against women are major development challenges facing the Asia-Pacific region. In a wide-ranging conversation hosted by UN Women National Committee Australia and the United Nations Association of Australia (UNAA) in Canberra on 11 October 2016, Anna-Karin Jatfors (Deputy Director, UN Women Asia and the Pacific) and Melissa Alvarado (Ending Violence Against Women Program Coordinator, UN Women Asia and the Pacific) discussed some of their organisation’s work. The conversation was facilitated by Janelle Weissman (Executive Director, UN Women National Committee Australia).

Challenging gender inequality: in conversation with UN Women Asia and the Pacific

In this podcast, part of a series of speeches from the recent PNG Update, you will hear Mr. Bruce Davis, Australian High Commissioner to PNG; reflect on the diversity and strategic importance of the AUS – PNG relationship.

Charles Abel, Honorable Minister for National Planning at the PNG Government, also speaks. Abel discusses the importance of PNG’s transition to a sustainable economy, and arguing that the responsible use of renewable resources is essential if PNG is to sustain growth beyond the resource boom.

You can find a link to both speeches at the Devpolicy website (devpolicy.anu.edu.au) under the 2016 PNG Update tab.

2016 PNG Update - Part 1 - Bruce Davis & Charles Abel Podcast

For generations of young Australians with a passion for social justice, volunteering in developing or indigenous communities has been a rite of passage. Bill Armstrong has been deeply involved in this movement since the 1960s, working with organisations such as the Overseas Service Bureau (now Australian Volunteers International), and Indigenous Community Volunteers. Robin Davies discussed his work in an interview for our Aid Profiles series.

View the story here: http://devpolicy.org/aidprofiles/2016/12/12/bill-armstrong-volunteering-with-attitude/

Robin Davies interviews Bill Armstrong

In 1938 three Australian patrol officers – Jim Taylor, John Black and Pat Walsh – set off on an epic journey into the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Their purpose: to make contact with highland tribes who until then, had no contact with the outside world, and to explain to them that their lives were about to undergo incredible change.

Fifty years later, Jim’s daughter Meg retraced her father’s steps and met people who remembered the day the patrol arrived. Meg’s observations are combined with excerpts from her father’s journal to provide a personal and poetic narrative about an extraordinary meeting of cultures. [extract from In My Father’s Footsteps]

Dame Meg Taylor is a Papua New Guinean lawyer and diplomat. She studied at the University of PNG, received her LLB from Melbourne University and her LLM from Harvard University. She practiced law with the Office of the Public Solicitor and in the private sector, and served as a member of the Law Reform Commission of PNG. She was Ambassador of Papua New Guinea to the United States, Mexico and Canada in Washington, DC and then worked at the World Bank Group for 15 years. In August 2014, she was appointed Secretary General to the Pacific Islands Forum. Dame Meg is also Pacific Ocean Commissioner.

This podcast features the Q&A session that preceded a film screening of Dame Meg's documentary, 'My father, my country', on 22 June. The screening was presented as part of the Development Policy Centre’s PNG Project, which receives funding from the Australian Aid Program through the Pacific Governance and Leadership Precinct.

My Father, My country - Q & A session of documentary screening with Dame Meg Taylor

Are our current approaches to development cooperation fit for purpose to address contemporary challenges? How should development practice evolve to reflect 21st century priorities and knowledge? And how can it bridge the traditional donor-recipient divide? Can aid donors and recipients meaningfully engage with the private sector, private philanthropy, and other new sources of financing?

In the 2017 Mitchell Oration, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala draws on more than 30 years of development and financial expertise to reflect on the need for a new way forward.

A development economist and former Finance Minister of Nigeria, Dr Okonjo-Iweala is uniquely placed to provide perspectives on these crucial questions. She has served as Board Chair of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, since January 2016. She has twice served as Nigeria’s Finance Minister, most recently between 2011 and 2015 – a role that encompassed the expanded portfolio of Coordinating Minister for the Economy. In 2006 she served as Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, and has also held several key positions at the World Bank, including as Managing Director.

The Mitchell Oration series, of which this is the fifth, has been created to provide a forum at which the most pressing development issues can be addressed by the best minds and most influential practitioners of our time. This podcast of Dr Okonjo-Iweala's lecture is presented by the Development Policy Centre at Crawford School of Public Policy, with generous support from the Harold Mitchell Foundation.

2017 Mitchell Oration - Development: towards 21st century approaches - Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Tess Newton Cain caught up with the Hon Ralph Regenvanu on Vanuatu’s foreign policy priorities, challenges, and getting through to voters.

Pacific regionalism, climate finance, women in politics: in conversation with Hon Ralph Regenvanu

PNG's Treasurer and Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Charles Abel, gave a keynote address at the 2018 PNG Update, held on 14-15 June at the University of PNG. He discussed the ANU-PNG relationship, opportunities for further connection through education, and PNG's political history and economic plans.

2018 PNG Update - Plenary Session 1 [excerpt]: Charles Abel's speech

Tess Newton Cain interviews Yasmine Bjornum, an activist for women's rights and empowerment in Vanuatu. They discussed Yasmine's background and journey thus far, including Sista, an online platform that provides content that aims to raise the visibility of women and their achievements in Vanuatu's society and economy.

Navigating feminism and amplifying women’s voices in Vanuatu: in conversation with Yasmine Bjornum

With the recent establishment of the Pacific Labour Scheme and Pacific Labour Facility, and the reorientation and rebadging of the Australia Pacific Training Coalition and Pacific Labour Facility, this panel provided the opportunity for a conversation about the complexities and opportunities that labour mobility provides for the Pacific region.

Panellists:
Kaye Schofield, Australia Pacific Training Coalition (Chair)
Richard Curtain, Development Policy Centre, ANU
Andie Fong Toy, Australia Pacific Training Coalition
Alisi Holani, Tonga Ministry of Commerce
Nick Volk, Pacific Labour Facility

The 2019 Australasian Aid Conference was held at Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU, on 19-20 February, and was organised by the Development Policy Centre in partnership with The Asia Foundation.

2019 Australasian Aid Conference - Panel 1e: Pacific labour mobility

Rapid advances in technology, including mobile communication, artificial intelligence, robotics, big data, psychographics, and biotech, are fundamentally changing economic, political, social, and security conditions in the Indo Pacific region. This panel discussed the impact all this is having on developing countries, and adjustments needed in development policy and practice.

Panellists:
Sakuntala Akmeemana, DFAT (Chair)
William Cole, The Asia Foundation
Yixiao Zhou, ANU
John Karr, The Asia Foundation
Klee Aiken, Asia-Pacific Network Information Centre

The 2019 Australasian Aid Conference was held at Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU, on 19-20 February, and was organised by the Development Policy Centre in partnership with The Asia Foundation.

2019 Australasian Aid Conference - Panel 3e: Impact of technology on developing Asia

In a talk at ANU on 12 April, Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP discussed how a Labor government will tackle tax avoidance in Australia and our region, and announced a new policy initiative to help crack down on multinational tax avoidance and restore fairness into the system.

Tax pirates and tax fairness

On Wednesday 1 May, former World Bank Vice President Jim Adams presented his reflections on the performance of the Australian aid program. He is stepping down as Chair of DFAT's Independent Evaluation Committee after seven years in the role, and joined us at ANU to discuss how to build a robust performance culture based on accountability, transparency, learning and appropriate risk management.

Australian aid: building a robust performance culture

In November 2019, Professor Stephen Howes sat down with Michael Kocher and Matt Reed of the Aga Khan Foundation to discuss the work of the Foundation, one of the ten development arms of the Aga Khan Development Network.

Professor Stephen Howes is the Director of the Development Policy Centre at the Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University

Michael Kocher is the global General Manager of the Aga Khan Foundation
 
Matt Reed is Chief Executive Officer of the Aga Khan Foundation in the United Kingdom

Photo credit: AKDN/Danial Shah

Development the Aga Khan way

In this keynote address, Dr Radhika Coomaraswamy discusses the evolution of the women, peace and security agenda, from representation and participation of women in peace processes, transformative justice and women combatants to livelihoods and empowerment of women in the post-conflict era and the role women play, and can play, in the prevention of conflict. Drawing on her personal experiences in the field, she explores the dilemmas and day-to-day lived realities of women in conflict and post-conflict theatres of war, and points to some of the challenges that lie ahead for the women, peace and security agenda in the international community.

Keynote speaker:
Dr Radhika Coomaraswamy, lawyer, diplomat and human rights advocate

Chair:
Dr Jeni Klugman, Managing Director, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security

2020 Australasian AID Conference - Keynote address: Women, peace and security

In the Pacific over the past three decades, women’s domestic violence services have led advocacy for policy for increased gender equality, women’s human rights and in engaging men and boys as allies and advocates in prevention of violence against women. In partnership with regional governments, development partners and Australia’s aid and development resources, this model has provided agency, leadership and generated a significant shift towards building support and a more strategic approach. This panel of experts discuss their views on how best to engage men and boys for primary prevention of violence against women.

Panellists: 

Melkie Anton, male advocate for ending violence against women and development project adviser

Abigail Erikson, Program Specialist, UN Women 

Amy Gildea, Managing Director Asia and Pacific, Coffey International Development 

H.E. John Kali CMG OBE, High Commissioner for Papua New Guinea to Australia

Chair: 

Glenn Davies, Director, Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion Asia and Pacific, Coffey International Development

2020 Australasian AID Conference - Panel 5a: Working with men and boys to end violence against women

Diplomacy, aid, development and foreign policy intersect in this panel event that explores the role of diplomatic engagement in reducing violent conflict, a feminist approach to foreign policy, food aid and the expansion of Australia's foreign aid program, and the challenges associated with balanced public reporting on aid program performance.  

Presenters:

‘Security through sustainable peace’ (at 2:50 in)
Professor John Langmore AM, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Melbourne, and Dr Tania Miletic, Research Fellow, Melbourne School of Government, University of Melbourne 

‘Feminist foreign policy: a new approach for a new era’ (at 15:38 in) 
Joanna Pradela, Director, Knowledge Translation, International Women's Development Agency (IWDA), and Alice Ridge, Research Policy and Advocacy Adviser, IWDA 

‘‘‘Send them a shipload of rice’’: Food aid and Australia-Indonesia bilateral relations, 1960s–70s’ (at 29:35 in)
Dr Pierre van der Eng, Associate Professor, Research School of Management, The Australian National University

‘Where’s the dirty laundry? DFAT APPRs and the public diplomacy imperative’ (at 44:24 in)
Dave Green, Principal Consultant, Clear Horizon and Kaisha Crupi, Consultant, Clear Horizon

Chair: 
Professor Caitlin Byrne, Director of the Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University


Presentation slides can be found at: https://devpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au/annual-australasian-aid-conference/2020/abstracts

2020 Australasian AID Conference - Panel 5b: Australian aid and foreign policy

It is time to fundamentally reframe the research agenda on migration, remittances, payments and development. Many policymakers in the developing world, and researchers, tend to view migrant remittances as windfall income, rather than as returns on investment, which is how families with migrants tend to see remittances. Migration is thus, among other things, a strategy for financial management in poor households: location is an asset, migration an investment.

Some of the most basic questions about remittances and their effects remain inadequately answered, in part because of a blinded research agenda. Asking better questions is a step towards better policies, programs and regulations and, above all, to enable people on low incomes to improve their lives.

In this webinar, based on the article “Migration and household finances: How a different framing can improve thinking about migration”, Timothy Ogden discusses some of the new and alternative research questions that emerge from the shift of perspective on remittances – from windfall to return on investment.

Speaker:
Timothy Ogden is Managing Director of the Financial Access Initiative, a research centre housed at New York University’s (NYU) Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service focused on how financial services can better meet the needs and improve the lives of low-income households.

>> View presentation at: https://devpolicy.org/Events/2020/Migration_and_Household_Finance_10_June/Slides.pdf

Chair:
Dr Ryan Edwards, Deputy Director, Development Policy Centre, The Australian National University


Photo credit: AU/UN Ist Photo/Stuart Price (Flickr CC0 1.0)

Migration and household finances: How a different framing can improve thinking about migration

Historically, Australia has lacked a coherent policy to attract immigrants with less extensive formal training and education, despite the needs of its ageing population and labour market. 

The Center for Global Development has recently concluded a project with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which has produced two papers. Michael Clemens outlines the findings of the first paper, which estimates the demand for vocational workers in Australia by 2050 will exceed native supply by over two million. While there will be ample skilled labour available within Pacific Island countries, facilitating this movement in a managed way that maximises the development potential of migration will be key. To that end, Satish Chand discusses the second paper, which proposes the development of a ‘Pacific Skills Partnership’, a model that would facilitate skills creation across 14 low-income Pacific Island countries, with the greatest development potential lying in Papua New Guinea.

Speakers:

Michael Clemens is Director of Migration, Displacement, and Humanitarian Policy and a Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development, where he studies the economic effects and causes of migration around the world. 

>> Related paper:  Skill Development and Regional Mobility: Lessons from the Australia-Pacific Technical College – Working Paper 370

Satish Chand is a Professor of Finance in the School of Business at the University of New South Wales and based at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the Crawford School of Public Policy at The Australian National University. His research interests include labour migration, fragile states, and the challenges of development.

>> View presentation at: https://devpolicy.org/Events/2020/How_to_meet_Australian_demand_for_Pacific_foreign_vocational_workers_12Aug/slides_SC.pdf

>> Related paper: A Pacific Skills Partnership: Improving the APTC to Meet Skills Needed in the Region

Chair:
Dr Ryan Edwards, Deputy Director, Development Policy Centre, The Australian National University

Photo: Hohola Youth Development Centre, PNG (DFAT/Flickr CC BY 2.0)

How to meet Australian demand for Pacific foreign vocational workers

The economic costs of COVID-19 continue to mount, globally and in the Pacific. But what is the damage in the Pacific, and how are Pacific governments responding? In this webinar, panellists explore the economic damage caused by COVID-19 and the responses Pacific governments are taking. Professor Stephen Howes presents an overview based on the Pacific Covid Economic Database compiled by the Development Policy Centre. Dr Jenny Gordon, Chief Economist at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, assesses pathways to recovery post COVID-19 in Pacific Island economies. Dr Neelesh Gounder and Maholopa Laveil present their perspectives on Fiji and PNG, respectively.

Panellists:

Professor Stephen Howes, Director, Development Policy Centre, The Australian National University

Dr Jenny Gordon, Chief Economist, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Dr Neelesh Gounder, Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of the South Pacific

Maholopa Laveil, Lecturer in Economics, University of Papua New Guinea

Chair:
Sadhana Sen, Regional Media Adviser, Development Policy Centre, The Australian National University
 
>> View Pacific Covid Economic Database and the presentation slides at: https://devpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au/pacific-research-program/pacific-covid-economic-database
 
Photo credit: Gail Hampshire on Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

COVID-19: Economic costs and responses in the Pacific

The Development Policy Centre is a think tank for aid and development policy based at Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University. We undertake independent research and promote practical initiatives to improve the effectiveness of Australian aid, to support the development of Papua New Guinea and the Pacific island region, and to contribute to better global development policy. 

Our events are a forum for the dissemination of findings and the exchange of new ideas. You can access audio recordings of our events through this podcast, as well as interviews from the Devpolicy Blog (www.devpolicy.org).

Development Policy Centre

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