Blue Pacific: strategic opportunity and challenge
Presented by Dr Tess Newton Cain and Sean Jacobs
When: Tuesday, April 26, 2022, 6pm until 7pm
Where: Holding Redlich, Level 1, 300 Queen Street, Brisbane
This is event is free for AIIA members from all states. Non-members pay $10 and student non-members $5
Those attending in person can have one complimentary drink - beer, wine and non-alcohol beverages are available
To register and pay, click here
You can attend this event in-person or view it online. If attending in person, please arrive at Holding Redlich at 5.30pm for registration and drinks.
Details for viewing online: After registering, on April 26 you will receive a follow-up confirmation email containing further details on how to join the webinar which will commence at 6pm AEST. If you have not received an email by early afternoon, please check your junk folder.
About the event
The Pacific islands region has become the focus of increased levels of strategic interest and anxiety in recent times. Established partners and new friends are seeking to develop and deepen relationships of influence by way of diplomacy, development assistance, trade, and more. The recent announcement of a security agreement between Solomon Islands and China is a clear illustration of how "crowded and contested" the region is becoming.
The region is dynamic, vibrant, and diverse. Far from being a blank canvas or some sort of geostrategic chessboard, the countries of the region are working bilaterally and multilaterally to ensure that Pacific priorities and perspectives are at the heart of critical conversations. From climate change to the recovery from COVID-19 and beyond, the voices and concerns of Pacific leaders and their communities are key to Australia's strategic success in the near neighbourhood.
About the speakers
Dr Tess Newton Cain is the Project Lead for the Pacific Hub at the Griffith Asia Institute. She is a dual citizen of the UK and Vanuatu and has 25 years of experience working in the Pacific, the bulk of which was spent living in Vanuatu. She is a former Lecturer in Law at the University of the South Pacific. She has worked as an adviser to the Office of the President of Vanuatu, national governments, regional organisations and development partners with a particular focus on governance issues. She regularly provides media commentary in Australia, New Zealand , and globally on Pacific politics, policy, and development.
Sean Jacobs is a Papua New Guinean-born Australian writer, government relations and public policy specialist. He has worked at all levels of government in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and PNG, and holds a BA (International Relations) from Griffith University and Postgraduate Certificate in Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism from Macquarie University. An author of three books, he has written for the Australian Institute for International Affairs, East Asia Forum, The Centre for Independent Studies, and the International Affairs Review, as well Pacific publications Islands Business and Stella Magazine.
Main picture: A view of Honiara, capital of Solomon Islands, with Parliament House in the foreground. Photo: Stefan Armbruster
David Costello
Secretary
AIIA QLD
0403 777 541
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