Politok

Scientists and climate activists chart a path forward after the aggressive start to US President Donald Trump's second term.

Conservationists and tour operators are concerned that the balance between tourism dollars and the environmental impact on Cook Islands is being tested.

On Christmas Eve 2024 Lynda Tabuya found out a private video she had made for her husband was circulating on social media. She was soon dismissed from her cabinet role in Fiji's government.

In 2024 activist Eddie Tanago re-shared a Facebook post and soon found himself being questioned at a police station charged under the country's Cyber Crime Act. His case has people questioning whether these laws are keeping Papua New Guineans safe or if they being abused and used for intimidation? Talent: Eddie Tanago, Act Now Campaign Manager Marc Cebreros, United Nations Human Rights Advisor for PNG Belinda Kora, ABC Journalist Neville Choi, President of the Papua New Guinean Media Association Presenter: Scott Waide This edition of Politok was a repeat of the program broadcast on 10 June 2025

The constant blackouts in Papua New Guinea damages business and puts hospital patients at risk.

Basic medicines like paracetamol and antibiotics are hard to come by in many Pacific countries leaving doctors and patients struggling under the strain of sickness.

Australia is giving Papua New Guinea AUD$600 million for an NRL team but some question whether it should go to health and education.

From Vanuatu to The Hague this is the story of how Pacific students teamed up with Vanuatu’s government to call for climate justice at the ICJ. 

Each election cycle in PNG sparks conflicts and tribal violence leading to mass displacement of thousands of people around Papua New Guinea.

When Palau's giant swamp taro began rotting from the inside out, it sent a warning far beyond one island.

After losing it all, Nauru is rich again. But at what cost?

Politok pulls back the curtain on what goes on behind the scenes in Pacific politics.

When faith moves from the pulpit into parliament, what happens to democracy in the Pacific?

A colonial-era pay system still shapes who gets ahead, and who gets pushed out, in Papua New Guinea.

PNG's leaders are betting on AI to transform government, but can the country leapfrog into the future without leaving people behind?

Beneath the turquoise waters of Chuuk Lagoon lies a graveyard of World War Two shipwrecks, rusting hulks still packed with oil, quietly breaking down and threatening disaster for the communities above. In this episode of ABC Radio Australia's Politok show, host Scott Waide investigates how a war the Pacific never chose has become a ticking environmental time bomb, and why Pacific nations are still waiting for the world to take responsibility. Talent list: Ranger Walter, Chuuk Lagoon Marine Ranger Peter Aten, Division Chief for Commerce and Industry, Federated States of Micronesia Dr Matt Carter, Inkfish Marine Archaeologist Mohammed Zullah, Pollution Advisor, Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) This edition of Politok was a repeat of the program broadcast on 3rd February 2026

As a new phase of the Compact of Free Association comes into force, the Marshall Islands' Foreign Minister is speaking out about what the deal has really delivered and what remains unfulfilled. In this episode of Politok on ABC Radio Australia, Minister Kalani Kaneko lays bare the gaps in veterans' care, the unfinished business of nuclear justice, and why Marshallese leaders say Washington's promises have too often stalled at implementation. Join presenter Scott Waide for Part 2 of Politok's look into the Cost of COFA. This edition of Politok was a repeat of the program broadcast on 27th January 2026

For decades, Marshallese men and women have fought in America's wars under the Compact of Free Association, a military partnership that some veterans believe is unequal. Russell Langrine, a former U-S Marine, is now forced to live thousands of kilometres from home just to access veterans' care and he's questioning whether COFA ever truly delivered on its promises. This edition of Politok was a repeat of the program broadcast on 20th January 2026 Talent List: Russell Langrine, Former U.S. Marine and Marshallese veteran Professor Emily Mitchell-Eaton, author and scholar of US empire and migration at Colgate University Benetick Kabua Maddison, Executive Director Marshallese Educational Initiative Presenter: Scott Waide

In pockets of Papua New Guinea when whispers of sorcery ripple through a village often a vulnerable woman is attacked and killed. It sounds like a barbaric system from ages past, but research shows it's a modern problem. In 2015 the PNG government put together a national plan to stop sorcery related violence, but the problem is getting worse, and survivors say the burden rests on them to stage rescues and try to fix the issue. This edition of Politok was a repeat of the program broadcast on 13th January 2026

Politok pulls back the curtain on what goes on behind the scenes in Pacific politics.