Australia’s humanitarian response to disasters in the South Pacific

Abstract

Australian involvement in humanitarian affairs in the South Pacific is indicative of tensions that can arise between ‘humanitarianism as diplomacy’ and ‘humanitarian diplomacy’. Australia aims to play a leading role in relation to the Pacific island countries (PICs), and its humanitarian involvement can assist in that respect. However, despite Australia’s attempts to prevent or mitigate climate-related disasters, tensions have arisen because of Australia’s cautious climate change policies. The main influences on Australia’s involvement in humanitarian affairs in the South Pacific are political and bureaucratic factors within those parts of the Australian government concerned with relations with the PICs, and humanitarian affairs in particular; Australian interactions with the PICs themselves and other relevant international actors also play a role. The ‘lessons learnt’ from Australia’s humanitarian involvement in the South Pacific region focus on organizational effectiveness rather than the tensions between ‘humanitarian diplomacy’ and ‘humanitarianism as diplomacy’.