John Connell is a Professor of Human Geography in the School of Geosciences at the University of Sydney. He previously worked for the Secretariat of the Pacific Community. He has worked and published on development issues in the Pacific, especially migration and urbanisation, for many years, notably in Bougainville (PNG), and has been a consultant to WHO, ILO, SPREP and other organisations. His most recent book (with Kirstie Petrou) is Pacific Islands Guestworkers in Australia. The New Blackbirds? (2023). He is presently working on a book on Islands and Health.