OM DENNE EPISODE
The conversation begins with Nimbtik's background as head of Vanuatu's Prime Minister's Department and Deputy Director General of the Melanesian Spearhead Group Secretariat. He provides context for understanding Vanuatu's current challenges by tracing the country's history from its unique condominium colonial system — where British and French administrations operated in parallel — through independence in 1980, when the country inherited a fundamentally divided administrative structure.
Nimbtik identifies political instability, which began in earnest in 1991, as the root cause of many of Vanuatu's contemporary challenges. He discusses the bankruptcy of Air Vanuatu in May 2024, explaining how government ownership and political control of the airline's board — with changes occurring after each government transition — ultimately led to its liquidation. This crisis occurred against a backdrop of repeated natural disasters, including Cyclone Pam in 2015, Tropical Cyclone Harold, Twin Cyclones Judy and Kevin, and volcanic eruptions, culminating in the December 2024 earthquake that struck Port Vila. These compounding crises have left Vanuatu struggling to recover from one disaster before the next hits.
The conversation explores Vanuatu's linguistic and cultural diversity — 110 languages representing 110 different value systems — which Nimbtik sees as contributing to the proliferation of political parties and the difficulty of creating inclusive societies. Recent constitutional amendments, including provisions 17A and 17B, aim to reduce political instability by making it harder for politicians to switch parties. Amendment 17B specifically requires independent members to affiliate with a larger political body within three months of election. Whilst these amendments are being implemented, their validity is still being challenged in court, with the decision yet to be released.
Drawing on his PhD research at RMIT on corruption in politics, Nimbtik discusses the fundamental tension between custom governance and Westminster systems in Vanuatu. He explains how traditional leadership expectations — where a legitimate leader is someone who distributes resources, regardless of how those resources are obtained — clash with modern governance standards. This creates situations where behaviour viewed as corrupt through a Western lens may be seen as moral leadership within custom governance. Nimbtik points to the December earthquake as evidence of corruption's impact, noting that buildings collapsed because building codes were not enforced, yet there has been little public accountability or civil society reaction.
The interview addresses growing geopolitical competition in the Pacific, with Nimbtik arguing that China's approach to development cooperation differs fundamentally from that of OECD countries. While Western partners focus on schools and dispensaries, China has invested in major government infrastructure like the President's Palace, National Convention Centre, and ministry buildings — investments that no Western partner has been willing to make. He emphasises that all countries, including small island states, are engaging with China primarily for economic reasons, and that larger countries like Australia and the United States expect smaller nations to adopt their geopolitical positions, treating China as an enemy if they do.
On labour mobility, Nimbtik notes that programs like the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme, the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme, and the Seasonal Worker Programme were originally designed as capacity-building exercises. The intention was for farmers to go to Australia or New Zealand, learn skills, earn money, and return to start businesses, potentially accessing loans from the Agriculture Rural Development Bank at lower interest rates to complement their savings. However, this objective has been diverted, with labour mobility becoming one-way migration that depletes rural areas of young, energetic workers. Nimbtik notes the irony that while individuals may improve their wellbeing through remittances, the national economic impact is questionable, and the skills shortage is hurting both the private and public sectors. He indicates that the program has become a source of political propaganda, with politicians using it to secure votes by sending more people from their areas overseas.
The conversation turns to Vanuatu's controversial citizenship-by-investment scheme, which can contribute 20 to 30% of government revenues in some years. Nimbtik explains that the scheme was introduced in desperation following Cyclone Pam in 2015 to fill budget shortfalls, but without realising it would become a source of corruption. He contrasts Vanuatu's approach — selling citizenship for cash contributions of US$130,000 — with more developed countries that tie citizenship to substantial investment in projects that generate employment and tax revenue. The recent Andrew Tate case, where the controversial influencer obtained Vanuatu citizenship around the time of his arrest in Romania, has embarrassed the government. Nimbtik notes that changing the system is difficult because many political leaders have been involved in and benefited from the scheme. He also discusses how international anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism rules, as well as tightening correspondent banking relationships, have reduced revenues from the program.
Nimbtik's experience with the Melanesian Spearhead Group provides insights into sub-regional cooperation. The MSG, comprising Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (representing New Caledonia), with Indonesia as an associate member since 2015, was originally established to promote political independence for Melanesian territories. However, its approach has evolved to focus more on economic and trade cooperation rather than taking hard political positions. Nimbtik led the MSG delegation to the International Court of Justice on climate change, explaining that the MSG was included because it could represent voiceless members like New Caledonia.
The MSG operates across multiple sectors including trade and investment, sustainable development, sports, and arts and culture. Nimbtik discusses initiatives he worked on, including bringing together vice-chancellors from national universities across Melanesia to establish collaborative mechanisms for sharing lecturers and resources, and creating APEC-style arrangements for private sector mobility within the MSG region. He emphasises that the MSG should be framed not as a competitor to the Pacific Islands Forum, but as a sub-regional body that adds value to the regional architecture. The MSG's 2038 Prosperity For All Plan is being harmonised with the Forum's 2050 Strategy.
On Indonesia's associate membership and the sensitive issue of West Papuan independence, Nimbtik explains that the rationale for engaging Indonesia is pragmatic: to advance Melanesian interests in West Papua's political liberation, dialogue with the Indonesian government is necessary. The approach has shifted from the hard political positions Vanuatu took in the past towards using economic and trade lenses to engage with Indonesia on development issues. This represents what Nimbtik sees as a changing paradigm in how regional politics are conducted.
The interview concludes with discussion of Vanuatu's leadership role in seeking an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on UN member states' climate change obligations. Nimbtik explains that Vanuatu was motivated to take this leadership role because, situated on the Ring of Fire and prone to disasters including cyclones, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes, the country faces existential threats to its people's livelihoods. The economic costs of disasters and recovery are very high relative to GDP, and Vanuatu wanted bigger countries to recognise their obligations to support smaller countries facing climate change impacts. He notes the challenge of accessing climate finance, which "takes like ages" despite numerous international commitments.
Devpolicy Talks is the podcast of the Australian National University's Development Policy Centre.
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