The Lowy Institute

After 40 years of independence, there are good reasons to be optimistic about the future of Papua New Guinea. The country is endowed with vast natural resources, a capacity to feed itself, and a young population. Papua New Guinea also benefits from its proximity to the global centre of economic gravity in East Asia. But negative trends — in the economy, law and order, health and education — do not augur well for progress in raising living standards. The next generation of leaders in Papua New Guinea will need to be innovative if they are to turn these trends around and implement policies that deliver rather than promise long-term sustainable development. On 17 March the Lowy Institute hosted a conversation with Sean Dorney and Jenny Hayward-Jones, who discussed Jenny’s research on the challenges the next generation of leaders in Papua New Guinea will face.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sam Roggeveen talks to Melanesia Program Director Jenny Hayward-Jones about her final research paper on Papua New Guinea’s next generation of leaders and what's changed in the Pacific Islands region in Jenny's time as Program Director.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 15 March, NZ Foreign Minister Murray McCully delivered an address at the Lowy Institute outlining New Zealand's international agenda for 2016, with a focus on the Asia-Pacific and New Zealand’s final year on the United Nations Security Council.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 8 March, Lowy Institute Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove hosted a conversation with rising parliamentarians Dr Jim Chalmers MP and Senator Linda Reynolds CSC on Australia's place in the world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Euan Graham, Sam Roggeveen and Michael Fullilove discuss the Australian Government's new Defence White Paper.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 17 February, International Economy Program Director Leon Berkelmans hosted a conversation with one of the most high profile power couples in economics, Justin Wolfers and Betsey Stevenson. The discussion covered Betsey’s time as a member of Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, the current state of the US economy, the gender problem economics has, economics in pop culture, and Justin's work with the New York Times.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 11 February at the National Gallery of Victoria, Research Director Anthony Bubalo, International Security Program Director Dr Euan Graham, Polling Program Director Alex Oliver and Melanesia Research Fellow Jonathan Pryke discussed the big issues that are likely to dominate the international policy agenda in 2016.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How has the digital era affected diplomacy and how we measure soft power?On 15 February Alex Oliver, Director of the Lowy Institute’s Polling Program, hosted a panel consisting of Portland Communications' Jonathan McClory, British High Commissioner Menna Rawlings and Rob Tranter, First Assistant Secretary, Public Diplomacy and Communications Division for Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Leon Berkelmans talks with Visiting G20 Studies Centre Fellow and Brookings Senior Fellow David Dollar on the state of the yuan. China’s foreign reserves depleted less in January than December but still fell by $99.5 billion. David addresses concerns about the accuracy of the Chinese data, capital flight, and the possibility of a significant yuan devaluation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Chinese economy is going through an uncertain transition, while at the same time Beijing has assumed the presidency of the G20. On 8 February the Lowy Institute hosted a conversation on China’s economy and China's future in the governance architecture with long-time China scholar and economist David Dollar and Lowy Institute International Economy Program Director Leon Berkelmans.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Russia under President Vladimir Putin is reasserting its role in international politics everywhere from the Middle East to East Asia. On 5 February the Lowy Institute's Anthony Bubalo hosted a discussion on Moscow's global ambitions with our leading Russia expert, Dr Matthew Sussex.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On 2 February, Lowy Institute Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove chaired a panel of Institute experts who examined the key issues likely to dominate the international agenda in Asia, the Middle East and the Pacific.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As part of the Lowy Institute's Books of the Year 2015 series, we speak with Dan Gardner, co-author, with Philip Tetlock, of Superforecasting.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Tuesday 8 December, the Lowy Institute held a panel discussion on the themes of Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove's ABC 2015 Boyer Lectures. Joining Dr Fullilove on the panel were novelist Anna Funder and broadcaster Tom Switzer. This wide-ranging and spirited discussion covered Australia's evolving place in the world, various aspects of our national culture, and heard both sides of the republic debate.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In an address to the Lowy Institute, the Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Tim Barrett AO CSC RAN, discussed the interconnected nature of naval power in the twenty first century, and how it provides greater military weight and agility to the Australian government in meeting the demands of national security.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John Connor, CEO of The Climate Institute, speaks with John Gooding about his reaction to Opposition Leader Bill Shorten's address to the Lowy Institute on Labor's climate policy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the lead up to the 2015 Paris climate change negotiations, the Leader of the Opposition, the Hon Bill Shorten MP, gave a major policy address at the Lowy Institute for International Policy outlining the Opposition’s position on international action on climate change.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a flurry of activity, Australia has signed free trade agreements with many of its trade partners, and there could be more coming down the pipeline. Are these agreements transformative, are they job destroying, do they sign over too much sovereignty, or are they much ado about nothing? On 26 November, the Lowy Institute hosted a panel discussion chaired by Lowy Nonresident Fellow Stephen Grenville, with panellists Leon Berkelmans, Director of the International Economy Program, Jessica Irvine, from the Sydney Morning Herald, and Professor Luke Nottage from the University of Sydney Law School.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the post-World War II international order undergoes an uncertain transformation, how will India position itself in Asia and beyond as an emerging and aspiring power? On 11 November, former Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran delivered the 2015 Owen Harries Lecture on India's role in this new global order. The annual Owen Harries Lecture honours the enormous contribution Mr Harries, a Nonresident Fellow of the Lowy Institute, has made to the international policy debate in Australia.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former Indian Foreign Secretary and 2015 Telstra Distinguished International Fellow Shyam Saran speaks with Sam Roggeveen about the challenges and opportunities facing India today.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.