Polynesian countries may have missed the significance of participating at the inaugural Pacific Islands Development Forum. Bainimarama noted that it was unfortunate some countries did not attend, possibly because they regarded the meeting as political instead of focusing on development.

It’s telling, and rather tragic, that even after the lessons of Wikileaks, democratic governments have still not learned how to deal with secrets. Ask a Pacific islander, and he’ll tell you how. Global villagers could learn a thing or two about information security from Pacific island societies.

The decision to send all boat people for processing and resettlement in PNG is a huge bluff - Rudd is calculating that asylum seekers will no longer want to come if they know that there is no hope for resettlement in Australia. It may stop the boats temporarily but is it likely to work long term?