A roundup of development policy issues in the Pacific by the Pacific Institute of Public Policy and the Development Policy Centre.

We offer our condolences to the people of Cook Islands on the passing of former prime minister, Sir Geoffrey Henry.

Vanuatu Government expels the Australian Federal Police

A diplomatic stand off continues after the Vanuatu Government expelled the Australian Federal Police on 10 May in retaliation for embarrassment caused to Prime Minister Sato Kilman whilst transiting through Sydney airport last month. Where the Vanuatu Government views the matter as an infringement of national sovereignty, Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr described it as a law enforcement incident and urged a rethink in the context of the value of Australian aid to Vanuatu.

By Kalafi Moala

As Crown Prince and Minister of Foreign Affairs before his elevation to the Throne, King George V was asked for his thoughts about Tonga becoming a democracy. While he supported the move, he said he was more concerned that Tonga’s economy should be the main focus for the government and the people of Tonga. By posing the question of who wanted a poor democracy, he suggested strongly that there was little point in being a democracy if the economy couldn’t be fixed. With the principles that underpin it, a democracy is intended to be able to deliver economic benefits to its citizens.

Social and economic impacts of telecommunications and internet in Vanuatu

‘Modes of communication are changing, new business ventures are emerging, and mobile phones are becoming a part of everyday life.’

That’s according to a research report by the Pacific Institute of Public Policy (PiPP); the third in a series of studies on telecommunications use, benefits, and constraints in Vanuatu.

PiPP in collaboration with AusAID/Government of Vanuatu Governance for Growth Programme and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Public Utilities have been mapping developments and changes in this area since 2008.  In 2011 PiPP collected information from over 1,000 individuals across 16 research sites on 8 of the country’s islands in household surveys and had consultations with more than 100 community representatives from the government sectors, NGO, household, youth and small businesses.