Pacific Region

Last weekend the Melanie Jewson Foundation was formally launched to honour the life of Melanie Jewson, a Geelong teenager who died tragically in a car accident in 2004. She was about to turn 19.

Melanie was a remarkable person who had a zest for life. She was a regular at the Geelong Performing Arts Centre where she loved to perform. She danced and sang like an angel. She had the respect and love of her peers being elected the school captain of Western Heights College in 2003.

She had a gift for communication: in movement, in voice and with the written word. On her tribute website melaniejewson.com there is a short piece of her writing which tells the story of a particular performance, of her passion for music and of her love for her father. It is simply impossible to read it with a dry eye.

Continue reading "A heroic young Aussie whose spirit lives on in the Pacific" »

The first and last time I was in mainland China was 1988. I caught a train from Guangzhou to Shanghai. There was a Chinese girl in my cabin, being molested on a top bunk by a Frenchman. He spoke English and Chinese and between their activities I took the opportunity to interrogate her.

I asked her what had changed in China since Mao Zedong’s death. She said: “Mao Zedong is not dead.”

I assumed this was one of those “cultural things” they go on about with the Chinese. Perhaps she regarded the Great Helmsman as an Eternal Spirit, or such.

Continue reading "Mao is dead, but his doublespeak lives on" »

One element of the Rugby World Cup came through loud and clear. This was a Pacific event.

Three Pacific island nations competed to rapturous receptions. When the Tongan team arrived in New Zealand they were greeted by 10,000 members of the Tongan community who lined the streets from Auckland airport.

From Papua New Guinea to Samoa to Niue there were Pacific players representing teams from Wales to Australia to the All Blacks themselves.

Continue reading "Let’s include our neighbour in the fun and games" »

Most Australians have a vague awareness of the countries of the Pacific. Given their significance to our national interest these countries should get a better run in our public discourse.

But when it comes to taking the pulse on awareness about the territories of the Pacific the result is a very flat line. Ask a friend what they know of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and I’ll guarantee you’ll be met with a blank stare and furrowed brow.

Yet the territories of the Pacific contain some important economic opportunities for Australia. They are also the world’s sovereignty laboratory.

Continue reading "Some enchanted evening, we’ll acknowledge Sth Pacific" »

A year ago Barack Obama declared himself the first ‘Pacific President’ but so far his engagement with the region leaves a lot to be desired.

President Obama hosted the second US-ASEAN Summit in New York on Friday. Many are hopeful the insubstantial two-hour lunch meeting on the sidelines of the UN will signal a turning point in the Obama Administration’s approach to Asia.

So far the President has visited Europe six times and Asia only once. His European adventures have included spruiking a hometown Olympic bid and accepting the Nobel Peace Prize with one hand while saluting off more troops into harm’s way with the other. While some of his trips across the Atlantic have taken him to important gatherings of the G20 and NATO, declaring war on nuclear arms along the way, it is Asia – not Europe – that should be centre of the world’s attention right now.

Continue reading "Obama the Pacific President? Not so much" »