Please note: This is a hybrid event and will also be available on Zoom.

Speaker: Natasha Turia-Moka, PhD Candidate, DPA

With a population of almost nine million people, Papua New Guinea (PNG) is the largest Pacific Island country, yet in terms of the total number of people working in Australia and New Zealand in Pacific labour mobility programs, it has one of the lowest participation rates. Of the 10 participating countries, PNG is ranked seventh. In response, PNG introduced a unique decentralised recruitment model in 2019, and established strong partnerships with local level governments to boost its numbers.

This thesis proposal review will examine the ecosystem of this model and the potential application of a theoretical framework within the migration development nexus to enable further analysis of the governance arrangements for decentralisation. A multi-case study of how two provinces in PNG (Enga and Central) recruit workers for both Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) and Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) schemes will be undertaken to gain deep insights into the recruitment model.