Alastair Davis

Ben Rhodes’ memoir of his years in the Obama White House defends his record but is tinged by doubt.

Police are patrolling the two main campuses of the University of Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby following a two week protest by students calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Peter O’Neill. The Lowy Institute is hosting our first GE Papua New Guinea Emerging Leaders Dialogue Fellow, Jessica Siriosi, who will be writing for The Interpreter on Bougainville in the coming week.  Devpolicy ran an analysis of the Australian Senate inquiry into Australia’s bilateral aid program in Papua New G

Papua New Guinea is still experiencing a tense political atmosphere. Elements of the police force are in open dispute over the legality of arrests made by anti-corruption police. Sean Dorney, a Lowy Institute non-resident fellow, described the situation for The Interpreter earlier this week. Meanwhile, Lowy Institute research rellow Jonathan Pryke provided an update on the significant challenges facing the Papua New Guinean economy.

The Panama Papers leak involved Pacific states, with Niue and Samoa identified as the fifth and sixth most popular tax havens in the leaked documents. Former politician Dame Carol Kidu is suing to prevent the release of a documentary about the eviction of settlers from the proposed venue for the 2018 APEC Leaders' Summit in PNG. Dame Kidu says the documentary misrepresents her role in the events.