Devpolicy Talks

In this episode, Robin Davies speaks with Dr Fiona Hukula, the Gender Specialist at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. Dr Hukula is a social anthropologist with a Doctorate from the University of St Andrews. Over more than 20 years, she has dedicated her career to policy and social research, focusing on gender-based violence, urban issues, and socio-legal studies in the Pacific region. Prior to her current role, she was a Senior Research Fellow and Program Leader at the Papua New Guinea National Research Institute.

Dr Hukula emphasizes the importance of understanding and integrating traditional Pacific cultural values into frameworks for addressing gender-based violence. She discusses the Pacific Leaders Gender Equality Declaration (PLGED), a significant regional commitment aimed at advancing gender equality and women's empowerment, which was revitalised in 2023 to include broader commitments and accountability mechanisms. The updated declaration reflects the diverse priorities of the 18 member countries, addressing issues such as technology-facilitated violence and women's leadership across various sectors. 

Dr Hukula also emphasises the need for inclusive approaches that engage men and boys as allies, and highlights the role of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat in supporting member countries and civil society organizations, providing a platform for coordination and policy development.

Devpolicy Talks is the podcast of the Australian National University’s Development Policy Centre. Our producers are Robin Davies, Amita Monterola, Jackie Hanafie and Finn Clarke. You can read and subscribe to our daily blogs on aid, international development and the Pacific at devpolicy.org, and you can follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter. You can send us feedback and ideas for episodes to [email protected].

Read and subscribe to our daily blogs at devpolicy.org.

Learn more about our research and join our public events at devpolicy.anu.edu.au.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram for latest updates on our blogs, research and events.

In this episode, Robin Davies speaks with the distinguished Australian journalist and researcher Nic Maclellan. Over the years, Nic has extensively covered the political and social dynamics of New Caledonia, providing unique insights into its complex relationship with France and the ongoing independence movement.

New Caledonia is going through a period of substantial unrest and tension, largely driven by the contentious self-determination referenda under the Nouméa Accord. The third referendum, held in December 2021, was marred by controversy due to low participation from the indigenous Kanak community, who largely boycotted the vote. This has led to increased polarization and calls for a more inclusive and legitimate political process. 

Nic has received several honours and awards for his contributions to journalism. In 2020, he received the Walkley Foundation Sean Dorney Grant for Pacific Journalism, which supports journalists in producing significant content on Pacific issues. And in 2015 he was awarded the 'Outstanding Contribution to the Sector' award by the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) in recognition of his extensive work on issues relating to the environment, development, decolonization, and demilitarization in the Pacific.

Devpolicy Talks is the podcast of the Australian National University’s Development Policy Centre. Our producers are Robin Davies, Amita Monterola and Jackie Hanafie. You can send us feedback, and ideas for episodes too, to [email protected].

Read and subscribe to our daily blogs at devpolicy.org.

Learn more about our research and join our public events at devpolicy.anu.edu.au.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram for latest updates on our blogs, research and events.

Robin Davies speaks with Daisy Plana, CEO of Femili PNG, together with in-house lawyer Delwyn Dau and caseworker Elly Toimbo, on the occasion of the organisation’s tenth anniversary. Femili PNG is a pioneering organisation dedicated to supporting survivors of family and sexual violence in Papua New Guinea through its case management centres in Lae, Port Moresby, and Goroka, as well as a safe house in Port Moresby. 

Since its establishment in 2014, Femili PNG has provided comprehensive support to over 7,400 survivors, including food, clothing, legal advice, counseling, and safe transport, while also facilitating access to specialised services like emergency accommodation and legal protection.

A new video illustrates their mission of supporting survivors: Femili PNG Youtube.

As Femili PNG celebrates its 10th anniversary, it continues to evolve and improve its services. The organization has strong data collection and management systems to support tracking of services and outcomes. To that end, Stephen Howes and Estelle Stambolie from the Development Policy Centre have undertaken a comprehensive analysis of survivor data from Femili PNG’s first decade. Their report examines client demographics, types of abuse, services provided, and outcomes across Femili PNG's three case management centres in Lae, Port Moresby, and Goroka. 

You can download the report here: Survivor Data from the First Decade of Femili PNG

Devpolicy Talks is the podcast of the Australian National University’s Development Policy Centre. Our producers are Robin Davies, Amita Monterola and Jackie Hanafie. You can read and subscribe to our daily blogs on aid, international development and the Pacific at devpolicy.org, and you can follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter. 

You can send us feedback, and ideas for episodes too, to [email protected].

Read and subscribe to our daily blogs at devpolicy.org.

Learn more about our research and join our public events at devpolicy.anu.edu.au.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram for latest updates on our blogs, research and events.

Robin Davies speaks with Dr Ruth Goodwin-Groen, an Australian financial inclusion specialist who recently stepped down from her position as founding Managing Director of the Better than Cash Alliance, a position in which she served for over a decade. Ruth has devoted much of her working life to furthering the idea that digital payment systems, well managed, can be swifter, safer, more transparent and more inclusive than cash.

The Better Than Cash Alliance is a global partnership hosted by the United Nations Development Programme in New York that was established in 2012 to accelerate the transition from cash to responsible digital payments worldwide. It brings together over 80 members, including governments, companies, and international organizations, with the aim of advancing the Sustainable Development Goals through financial inclusion. It provides advisory services, conducts research, facilitates peer learning, and advocates for the responsible adoption of digital payment systems.

The World Bank’s Global Findex Database that Ruth mentions in this interview can be found here:  https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/globalfindex/Data

This is episode seven in our 2024 season, which is a new beginning for the podcast after a hiatus of two years. We're bringing you a mix of interviews, event recordings, and in-depth documentary features relating to the topics we research at the centre – Australia's overseas aid, development in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific, and Indo-Pacific regional and global development issues.

Read and subscribe to our daily blogs at devpolicy.org.

Learn more about our research and join our public events at devpolicy.anu.edu.au.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram for latest updates on our blogs, research and events.

Development Policy Centre Deputy Director Ryan Edwards and Dung Doan, an Economist in the World Bank's Social Protection and Jobs team, discuss the Pacific Labour Mobility Survey, which was conducted between 2020 and 2023.

Edwards and Doan explain how the joint research project between the Australian National University and the World Bank was a comprehensive study of Pacific migrants working in Australia and New Zealand.

They discuss that although migrants and their families perceived migration as beneficial to Pacific communities, the survey identified several issues that need to be addressed.

Read the survey report, The gains and pains of working away from home.

Read the Devpolicy Blog series related to the survey.

The Development Policy Centre received funding from Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for the Pacific Labour Mobility Survey Wave One through the Pacific Research Program.

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Welcome to Devpolicy Talks, the podcast of the Development Policy Centre. We’re part of the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University, on Ngunnawal and Ngambri country in Canberra.

This is episode six in our 2024 season, which is a new beginning for the podcast after a hiatus of two years. We're bringing you a mix of interviews, event recordings, and in-depth documentary features relating to the topics we research at the centre – Australia's overseas aid, development in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific, and Indo-Pacific regional and global development.

Read and subscribe to our daily blogs at devpolicy.org.

Learn more about our research and join our public events at devpolicy.anu.edu.au.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram for latest updates on our blogs, research and events.

Helder Lopes, Governor of Timor-Leste’s Central Bank, spoke with Robin Davies when he visited Australia in May 2024 under the Special Visits Program of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The Central Bank of Timor-Leste is a young institution, established in 2011. It combines some of the responsibilities of our own reserve bank with those of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority, and it manages Timor-Leste's sovereign wealth fund, the Petroleum Fund. 

Helder is only the Central Bank’s second Governor, and is six months into a six-year term. He talks about the need to put Timor-Leste’s Petroleum Fund on a sustainable footing, accelerate private sector development, harness the benefits of remittances from its citizens working in countries such as Australia, the UK and South Korea, expand the range and reach of financial services, and carefully review the pros and cons of continuing to use the US dollar as the country’s national currency. 

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Welcome to Devpolicy Talks, the podcast of the Development Policy Centre. We’re part of the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University, on Ngunnawal and Ngambri country in Canberra.

This is episode five in our 2024 season, which is a new beginning for the podcast after a hiatus of two years. We're bringing you a mix of interviews, event recordings, and in-depth documentary features relating to the topics we research at the centre – Australia's overseas aid, development in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific, and Indo-Pacific regional and global development.

Read and subscribe to our daily blogs at devpolicy.org.

Learn more about our research and join our public events at devpolicy.anu.edu.au.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram for latest updates on our blogs, research and events.

Dr Christos Christou, International President of Médecins sans Frontières (MSF), spoke with Robin Davies when he visited Canberra to meet senior government figures and speak at both the National Press Club and the Development Policy Centre. 

Christos was appointed to his current role in mid-2019. He has been with MSF in many capacities since 2002, including as director of the organisation’s Greek chapter, and has had field assignments in Zambia, South Sudan, Iraq, and Cameroon. Born and educated in Greece, he trained as a general and emergency surgeon and also holds a Masters degree in International Health from the University of Athens, where he is a faculty member.

Christos talks about the shrinking of the humanitarian space in which MSF and other humanitarian organisations operate, through restrictions on access to emergency situations, direct attacks on humanitarian workers, and the criminalisation of humanitarian efforts. He also discusses the role of MSF in protracted crises, the organisation’s ambitions for the pandemic treaty or agreement, policy responses to the plight of the Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar, and his legacy objectives as he enters the final year of his term.

This is episode four in our 2024 season, which is a new beginning for the podcast after a hiatus of two years. We're bringing you a mix of interviews, event recordings, and in-depth documentary features relating to the topics we research at the centre – Australia's overseas aid, development in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific, and Indo-Pacific regional and global development.

Read and subscribe to our daily blogs at devpolicy.org.

Learn more about our research and join our public events at devpolicy.anu.edu.au.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram for latest updates on our blogs, research and events.

On 14 May 2024, the Australian government delivered its first budget since the release of the 2023 international development policy and DFAT’s review of development finance. 

Professor Stephen Howes and Dr Cameron Hill expand on Devpol's 2024 budget breakfast to give an update on recent developments in aid volume and performance, plus upcoming multilateral replenishments.

You can find Devpol's full analysis at the links below:

>> view the 2024 aid budget breakfast presentation

>> download the presentation slides

>> read the blog

>> view the Australian Aid Tracker

Speakers:
Professor Stephen Howes is Director of the Development Policy Centre and Professor of Economics at the Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.

Dr Cameron Hill is a Senior Researcher at the Development Policy Centre.

Photo credit: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Read and subscribe to our daily blogs at devpolicy.org.

Learn more about our research and join our public events at devpolicy.anu.edu.au.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram for latest updates on our blogs, research and events.

Alvaro Lario, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, together with his colleague Ron Hartman, spoke with Robin Davies when they visited Australia in March 2024 to encourage the Australian Government to rejoin the Fund. 

Lario explains IFAD’s distinctive role in supporting small-scale farming to reduce rural poverty and boost economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region. 

Hartman, IFAD’s Head of Global Engagement, Partnerships and Resource Mobilization, describes IFAD’s work in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, showing how IFAD funding can leverage domestic and private investment.

This is the second episode in our 2024 season, which is a new beginning for the podcast after a hiatus of two years. We're bringing you a mix of interviews, event recordings, and in-depth documentary features relating to the topics we research at the centre – Australia's overseas aid, development in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific, and regional and global development issues.

Read and subscribe to our daily blogs at devpolicy.org.

Learn more about our research and join our public events at devpolicy.anu.edu.au.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram for latest updates on our blogs, research and events.

Helen Clark sat down with Robin Davies on her March 2024 visit to the Australian National University to talk about whether governments and global institutions are ready to change the way they respond to pandemics.

Clark has had a long career in public service as New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and Co-Chair of the Independent Panel on Pandemic Preparedness and Response.

With this episode, we're relaunching our podcast after a more than two-year hiatus. In this new season, we'll bring you a mix of interviews, event recordings, and more in-depth documentary features relating to the topics we research at the centre, namely Australia's overseas aid, development in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific, and regional and global development issues.

You can also listen to a public lecture that Helen Clark delivered at the ANU by visiting our sister Crawford School of Public Policy podcast, Policy Forum Pod.

Helen Clark will return to Australia to address the 2024 World Health Summit Regional Meeting, which will be held in Melbourne from 22 - 24 April 2024.

Download the transcript.

Photo credit: David Fanner / ANU.

Read and subscribe to our daily blogs at devpolicy.org.

Learn more about our research and join our public events at devpolicy.anu.edu.au.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram for latest updates on our blogs, research and events.