Comments

Thanks Terrence, and hope you are doing well. Yes, this is a plausible way of setting poverty lines. But then the question is whether the poverty line is needed at all, if you are really interested in the outcome indicator. For the SDGs, your suggestion might suggest that for the various dimensions that will be measured in the post 2015 framework, the relevant inflection points should be sought out as benchmarks. But of course if these turn out to be 'high sufficiency' points, I might still argue in favor of focusing lower on the distributional curve. Best, Scott

Thank you Jonathan, this is raising an important issue. Of course the additionality question is important but we must not use this as an excuse for missing the leveraging opportunities that the German experience illustrates. I agree that there is some potential for this in the Pacific but I doubt there would be sufficient Australian private sector interest without some institutional support. However, in some of the Asian countries with large populations in Australia, together with some of the mining companies in Africa, this is an area with rich potential.

A great read! Thanks for your insights.

Hi Shailendra The point that you raise is an important and interesting one. Looking around the region we can see numerous instances of 'stability' being prioritised (both in terms of rhetoric and practice) and one of the ways this plays out is in relations between the state and the media - both mainstream media and online spaces such as blogs and Facebook groups. My feeling is that development is a process not a product so all countries are always developing and the roles played by the media are a part of that journey. Thanks for adding your thinking to this discussion

Thanks for this item which provides some interesting insights. I was particularly struck by the last point about the opportunities for donors (including but not limited to Australia) improving their coordination in this area. This is a key point especially when it comes to working with the private sector in the Pacific island region. One of the biggest challenges to this type of activity is the high transaction costs and if donors can innovate to share knowledge, resources and expertise, there is the potential for these to be reduced. I have examined this point (and others) in the following items for those who would like to see more: <a href="http://www.lowyinterpreter.org/post/2014/04/14/Pacific-Private-Sector-Engagement-where-to-begin1.aspx" rel="nofollow">'Pacific Private Sector: Where to Begin?'</a> <a href="http://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/role-private-sector-promoting-economic-growth-and-reducing-poverty-indo-pacific-region" rel="nofollow">'The Role of the Private Sector in Promoting Economic Growth and Reducing Poverty in the Indo-Pacific Region'</a>

My research interest is the relationship between media, politics, social conflict and development in the Pacific. The discussion about political stability likely to be the stand-out issue in 2015 caught my attention. Instability and violent conflict are rightly seen by some as a major threat towards the achievement of millenium development goals, and a drawback for Australia's $1billion regional aid program, especially in Melanesia. Fiji is curbing the media in the name of social stability, with other island nations showing a keen interest in how this pans out, before following suit. Depending on how things unfold, there could be short and long term repercussions for good governance and development. Some believe in, 'development first, media freedom later', but the link is fuzzy at best, and may not be sound doctrine for the region.

Hi Paul You make a good point and I think we will see more this year that will illustrate that in terms of establishing, embedding and maintaining democratic culture in the states of the Pacific, elections are necessary but far from sufficient

I think this ODI paper by May Miller-Dawkins (http://www.odi.org/publications/8813-global-goals-international-agreements-lessons-design-sustainable-development-goals) provides an interesting take on why "it’s possible that Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-fatigue will lead to settling for practical, achievable goals and targets over ambitious principles that strengthen norms and give national groups a further point of leverage". She argues that we might need to look at the SDGs as more like international human rights and environmental agreements than international development programmes or targets.

Excellent review of what's ahead; 2015 begins the first year in many when all 26 or so Pacific Islands states, territories and areas with self government have elected leadership. One hopes this tremendous accomplishment will magnify the potential achievements of regional bodies, but also local community-economic decision making.

Policy change as well as induction of local population to impart their hands and skills should be encouraged along with free skill training so that the local people will feel ownership in the development and improvement in their life styles.

For a poor nation like Timor Leste, the best option is to slowly improve their existing living conditions giving due consideration to the local population priorities. Community participation is THE KEY for a success in these cases as I have witnessed in poor areas project in Pakistan.

It is immaterial as to how much portion of aid you spend and how much you keep in reserve. The main criteria should be the investment should have a possible higher tangible returns - else the nations get into the burden of loans that keep on increasing to a staggering proportion with time.