This week on the pod we take a look at regional cooperation amongst the Pacific Islands and the challenges they face in coordinating policy efforts.
How can Pacific island nations work together better to tackle some of the big issues facing the region, and increase their clout on the global stage? On this week’s Policy Forum Pod, a panel of experts take a look at economic development, globalisation, non-communicable diseases, and climate change in the region, and the importance of concerted and coordinated efforts in tackling them. Listen here: https://aca.st/484946
Our presenters – Jill Sheppard and Martyn Pearce – also take a look at a few key policy issues in the news, including the Royal Commissions into both the Murray-Darling Basin and Australia’s banks, as well as proposed tax reforms and franking credits. They also discuss some of the comments you’ve left us and the suggestions you’ve given us for future pods – so keep them coming!
This episode brings together three experts on the Pacific Islands:
Matthew Dornan is a Research Fellow and the Deputy Director at the Development Policy Centre in Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University (ANU).
Meg Keen is Associate Professor at the Department of Pacific Affairs at ANU. She is also a senior policy fellow in the State, Society and Governance in Melanesia program at the university.
Colin Tukuitonga has served as Director-General at Pacific Community (SPC) since January 2014. He was formerly the Director of its Public Health Division. He is based at the organisation’s headquarters in Noumea, New Caledonia.
Our presenters for this week’s podcast are:
Jill Sheppard is a political scientist at the School of Politics and International Relations at the ANU.
Martyn Pearce is a presenter for Policy Forum Pod and the Editor of Policy Forum.
Show notes | The following were referred to in this episode:
Policy Forum Pod Facebook group
Franking credits and the Labor Party’s suggested tax reform
Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission
Royal Commission into Australia’s banks
Policy Forum Pod: Australia’s environmental performance review
OECD Environmental Performance Review: Australia 2019
ST Lee Lecture with Colin Tukuitonga
The Framework for Pacific Regionalism (2014)
The Pacific Plan for Strengthening Regional Cooperation and Integration (preceding framework)
Blue Economy theme for Pacific Islands
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton’s comment on climate change in the Pacific Islands
Environment Minister Melissa Price’s comment to former Kiribati president Anote Tong
Information on tuna fisheries on SPC’s website
Crawford School’s Development Policy degrees
Stripping away more than a citizenship – Kim Rubenstein on Policy Forum
Greta Thunberg’s speech at Davos
To read the transcript of this podcast, click here.
Policy Forum Pod is available on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and wherever you get your podcasts. We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or find us on Facebook.