Planning for the future of the PNGAA

With the election for President of the Papua New Guinea Association of Australia less than two weeks away, I thought it might be time to provide a little more detail on how I’d like to see the organisation develop over the next few years.

There is first a continuing requirement for fellowship and caring. This objective covers the organisation of social events including reunions and attention to the needs of senior members of the Association, including making sure they remain in continuing contact with the PNG expatriate diaspora. I think the organisation can be judged on how it treats its members and what benefits it’s able to offer them and I’ll be paying very careful attention to this aspect of its operations.

Next I have a strong desire to see the Association strengthen relationships with Papua New Guinea and Papua New Guineans at a personal level. There seems no reason why the PNGAA should not evolve as the leading civil body protecting and advancing that relationship. I think there are splendid opportunities for recruiting more Australians with PNG experience as members. But I also see that any Australian with an abiding interest in PNG and its people should be encouraged to join the Association and participate in its affairs.

Thirdly, I see the communications activities of the Association as integral to its effectiveness as an organisation. Arguably the publication of the excellent Una Voce is the PNGAA’s most important continuing activity. I believe we can do more with the website to make it a key channel of continuing communication and I see us doing more to build a presence in the media.

Then I see that history and scholarship need to be accommodated in the range of activities we pursue. This includes recording oral history, preserving documents, trying to understand and coordinate the many disparate PNG collections in Australia and organising conferences and seminars on PNG affairs. Part of this would be to try to preserve the former ASOPA site on Middle Head as a continuing symbol of Australia’s contribution to PNG and the commitment of individual Australians to our nearest neighbour.

Finally, there’s a need to ensure that the financial, administrative and membership responsibilities of the Association continue to be conducted effectively and transparently.

That’s quite an agenda, and it will take some time to reach a point where it is bearing full fruit. But I believe the implementation of this vision will enable the PNGAA to move into the next era of its development as a major organisation contributing to a good relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea.

I hope that, if you agree with me and you are a member, you will see fit to cast your vote in my favour.