Comments

Good article, interesting findings. This is not a criticism, but focusing on the first chart alone, it appears that some of those who, historically, thought Australia gave too much, shifted to thinking Australia gave about right. Seems a small shift in thinking, all things considered.

Thank you so much, Niuone! These two important points, which I agree with and have tried to factor in above as best as the current pubic information lets us. My sincere apologies if that did not come through clearly enough. I was not game to do my own estimates (on that part nor projections) and relied on others reportedly official stats. Home Affairs should be able to say how many unique applicants there are, and how many appear twice, but I suspect the official number reported is simpler (e.g. applicant + dependents summed across every application, even if duplicates). Your New Zealand clarification is also helpful. The figure I used to revised the public 2/3 down to about half and include those abroad further down is UN DESA data from 2009, which had 1,515 Tuvalu born "migrant stock" in NZ in 2019, but the 2018 census had 1,855 and 2023 census 2,244, and I've seen reports of around 6,500 resident Tuvaluans in NZ as you say too, but am not sure of the breakdown or source. Either way, it makes the share of current resident applicants lower as you say. By how much, we'd need to see how much info is collected from Home Affairs on applicants. Thanks again for the clarification and bringing these points up, Ryan

This is a great blog, Ryan. However, there are a few important aspects missing and particularly regarding the number of applications. Many families submit multiple entries to increase their chances of success. For example, both the husband and wife may apply separately, while still including the same dependents. As a result, although the overall number of applications appears high, a large portion of it is made up of these duplicate submissions. Additionally, there is significant interest prior to the opening of the scheme from the Tuvaluan diaspora in New Zealand and even in Australia. And I know some of whom already hold New Zealand residency or permanent residency applied. With an estimated 6,000–7,000 Tuvaluans living in New Zealand, I think the actual number of applications coming directly from Tuvalu itself may be smaller than the reported 8,750.

This is a beautiful account of Agnes Titus, whom I looked up to as one of my role model, a pioneer Bougainville woman leader who was fearless and outspoken, a true servant, women activist and leader. Her Story deserves an autobiography to shape the next generation of girls and women leaders. I am part of a team of PNG women currently working towards hosting 50th Anniversary nationwide event to commemorate pioneer women trailblazers who have helped build a nation. The end result is to capture their stories with the intention to produce a publication. The late Agnes Titus is one of those women that these program is looking at honoring.

Thanks for your question Barry. I believe they will request for evidence confirming you have entered some sort of payment plan to repay that debt as part of your visa application is you are randomly selected. But best to direct your question to the Department of Home Affairs. You can check out the link below and submit an inquiry https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/help-support/contact-us. Regards, Natasha

Hi Nelly, Migration is no easy feat. We spoke with a lucky PEV winner who is now living and working in Australia and shared her experiences and encouragement https://devpolicytalks.simplecast.com/episodes/the-pacific-engagement-visa-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-2025-ballot The Australian government announced in July that over 1,000 visas have granted since October. It's not 100% but it's a slow start and we share our insights in our recent article https://devpolicy.org/the-2025-pacific-engagement-visa-is-open-how-did-it-go-in-2024-20250818/ Knowing the challenges and opportunities in making a fully informed decision is key to navigating the migration process and it remains an individual's choice to pursue it or not depending on their personal circumstances. But the PEV is working, it's just slow.

True. This article just gave me doubts.

Hi Richard -- Apologies and in fact I see this photo doesn't even have a generic credit for some reason. I'm not sure why (this post is fairly old and predates current personnel and processes) but we'll be in touch via email prior to adding the credit.

you didn't credit the photographer - Richard Dellman

Insightful read! The shift to online only discussions impacts cultural norms and consensus building in so many subtle ways. Thought provoking reflection on dialogue, and now adding it to my list of topics worth deeper exploration!

As a former AYAD I worked at the grassroots with another Oxfam in Cambodia. Not knowing or excusing the impressions that you made of other AYADs, in a great range of countries, every single AYAD in my cohort exhibited none of the unfortunate characteristics that you obviously observed. It was the chance of a life time and all of my cohort took their year and frequently many more years to have accomplished with local villagers and specific governmental representatives a level of assistance, however incremental, to be transformed into something sustainable.

Interesting read. I hope BPNG will consider such alternative options so that PNG Kina is not tight to a single point of failure. How about also tying Kina to our gold and oil volumes?