COVID-19 Pandemic

April 2, 2020: Australia’s policy to the Pacific Island nations has been erratic over the last decade. The focus from 2009 was to impose the PACER-Plus free trade agreement onto the region. Negotiations dragged through to 2017, but three years later it has still not been ratified by most Pacific Island Countries and is not in force. The COVID-19 pandemic underlines the need for a profound re-think of the relationship.

March 31, 2020: Last Friday’s G20 Special COVID-19 communique repeated the do 'whatever it takes' mantra from other institutions, but was empty of specific commitments needed to address the pandemic.

Friday March 27, 2020: The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has just reported on its first Global COVID-19 survey of 109 trade unions in 86 countries, including 28 out of 36 OECD countries and fifteen G20 countries.

March 24, 2020: The debate is already raging about the deeper lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic.