Helpem Fren

Australia and the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands 2003–2017

By Michael Wesley

Published by Melbourne University Publishing
RRP $40.00 in paperback | ISBN 9780522879056

Author Michael Wesley begins with a brief (and welcome) history lesson of pre-federation attempts from Queensland to annex Pacific islands in the face of German interest, despite British resistance, helping drive the colonies towards federation and control of its own foreign policy in the Pacific.

A hundred years later, in 2003 Australia was to conceive and finance a Pacific-wide intervention into Solomon Islands to prevent the collapse of that state.

The Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) was to remain there for fourteen years, costing over $2 billion and involving thousands of soldiers, police and public servants from Australia and across the Pacific.

It was remarkably successful in an age of disastrous interventions. And yet, despite it being one of the most audacious and complex foreign policy undertakings for Australia, by the time it was withdrawn, RAMSI had largely vanished from the Australian public’s mind.

Helpem Fren is the first comprehensive history of Australia and the RAMSI intervention. Drawing on still-classified official documents and wide-ranging interviews, Wesley records the preconditions, motivations and dynamics of RAMSI between 2003 and 2017.

Providing an intimate look at the challenges of interventions and development assistance generally, Helpem Fren is also a portrait of the personalities involved and the complex interactions between two systems that couldn’t be more different in culture, wealth, size and capacity.

As Australia confronts the most challenging environment in the Pacific for seventy years, Helpem Fren offers readers a deeper understanding of the recent history of Australia’s involvement with Solomon Islands and the Pacific.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

CHECK OUT the Launch of Michael Wesley’s book at the Lowy Institute at this LINK.