Tess Newton Cain

If we've learned anything in the last few years, it is that men in their seventies will do literally anything rather giving up political power and/or going to jail.

On being the grass … strategic outlook for the Pacific islands region | Griffith Asia Insights TESS NEWTON CAIN  |  When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers Swahili proverb Download PDF Introduction This proverb can be Tess Newton Cain challenges narratives of Pacific vulnerability, h...

Latest from me for the Griffith Asia Institute's 2026 Strategic Outlook - what does increasing gepolitical competition and declining commitment to multilateralism mean for the #Pacific islands region in 2026 and beyond? blogs.griffith.edu.au/asiainsights... #PacificThinking #Geopolitics

The United States has moved fast to tighten its borders, and Pacific nations are feeling the impact. From heavy visa bonds to suspended applications and outright bans, the changes are sweeping. Fiji i... The United States has moved fast to tighten its borders, and Pacific nations are feeling the impact. From heavy visa bonds to suspended applications and outright bans, the changes are sweeping. Fiji.....

I caught up with @williamterite.bsky.social to discuss how various aspects of US policy affect the #Pacific www.facebook.com/reel/1582432...

I am really pleased to join the editorial team at #AsianSecurity, joining Amy Freedman, Andrew Oros, Chin-Hao Huang, and Lionel Fatton. The journal aims to be "the foremost journal on all aspects of national and international security in Asia". www.tandfonline.com/journals/fas...

Pacific happenings Join us as we look back over what has been making news in the Pacific islands region in the last couple of weeks...

Catch up on #Pacific happenings over the last couple of weeks with me: sustineo.com.au/blog/pacific...

Pacific happenings … a look ahead to 2026 As we enter the New Year, welcome to the first of our fortnightly extended reviews of what is happening in the Pacific island region, including some thoughts about what 2026 holds for this part of the...

Some thoughts from me about what 2026 holds for the #Pacific islands region: sustineo.com.au/blog/pacific...

Summer flowers, oil on board, cone flowers, poppies, nasturtiums and other flowers in two glass containers

Summer flowers, oil on board, cone flowers, poppies, nasturtiums and other flowers in two glass containers (sold)
#art #botanical #oilpainting

China Isn’t Just After Taiwan — But the South Pacific, Too Last year was a coming-out party for Chinese military power, from the lethal performance of Chinese-made weapons during the India-Pakistan clash in May, to the high-profile rollout of new nuclear and ...

Beware dodgy "analysis" of the strategic environment of the #Pacific islands region - particularly from those who got as far as #Australia but no further: www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Australians: we don't like guns. This is excellent.

Fab!!

Vanuatu commemorates one year anniversary of earthquake - ABC Pacific It was on this day, one year ago, that Vanuatu's capital Port Vila was rocked by a massive 7.3 magnitude earthquake.

I took some time this morning with @abcnews Pacific Beat to reflect on the anniversary of Port Vila's massive earthquake. A year on, this town looks like a fighter with some teeth knocked out. We may be down, but we're not out.

www.abc.net.au/pacific/prog...

Anyone who suggests that globalisation is over needs to look at the data again. Maybe this is an unoriginal point, but two major crises do not signal the end of the international economy.

Services trade is booming. Trade is more and more about tourism, business travel, and digital services.

Very concerning to see this - militarisation of police is not what is needed for community security

My response was in a similar vein …

Good to be back in Suva for a couple of days and looking forward to some stimulating conversations #PacificWork

Ping @internationalintrigue.io

"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little."

-FDR, 1937

Australians recoil at the idea that we are in anyway like the USA, especially given the current regime. However security/police tackling a man for stealing food and suffocating him to death (Alice Springs/Mparntwe yesterday) is a George Floyd moment. It's not an isolated incident.

Thank you !!

Australia's Foreign Minister wraps up Pacific tour - ABC Pacific Over the past week, Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong has visited Fiji, Tonga, and Vanuatu, re-emphasising commitment to climate action, funding health reforms, and reviving a bilateral partners...

ICYMI: here I am on #Pacific Beat to discuss @senatorwong.bsky.social’s recent visit to #Fiji, #Tonga & #Vanuatu www.abc.net.au/pacific/prog...

After listening, what’s Australia’s next move in the Pacific? Pacific governments will ultimately judge Australia on concrete actions rather than friendly gestures.

When it comes to Australia's relationships in the #Pacific, what comes after 'listening'? More listening, better listening, listening to hear & listening to those who say things that may not be what you want to hear: www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpre... Listening is a process not a product

The temporary trade deal with China means that unless anything changes, tariffs on China will be lower than on at least 10 of the world's poorest countries.

My latest Substack 👇

The online gecko craze turning into a conservation nightmare | The Pacific YouTube video by ABC News In-depth

Beyond excited to share that @cooperwilliams.bsky.social & I have published our 2nd story as part of the Walkley's Sean Dorney Grant for Pacific Journalism.

📽 by Nicolas Job & Cooper

Give it a watch here: youtu.be/61poVYSrxiw?...

#pacific #newcaledonia #kanaky #geckos

My sports watcher is waiting on IPL news

If the photo I was just shown of the coalition of MPs to topple him is real. Manele's toast.

Or, at least, he is at present. 24 minutes is a long time in Solomons politics.

And it doesn’t end when they leave - I had one contact me to say they had left their car and house keys in their hotel room - why they had even taken them out of their bag was never revealed

⭐ ✨ MEET OUR MEMBER ✨ ⭐

This week, #WIISA is pleased to introduce Dr Pia Dannhauer.

Thank-you @wakeinfright.bsky.social for your acknowledgement of BenarNews Pacific's important role in the region and the vacuum its absence leaves.

Very much appreciated this as the legal case and political lobbying continues to restore US Congress grant funding cut by a Trump executive order.

This week, #WIISA is pleased to introduce our Deputy President, Dr Shannon Zimmerman 🎉 
 
@zimmzone.bsky.social is a Lecturer of Strategic Studies in Deakin University’s Centre of Future Defence and National Security.