APGF * Pacific History 2000-2018

This is a collation of Key Agenda/Events in the Pacific Region in: [a] Political Agenda; [b] Climate/Environmental Agenda; [c] Indigenous Agenda; and [4] Any other. Examples will be provided for APGF Members: Australia; Aotearoa New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; and Solomon Islands.

A Glimpse into the Pacific

Across the Pacific—particularly in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands - that is, the Indigenous landscape since the 2000s has been shaped by a dynamic interplay of legal recognition, customary land governance, environmental pressures, and political contestation. In settler-colonial contexts, landmark developments such as the Mabo Decision, the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and the Treaty of Waitangi settlement processes have advanced Indigenous rights, co-governance, and restitution, while also exposing enduring structural inequities. In contrast, Pacific Island states such as Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands retain predominantly customary land tenure systems, yet face intensifying pressures from extractive industries, governance challenges, and land disputes. Across all contexts, climate change has emerged as a critical driver reshaping Indigenous relationships to land—manifesting in sea-level rise, environmental degradation, and forced relocation, and thereby reframing land not only as a site of cultural identity and sovereignty, but also as a front-line of climate mobility and loss. Collectively, these trajectories underscore a regional shift toward recognising Indigenous land as central to governance, resilience, and rights-based responses in the Pacific.

Map of Australia

Map of Aotearoa

Map of Papua New Guinea

Map of Solomon Islands

POLITICAL LANDSCAPE

“Climate change is the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of the peoples of the Pacific”
Manasseh Sogavare * Political Leader, Solomon Islands

 

  • Australia
    • Ongoing shifts between conservative and Labor governments shaping climate, migration, and Indigenous policy directions
    • Strengthening Indo-Pacific security alliances (e.g. AUKUS) influencing regional geopolitics
    • Increased recognition of First Nations rights debates (e.g. Voice referendum discussions and aftermath)
  • New Zealand
    • Stronger integration of Māori perspectives into governance and public policy frameworks
    • Foreign policy balancing Pacific leadership with global alliances (climate diplomacy focus)
    • Shifts in government priorities affecting welfare, co-governance, and Indigenous partnerships
  • Papua New Guinea
    • Political instability and frequent leadership changes impacting governance continuity
    • Resource politics (mining, LNG) central to state revenue and foreign relations
    • Growing strategic importance amid US–China regional competition
  • Solomon Islands
    • Security pact with China marking a major geopolitical shift in the Pacific
    • Internal unrest (e.g. Honiara riots) linked to governance, inequality, and foreign policy tensions
    • Increasing regional scrutiny from Australia and partners over influence and stability

 

CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT LANDSCAPE

"We are not American. We are not American citizens. We are not Americans. We will die as Hawaiians"

Prof Haunani-Kay Trask, Indigenous Hawai'ian Activist 

 

  • Australia
    • Intensifying bushfires (notably 2019–2020 Black Summer) and extreme heat events
    • Reef degradation (Great Barrier Reef bleaching events)
    • Policy oscillation between fossil fuel reliance and renewable transition
  • New Zealand
    • Stronger national climate legislation (Zero Carbon framework)
    • Increased flooding, storms, and coastal erosion affecting communities
    • Indigenous (Māori) environmental stewardship models gaining prominence
  • Papua New Guinea
    • Severe impacts from sea-level rise on low-lying islands (e.g. Carteret Islands relocation)
    • Deforestation and biodiversity loss driven by logging and extractive industries
    • Limited infrastructure capacity to respond to climate disasters
  • Solomon Islands
    • Among the highest rates of sea-level rise globally, causing village displacement
    • Loss of coastal land and food systems due to erosion and salinisation
    • Heavy reliance on international climate finance and adaptation support

 

INDIGENOUS LANDSCAPE

Vilsoni Hereniko (frequently cited in Pacific women’s cultural scholarship)

“Stories are not just stories; they are the way we understand who we are”

AUSTRALIA – INDIGENOUS LANDSCAPE

  • 1992: Mabo Decision → recognition of Native Title overturns terra nullius
  • 1996: Wik Decision → coexistence of Native Title with pastoral leases
  • 2008: National Apology to Stolen Generations → symbolic reconciliation milestone
  • 2017: Uluru Statement from the Heart → calls for Voice, Treaty, Truth
  • 2019–2020: Bushfires disproportionately impact Indigenous lands and cultural heritage
  • 2020: Juukan Gorge destruction → global attention on heritage protection failures
  • 2023: Referendum on Indigenous Voice to Parliament → unsuccessful but politically transformative
  • Ongoing (2000s–2020s): Expansion of Indigenous Protected Areas and land rights claims

NEW ZEALAND – INDIGENOUS LANDSCAPE

  • 1975–present (accelerated 2000s): Treaty of Waitangi settlement process → iwi redress and co-governance frameworks
  • 2004: Foreshore and Seabed controversy → major Māori protest movement
  • 2014: Te Urewera Act → legal personhood granted to ancestral land
  • 2017: Whanganui River granted legal personhood → Indigenous worldview embedded in law
  • 2018–2023: Expansion of co-governance models (freshwater, health, conservation)
  • 2020s: Increasing integration of Te Tiriti principles across public policy
  • Ongoing: Māori language and cultural revitalisation linked to land and identity

PAPUA NEW GUINEA – INDIGENOUS LANDSCAPE

  • Pre-2000–present: ~97% of land under customary ownership → strongest Indigenous land tenure globally
  • 2000s–2010s: Expansion of logging and extractive industries → tension with customary landowners
  • 2011–2013: Special Agricultural and Business Leases (SABL scandal) → large-scale land alienation controversy
  • 2014–present: Legal challenges and revocation of some SABLs → partial restoration of land rights
  • 2010s–2020s: Community resistance to mining (e.g. Bougainville, Highlands regions)
  • Ongoing: Climate impacts (sea-level rise) forcing relocation of Indigenous communities (e.g. Carteret Islands)
  • Ongoing: Strong linkage between land, language, and identity across 800+ Indigenous groups

SOLOMON ISLANDS – INDIGENOUS LANDSCAPE

  • Pre-2000–present: Majority land held under customary tenure systems
  • 1998–2003: Ethnic tensions linked partly to land disputes (Guadalcanal vs Malaita)
  • 2003–2017: RAMSI intervention supports governance, including land administration reforms
  • 2010s–present: Logging expansion → conflicts over land ownership and environmental degradation
  • 2016–present: Sea-level rise causes loss of customary land and forced village relocation
  • 2021: Honiara unrest reflects deeper grievances including land, inequality, and governance
  • Ongoing: Customary land remains central to identity, governance, and dispute resolution

Other Cross-Sectoral Agenda / Issues

Moana Jackson (frequently invoked in Māori women’s scholarship spaces)

“The issue is not how we fit into their system, but how their system has displaced ours”

  • 2000s–present – Pacific region: Expansion of labour mobility schemes (e.g. seasonal worker programs with Australia & New Zealand)
  • 2006–present – Papua New Guinea: LNG and mining expansion reshape economy and foreign investment
  • 2015 – Global/Pacific: Adoption of Paris Agreement → Pacific states lead climate advocacy globally
  • 2018–present – Pacific region: Increasing policy focus on climate mobility and displacement
  • 2020–2022 – Regional: COVID-19 pandemic disrupts tourism-dependent Pacific economies
  • 2021–present – Solomon Islands: Social unrest (e.g. Honiara riots) linked to inequality and geopolitical tensions
  • 2022–present – Australia: Pacific labour mobility expansion (Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme)
  • 2020s – New Zealand: Strengthened Pacific Reset policy and development partnerships
  • Ongoing – All four countries:
    • Indigenous rights, inequality, and cultural revitalisation remain central policy issues
    • Youth population growth and urbanisation increasing pressure on services (especially PNG & Solomon Islands)

  • CROSS-CUTTING PACIFIC INDIGENOUS LANDSCAPE TRENDS

    • 2000s–present:
      • Customary land tenure remains dominant in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands
      • Increasing legal recognition of Indigenous rights in Australia and New Zealand
    • 2010s–2020s:
      • Rising conflict between extractive industries and Indigenous land rights
      • Growth of co-governance and legal innovations (e.g. legal personhood of land/water)
    • Climate era (2010s–present):
      • Land loss through sea-level rise → emergence of climate-induced displacement of Indigenous peoples
    • Ongoing:
      • Land = identity, sovereignty, language, and cultural continuity across all four countries

The Pacific Region

Epeli Hauʻofa (often cited by Pacific women scholars) → reframed through Pacific feminist scholarship

“We are the sea, we are the ocean… the ocean is in us.”