Lowy Institute

This is a special Women in Politics  series for the  Australia-PNG Network, in which the Lowy Institute's Jessica Collins sits down with prominent women from Papua New Guinea (PNG) to discuss the deep-seated challenge of women’s political representation in PNG.

In this fifth and final episode of the series, Jessica speaks with Dame Carol Kidu, about the discrimination and disadvantage experienced by indigenous Papua New Guinean women as they seek to get elected.

Carol is one of seven women who served in PNG’s National Parliament. She also managed to get re-elected twice, despite half of all politicians losing their seat at every election.

Carol’s tenure as a politician is remarkable, but she said her husband’s legacy and her European background helped secure ongoing community support. She often heard from her community, “We don’t mind you being here, but we don’t want our own women here [in parliament].”

Carol talks us through the issues that are increasingly disadvantaging women during campaigns, such as bloc voting and tribal intimidation, campaign or cell houses, violence, and financial barriers. But she offers a silver lining: “PNG is a nation based on relationships, and if you can nurture relationships, that will get you into politics.”

Join Jessica and Carol as they talk through why women getting elected is critical to PNG’s development, and as she shares her views on what women need to do to get over the line at the upcoming election.

Jessica Collins is a Research Fellow in the Pacific Islands Program and Aus-PNG Network at the Lowy Institute. Prior to joining the Institute, Jessica completed a PhD in Anthropology at the Queensland University of Technology. Jessica also holds a Master of Global Development from Griffith University. Her Honours research project, completed at the Queensland University of Technology, explored diasporic life for Samoans living in Brisbane, and her undergraduate studies at the University of Sydney focused on the anthropology of the Pacific.

Dame Carol Kidu served in Papua New Guinea’s National Parliament for three terms (1997-2012). Between 2002 and 2012, Dame Carol was the only female in Parliament. She served as  Minister for Community Development, and as  Opposition Leader  for her last five months in office. Dame Carol is now supporting other women to get elected to its all-men parliament.

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In this episode of Conversations, Lowy Institute Research Director Hervé Lemahieu talks to Gabriele Visentin, EU Special Envoy for the Indo-Pacific, and Susannah Patton, Research Fellow in the Lowy Institute’s Power and Diplomacy Program, about the European Union's Indo-Pacific Strategy.

How will Canberra’s burgeoning regional collaboration with Brussels and individual European capitals change in the wake of AUKUS, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a change of government in Australia?

More detail: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/conversations-europe-and-australia-indo-pacific

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Moscow’s escalating confrontation with the West means that Russia is now more reliant on China, geopolitically and economically, than at any time in the two countries’ history. What are the implications arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — the most serious conflict in Europe since the end of the Second World War? What impact will the war in Ukraine’s have on the evolution of the Sino-Russian partnership, which has assumed pivotal importance — not just for the outcome of the war, but for the future of global order?

On 26 May 2022, the Lowy Institute hosted this event with Dr Bobo Lo, Nonresident Fellow to mark the launch of his Lowy Institute Analysis Paper Turning point? Putin, Xi and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Dr Lo’s address was followed by a conversation with Hervé Lemahieu, Director of Research of the Lowy Institute and audience questions.

Dr Bobo Lo is a Nonresident Fellow with the Lowy Institute and is an independent analyst on global affairs. He is an Associate Research Fellow with the Russia/NIS Center at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) and has written extensively on Russian foreign and security policy, with a particular focus on Sino-Russian relations. Dr Lo is a former diplomat and served as Deputy Head of Mission at Australia’s Embassy in Moscow. He is the author of Russia and the New World Disorder, which was shortlisted for the 2016 Pushkin House Prize and was described by The Economist as the ‘best attempt yet to explain Russia’s unhappy relationship with the rest of the world’. His most recent book is A Wary Embrace: What the China-Russia relationship means for the world. He holds an MA from Oxford and a PhD from Melbourne University.

Read the full paper: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/turning-point-putin-xi-and-russian-invasion-ukraine

Event video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPMRHp-XUq0

Recorded on 26 May 2022

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This is a special  Women in Politics series for the  Australia–PNG Network in which the Lowy Institute's Jessica Collins sits down with prominent women from Papua New Guinea (PNG) to discuss the deep-seated challenge of women’s political representation in PNG.

In this fourth episode of the series, Jessica speaks with Tania Bale, an urban candidate seeking election to PNG’s National Parliament. Tania shares her views on the challenges of standing for election, including the difficulties of campaigning in rural settings and how “obscene” amounts of money is spent in cash handouts to gain voters’ support.

Tania is one of the few women endorsed by a political party and says her endorsement for a national capital district (NCD) seat, along with three other female party colleagues endorsed for the remaining NCD seats, is unprecedented and historic.

Tania’s view is that the endorsements will resonate for years to come and that they send a powerful message to the citizenry of PNG. Yet regardless of endorsements, Tania believes her electorate is ready to elect women to the currently all-male parliament — a silver lining for women who are trying to represent their communities.

Join Jessica and Tania as they talk through the challenges of getting elected, including Australia’s role in supporting “home grown” programs that reflect PNG’s unique characteristics.

Jessica Collins is a Research Fellow in the Pacific Islands Program and Aus–PNG Network at the Lowy Institute. Prior to joining the Institute, Jessica completed a PhD in Anthropology at the Queensland University of Technology. Jessica also holds a Master of Global Development from Griffith University. Her Honours research project, completed at the Queensland University of Technology, explored diasporic life for Samoans living in Brisbane, and her undergraduate studies at the University of Sydney focused on the anthropology of the Pacific.

Tania Bale is a prominent television presenter, journalist and a fervent advocate for social justice, equity, equality and the empowerment of women and youth in Papua New Guinea. She is a vocal champion for the arts, music, culture and the environment. She is also an urban candidate in the upcoming PNG national election.

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In this episode of Conversations, Susannah Patton talks to Charmaine Willoughby, Assistant Professor at De La Salle University in Manila, about the foreign policy implications of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr’s election as president of the Philippines. The Philippines is a US treaty ally in Asia, but under the outgoing President Duterte, these ties were put to the test, with his administration keen to attract Chinese investment and downplay the South China Sea dispute. How will an incoming Marcos Jr administration handle its ties with the superpowers, and what should countries such as Australia be aware of when engaging the next administration?

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US National Cyber Director Chris Inglis addressed the Lowy Institute on the role of cyber in US strategy and the outlook for international cyber cooperation to build resilience and counter threats. Afterwards, he spoke in conversation with Research Fellow Ben Scott, the Director of the Australia's Security and the Rules Based Order Project at the Institute.

Recorded on Wednesday 11 May 2022

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To mark the 70th anniversary of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, ASIS Director-General Paul Symon addressed the Lowy Institute on the past, present and future of foreign espionage from an Australian perspective. After the speech, Mr Symon spoke in conversation with Dr Michael Fullilove, Executive Director of the Lowy Institute.

Paul Symon’s military career spanned 35 years and culminated in the rank of Major General. He served as the Deputy Chief of the Australian Army from late 2008 until 2011, and from 2011–14 was Director of the Defence Intelligence Organisation. In mid-2015, Paul left the military and joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He was appointed Director-General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service on 18 December 2017.

https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/foreign-espionage-australian-perspective

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This is a special Women in Politics series for the Australia-PNG Network, in which the Lowy Institute's Jessica Collins sits down with prominent women from Papua New Guinea (PNG) to discuss the deep-seated challenge of women’s political representation in the country.

In this third episode, Jessica speaks with Damarise Bonga, a female candidate in the upcoming 2022 national election. Damarise shares her experience of running unsuccessfully in a prior election, and talks about the broader challenges for women trying to represent their communities in parliament. She says a fundamental issue lies in how people (both men and women) perceive leadership in PNG, and how this continues to be a significant barrier to balanced representation in the country.

“In politics, in PNG it’s quite different … They think that the Parliament is … hausman in Tok Pisin, meaning that it’s a house for man. And that’s kind of bias, you know.”

Join Jessica and Damarise as they talk about how women can be more successful in future elections, including Damarise’s views on all-women political parties and decentralising women’s political leadership development programs.

Damarise Bonga is planning to contest Papua New Guinea’s upcoming national election. Damarise recently graduated from Papua New Guinea’s Political Leadership Academy for Women in Port Moresby as one of many students in its first cohort. She also served as the appointed women's representative to the Oro Provincial Assembly and supported the PNG Special Parliamentary Committee on their public sector reform and service delivery programs.

Jessica Collins is a Research Fellow in the Pacific Islands Program and Aus-PNG Network at the Lowy Institute. Her research interests cover foreign aid and development policy in Pacific Island nations (particularly for Pacific women), Pacific migration, remittance policy, and Myanmar’s humanitarian and refugee challenges. Prior to joining the Institute, Jessica completed a PhD in Anthropology at the Queensland University of Technology. Jessica also holds a Master of Global Development from Griffith University. Her Honours research project, completed at the Queensland University of Technology, explored diasporic life for Samoans living in Brisbane, and her undergraduate studies at the University of Sydney focused on the anthropology of the Pacific.

Read more: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/aus-png-network-women-politics-png-damarise-bonga

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The Solomon Islands – China security pact has sent shockwaves across the Western world, with analysts from Australia to the United States arguing that the deal represents a fundamental shift in geopolitical dynamics in Australia’s immediate region. But what does the agreement mean for Solomon Islands and the Pacific? What impact will it have on Australia’s interests in Solomon Islands? And what does it signal for the future and stability of the Pacific region? Jonathan Pryke, Director of the Lowy Institute’s Pacific Islands Program, chaired this discussion between three experts on the issue.

Dorothy Wickham is a highly experienced media and communications specialist with an in depth understanding of Pacific islands politics, cultures and effective communication practices. Dorothy was a longstanding host of what was RAMSI’s national radio talkback program Talking Truth and Managing Editor of One News Television, founding editor of social media site Melanesia News Network, and coordinator of Cchange – Solomon Islands. Dorothy is a trusted voice in Solomon Islands and the Pacific.

James Batley is a Distinguished Policy Fellow in the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs at the Australian National University in Canberra. He joined Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs in 1984. In the early part of his career he was posted to Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. From 1997-1999 he was Australia’s High Commissioner to Solomon Islands. From 1999-2002 he was the head of Australia’s diplomatic mission in East Timor, becoming Australia’s first Ambassador following that country’s independence in 2002. From 2004-2006 he served as the leader of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) and from 2007-2009 he was Australian High Commissioner to Fiji (and Permanent Representative to the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat). In Canberra Mr Batley worked in a range of senior positions including Deputy Director-General of the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and Deputy Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

Graeme Smith is a fellow at the Australian National University’s Department of Pacific Affairs. He was awarded his PhD in 2008 for work that explored the motivations of China’s local officials as they attempted to implement an agricultural extension program in rural Anhui. His current research explores China’s investment, migration, military engagement, technology and aid in the Asia Pacific, with projects in Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Fiji, Timor Leste, Thailand and Vietnam. He has a particular focus on how Chinese infrastructure contractors adapt to and influence the business and political environment in Pacific Island states. He has an emerging research stream on the geopolitics of PRC private Internet companies as they look to invest in the region, including TenCent’s role in the Australian election, Baidu’s efforts to expand into Southeast Asia and Huawei and ZTE’s lobbying efforts in the Pacific. Graeme teaches The Politics of China in the Coral Bell School and hosts The Little Red Podcast with former NPR and BBC journalist Louisa Lim.

This event was broadcast on Thursday 5 May 2022.

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The May 21 election has been branded by some commentators as a ‘khaki election’, one in which national security and foreign policy issues will be pivotal in deciding the result. The Coalition government has questioned the ability of the Labor Party to manage increasingly tense relations with China, and its commitment to higher defence spending. But do national security issues sway votes in Australia, and in what circumstances? And how do voters see the relative strengths of the two parties on national security? Richard McGregor, the Lowy Institute’s Senior Fellow for East Asia, chaired this discussion between three experts on the issue.

Brian Loughnane, Federal Director of the Liberal Party for 13 years from 2003, is one of Australia’s most experienced political campaigners. An adviser to federal and state government ministers, he ran four federal campaigns for the Liberal Party. He is also tied into global networks as Deputy Chairman of the International Democrat Union, an alliance of centre-right political parties.

Rebecca Huntley is one of Australia’s foremost researchers and authors on social trends. She has led research at Essential Media and Vox Populi and was a director at Ipsos Australia. She now heads her own research and consultancy firm working with climate and environment NGOs, government and business on climate change strategy and communication. Rebecca was a broadcaster with the ABC and is on the Executive Board of the NSW branch of the Australian Labor Party.

Tony Mitchelmore, the founder of Visibility, a leading strategic communications firm, is a veteran of 12 state and federal elections. He has also advised state and federal political leaders of both major parties on research, messaging and communications.

The event was broadcast on YouTube at 12pm AEST on Thursday 5 May 2022.

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