If Australia and other aid agencies take an in-depth look at the region, they will see an under-funded but over-achieving NGO sector and under-capitalized private sector searching for ways to expand initiatives that produce jobs, writes Giff Johnson.

This timeline of events shows the actions and reactions that shook the Papua New Guinea political scene following the attempt to arrest Prime Minister Peter O'Neill. The timeline was inspired by a post to the Sharp Talk Facebook group by Bryan Kramer.

Just as a banyan’s strength comes from a multitude of roots and branches, counterbalanced and pulling in different directions, we should allow the pull of kastom even as we move ahead. Reconciling social change with kastom is a necessary condition for development, says Dan McGarry.

There is a big disconnect between attending climate meetings and action on the home front, and very possibly the disconnect is the result of officials being more focused on attending climate meetings than they are on doing work at the community level, writes Giff Johnson.