It is the way campaigns are held when politics are highly organised around political party structures. That is not the case in Solomons Islands.
 
If you want to be elected to parliament, the people in your constiutency are the ones you have to impress, no one else. Voters in those constituencies want to know, what their candidates will do for them directly. That meant that while the previous Prime Minister Dr Derek Sikua held power in a caretaker position, his campaign for reelection did not leave his Guadalcanal electorate.
 
I’ve been asked by friends in Australia to compare the campaigns. I ask them to imagine that in the Australian election just held, Prime Minister Gillard never left her electorate in Melbourne, and said nothing about issues like health, or border protection. That description leaves them shaking their heads. But I think if I’d described Australia’s election to Solomon Islanders, with its political leaders crisscrossing the continent in Air Force executive jets, with the national media in tow, they’d be just as amazed.
 
But while this last Australian election has been described as boring, big on rhetoric and low on substance, there was nothing boring about the Solomons. Massive rallies held by candidates, parades through towns, and once the voting was completed, big crowds at counting centres waiting to here if their candidate was the winner. As far as rhetoric, there was plenty. If it has substance time will tell, Although with at least half of the standing MP’s losing their seat in this election, and previous ones, voters in Solomon Islands have shown they are more than happy to punish their representatives if they don’t deliver.
 
The downside is that often those votes are given on the basis of virtual bribery, with money or products often enough to gain the support of a village or suburb.
 
It’s a practise no one condones. But this question has been put to me.
 
Is it wrong to demand an up front price for a vote from a candidate, who you know will do nothing for you when he gets into parliament? Something which has happened often in Solomon Islands.

Or are you wrong, and perhaps silly to, free of charge, put your faith in a candidate or political party, on the basis of an election promise, which might never be kept? And unfortunately history in Australia shows that has happened more than once as well.
 
After nearly three weeks of negotiations this week Danny Philip was elected as Solomon Islands’ Prime Minister, with a majority of 26 in a 50 seat parliament. He’ll form his government from a coalition of at least five political groups and unaligned independants. It’s far from stable, and there is a concern that as a government it won’t be able to achieve anything.
 
But right now in Australia, for the first time in at least 60 years, its political leaders, faced with a hung parliament, are in exactly the same situation. In many ways both countries have more in common than many realise.

• If you like food and are close to Queensland in Australia, have a look at Sugar Snapped
• A good story by Bruce Hill on the resignation of Tonga’s Attorney. Keep watching here. More will come.

Since the end of 2006 my job has been to report on issues and events > in the nations and territories spread across the Pacific. I’ve put a lot of effort into reporting headline events and issues. The coups, tsunamis. man made disasters, elections, meetings and disputes both internal and external, which attract attention from around the world. But there’s been plenty of stories which have been just as important, but which haven’t made headlines.

I like to think the exposure I have had to Pacific issues, cultures > and people, has given me some appreciation of them. I would never > say my understanding is perfect, or that I have the same sort of > bond with an island nation, as someone who grew up on one. But I respect the cultures. beliefs and traditions I brush up against, and while my record isn’t perfect, I try to take them into account when doing my job. But in Australia, I am in the minority. While most Australians hear about the headline events, The Pacific is mostly identified as a holiday destination.

Problematic economies, unemployment, lack of healthcare, corruption, domestic violence and law and order, issues that affect Pacific Islanders everyday, rarely cut through to an Australian audience which feels those issues are bad enough at home. As well, the history and culture of island nations are not something Australian’s are showing an interest in studying.

Anyone who attended an Australian University in the last 40 years, probably longer, would have shared classes with students from across the Pacific. And there are universities where Pacific studies are considered an important part of teaching and research, But in recent years others have cut back on Pacific studies, or dropped them completely from the curriculum. The reason is simple. Demand has dropped. In a competitive world students are looking for an education which will help with their future career, giving them an edge which will make them more attractive in the job market. And for over 20 years Asia has been the place Australian business and government has talked about as where it needs expertise.

In the mid 70’s my sister did Asian studies, focussing on China, at a Queensland University, one of the first to offer such a course, She was one of a small number of students taking part. and at the time that course was described by some as boutique, with little chance of offering a career opportunity. Within 10 years demand for that course was outstripping the places on offer, and there aren’t many Australian Universities now which don’t have an Asian Studies element. For ambitious students the message is clear, the focus is on Asia, not the Pacific nations, with small populations, economies based on aid, and apart from Papua New Guinea, nothing to really offer in the way of mineral resources.

Now many will disagree that the pot of gold for ambitious young Australians lies in Asia. But the focus of government’s and businesses, has certainly pointed that way. That has meant in turn the Pacific has slipped into the background. But it has not happened without a fight. A group of Australian academics with a interest in Pacific issues, have combined with others like islanders who have emigrated, to try and increase awareness and understanding of pacific issues. The group is called the “Australian Association for > the Advancement of Pacific Studies”, and its members just aren’t talking amongst themselves about the issue, or trying to get into > the ear of government. Amongst its goals is influencing Australia’s next generation of business leaders. One of their arguments is that while Australia wants to be seen as part of Asia, and a dominant player in its regional politics, it is not succeeding in carving out its own place. But in the Pacific it is a leader, it does have influence, and this should not be ignored. It is to early to tell if groups like the AAAPS are successful. But having met them, I can tell you their conviction to succeed cannot be ignored, and I for one certainly hope they do.