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.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/12/07/ Guinea by foreign media outlets and papua-mass-killing-what-happened.html acted as a microcosm of international Tempo.co. 2018a. Komnas ham: Worker relationships between and other Killings in Papua is a Severe ­Violation. powers. To a certain degree, Chinese 5 December. http://en.tempo.co/read/ relations with Pacific Island states 923997/komnas-ham-worker-killings-in were on display, but events show- -papua-is-a-severe-violation ing tensions between China and the ———. 2018b. Papuan Armed Group United States became the main talking Terror Caused Nduga Residents Leave to points as they were scrutinized by Timika. 6 July. https://en.tempo.co/read/ analysts and journalists from across 919760/papuan-armed-group-terror the globe. While the critically impor- -caused-nduga-residents-leave-to-timika tant apec summit and related events tmkj, Tim Mediasi Kabupaten Jayapura. raised many issues, many other signifi- 2018. Kesepakatan Damai Umat Beragama cant happenings highlighted internal Kabupaten Jayapura 2018. challenges to governance, including emergency responses to natural disas- Wartaplus.com. 2018. Kata-kata Uztaz Fadlan yang Bikin Orang Papua Kesal. ters in the form of earthquake relief 27 March. https://www.wartaplus.com/ and resettlement of victims of volcanic read/635/Kata-kata-Ustaz-Fadlan-yang activity, continuing strife in the wake -Bikin-Orang-Papua-Kesal of the 2017 elections, accusations of corruption at various levels, upticks in Wismabrata, Michael Hangga. 2018. 5 Fakta di Balik Bentrokan Ormas dan various diseases, devolution of powers Mahasiswa Papua di Surabaya. Kompas, to provinces via an as-yet-undefined 16 August. https://regional.kompas.com/ form of special autonomy, preparation read/2018/08/16/05532001/5-fakta-di for the referendum on Bougainville, -balik-bentrokan-ormas-dan-mahasiswa land and development projects, and -papua-di-surabaya the long-standing saga of those seek- ing asylum in but waylaid on Manus Island for the sixth year. Among the many challenges to Papua face the people and government of After the 2017 general elections , perhaps none dominated the headlines, the major had a broader reach than the hand- event to capture the spotlight in Papua ful of natural disasters that affected New Guinea (PNG) in 2018 was the citizens from almost all regions in one country’s hosting of the quadrennial form or another. The largest and most summit of the Asia Pacific Economic destructive of these was the magnitude Cooperation (apec). Indeed, the apec 7.5 earthquake that struck in Febru- meetings garnered large amounts of ary and wrought devastation across attention within Papua New Guinea the interior. The Highlands region while also attracting international was especially hard hit, as subsequent scrutiny into the country’s role as landslides buried homes and villages, host as well as conditions across the cut off access roads, and damaged country generally. The apec meetings airstrips in many communities already led to a fresh look into Papua New considered isolated. Equally dangerous political reviews • melanesia 545 to the initial quake were the numerous past, including a 2004 event that led aftershocks that continued to shake to the displacement of more than nine the mountainous regions for at least a thousand people. In the aftermath of month. The destructive effects of the the 2018 eruption, delayed responses tremors were not limited to just the from the government appear to have areas that felt them; sedimentation due created an atmosphere of mistrust as to landslides muddied drinking water residents waited for assistance. Local and damaged or killed food sources in chief Paul Maburau told reporters that downstream communities, especially “it’s all talk and no action,” ­citing those in Gulf Province. Census infor- that the government had set aside mation for the area is hard to collect, us$922,000 for the resettlement of making an exact death toll difficult to the islanders but that ‘“no one seems extrapolate, but most estimates show a to know where the money has gone” loss of life of at least 180 ­individuals. (rnz 2018e). Offers of aid and relief from inter- Although the general elections national sources came quickly, with were completed in 2017, controversy Australia and New Zealand leading regarding their final outcomes contin- the charge. In a show of solidarity, ued in 2018. The Australian National young people in Indonesia’s colonial University’s Nicole Haley highlighted provinces in West New Guinea took widespread occurrences of corruption, up a collection, but the organizers including fraud, violence, restriction were promptly arrested. The logis- of female voters, shortcomings of the tics of distributing aid relief across electoral rolls, theft, and destruction the breadth of destruction—which of ballot boxes, leading her to describe spanned the Hela, Southern High- the final outcome as “hijacked.” lands, Western, Enga, and West Sepik While concern over such issues is provinces—would present a challenge common during PNG elections, Haley to any nation, but by August, Emer- remarked that the 2017 case was gency Controller Bill Hamblin told “qualitatively different to previous Radio New Zealand’s Johnny Blades elections” ­(Chandler 2018). in an interview that efforts had started Disputes over the final outcome to transition from relief to recovery of the election in Southern High- (rnz 2018f). lands Province continued as tensions Also posing a challenge to those mounted over the legitimacy of the in disaster response positions were governorship of William Powi. The volcanic eruptions on the islands of seat had been hotly contested even and Manam, both situated after the election’s conclusion, and on the northern coast. Eruptions on it was the final parliamentary seat both islands necessitated large-scale declared, the announcement com- evacuations and brought promises ing after the legislative body had from the government for permanent already started sessions. While the resettlement of residents. Such events declaration was supposed to final- on Manam are not new, with a large ize all challenges, supporters of rival portion of the population having been candidate Joseph Kobol continued to resettled after several eruptions in the cite the declaration of Powi, a member 546 the contemporary pacific • 31:2 (2019) of Peter O’Neill’s People’s National cern. Three former prime ministers Congress, as an act of corruption. who served during the Bougainville After the National Court in Waigani Crisis—Sir , Sir Rabbie struck down a petition against Powi in Namaliu, and —visited June, large numbers of Kobol backers the island in March to campaign for wrought violence and arson through- the continuation of Bougainville as an out the provincial capital of Mendi, integral part of Papua New Guinea. where they burned down the gover- The irony of Chan’s inclusion in the nor’s residence, the courthouse, and delegation—his government had led two other buildings. The rioters also an escalation in the war, including the made their way to the airport and set contract ­hiring of the Sandline Inter- alight a Bombardier Dash-8 aircraft national mercenaries in 1997—was operated by Link PNG, a subsidiary of not lost on the people. The unpopular Air Niugini. The aircraft was targeted scandal quickly led to his resignation. because the state-owned air carrier Martin ­Miriori, an outspoken critic was seen as a symbol of the national and former secretary to the Bougain- government, despite the separate ville Revolutionary Army, criticized corporate management. Photos and the event, saying that, “for us, there videos of the incident—which was is no more turning back as the people carried out with a calm and deliberate cannot simply forget about all the demeanor by the perpetrators, who injustices and unfair treatment and the included an explanation of what they injuries caused to them during the cri- were doing and why—were posted sis and they obviously blame the PNG on social-media accounts and dis- leaders at that time” (Hakalits 2018). cussed widely across the country. The In an April about-face of policy, the national government quickly declared O’Neill government backtracked on a state of emergency and dispatched previous statements that the refer- security forces to quell the violence. endum result would be nonbinding Conditions in the area improved and vowed to honor whatever choice quickly, and eventually thirteen men the people make, opening the road were arrested for their participation in for further discussions to outline the the riots and arson (Poiya 2018). phrasing and definition of the coming With the 2019 referendum on referendum (rnz 2018h). independence for Bougainville loom- One of the other major prepara- ing large in the minds of many, the tions for the Bougainville referendum national government undertook came as Prime Minister Peter O’Neill several steps to prepare for the vote as sat down with , president well as to try and sway the outcome. of the Autonomous Region of Bou- It is beyond the scope of this review gainville, in order to determine the to undertake an in-depth analysis of wording of the ballot question. After the goings on in Bougainville itself several delays to the meeting and pro- (for more on these events, see Boege, longed discussions once it occurred, this issue), but for many in leader- the two delegations were finally able ship positions in , the to agree that the ballot question will upcoming vote was of major con- simply ask “Do you agree for Bou- political reviews • melanesia 547 gainville to have: (1) Greater Auton- apec meetings. Preparations for the omy (2) Independence” (rnz 2018d). summit involved several building While the question remains of what projects, including two new conven- greater autonomy means and how it tion centers: the International Con- will be legally defined, the referendum vention Centre near the Parliament has been tentatively set for June 2019. building and the uniquely designed Attainment of something like the apec Haus, built in the shape of a special autonomy arrangement cur- lagatoi vessel sail on reclaimed land rently in place in Bougainville has near the freshly renovated Ela Beach. been the focus of several other prov- Announcements of other projects to be inces for many years. For example, launched came at the apec summit’s in East Province and conclusion. However, many projects as illustrated by the activities of the were already in the works, with China Mataungan Society (see Epstein 1970), being the most conspicuous funder this has been a dream since before the and partner. While Australia is still realization of independence, as official Papua New Guinea’s largest aid donor decentralization of powers through and trading partner, private Chinese the granting of special autonomy companies have been contracted to do was launched during ceremonies at numerous building projects around Kokopo on 2 October. The provinces Papua New Guinea for many years, of Manus and West New Britain are and both corporate and individual ­exploring ways to receive greater investors from the Asian powerhouse powers, while the provinces of New have become heavily entrenched in Ireland and Enga are taking part in the economic growth of the country an official process to grant greater in both rural areas and urban centers. autonomy through devolution of China’s government has been officially powers, which was initiated by the engaged as well, and it “has pledged Inter Government Agreement signed some us$5.9 billion on more than by O’Neill in July (O’Keeffe 2018). 200 projects in the region since 2011” Many questions still remain over what (Campbell 2018). legal definitions and mechanisms In June, the PNG government pro- will look like under such arrange- cured a loan of k463 million (us$145 ments and whether their realization million) from China’s Export Import in the present is more representative Bank, better known as Exim, to fund of contemporary political maneuver- the installation of electricity transmis- ings such as increased factionalization sion infrastructure, ­including 189 along regional lines by political elites kilometers of power lines and four (O’Keeffe 2018). Despite the confu- substations in the Western Highlands sion of such pronouncements without and Hela Provinces (Taime 2018). detailed explanations, the most certain Later that same month, Prime Min- fact is that such processes will not ister O’Neill paved the way for the include options for independence. development and maintenance of a Development efforts across the series of improvements by signing on country seemed to increase in 2018. to China’s One Belt, One Road initia- This is in no small part due to the tive, a massive network of develop- 548 the contemporary pacific • 31:2 (2019) ment projects across sixty countries. nies to open two Chinese-funded Later, Chinese telecommunications projects: a new school and a six-lane firm Huawei was contracted to lay road leading directly to Parliament a submarine internet cable to run Haus. Meanwhile, the president of around the country’s coastlines, con- the United States, Donald Trump, necting fourteen coastal towns and sent Vice President Mike Pence to providing an international link to Port Moresby in his place, and the Jayapura. The project is valued at an president of the Russian Federation, estimated us$200 million and is also Vladimir Putin, opted to dispatch to be financed by Exim (rnz 2018c). Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev in The plan to install such a cable came his stead. Early announcements from at the behest of Australia and the US officials further stated that Vice United States, who made counter President Pence would attend day- offers to oversee the project’s develop- time meetings but would fly in and ment and warned that Huawei’s tele- out of Cairns, Australia. This plan communications infrastructure could was eventually changed so that Pence be used for purposes of espionage. would spend one night in Papua New Minister of State Investment William Guinea, quite possibly to save face, Duma called the efforts to dissuade as President Xi planned to spend four Papua New Guinea from honoring days in the country. its contract after work had already The hosting of the apec summit begun “patronizing” (rnz 2018g). by the organization’s second-newest The increase in Chinese involvement member, which is widely viewed as in similar projects around the world “the member country that can least has been a hot-button point of discus- afford it” (Griffith 2018), brought sion, and the same can be said for unprecedented media coverage to the Papua New Guinea and the Pacific country as media outlets worldwide Islands region, where concerns include descended on Port Moresby to cover what this new influence will mean the events of the summit. Early ques- to existing relationships, how debts tions focused on whether the devel- incurred in development plans might oping nation would even be able to affect control over resources, and pull off the event, citing the massive what role related obligations will play logistic challenges of hosting such a when it comes to issues of sovereignty. large number of delegations and the That said, the increased presence of attached reporters, security personnel, China in the region “demonstrates the and other involved parties. Several region’s significance to Beijing’s think- years of planning paid off as the PNG ing” (Campbell 2018). Immigration and Citizenship Author- Illustrative of China’s increased ity rolled out new protocols and focus on Oceania is the fact that Chi- technologies to process some 46,000 nese President Xi Jinping announced arrivals (Post-Courier 2018b), many that he would be staying in Port of whom were put up in three char- Moresby for the duration of the apec tered cruise liners and transported to summit, even arriving early to hold venues in hundreds of vehicles pro- meetings and participate in ceremo- cured just for the event. These prepa- political reviews • melanesia 549 rations were not without controversy, Guinea and the Pacific” through this however, as the one thousand vehicles and other large scale events. He fur- purchased included forty new Mase- ther stated that the PNG government rati luxury sports cars flown directly took on the summit knowing it would from Italy on a pair of chartered 747 be a massive challenge for such a small jumbo jets, as well as three Bentleys. country, but it did so in order to fulfill The use of government funds on these obligations as a member; to put a and other big-ticket items while rural positive spotlight on the country and clinics experienced profound medica- its people and resources while elevat- tion shortages, especially drugs for ing regional issues of trade, financial treating tuberculosis, and diseases like facilitation, and climate change miti- polio and leprosy—once again diag- gation; and to encourage future invest- nosed in the country long after they ments in the country (Abel 2018). were believed to have been eradi- Hopes that investments as a result cated—raised the ire of many in the of apec exposure would be greater general public. Calls for work boy- than the investment to host the event cotts echoed across social media and drove many leaders and supporters of were realized on Friday 26 October the move. Large investments like the when citizens vented their outrage at Maseratis were also justified by high- what was painted as a government lighting the fact that the government scandal by leaving thousands of offices would sell them immediately after the and desks empty for one day. Even meetings and therefore break even. some visiting delegates took issue with The issues surrounding the purchase the expenses, such as New Zealand of the Maseratis remained salient even Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who after the summit, as emtv journalist vowed that she would not ride in one Scott Waide, generally regarded as of the Maseratis. Blogger and activist one of Papua New Guinea’s best, was Martyn Namorong told the Guard- suspended from duties at the appar- ian that “there are a lot of people, not ent direction of the government after just in Port Moresby but around PNG a broadcast in which he reported on who are outraged by the spending on the vehicles in a manner that was apec which seems to be extravagant” deemed unfavorable. As a state-owned and that “many people feel it’s not entity, emtv management was obli- been clearly articulated to them what gated to follow the instruction but did the benefits of apec will be” (Lyons so unwillingly (Moses 2018). Waide 2018). was subsequently reinstated. While In a June speech at the Lowy all of the high-end luxury vehicles Institute in Sydney, Australia, Deputy have been turned in to the Central Prime Minister and Treasurer Charles Supplies Tender Board, the branch of Abel outlined his vision, justifying the Ministry of Finance dealing with apec spending as a symbol of eco- physical assets, approximately one- nomic recovery that ought to be “seen tenth of the total vehicles have not as a combination of sorts, of an effort been returned (Australian Associated to bring focused investment, ­tourism, Press 2019). Even if assets are resold and engagement for Papua New at or near to their original value, the 550 the contemporary pacific • 31:2 (2019) total cost of hosting the apec summit of international diplomacy (Harriman may never be known, as Opposition 2018). Member of Parliament and Governor Just prior to the anticlimactic end of Oro Province Gary Juffa’s demands to the apec summit, several attending that the government submit a detailed states announced various partner- report to Parliament have not been ships, scholarships, and development met (rnz 2018b). aid. Most pertinent to Papua New Although preparations for the apec Guinea was the multilateral partner- summit were rife with controversy, ship between Papua New Guinea, the meetings themselves seemed to Australia, Japan, and New Zealand move forward without issue. There to continue to expand the country’s were no major security breaches, electric grid. The project is worth and Port Moresby’s working citi- us$1.16 billion and will extend power zens even enjoyed a public holiday services to 75 percent of the popula- at the conclusion of the event. There tion (rnz 2018a), thus going a long was some ­controversy in the meet- way toward helping the government ings themselves. For example, non- realize its existing goal to deliver Chinese journalists,­ including local electric power to 70 percent of the PNG reporters, were dismissed from country’s population by 2030. Aus- a ­meeting of Pacific leaders while tralia also announced a scholarship ­Chinese news agencies were allowed for Pacific students and an extension to remain in the room. Indeed, the and expansion of the Federal Police ­interactions of the Chinese delegation Training program. Perhaps the most with other states captured the full surprising proclamation of aid and attention of the press, and the ire of development was Australia and Papua some diplomats, especially as ten- New Guinea’s announcement regard- sions mounted from political joust- ing the refurbishment of the Lombrum ing between China and the United Naval Base in , which States on issues of policy and trade. was soon followed by US Vice Presi- These diplomatic spats resulted in the dent Mike Pence’s declaration that the summit concluding without a joint project would become a joint venture communiqué for the first time in the between the three states. Indonesian event’s history. Opposition leader authorities quickly expressed concern Patrick Pruaitch and allied ministers­ over the base expansion, as it would of Parliament, including former be close to their territorial claims Prime Minister Sir Mekere Morauta, and near strategic shipping lanes and ­criticized Prime Minister O’Neill would possibly disrupt trade and for not fulfilling his role as chair to create or exacerbate international facilitate agreements between the two tensions (Laksmana 2018). Perhaps superpowers and for providing China no one was more shocked to hear of with extra opportunities to shine the expansion than Manus Governor during President Xi’s state visit just Charlie Benjamin, who noted that before the meeting commenced. The neither he nor his people had been O’Neill ­government responded that consulted and stated his opinion that critics were ignorant of the processes the plan is “ill conceived” and that, political reviews • melanesia 551

“while upgrade of the Lombrum naval spent their sixth Christmas in facilities base would make Manus become a on Manus Island. Detailed informa- significant security shield for Australia tion regarding the number and living and USA, there is no real justification situation of those remaining in Manus for it for the Manus people” (Post- are difficult, as sources are generally Courier 2018a). vague and sometimes contradictory. As previously stated, a massive Despite efforts to bring their plight security presence of domestic and to the attention of world leaders and international personnel ensured that media outlets during the apec pro- the apec proceedings and assets were ceedings, the situation of the Manus protected without major incident. asylum seekers was generally over- Within forty-eight hours of the meet- shadowed in the international press ing’s conclusion, a break in the calm by asylum seekers housed in Nauru. over Port Moresby came as military Several groups of the all-male contin- and police personnel gathered at a gency of asylum seekers still in Papua local sporting facility to air griev- New Guinea were resettled in batches, ances over missing pay for services usually numbering between ten and ­during the event. A large contingent of twenty individuals. Approximately one officers then proceeded to make their hundred men were able to relocate in way to Parliament Haus, where they 2018, mostly to the United States, but vented their frustration by bashing roughly five hundred are still housed cars, smashing the building’s windows in facilities in the East and doors, harassing employees, and Transit Centre on Manus. Numerous walking away with office items like suicide attempts, some twenty-seven cold-water dispensers. The unrest in the latter half of November (Rob- was manifest in other parts of the inson-Drawbridge 2018), and some city as opportunists caused prob- successful suicides had previously­ lems ­knowing that police responses highlighted the growing despair, dete- would be minimal (Davidson 2018). riorating mental health, and hopeless- Parliament Speaker Job Pomat esti- ness of a large number of those still on mated the value of damage to the the island. capitol building at k10–15 million However, some of the refugees (approximately us$325,000–488,000) have willingly engaged with the local (Nicholas 2018). Eleven police officers community, and a handful have were subsequently arrested for pos- married local women and started session of items stolen from Parlia- families. Some of those resettled are ment (emtv Online 2018), but the also believed to have left behind wide-ranging punishment sought by children. Reports of the total number National ­Capitol District Governor of children fathered by asylum seek- Powes Parkop­ does not appear to have ers are contradictory. The Citizenship ­eventuated (Davidson 2018), likely and Immigration Services Authority because some one hundred to three recognizes seven children with asylum- hundred individuals may have been seeker fathers, while local leaders of involved. the Catholic Church have asserted that Would-be refugees to Australia as many as thirty-nine babies have 552 the contemporary pacific • 31:2 (2019) been born. Church leaders also claim References that birth certificates for these children­ Abel, Charles. . Charles Abel on are incredibly hard to get and are 2018 Papua New Guinea in the Year of apec. possibly being denied by government Speech given at the Lowy Institute, Sydney, authorities from the National Iden- Australia, 18 June. Audio available from tification Office (Togiba and Cheng https://www.lowyinstitute.org/news-and 2018). Long-term futures for those -media/multimedia/audio/charles-abel still on Manus are unclear, as most -papua-new-guinea-year-apec [accessed continue to express a desire to leave 19 Jan 2019] but resettlement processes are slower Australian Associated Press. Tenth of than they desire. PNG’s apec Cars Missing. Newcastle The close of 2018 marked another Herald, 18 January. https://www.theherald turbulent year of stark contrasts, .com.au/story/5857617/tenth-of-pngs-apec with Papua New Guinea success- -cars-missing [accessed 3 May 2019] fully pulling off an enormous inter- Campbell, Charlie. 2018. apec ­Leaders governmental meeting in the capital Are Descending on the Pacific’s New without major incident while infra- ­Geopolitical Battleground, Papua New structure and medical resources Guinea. Time, 14 November. http://time waned, ­especially in rural areas. The .com/5453956/apec-summit-2018-papua promises of several large development -new-guinea-png/ [accessed 18 Jan 2019] ­projects were met, while other proj- Chandler, Jo. 2018. Unprecedented ects faced discontinuation or protests. ­Violence and Fraud “Hijacked” 2017 PNG The ­current government’s focus on Election—Report. Guardian, 29 October. developing extractive industries as a https://www.theguardian.com/world/ foundation for the national economy 2018/oct/30/unprecedented-violence-and is increasing both the national budget -hijacked-2017-png-election-report and national debt and is a gamble [accessed 31 Jan 2019] that will have long-term ramifications. Davidson, Helen. 2018. Papua New The tenure of the O’Neill govern- Guinea Unrest Continues with Gunfire in ment may be at stake, as Opposi- Port Moresby. Guardian, 21 November. tion leaders were already moving https://www.theguardian.com/world/ to hold a vote of no confidence in 2018/nov/22/papua-new-guinea-unrest the early part of 2019. While Papua -continues-with-gunfire-in-port-moresby New Guinea is ­proving an increasing [accessed 21 Jan 2019] capacity to engage with larger com- emtv Online. 2018. Police Officers peting world powers overseas and at Arrested and Charged for Being in home, the ­perceived uneven nature ­Possession of Stolen Items. YouTube, of the ­distribution of benefits will 25 November. https://www.youtube.com/ likely determine the ­longevity of the watch?v=oZ4mC1YWNSk [accessed current stewards of the government 21 Jan 2019] and whether their large development Epstein, A L. 1970. Autonomy and gambles will pay off. ­Identity: Aspects of Political Development james stiefvater on the Gazelle Peninsula. Anthropological Forum 2 (4): 427–443. political reviews • melanesia 553

Griffith, James. 2018. apec Is Being Held 19 October. https://www.lowyinstitute by the Member Country that Can Least .org/the-interpreter/deciding-future-png Afford It. cnn, 13 November. https://www -provinces [accessed 28 Nov 2018] .cnn.com/2018/11/13/asia/papua-new Poiya, Johnny. . Arrested for -guinea-apec-summit-intl/index.html 2018 13 Mendi Mayhem. Post-Courier, 2 August. [accessed 12 Jan 2019] https://postcourier.com.pg/13-arrested Hakalits, Sebastian. 2018. No Turning -mendi-mayhem/ [accessed 4 Feb 2019] Back for Bougainville. Post-Courier, Post-Courier. 2018a. Manus Takes Pre­ 25 March. https://postcourier.com.pg/ caution. December. https://postcourier no-turning-back-bougainville/ [accessed 21 .com.pg/manus-takes-precaution/ 17 Jan 2019] [accessed 22 Dec 2018] Harriman, Bethanie. 2018. PNG’s Opposi- ———. 2018b. PNG’s Immigration tion Slams Peter O’Neill over apec “Fail- and Citizenship Authority. 31 December. ure.” abc Pacific Beat, 20 November. https://postcourier.com.pg/pngs https://www.abc.net.au/radio-australia/ -immigration-citizenship-authority/ programs/pacificbeat/png-opposition-apec [accessed 13 Jan 2019] -failure/10513254 [accessed 20 Jan 2019] rnz, Radio New Zealand. 2018a. apec Laksmana, Evan A. 2018. Indonesia Has Ends in Flurry of Announcements. Date- a Stake in Australia’s Lombrum Plans Too. line Pacific, 20 November. https://www The Interpreter, 22 January. https://www .radionz.co.nz/international/programmes/ .lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/ datelinepacific/audio/ /apec indonesia-has-stake-australia-lobrum 2018672026 -ends-in-flurry-of-announcements -plans-too [accessed 21 Jan 2019] [accessed 20 Jan 2019] Lyons, Kate. 2018. “Can They Really Pull ———. b. Call for PNG Govt to It Off?”: The apec Summit Comes to 2018 ­Disclose Cost of for Taxpayers. Papua New Guinea. Guardian, 11 Novem- apec ber. https://www.theguardian.com/world/ ­Dateline Pacific, 26 November. https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/ 2018/nov/12/can-they-really-pull-it-off-the -apec-summit-comes-to-papua-new-guinea programmes/datelinepacific/audio/ /call-for-png-govt-to-disclose [accessed 3 Jan 2019] 2018672873 -cost-of-apec-for-taxpayers [accessed Moses, Vincent. 2018. emtv Suspends 20 Jan 2019] Senior Journalist Scott Waide over NZ Maserati News Story. Asia Pacific Report, ———. 2018c. China’s Huawei to Con- struct PNG Internet Cable. August. 25 November. https://asiapacificreport 14 https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/ .nz/2018/11/25/emtv-suspends-senior -journalist-scott-waide-over-maserati pacific-news/364013/china-s-huawei-to -construct-png-internet-cable [accessed -news-story/ [accessed 19 Jan 2019] 7 Jan 2019] Nicholas, Isaac. 2018. Damage to Parlia- ———. d. Greater Autonomy for ment to Cost Govt up to k15m. Post-­ 2018 Bougainville Still To Be Defined. Dateline Courier, 29 November. https://postcourier .com.pg/damage-parliament-cost-govt Pacific, 18 October. https://www.radionz .co.nz/international/programmes/ -k15m/ [accessed 3 Jan 2019] datelinepacific/audio/2018667288/greater O’Keeffe, Annmaree. 2018. Deciding the -autonomy-for-bougainville-still-to-be Future for PNG’s Provinces. Interpreter, -defined [accessed 7 Jan 2018] 554 the contemporary pacific • 31:2 (2019)

———. 2018e. Manam Island Chief Solomon Islands Doubts Govt Will Help. 28 December. https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/ The year 2018 was marked by the pacific-news/379121/manam-island-chief expectation that the newly formed -doubts-govt-will-help [accessed 28 Dec Solomon Islands Democratic Coali- 2018] tion for Change Government (sidccg) under the prime ministership of Rick ———. 2018f. PNG Quake Disaster Response a Huge Logistical Challenge. Hou would deliver on its promises. Dateline Pacific, 17 August. https://www When it came into office in Novem- .radionz.co.nz/international/programmes/ ber 2017, the sidccg “made strong datelinepacific/audio/2018658444/png emphasis on integrity in leadership -quake-disaster-response-a-huge-logistical and governance” (sidccg 2017). As -challenge [accessed 30 Dec 2018] part of its policy implementation, it promised to pursue stabilization of ———. 2018g. PNG Resists Pressure, the country’s fiscal situation, restora- Sticks with Huawei. 28 November. https://www.radionz.co.nz/international/ tion of basic services to rural areas, pacific-news/376997/png-resists-pressure the passing of a number of outstand- -sticks-with-huawei [accessed 19 Jan 2019] ing pieces of legislation, including the anti-corruption bill, and work on the ———. 2018h. PNG’s pm Says Bougain- undersea fiber-optic internet cable ville Referendum Will Be Endorsed. project with Australia. The sidccg’s 7 April. https://www.radionz.co.nz/ formation was basically a replica of international/pacific-news/354380/png-s -pm-says-bougainville-referendum-will-be the regime led by Manasseh Sogavare, -endorsed [accessed 17 Jan 2019] which was ousted in a no-confidence vote in November 2017 but remained Robinson-Drawbridge, Benjamin. 2018. intact and joined forces with Hou’s More than 27 Suicide Attempts in Two political grouping to form the new Weeks - Manus Refugee. Radio New Zea- government (rnz 2017). While the land, 5 December. https://www.radionz was determined to work .co.nz/international/pacific-news/377567/ sidccg more-than-27-suicide-attempts-in-two together as a coalition pack for a -weeks-manus-refugee one-year term, the challenge was to effectively implement its policies and Taime, Mal. 2018. O’Neill Launches achieve related objectives (see sidccg k463m Project. Post-Courier, 7 June. 2017). It was against this background https://postcourier.com.pg/oneill-launches that the sidccg took a pragmatic -k463m-project/ [accessed 18 Jan 2019] approach in pursuing the implemen­ Togiba, Lyanne, and Michelle Cheng. tation of its policies in 2018 (see 2018. Life in Limbo: The Manus Babies sidccg 2017). Who Face a Stateless Future. Guardian, Solomon Islands as a country is 12 December. https://www.theguardian vulnerable to earthquakes, cyclones, .com/australia-news/2018/dec/13/life-in and other disasters such as floods -limbo-the-manus-babies-who-face-a and tsunamis. On 24 January 2018, -stateless-future [accessed 14 Jan 2019] the country experienced a tropical depression. According to the National Disaster Management Office, the