Pacific and PNG update by the Development Policy Centre
PiPP has actively participated in the annual Development Policy Centre (Devpolicy) flagship event for the Pacifc region – the Pacific and PNG Updates. The updates provide a forum for the discussion of the latest economic, social and political developments in the region. The first event in September 2012 brought together leading thinkers and policy makers from the region and consisted of three panel discussions on PNG and Timor-Leste; Vanuatu, Tonga and Samoa; and on Solomon Islands and Fiji. Panelists included:
- Nikunj Soni, PiPP board chair
- Odo Tevi, Governor of the Reserve Bank, Vanuatu and PiPP board member
- Rick Hounipwela, Minister of Finance and Treasury, Solomon Islands and PiPP board member
- Siosi (Joyce) C. Mafi, Governor of the National Reserve Bank, Tonga
- Biman Prasad, University of the South Pacific, Fiji
- Bart Philemon, Fomer Minister for the Public Service, Papua New Guinea
- Serena Sasingian, Executive Director, ‘The Voice’, PNG
- Kolone Vaai, Co-Managing Director, KVA Consult Ltd, Samoa
At the 2013 event, PiPP deputy executive director, Dulciana Somare-Brash chaired a panel discussion Gender-based violence with panel members: Jo Chandler, Journalist and Honorary Fellow, Alfred Deakin Research Institute; Kamalini Lokuge, Fellow, National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, ANU; and Cathy Rimbao, Sargeant, Lae Police.
Dulciana was again invited in 2014 to chair a session on ‘Large and resource rich economies: managing the resource curse for inclusive growth’ with presentations by Helder Lopes, Coordinator and Advisor, National Directorate for Economic Policy, Ministry of Finance, Timor Lest and Professor Stephen Howes, director of the Development Policy Centre. Professor Howes was on the PiPP board from 2008-2012.
The 2014 Pacific Update was presented by the Development Policy Centre at Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University, and supported by the Asian Development Bank’s Pacific Economic Management Technical Assistance and Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies Society.
