Development Policy Centre Podcast

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.

MAMPU is the Australia-Indonesia Partnership for Women's Empowerment and Gender Equality. This panel featured key partners of MAMPU - Indonesian civil society organisations that champion women's issues - and discussed their strategies and approaches and the role of aid. Panellists: Amy Haddad, DFAT (Chair) Dina Lumbantobing, PERMAMPU (Women's NGO Consortium, Sumatra) Kate Shanahan, MAMPU Nani Zulminarni, Program Kepala Keluarga (Pekka) (Female-headed Households Program) 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.

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.

The nature of work is changing as a result of advances in technology. The World Bank's 2019 World Development report studies this and argued that in light of the disruption from technological change, a new social contract is needed to smooth the transition and guard against rising inequality. Senior Director for Social Protection and Jobs, Michal Rutkowski, spoke at the Australian launch of this much anticipated report.

Tess Newton Cain interviews Sean Dorney, who was a Foreign Correspondent with the ABC for four decades, about his experiences in the Pacific and significant changes in the region, including in Australian reporting.

Governments and aid donors spend billions of dollars on active labour market programs and public works programs to improve the long term employability of youth by providing training, work placements and job searching assistance, and offer social protection through the creation of temporary employment opportunities. But how effective are these programs? In this public seminar at ANU on 20 September 2018, Chris Hoy presented the preliminary results of an impact evaluation of the largest employment program in Papua New Guinea - the Urban Youth Employment Program.

Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer survey was recently piloted in Australia. Analysis of this, along with the Australian Research Council-funded National Integrity System Assessment of Australia, offers new insights into corruption. At this seminar on 13 September, A J Brown reviewed proposals for what should be involved in any new federal anti-corruption reforms.

Nena Stoiljkovic, the International Finance Corporation's Vice President for Asia and the Pacific, recently made her first visit to Australia in this role. On 23 August, she spoke at a seminar at ANU about IFC’s new strategy, its approaches to maximising finance for development and private sector investment, and its work in the Asia Pacific region.

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.

The second plenary of the 2018 PNG Update, held on 14-15 June at the University of PNG, focused on economic developments in the country. Mr Ian Ling-Stuckey, Shadow Minister for Treasury and Finance, spoke on PNG's economy, and a team of ANU and UPNG researchers presented the ANU-UPNG PNG economic survey 2017-18.

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.

Digital technology has various uses and much potential, but how is it being used in PNG and what lessons can be learnt? This panel at the 2018 PNG Update, held at the University of PNG on 14-15 June, addressed this topic. Presenters spoke on market fee payment through custom-made software; electronic government; lessons from a Goilala ICT project; and whether a bank-led model is the best way to introduce digital financial services in emerging markets.

There are various challenges for governance and development in PNG. In this panel at the 2018 PNG Update, held on 14-15 June at the University of PNG, presenters discussed cultivating a participatory approach to governance; understanding youth perceptions; the deep determinants of district development; governance reform, leadership and support; and understanding governance in PNG.

The 2018 PNG Update was held at the University of PNG on 14-15 June. In this ANU-UPNG research showcase, we hear about some of the recent collaborative research by academics from the two universities, including on health phone services, decentralisation, the impact of family and sexual violence on education, infant industry protection, and health expenditure performance.

The Sustainable Development Goals are, in part, an encouragement for countries around the world to look after their environment and reduce the damage being done to ecosystems. This is particularly important in the Pacific, where many countries are resource-challenged. This panel at the 2018 Pacific Update, held in Suva on 5 and 6 July, made a valuable contribution to such discussions. It explored Pacific world heritage, how to implement environmental-economic accounting for sustainable resource use and development in the region, and compensation valuation approaches of ecosystem services and biodiversity of customary land resources and native fishing rights in Fiji.

Many countries are exploring ways to shift their energy sources from fossil fuels to renewable energy, but how do renewable energy ambitions affect donor-funded rural electrification efforts in Pacific Island countries? What is the experience of small island states when it comes to power sector reform? How can Fiji move towards a more sustainable future for its energy? These are some of the many questions answered in this panel on energy at the 2018 Pacific Update, held in Suva on 5 and 6 July.

Tourism contributes real resources to Pacific Island countries, but there is still much to be done. In this panel at the 2018 Pacific Update, held in Suva on 5 and 6 July. we heard about building an inclusive tourism sector, the tourism-growth nexus in Pacific Island countries, social capital in the region, and the role of crafts and souvenirs in Vanuatu and Solomon Islands.

As the occurrence of extreme environmental events increases due to climate change, how do households in Solomon Islands respond, and how does this relate to household net worth? This panel at the 2018 Pacific Update (held in Suva on 5 and 6 July) answered this question, and discussed negotiating a climate consensus and assessing climate finance readiness in the Asia-Pacific region.

Urban-to-urban forced displacement is misunderstood and under-prioritised, explained presenters on this panel at the 2018 Pacific Update, which was held in Suva on 5 and 6 July. This session described some outcomes on partnerships between aid actors, governments and the private sector, particularly how these partnerships resulted in certain outcomes for urban communities in the Pacific, as well as looking at the role of ethnic Fijian women in disaster management planning at the community level.

Small island developing states, particularly many Pacific Island countries, are considered to be among the most at-risk regions in the world from climate change. In this panel at the 2018 Pacific Update, held in Suva on 5 and 6 July, presenters discussed measuring the effectiveness of climate change adaptation at the community level; the neoliberal ecological modernisation framing of vulnerability and dispossession in the climate change agenda; evaluating climate change relocation in Fiji; and gender transformative climate change action.