Terence Wood

New Zealand

Contributor at New Zealand Aid and Development Dialogues

Development Policy Centre. Aid, political economy, the Pacific. Now only posting here on murderous US aid freeze. See: @terencewoodnz.bsky.social

Articles

Trump’s tariffs and the Pacific

2 months ago | theaustraliatoday.com.au | Stephen Howes |Terence Wood |Rubayat Chowdhury

By Stephen Howes, Terence Wood, and Rubayat ChowdhuryMost Pacific island countries got off relatively lightly with last week’s Trump “reciprocal” tariff announcement. Ten were given tariffs of 10%, the minimum handed out. (Timor-Leste also got a 10% tariff.) Three Pacific nations were given higher rates: Vanuatu (23%), Nauru (30%) and Fiji (32%). Two Pacific countries were left out of the tariff list altogether: Niue and Palau.
Australians have much to learn about Pacific migration

Feb 16, 2025 | theaustraliatoday.com.au | Alyssa Leng |Ryan Edwards |Terence Wood

By Alyssa Leng, Ryan Edwards, and Terence WoodA lot has changed in the Pacific-Australia migration landscape over the last decade. To mention a few big and recent changes, the Pacific Labour Scheme (PLS) commenced in 2018, the PLS and the Seasonal Worker Program were merged into the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme in 2022, and new permanent migration pathways were introduced in 2024 with the Pacific Engagement Visa (PEV) and the Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union.
Public opinion on immigration: More malleable than you think

Feb 14, 2025 | thenational.com.pg | Ryan Edwards |Alyssa Leng |Terence Wood

IN previous blogs in this series, we’ve shown that while people in Australia are generally happy with current immigration policy settings toward the Pacific (part 1), there is less support for the rest of the migration programme, apart from skilled migration. People’s perceptions of migrants across the board are also very inaccurate (part 2). Does providing people with information change these views?
Public opinion on immigration: more malleable than you think

Feb 12, 2025 | devpolicy.org | Alyssa Leng |Ryan Edwards |Terence Wood

In previous blogs in this series, we’ve shown that while people in Australia are generally happy with current immigration policy settings toward the Pacific (part 1), there is less support for the rest of the migration program, apart from skilled migration. People’s perceptions of migrants across the board are also very inaccurate (part 2). Does providing people with information change these views?
What will US aid cuts mean for the Pacific?

Feb 6, 2025 | devpolicy.org | Terence Wood

Although the Trump administration is now attempting to walk back some of the most obviously murderous aspects of its aid freeze, its ramifications remain: the damage already done, the effects on work still covered by the freeze, the apparent demise of USAID, the sheer capriciousness of the decision.
Line-by-line: is New Zealand aid set to decline?

Nov 6, 2024 | devpolicy.org | Terence Wood

There was no fanfare. Just a statement from the New Zealand foreign minister, slipped out quietly amongst the usual stream of government announcements. As best I can tell only one news organisation picked it up. But it was significant. The New Zealand aid program has been ordered to conduct a line-by-line review of its activities.
Opposition is rising but most Australians still don’t want aid cut

Jul 9, 2024 | devpolicy.org | Terence Wood

The results of the Development Policy Centre’s 2024 public opinion survey about aid are in. Our surveys are designed to track attitudes to aid spending over time. To do this as reliably as possible we use the same (reputable) survey firm whenever we can, and we ask the same question each year, providing information on the share of federal government spending that is devoted to aid. The results of the 2024 survey are shown below along with the results of our 2023 survey.
Aid budget 2024: New Zealand set to join Australia at the bottom

Jun 4, 2024 | samoaobserver.ws | Nematullah Bizhan |Stephen Howes |Terence Wood |William Robinson

In the lead-up to the New Zealand government budget on 30 May, there was genuine uncertainty about what would happen to aid. On the one hand, the country’s centre-right government was slashing spending across the board to pay for tax cuts. On the other hand, there was New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters. Peters, as Australian readers will recall, leads a party called New Zealand First, and if you listened to his rhetoric on the campaign trail you would assume he hates the outside world.
Aid budget 2024: New Zealand set to join Australia at the bottom

Jun 3, 2024 | devpolicy.org | Terence Wood

In the lead-up to the New Zealand government budget on 30 May, there was genuine uncertainty about what would happen to aid. On the one hand, the country’s centre-right government was slashing spending across the board to pay for tax cuts. On the other hand, there was New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters. Peters, as Australian readers will recall, leads a party called New Zealand First, and if you listened to his rhetoric on the campaign trail you would assume he hates the outside world.
Solomon Islands elections: who won on the night and why?

May 1, 2024 | johnmenadue.com | Terence Wood

Polling is over in Solomon Islands. There might be recounts. And there will certainly be electoral petitions in which losers challenge results in court. But that’s all for the future. For now, results have been announced for all 50 of the country’s electorates. And the MPs-elect will be the people who choose the country’s next prime minister. If you’re looking for a clear winner from the elections the only person I can think of is David Hegarty.