Political Reviews
Political Reviews michael lujan bevacqua, elizabeth (isa) ua ceallaigh bowman, zaldy dandan, monica c labriola, nic maclellan, tiara r na'puti, gonzaga puas peter clegg, lorenz gonschor, margaret mutu, salote talagi, forrest wade young 187 political reviews • micronesia 213 Nauru protest. Not surprisingly, a further focus of media criticism has been the Over the past two years, Nauru has Nauru government’s combative rela- raised its regional and international tions with overseas journalists and profile, as the government led by restrictions on access for many media President Baron Divavesi Waqa and organizations, including the Australian Minister for Finance and Justice David Broadcasting Corporation (abc). Adeang sought to address a range of The Micronesian nation of eleven economic, political, and social chal- thousand people faces many devel- lenges at home. opment challenges. A quarter of the In January 2018, Nauru celebrated population lives below the national its fiftieth anniversary of independence poverty line, according to data from as a sovereign nation. A key part of the Asian Development Bank (adb the anniversary year was hosting the 2018). forty-ninth Pacific Islands Forum in Education standards and truancy September. The government’s unity, continue to be major problems. In however, ended with national elections 2018, only 60 percent of students in August 2019, when Waqa lost his attended school for the midyear exam- seat in the Boe constituency, opening inations, and of these, less than half the way for a new era of governance. of the students in years 1–8 passed the Throughout 2018–2019, the Waqa examinations. Of year 8 students, only government was engaged in domestic 14 percent passed mathematics, 32 reforms, introducing new economic percent passed science, and 54 percent policies, major changes to superan- passed English (Nauru Bulletin 2018c, nuation, and fundamental reforms 7).
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