Dear Reader,
The year 2025 marked important political developments in Australia and across the Pacific region. In Australia, the May parliamentary elections returned the incumbent federal government with a clear mandate, reinforcing expectations of stability and continuity in foreign and security policy.
At the same time, national elections and political transitions took place in several Pacific island states – including Vanuatu, Nauru, and Tonga – unfolding against a backdrop of structural vulnerability and increasing geopolitical competition for influence in the region. While these developments were primarily shaped by domestic dynamics, external actors – most notably China, but also Australia, the United States, Japan, and New Zealand – intensified their efforts to expand political, economic, and security influence across the “Blue Pacific”.
Within this evolving regional context, Australia succeeded in further deepening its bilateral relations with a number of Pacific Island states, notably through the conclusion of new and expanded security partnerships in the region. In parallel, New Zealand also strengthened its security and development engagement in the Pacific, closely coordinating with regional partners. Taken together, these developments reflect a substantial expansion of partnership-based relations as well as a strengthening of the collective voice of Pacific Island states. Germany, too, has increasingly positioned itself as a reliable partner and is intensifying its engagement and cooperation with countries in the region.
These political highlights and strategic decisions extend far beyond isolated national choices. They have direct implications for the future of democratic governance, regional stability, and the rules-based international order in an era of growing global uncertainty. Overlapping military, political, and economic risks are narrowing international room for manoeuvre – from Europe to the Indo-Pacific. Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, heightened great power rivalry, and rising tensions around Taiwan and in the South China Sea, alongside continued escalation in the Middle East, underscore how closely interconnected today’s international crises have become. Against this backdrop, close cooperation among like-minded partners such as Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and Europe is gaining strategic importance. Credible partnerships and coordinated political action are essential prerequisites for peace, stability, and a resilient international order.
In close cooperation with our partners, we implemented a wide range of political dialogue formats in 2025. Conferences brought together high-level representatives from politics, academia, and civil society to initiate strategic discussions, with a particular focus in Australia and New Zealand on security and defence policy, as well as strengthening resilience in the Pacific. Workshops enabled practical, interactive exchange and the joint development of concrete solutions, especially in areas such as good governance, regional integration, and crisis resilience. Seminars fostered in-depth engagement with specific topics, supporting political education and the targeted networking of key stakeholders. Together, these formats strengthened dialogue, mutual understanding, and shared resilience across the region.
Against this backdrop, I am very grateful to have assumed leadership of the KAS Australia and the Pacific in August 2025 and to be able to build upon the successful projects and strong networks developed in previous years.
My special thanks go to my predecessor, Bertil Wenger, who, together with our colleagues on the ground, decisively shaped the work of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung in Australia and the Pacific. Under his leadership, KAS significantly intensified political exchange between Germany, the European Union, and Australia, particularly in the fields of foreign, security, and defence policy.
Among the highlights of our work in 2025 were political dialogue programmes in Australia and across the Pacific involving Members of the German Bundestag and Members of the European Parliament, including representatives of foreign and security policy committees. These initiatives would not have been possible without the close and trust-based cooperation with our partners in governments, think tanks, academia, and civil society.
Building on these achievements, we at KAS Australia and the Pacific look to the future with confidence. Together with our partners, we will continue to contribute to a more stable, predictable, and secure international order.
On behalf of the entire team, I would like to sincerely thank you for your continued trust in and support for the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Australia and the Pacific.
I hope you find this annual report informative and engaging.
Yours sincerely,
Sabina Wölkner
Director, KAS Australia and the Pacific
