Pacific political institutions improving

(ABC) An Australian Parliamentary committee has heard there's a positive trend to improving political institutions in many Pacific countries, though Fiji's military rule and continuing corruption are major concerns for the region.
Doctor Benjamin Reilly of the Centre for Democratic Institutions, which uses Australian aid to assist governments and parliaments in the region, says reforms in Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea are particularly encouraging, as are signs of similar developments in Solomon Islands.
He says the Centre continues trying to help Fiji's former parliamentarians and its parties, though he says some the Centre has worked with are being discriminated against.But Doctor Reilly says innovations such as elements of the Bougainville peace settlement and attempts to form a stable political party system in Papua New Guinea are encouraging."One of the most I think interesting parts of that process is that they're generally not coming from advice from outside, from Australia or anywhere else, we play a modest role, they're generally coming from within those countries," he said."And I think that's a really positive development that you're getting indigenously generated attempts to reform political institutions in a way that deals with social realities."