BY MARTYN NAMORONG
WHEN HE WAS IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA last week, parliamentary secretary Richard Marles should have had a Twitter debate and discussion with Papua New Guinean and Australian tweeps.
Instead he stuck to the "colonial" program of the Australian High Commission - Australia Week celebrations, which really look like Australia imposing itself in PNG's face as opposed to a genuine interaction between friends - which the Crocodile Prize truly represents.
The Croc Prize is the real deal. I might be too cocky in saying this but it beats all AusAID programs.
Firstly you're raising the profile of talented PNGeans, as was the case with me. After you folks found me, everyone else did
That can be applied to almost all other fields. Just give a space for people to be appreciated and who knows what opportunities may come their way.
In addition, there is the person to person interaction that is much more human than a ‘donor – aid recipient’ relationship that can be at times patronising and neocolonial.
Keith, Phil and the Australian readers of PNG Attitude seem more human to me than an AusAID consultant.
I think that's the way relations can be fostered as opposed to meaningless tags such as "stakeholders", "GoPNG", "sub-national governments", etc...
In the end I reckon big business interests are screwing up everything, and politicians on both sides seem to treat business better than citizens or perhaps they've given businesses citizenship rights as well.
It’s all about people, friends, families, acquaintances - human beings.
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