Labor requirements in the Pacific are often framed in terms of Australia and New Zealand’s need for agricultural workers, or, increasingly, aged care. Yet other countries in the region also have labor requirements, albeit without the significant pull of wages within Australia and New Zealand. However, there are opportunities forContinue Reading
In November 2020, Sitiveni Rabuka broke the diplomatic convention of avoiding partisan commentary on other countries’ politics by publicly declaring support for Donald Trump in the U.S. elections. Then a member of the opposition with the Social Democratic and Liberal Party (SODELPA), Rabuka – who is now serving as Fiji’sContinue Reading
Geopolitical competition between major powers the United States and China continues to intensify in the Indo-Pacific region. Beyond economic rivalry, both nations use gray zone tactics – coercive strategies that remain below the threshold of war – to project power in each other’s sphere of influence. Australia, a key U.S.Continue Reading
When Tonga opened diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union in 1976, the West reacted strongly. It reacted as if Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev himself had planted the hammer and sickle flag on Tonga’s shores. The establishment of relations between a Pacific island nation and the West’s strategic competitor sent shockwavesContinue Reading
With just 27 million people, Australia is the world’s 13th largest economy. It has the 11th largest GDP per capita. It ranks 10th on the human development index. Its major cities consistently rank amongst the world’s “most liveable,” and the vast majority of its population live in a state ofContinue Reading
After weeks of speculation, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today called the 2025 federal election for May 3. This will be an election for all 150 House of Representatives seats and 40 of the 76 senators (a normal House and half-Senate election). The usual story for a first-term government is aContinue Reading
Early on the morning of March 28 Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid a visit to the governor-general, asking her to dissolve Parliament so that a federal election can be held. This was no surprise, given that legally an election needed to be held before May 17. Albanese has chosenContinue Reading
A fortnight after the Indian and Australian cricket teams battled each other on the cricket pitch, the sports rivalry receded into the background as defense officials from New Delhi and Canberra discussed ways of deepening their already close cooperation for tackling a resurgent Chinese military in the Indo-Pacific. The discussionsContinue Reading
The year 2000 marked an inflection point for many Western countries, including Australia, in their outlook toward the world. The focus began to shift away from the peacekeeping interventions that had dominated the previous decade to one shaped by counterterrorism operations and deployments to the Middle East. The threat ofContinue Reading
Immigration has been a pawn for political dog-whistling and misinformation for decades — and the 2025 election campaign promises more of the same. The lack of agreement on a coherent long-term vision for an Australian immigration policy that in 2025 is not fit for purpose leaves migrants at the centerContinue Reading
