RAMSI chapter ends in Australia's Pacific story

On 30 June this year, the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) will come to an end after 14 years. RAMSI was deployed in mid-2003 at the invitation of a desperate Solomon Islands government following several years of conflict between armed militant groups, a collapse in law and order and in the states capacity to deliver services, and a disastrous decline in economic activity. Although it was from the start a regional operation, from the first RAMSI was underwritten by Australian financial and human resources, costing Australian taxpayers AU$2.5 billion over its duration. Australian leadership and Australian thinking essentially determined RAMSIs direction.