Keith Jackson & Friends: PNG ATTITUDE

PNG open to reviving refugee centre on Manus

ROWAN CALLICK
THE AUSTRALIAN

PAPUA NEW GUINEA Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has reaffirmed that his country would favourably consider reopening an asylum-seeker processing centre if asked by Australia.

Now in the middle of an election, Mr O'Neill said the recent sinking tragedies "underline that this is a regional issue".

"We need to work together to make sure this doesn't happen again. Our commitment to the region on this issue remains strong. We'd like to help where we can."

Opinion polls have tipped Mr O'Neill to retain the prime ministership when parliament meets in early August to vote in a new government.

The Manus assessment centre remained available to the Australian government, and others, to take up if it were needed. . "We will help wherever and however we can to facilitate a solution," he said.

An assessment centre operated from 2001 to 2004 as part of the Howard government's Pacific Solution at the Lombrum naval base on Manus island, at the north of PNG. About 350 asylum-seekers were processed at the centre, which was managed by the International Organisation for Migration.

Last August, just nine days after Mr O'Neill was elected prime minister, his new cabinet decided at its first formal meeting to accept, "in principle", Australia's request for the reopening of a centre to assess asylum-seekers.

Foreign Minister Ano Pala signed a letter outlining the arrangement in broad terms.

Julia Gillard thanked Mr O'Neill and his newly formed cabinet "for giving prompt consideration" to the Australian proposal.

But opposition spokesman on immigration Scott Morrison was sceptical about the deal.

"I'll believe it when I see it," he said of the centre. "I'm not holding my breath."

Senior officials of the countries began negotiations on the details, but Canberra had not provided full information about its intentions by the time the High Court ruled out offshore processing of asylum-seeker claims last August.

PNG indicated during last year's talks that if the centre were to be reopened, it wished to play a substantial role in determining management principles and methods.

The PNG government wanted to ensure that any remuneration for the centre was over and above the previously agreed AusAID commitment - which in the coming financial year reaches $491.7 million.

Manus is PNG's smallest province, smaller than the ACT. The population of about 45,000 broadly supports the re-establishment of an assessment centre there for economic reasons.

Australia should show 'true leadership', says Bishop

DEVELOPMENT POLICY BLOG

SHADOW FOREIGN MINISTER, Julie Bishop, has painted a new vision of Australia’s relations with the Pacific, calling on Australia to “show the leadership and vision that is expected of us in the Pacific” and backing “the forging of true economic partnerships with our great friends” of the Pacific and PNG.

The deputy opposition leader was speaking at the ANU’s Crawford School at a public lecture hosted by the Development Policy Centre.

Highlights of her speech included an endorsement of the Pacific seasonal worker program and PACER Plus, elevation of the relationship with PNG in particular, support for relaxing visa requirements to make it easier for Papua New Guineans to visit Australia, and increased focus on aid effectiveness.

Australia and the Pacific

Noting that talk of the Asian century can easily lead to the overlooking of the Pacific, Ms Bishop argued that the Government “has taken its eyes off the region and has failed to show the necessary leadership or long-term vision that is required of it.”

“Australia needs to create a new narrative that encompasses a shared vision for the Pacific.” Aid was important, but the relationship had to go beyond aid to encompass “defence, trade, investment and diplomatic engagement throughout the region” all under a “focused and effective, practical and principled overarching strategic framework.”

In terms of concrete suggestions, Ms Bishop began with public diplomacy, calling for a better effort from Australian Network and better branding of Australian aid.

Importantly, Ms Bishop noted the benefits of labour mobility for the Pacific. She hailed the success of NZ’s Pacific seasonal worker scheme  in terms both in terms of economic welfare and the generation of goodwill.

Within the context of “looking at ways we can use Australia’s domestic market to support private-sector development in the Pacific,” Ms Bishop called for “strengthening Australia’s existing guest worker program to enable greater numbers of Pacific islanders to undertake seasonal work in this country” and committed the Coalition to “examining the case for the expansion of this program.”

Given the opposition of the Howard Government to a seasonal workers program, this is a significant policy shift for the Coalition.

The Deputy Opposition Leader called for “the establishment of a Pacific-wide economic and trade agreement”  and criticized the Government for not including PACER Plus (the free-trade agreement currently under negotiation) in its statement of trade policy.

Papua New Guinea

Ms Bishop paid special attention to PNG, stating that she was firmly committed to “broadening, deepening and diversifying our links and to ensure that in government, our relationship with PNG will be one of the country’s highest foreign policy priorities.”

How to make PNG a regional middle power by 2050

FRANCIS HUALUPMOMI / China

THIS ARTICLE PROVIDES a simple strategic calculus for the new Papua New Guinea government as a roadmap to navigate or manoeuvre PNG through the uncertain environment of the early 21st century.

It argues that PNG should translate its latent power into national state power by 2050 and the key questions it frames are: What is the current status of PNG given its rich resources? How do we see PNG in future? And how can PNG translate its rich resources into national power?

National state power is a projection of state power expressed in terms of hard (military) and soft (economic) power. A country with national power is one that is strategically located with sufficient economic resources fully guarded by a strong military that is able to influence others in the international system to get what it wants.

As far as national power is concerned, PNG has some of these attributes to project as a middle power but is impaired by external influences and governance issues.

Since independence there has been no concerted effort to conceptualise this strategic thinking, and few people have articulated this.

PNG in a geopolitical sense is very strategic as is cogently expressed in the dictum ‘an island of gold floating on oil and powered by gas’.

Modernization and industrialization driven by complex web of interdependence and globalization is the flag of the 21st century which PNG must embrace by developing new thinking to rationally position itself in the world order.

PNG is not an island on its own – it is internationally connected. What happens in other parts of the world affects us. For instance, US foreign policies in the western Pacific will affect PNG’s foreign policy and strategic interaction in the region.

Our government should balance investment in economic growth and social development, with military power.

A grand strategy suggests achieving middle power status in the region by 2050. The strategy needs to identify and develop four key areas: human capital; economic independence and economic growth; social development; and international relations and security.

The tactic is to develop in each area through political will and support. The logic is simple: national state power is a function of economic power.

Economy and national power play a co-functioning role where wealth is created from economy through the protection of a strong military. A new garden without a fence is highly vulnerable to wild animals. Economic and social development is guaranteed through national state power.

First, the role of human capital is to translate ideas into wealth. PNG has an untapped smart population that needs economizing. The general education, technical and higher education, research science and technology sector have been given inadequate emphasis.

Foreign policy, strategic policy & electoral politics

FRANCIS HUALUPMOMI / China

FOREIGN POLICY AND STRATEGIC (SECURITY/MILITARY) policy usually play an important role in election campaigns.

However, these policies feature much less in Papua New Guinea’s political parities and candidates’ political manifestoes.

Foreign policy and strategic policy of states are two of the most important elements that define or determine a state’s coexistence and sustainability in the international system. Both feature predominantly in almost all political parties or candidates’ campaigns around the world.

Foreign policy is an explicit policy defining how a state should interact with others (state and non-state actors) in the international system to pursue its national interest. This interaction could be undertaken at bilateral or multilateral level where economic and security assume dominant roles.

The strategic policy explicitly defines the national security of the state. Security and survival of state are fundamental. A state without a defensive system expressed in terms of military power is more vulnerable to external and internal threats.

The defence/military power projection of state ensures protection of sovereignty and people from foreign invasion or other threats securitized as potential or real.

Both foreign policy and strategic policy are not the same but are closely interrelated. Foreign policy defines how a state should strategically interact to ensure peace and stability regionally or globally.

For instance, PNG’s recent UN peacekeeping contribution to Sudan demonstrates the strategic dimension of foreign policy - how our foreign policy is achieved through defence force.

The question one should be asking now is how effective is PNG’s foreign policy and strategic policy in addressing national development? What is PNG’s role in an increasingly complex web of interdependent and globalized world? How can PNG rationally position itself in the region and globally given its growing economic power consistent with Vision 2050?

These are some of the basic but fundamental questions political parties and candidates should be highly considering or addressing during campaigns.

Since independence less or if not almost all parties and candidates calculate foreign policy and strategic policy as low key issues.

Interestingly, one would find that political manifestos are mostly centred on economic, political and social dimensions, especially on leadership, good governance, corruption, law and order, economic governance and management, and social welfare; however less is featured on how they should manage foreign relations and national security.

This behaviour strongly suggests that their political advisors or strategists may have lacked understanding on these areas or are simply too ignorant.

Coalition to offer freed up trade & visas for PNG

BY JULIE BISHOP

FEW COUNTRIES ARE MORE IMPORTANT to Australia than Papua New Guinea and I believe that our relationship with Papua New Guinea must be one of Australia’s highest foreign policy priorities.

It is a fact that much has been said over many years about the relationship and I think it is fair for us to be judged not on what we say but on what we do, not on just our words but on our actions.

And in that regard, should the Coalition form the next government of Australia I am committed to injecting the necessary energy and leadership to ensure that the relationship continues to be a strong, continues to be one not just of the closest of neighbours but the closest of friends – the absolute best friends – for we are like family. And indeed like all families we are well aware of each others strengths and weaknesses.

And if it is anything like my family we are be each other's strongest critics but also each other's greatest supporters!

As brothers and sisters in the Pacific region it is time for us to broaden and deepen and diversify our relationship and take it to another level to better reflect the contemporary reality of where we stand in the 21st century.

It is way past time that we move on from outdated stereotypes and our aid donor and aid recipient relationship, and it is time for us to embrace each other as full economic partners.

It should be as easy to do business between Australia and Papua New Guinea as it is between Australia and New Zealand. While I welcome an Economic Cooperation Treaty, we should be aiming for a high quality, full blown free trade agreement between Australia and Papua New Guinea.

If we are honoured to be the next government of this country, I most certainly commit to ensuring that we can free up the visa arrangements between Australian business people and PNG business people in particular so that we can have much easier means of doing business and investing in each other's country.

It is simply unacceptable for there to be so many bureaucratic hurdles in the way of trade and investment and doing business across the Coral Sea, and I most certainly commit to working with the PNG government to ensure that it can be the most cooperative economic relationship that we are able to achieve.

We need to see greater mobility in the labour force between PNG and Australia. I envisage some form of mobile workforce that could be supporting projects in Queensland, in Western Australia, and in PNG, and it will take some considerable will on the part of governments in both countries to achieve it but I am sure we can do it, for our mutual benefit.

Pacific tilts west to PNG & super power rivalry

BY WADAN NARSEY
PACIFIC SCOOP [Extracts]

IF PAPUA NEW GUINEA ever decides to flex its burgeoning muscles, encouraged by a belligerent Fiji, the alarm bells would be ringing loudest in Canberra and Wellington.

Without doubt, Pacific politics is tilting towards the west, drawn by the all-powerful and inexorable gravitational forces of the massive LNG and other minerals wealth being generated in Papua New Guinea (and in West Papua – another sorry saga).

But are the PNG politicians prepared for the leadership role that comes with their wealth and markets? Or will they be too bogged down in their debilitating internal squabbles for political power so as to ensure preferential access to the massive new wealth flows being created?

Relations with Australia and NZ are going to be a key factor in the direction taken by PNG and the Melanesian Spearhead Group. Understanding the complex chop suey of forces at work in the Pacific is extremely difficult, as the diversity of issues indicates.

But almost certainly, history, time and the “Pacific tilt” are not on Australia’s side.

More than a decade ago, the US withdrew its Peace Corps program from the Pacific. But in 2011, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned the Senate Foreign Relations Committee not to cut the foreign aid budget, citing the growing competition with China for global influence, specifically mentioning the Pacific and its vast natural resources.

The US is now back in the Pacific with a large new US embassy in Suva, to rival the equally large Chinese embassy. The US has also now stationed a small number of troops in North Australia, a move which is seen by an annoyed China as part of the US “containment policy” towards China.

The numbers of US troops will no doubt slowly grow, alarming Australian strategy advisers who see too close an attachment to US military strategies as being potentially harmful to long term Australian economic interests, which are inextricably linked to China’s economic growth (and which was the most significant factor saving Australia from the Global Financial Crisis).

Without doubt, super-power rivalry in the Pacific is now escalating.

PNG will have far more bargaining chips than ever before, especially if its leaders are able to successfully play off one super power against another, and take a leadership role in the Pacific, including the MSG.

Papua New Guinea with its population of 7 million people is the largest market in the Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA), with the others just making up less than 2 million.

Yet 10 years ago, the PNG market was not given much importance by Pacific Island companies because the largely rural PNG consumers were too poor to spend money on modern goods.

That has now totally changed with the massive economic growth now taking place in PNG, with equally large investment and consumer expenditures from both the private sector and government.

Australia and Melanesia: On bullies and respect

BY TIM ANDERSON

INSTANCES OF AUSTRALIAN LACK OF RESPECT for Melanesian leaders are many in our country’s long and sorry racial history. Patronage through aid programs helps prop up these colonial-like attitudes. The cases of Melanesian leaders standing up to Australia are less common.

That is why it is worth noting the actions of Vanuatu prime minister, Sato Kilman, in kicking out an Australian federal police contingent in retaliation for the AFP’s disgraceful treatment of Mr Kilman’s delegation when they transited Sydney airport last month.

Apparently Australian officials made the Vanuatu PM’s delegation fill out immigration forms, even though they were only in transit. Then the AFP arrested Mr Kilman’s private secretary, Clarence Marae, on money laundering charges.

Vanuatu responded last week by ordering a resident AFP delegation to leave the country.

Not since the Solomon Islands PM Manasseh Sogavare stood up to the AFP and the Howard Government in 2006-07 have we seen something similar. In that case, Sogavare’s government launched an inquiry into the April 2006 Honiara riots, an inquiry which would include examination of the role of the AFP.

Australian PM John Howard reacted angrily and AFP officers searched PM Sogavare’s office as they prosecuted government ministers. Sogavare then stood up to Howard.

The heavy handed role of the AFP in Honiara had become an aggravating factor. As Honiara Bishop Terry Roberts wrote, “the 'spark' that sent the rioters into central Honiara was the use of tear gas by the Australian RAMSI contingent”.

The Bishop said “Honiara people have never liked the Australian RAMSI contingent [who are] sullen and hostile. 'Helpim fren' has turned into 'Spoilem fren'.”

In early 2008 I was in Honiara, interviewing a number of well-educated Solomon Islanders about the AFP-dominated RAMSI mission. By then, both the Sogavare government and Howard government had gone.

A common thread emerged. Every Solomon Islander I spoke with (including some of Mr Sogavare’s political opponents) agreed with and respected Sogavare’s criticisms of Howard; but hardly any of them were comfortable about it.

Maybe it is a cultural thing, of Melanesians avoiding confrontation; maybe it is the legacy of colonial history; maybe it is the pragmatism of small groups confronting bigger powers; but there has been a profound reluctance in the region to stand up to Australian bullies. Yet bullies, like dogs, never respect people who run away; in fact they tend to chase them.

PNG crisis a challenge for Australia & New Zealand

BY SELWYN MANNING
36TH-PARALLEL.COM

AS PNG STRUGGLES to maintain order in the face of two clashing political factions, its two southern neighbours Australia and New Zealand are compelled to tread a soft diplomatic line rather than risk destroying rapprochement with a possible new political order.

Concerns that civil unrest may flare inside PNG have intensified in the past two months as lines of division within PNG’s legislature, judiciary, and security apparatus worsen. New Zealand’s High Commission is closely monitoring political developments and the security situation.

The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (NZMFAT) advises New Zealanders that there is ‘some risk’ to their security in PNG due to the potential for civil unrest to flare. The advice notes that political tensions may increase as elections draw closer.

Although contacts in the capital Port Moresby have told 36th Parallel that tensions have eased since PNG prime minister Peter O’Neill announced that a general election will be held in June, the possibility of street violence cannot be discounted.

At this juncture, if civil unrest breaks out, neither New Zealand or Australia have plans to protect their diplomatic and private enterprise assets inside PNG. In answering 36th Parallel’s questions on this matter NZMFAT replied: “The High Commission is not taking any special security precautions at this stage but is keeping a close watch on developments.”

However NZMFAT did advise New Zealanders living in, working or visiting the Melanesian country to avoid large gatherings “due to the potential for violence”, and to monitor local events closely. They are also advised to maintain a “high degree of security awareness” and should register with NZMFAT on www.safetravel.govt.nz.

Politically, the situation between PNG and Australia is delicate. Consequently, at this juncture any manoeuvres taken by Australia, and secondly by New Zealand, to ‘assist’ PNG to quell unrest and protect ANZ personnel are diplomatic rather than operational in terms of a security.

UN should stick to human rights, says envoy

SOLOMON STAR

THE PAPUA NEW GUINEA HIGH COMMISSIONER to Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, Brian Yombo Copio, has refuted claims by United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay that PNG has a constitutional crisis.

Mr Copio said he felt obliged to correct the concerns raised by the UN representative so that the region could understand the adequacy of the issues and concerns in PNG.

He said it has been always the case where representatives from international organisations have different perceptions of countries of the South Pacific when these countries experience manageable issues.

The High Commissioner who has done extensive research on the role of international organisations during his studies in international relations said the UN representative should concentrate on human rights issues.

He said PNG’s perceived political issues are manageable and there has been no abuse of human rights.

Mr Copio said that the constitution has not been eroded in any way by the passage of the Judicial Conduct Act but rather it has been strengthened.

“In essence, this Act ensures that all citizens of Papua New Guinea as well as visitors from abroad are subject to the same laws in the country including the constitution.

“This includes all public office holders in the executive, legislature and judiciary.”

He said any allegations of misconduct against public office holders, including Chief Justice ought to be investigated by the relevant authorities and corrective measures, based on law, be applied without fear of favour.

“This is to ensure that the integrity and impartiality of the public office is maintained at all times,” he said.

Mr Copio said the assertion by Ms Pillay that the independence of the three arms of government being compromised by O’Neill/Namah Government through the Judicial Conduct Act and the change of Government is an over-simplification of the core issues and a misconception.

The executive, judiciary and legislature in PNG remain independent, vibrant and strong, he said.

Back off Julia Gillard, says Peter O’Neill

PRIME MINISTER PETER O'NEILL today snubbed pressure from Julia Gillard and Bob Carr that Papua New Guinea should hold its elections in June, saying the timing of polls was up to PNG.

Australia has repeatedly called on PNG to adhere to the 23 June deadline for elections as set out by its constitution.

Yesterday prime minister Julia Gillard tried to increase the pressure by contacting O'Neill directly.

Her office issued a statement saying they "discussed the importance of holding national elections on time".

Gillard said she "welcomed prime minister O'Neill's statements that he supports the election proceeding on time."

But today O'Neill shrugged all that away.

"We appreciate the support of the Australian government, but it is for us to determine where we go with the elections in the coming months," he told the ABC.

PNG citizens face frustrating visa maze: Lepani

RADIO AUSTRALIA

PAPUA NEW GUINEA'S HIGH COMMISSIONER to Australia, Charles Lepani, has urged the Australian government to do more to improve the process for Papua New Guineans seeking visas.

Charles Lepani said he believes the Australian government is looking at the issue.

But he said the review must be done urgently to improve bilateral ties between the two countries.

He said Australia's present immigration laws are extremely frustrating.

"Immigration issues, they are galling,” Mr Lepani said, “if I could put it bluntly and very politely in terms of how Papua New Guineans are treated entering Australia and the difficulties faced by Papua New Guineans."

Cut PNG leaders some slack, says Marles

RADIO NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL

AUSTRALIA’S PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY for Pacific Island affairs, Richard Marles, says Papua New Guinea’s political leaders should be cut some slack over the current political crisis.

There has been an outcry over the actions of the O’Neill government in trying to suspend senior judges and delay national elections - actions some people say are unconstitutional.

This week, Mr O'Neill said the election will go ahead on time and that the government has no authority to intervene.

Mr Marles said the pivotal event in all this - the prolonged illness of veteran leader Sir Michael Somare, was a very difficult situation for MPs to confront.

“I think we do need to show some understanding in relation to that,” Mr Marels said, “but certainly the way forward is to make sure that there are elections that are held on time.

“I think the PNG public have been making their views known in relation to that but I think the efforts of Peter O’Neill and the Cabinet are very much to be applauded because they are moving this thing in the right direction.”

'Patronising' Carr expresses optimism on election

ABC-TV, NINE NEWS & SOURCES

AUSTRALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER BOB CARR says he is "optimistic" that Papua New Guinea's national elections will go ahead on time.

Following widespread protests in thePort Moresby on Tuesday, PNG prime minister Peter O'Neill reaffirmed his commitment to a 23 June election.

However, the PNG parliament has yet to rescind last week’s vote that sought a six-month deferral of the election date.

Senator Carr, who previously said PNG should face global sanctions if it postponed the elections, says Mr O'Neill's statement is reassuring.

"I accept his sincerity about holding elections," he said from New York, adding the PNG government had "extra lustre" as part of the world's community of democracies.

"I think it would enable (Mr O'Neill) to say with pride that he leads a developing country that takes seriously its commitment to democratic norms," he said.

"The people of PNG can wear that as a badge of honour."

A source in Port Moresby told PNG Attitude it was a shame that Mr Carr “did not seem to be able to talk about PNG without sounding patronising.”

Carr welcomes decision to reinstate election

AAP / SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT welcomes Papua New Guinea prime minister Peter O'Neill's commitment to early elections, foreign minister Bob Carr says.

Senator Carr said Mr O'Neill's statement saying he was not advised to delay the election for up to six months was encouraging.

Members of the PNG government had claimed a report by the electoral commissioner had recommended delaying the 23 June elections.

On Thursday, Mr O'Neill and 62 other MPs voted for the delay amid claims it had been advised in the report.

In a statement issued to the media on Saturday entitled O'Neill for Early Elections, the prime minister said: "The electoral commissioner's brief to me dated April 2 did not recommend deferral of elections. All effort must be made to assure security and integrity of the elections."

Senator Carr said it was encouraging that the PNG cabinet will meet tomorrow to review the electoral commission's report on election preparations.

"We hope the PNG government will review the decision to defer elections for six months," Senator Carr said.

"We respect Papua New Guinea's sovereignty. However, we believe the elections should be held on time and in accordance with the constitution.

"The Australian government awaits the outcome of the PNG cabinet's consideration on the timing of the elections.

"PNG elections have previously been held in challenging circumstances and generally held on time.

"Australia has agreed to provide substantial practical support, including up to 30 Australian Civilian Corps personnel and an air support mission, to enable elections to proceed as scheduled."

A national day of protest is planned in PNG tomorrow as trade unions, businesses, civil society organisations, universities, churches and rank and file citizens convene a day of action and a march on parliament.

Demonstrators will gather at Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby by 8am and march on Parliament House.

Gillard treads water as PNG rebuffs Australia

BY KEITH JACKSON

AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER Julia Gillard has said her government is “disappointed and concerned” by the Papua New Guinea parliament’s vote to delay national elections for six months.

She has said acerbically that “questions have been raised in PNG about the constitutionality of this decision.”

Ms Gillard has also said that while Australia respects PNG sovereignty and is “a strong supporter and long-time friend of PNG” she believes that “the elections should be held on time in accordance with the constitution”.

She has also noted “the previous assurances of the PNG government that the election would be held on time and hope the government will give this decision further consideration.”

Having talked to Blind Freddy, he has assured me there is no chance of this.

Ms Gillard also made no reference to foreign minister Bob Carr’s earlier threat to impose sanctions on PNG if it did not proceed with its elections on the due date, in late June.

Instead she said, plaintively, that “Papua New Guinea’s democracy has to date had a good record of holding elections on time.”

Well, Julia, there’s a first time for everything.

And Bob, in foreign affairs, you old initiate you, never bluff.

A foreign policy cut off from the world

BY ANDREW ELDER
ABC - THE DRUM (Extracts)

AUSTRALIAN FOREIGN POLICY is not connected to our political system, and it is utterly unrelated to the way Australians interact with other countries.

We lack the political leadership to better engage with other countries, let alone exploit any opportunities that may come our way. The coming of Bob Carr to Canberra has not resolved the lack of foreign policy leadership, and nor will replacing this government with the opposition.

Australia urgently needs a clear understanding of how we are to engage with the Asia-Pacific.

There has been a lot written about Carr, and before he was appointed to his current role we should have seen more articles examining his performance as NSW premier and fewer about what a great communicator journalists find him to be.

Carr is one for the Big Themes, like US-China. Even second-order foreign policy challenges like Burma can be framed in terms of Tyranny vs Freedom, with of course the iconic figure of Aung San Suu Kyi. Where Big Themes are hard to find in an area of foreign policy, it will be hard to hold Carr's interest.

This was demonstrated early and well with his ham-fisted response to the political upheaval in Papua New Guinea. Political upheaval is frequent, if not normal, in PNG while it is much less so here.

Except for our military campaign there in the early 1940s (and that was targeted against the Japanese than for the people of PNG themselves), Australia's relationship with PNG has tended to be exploitative and patronising.

It isn't part of Australia, so we don't control it; but it has strong strategic importance to Australia so our leaders and policy-makers can't ignore what goes on there.

Carr backed down from his threat to cut off aid, and no doubt he will go there soon covered in ashes and sackcloth to some extent. It would be a mistake to assume Carr will reinvent Australia's relationship with our near neighbours in Melanesia and Polynesia.

The Big Themes simply don't fit there, and nor is there much scope for spin and hype in this foreign policy issue: the "24 hour news cycle" can and does go for weeks and months without even mentioning PNG, the Solomons, Fiji, Samoa or Tuvalu.

Australians have never really had an input into foreign policy, but the way Australians trade and travel and otherwise interact with other countries could not be any more disconnected from the way our officials do so. We lack the political leadership to bridge the gap between Canberra and the rest of the country, a gap that makes room for mischief and misunderstanding to impede our relationship with our world.

Andrew Elder was a member of the Liberal Party of Australia. He blogs at Politically Homeless. View his full profile here.

Good friends treat each other with respect

BY JULIE BISHOP MP

On the eve of her second official visit to Papua New Guinea, Australia's shadow foreign affairs minister and deputy leader of the Liberal Party asked PNG Attitude readers for their views on the major issues in the PNG-Australia relationship. Readers responded with enthusiasm, and here is Julie's reply...

I CONSIDER PAPUA NEW GUINEA one of Australia's top foreign policy priorities. While there have been highs and lows in the past (as with all relationships), it is how we manage these periods that matters.

As friends, it is important that we treat each other with respect and avoid the public grandstanding we have seen by the Gillard government in the past week.

I wholeheartedly agree with comments about the importance of travelling outside Port Moresby in order to gain a proper understanding of PNG.

When I was in the country last year, I travelled up to the Southern Highlands to see the large oil and gas projects first hand.

While there, I also had the opportunity to visit a local medical clinic and a HIV/AIDS centre. I am certainly aware of the challenges facing service delivery and providing basic infrastructure such as roads in remote parts of the country. I am hopeful of visiting a few regional centres again when I return next month.

Judging from your comments, there appears to be strong support for initiatives that improve the knowledge and understanding between Australia and PNG, particularly at the community level.

I am a strong believer in promoting two-way student exchange as a way building a new generation of friendships between our two countries. Sport, whether it be rugby league, union or Aussie rules, can also play an key role. In government, the Coalition will be looking very closely at the role sport can play in our broader engagement with PNG.

Projects such as the Crocodile Prize are also very useful in this regard.

For the people of PNG, creating national leaders in the arts - just as in sport - that younger generations can aspire to is very important. I think the idea of empowering women financially is also very sound. On a recent trip to the Solomon Islands, I had an opportunity to meet with a group of women who operate successful small businesses in Honiara.

This idea not only ties into my determination to move the relationship between Australia and PNG to an economic partnership, but also my interest to work with women leaders in our region to establish a forum for dialogue and action on common interests including security, education, health, human rights and development.

A Coalition government will work within this forum to establish a network of mentors to encourage women in the region to take up political leadership roles. I agree that reducing corruption remains a pressing issue.

When I am in PNG, I will certainly make enquires about what Australia can do to support Task Force Sweep.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge the concerns that many people expressed regarding AusAID. I have been concerned for some time about reports of waste and mismanagement within the AusAID budget.

In the lead up to the last election, I called for an independent inquiry of Australia’s aid program to investigate the concerns of the Australian National Audit Office about AusAID’s capacity to deliver the current aid budget efficiently and effectively. It is important that Australia’s assistance is spent wisely and the benefits are felt at the local community level.

Thank you for your feedback.

Official: PNG and Australia are friends and partners

MINISTRIES OF DEFENCE & FOREIGN AFFAIRS

PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY FOR DEFENCE, Senator the Honourable David Feeney, and Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs and Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Richard Marles MP, affirmed Australia’s commitment to the people of Papua New Guinea during an official visit last week. 

Senator Feeney and Mr Marles met with a broad range of citizens and officials and participated in many events organised as part of Australia Week.

“The strength of the relationship between PNG and Australia is demonstrated by the cooperation between our nations on important matters of state,” Senator Feeney said. “Our nations work together as partners in Defence, on economic issues, on education, health and environmental issues.

“The Australian Defence Force and the PNG Defence Force exemplify this partnership.  Our two forces cooperate on a regular basis through training and exercises like Exercise Olgeta Warrior. 

“As the national elections approach, the ADF is assisting the PNGDF to lease two medium helicopters in time for elections and for two years beyond.  This capability will give the PNGDF additional air transport appropriate to the country’s rugged terrain.”

Mr Marles said PNG’s upcoming elections will be a defining opportunity for the people of PNG.

 “I welcome the Prime Minister’s commitment to hold elections on schedule. Australia is proud to be playing a supportive role to ensure the elections uphold PNG’s robust democratic tradition,” he said.

Senator Feeney said Australia and PNG will continue their work together on strategic matters such as Defence White Papers and the Pacific Maritime Security Program.

“We have a proud shared history of friendship and cooperation which will endure,” Senator Feeney said.

Carr has 'white man's burden', says Mundine

BY BIANCA HALL
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

THE UNFORTUNATE FIRST FORAY into international diplomacy by the new foreign affairs minister, Bob Carr, was ''a stupid mistake'' influenced by ''white man's burden'', says a former Labor national president, Warren Mundine.

Mr Mundine told Channel 10 yesterday that Senator Carr had admitted ''in his private moments'' he had erred.

''It was a mistake, a stupid mistake by Bob, there's no doubt about that,'' Mr Mundine said.

Senator Carr had told Sky News on Wednesday that it was ''absolutely vital that Papua New Guinea, that the government of Prime Minister O'Neill, commit unequivocally to this election''.

''You've got Australia placed in a position where we'd have no alternative but to organise the world to condemn and isolate Papua New Guinea,'' he said.

''We'd be in a position of having to consider sanctions.''

Prime minister Peter O'Neill has been urged by his party to delay the election, but PNG's electoral commissioner, Andrew Trawen, maintains the electoral cycle is fixed to every five years and must be held in June.

The opposition spokeswoman for foreign affairs, Julie Bishop, said the comments had been unconstructive and accused Senator Carr of running ''megaphone diplomacy''.

''He is off to a poor start as Australia's foreign minister by jeopardising one of the most important relationships in our region,'' she said.

Mr Mundine, a prominent Aboriginal leader and senior Labor figure, said he believed the comments reflected a more widespread domestic view of Australia's South Pacific and Asian neighbours.

''It was very stupid of him to actually say those things, but it is a problem with the Australian government overall, I think - not only this government but previous governments as well - that we sort of take this white man's burden of looking at the South Pacific, looking at Asia and looking at these areas,'' he said.

''Papua New Guinea is a former colony of ours but we've got to respect them as an independent sovereign nation. They're our partners, they're our friends.''

Brown to Carr: drop the threats and offer assistance

NINE NEWS

AUSTRALIAN GREENS LEADER Bob Brown believes Australia should be offering Papua New Guinea greater assistance in having a fair election, rather than threatening it with isolation.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr said this week that failure by PNG to hold its planned mid-year elections would be a "shocking model" for the Pacific.

He threatened a sharp Australian response if PNG prime minister Peter O'Neill heeded internal calls to put off mid-year elections.

"We'd have no alternative but to organise the world to condemn and isolate Papua New Guinea," the senator told Sky News.

"We'd be in a position of having to consider sanctions."

Senator Carr on Friday issued a statement saying his comments had been "misunderstood and used out of context".

Senator Brown said Australia should support PNG.

"Instead of making the statement Bob Carr made, we should be offering PNG even greater assistance to make sure the election ... is fair, above board and not corrupted," Senator Brown told reporters in Canberra yesterday.

Senator Brown said while PNG has a large resource base, it does mean "there is potential for money to flow to outside interests, including Australian corporations, at the expense of local people".

There is also the problem of the takeover of land by foreign companies.

"This election is an opportunity for the people of PNG to assert their own control over their own land," Senator Brown said.

"If their politicians are doing the wrong thing, then throw them out."

As Carr stumbles, Bishop announces 2nd visit to PNG

Australia has a deep and enduring relationship with PNG, says shadow foreign minister JULIE BISHOP, and, while it has challenges, it also holds enormous potential

Julie Bishop has asked PNG Attitude readers for their views on this article and any questions on her approach to PNG affairs, which you can offer using the 'Comments' link below

THE COALITION HAS BEEN DEEPLY CRITICAL of the Gillard Government for neglecting our near neighbours as it pursues its grand adventure for votes for a temporary seat on the United Nations Security Council.

It is widely reported that the Australian government has taken its eyes off our region.

The recent political upheaval in PNG should serve as a wake-up call.

PNG must be one of Australia's highest foreign policy priorities. In government, the Coalition will seek to be judged on what it does when it comes to the bilateral relationship, not what it says it will do.

In early April, I plan to visit Papua New Guinea with a group of my Coalition colleagues from North Queensland who have a strong interest and commitment to Australia-PNG relations.

This will be my second extended visit to PNG in the past year, having spent a number of days in Port Moresby and the Southern Highlands last July.

In government, we will not only work to broaden, deepen and diversify the relationship at a government-to-government level, but also, as importantly, at a community and person-to-person level as well.

Our vision for the relationship moves it away from the outdated stereotype of aid donor and recipient to a broad economic and strategic partnership.

As revenue from PNG's resource projects boosts its economy, Australian aid will play a comparatively lesser role in PNG's development.

Making sure that the benefits of Papua New Guinea's economic boom are shared by its citizens will be an important challenge for the PNG Government.

The Coalition will give greater emphasis to initiatives such as the Enterprise Challenge Fund that stimulates growth and employment opportunities, and helps sustain local communities.

We will also redouble our efforts to negotiate the Pacific Agreement for Closer Economy Relations, otherwise known as PACER PLUS.

This agreement presents a significant opportunity for us to cement a closer economic relationship that will promote economic growth, open up markets, provide employment and raise standards of living.

I have also repeatedly called for greater priority to be given to two-way student exchange.

Our Party has a proud record in this area, having established the Colombo Plan in 1951 under the leadership of Sir Robert Menzies.

A new program that captures the spirit of the Colombo Plan is again needed. Increasing the number of two-way student exchanges in our region and particularly between Australia and Papua New Guinea will help promote greater understanding and awareness.

Charles Lepani criticises Carr over sanctions threat

BY JESSICA WRIGHT
THE CANBERRA TIMES

PAPUA NEW GUINEA'S TOP DIPLOMAT in Australia, Charles Lepani, has hit out at new foreign minister Bob Carr.

Mr Lepani said the PNG government was surprised and disappointed at the Senator's first foray into diplomacy in the region.

Senator Carr last night said that any move to delay the upcoming mid-year elections in PNG would ''place Australia in a position where we'd have no alternative but to organise the world to condemn and isolate Papua New Guinea''.

But Mr Lepani said the PNG government had been in contact with Australia in the past week to expressly assure that the elections would proceed.

He said Senator Carr's comments were ''speculative'' and a surprise ''knee-jerk reaction''.

''It has come as a surprise for us and the Papua New Guinea government that a good friend of ours would in his first discourse, first contact, issue a statement that can be misconstrued as unfriendly,'' he said.

He said that as Senator Carr's comments were made during an interview with former Labor hardman, Graham Richardson, they could be best viewed as ''a knee-jerk reaction''.

''These things pop up, I understand and Bob Carr is Bob Carr,'' Mr Lepani said.

Read more: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/opinion/political-news/png-diplomat-criticises-carr-over-sanctions-threat-20120315-1v6m8.html#ixzz1p9logqwD

Carr off to poor start as Oz foreign minister, says Bishop

AUSTRALIA’S SHADOW FOREIGN MINISTER Julie Bishop says threats of sanctions against Papua New Guinea have the potential to undermine one of Australia’s key relationships and reduce our standing in the region.

She said foreign minister Bob Carr’s threat to “organise the world to condemn and isolate Papua New Guinea [and] to consider sanctions” is a gross over-reaction to suggestions within PNG that mid-year elections may have to be delayed due to recent political turmoil.

“One of Senator Carr’s highest priorities should have been to repair the relationship with Papua New Guinea, after years of neglect and mismanagement by the prime minister and his predecessors,” she said, “but his decision to threaten them with sanctions will create more tension.

“It would be far more constructive for the new foreign minister to extend the hand of support to the government of PNG as they work towards the next round of parliamentary elections.”

Ms Bishop says that Mr Carr should also have met personally with PNG leaders and discussed this issue with them before grandstanding in the media.

“He is off to a poor start as Australia’s foreign minister by jeopardising one of the most important relationships in our region,” she said.

Australia tries to heavy PNG on national elections

BY KEITH JACKSON

BOB CARR ONCE TOLD ME THAT “strategy is bullshit” and yesterday’s casual threat to “isolate Papua New Guinea” should there be a delay in this year’s national elections appears to be an example of Pax Carriana Unstrategica in practice.

Fresh from a trip to New Zealand (where he owns a property) and hotline phone calls with counterparts in the UK and US, Australia’s new foreign minister decided – without setting foot in PNG and presumably with just a cursory understanding of the complexities of its politics – to make his initial statement on PNG one replete with neo-colonial overtones.

PNG’s prime minister Peter O’Neill has said repeatedly that he is committed to holding elections on schedule in late June, even though his disgraced deputy Belden Namah seems to believe elections are not really required for the smooth operation of the resource-rich state.

Yesterday Carr threatened sanctions if PNG delays plans to hold the elections on schedule mid-year.

"It is absolutely vital that PNG, that the government of Prime Minister O'Neill, commit unequivocally to this election," he told Sky News.

Carr said failure to hold elections would create a "shocking model" for the Pacific.

"You've got Australia placed in a position where we'd have no alternative but to organise the world to condemn and isolate Papua New Guinea," he said.

"We'd be in a position of having to consider sanctions.”

So this is Carr-style diplomacy when it comes to PNG. Forget about the niceties; go straight to threats.

It could make life very difficult for Peter O’Neill, already in an arm wrestle with Namah, when his deputy tells him PNG is not going to cop any bullying from Australia.

Far from being a supportive statement, Carr’s blundering deputy sheriff approach may embolden Namah – under immense personal pressure over the Crown Casino allegations – to use Carr’s words to stir up nationalistic fervour against Australia’s new Pacific policy.

A policy which seems to suggest that building a relationship is a waste of time when a little posturing is so easy.

See also Tavurvur's thorough analysis here and Martyn Namorong's contrarian take here

Downer lionises Carr... Is this a job application?

BY KEITH JACKSON

ALEXANDER DOWNER, the foreign minister whose tenure saw Papua New Guinea deeply disaffected if not alienated from what passed for Australian diplomacy, has accused former foreign minister Kevin Rudd of "letting the grass grow" in Australia's neighbourhood while he pursued the Labor leadership.

This is a pretty rich comment from a man who, together with ex prime minister John Howard, left the PNG relationship neck deep in noxious weeds.

In his typical trouble-making mode, Mr Downer is now lionising new foreign minister Bob Carr – a man with no experience at this elevated level of politics – saying he is confident Carr will get Australia's foreign policy back on track.

"I think if you're going to be a good foreign minister ... you have to be a foreign policy wonk," Downer told Sky News yesterday. "He [Carr] has the intellectual make-up - he'll come with enthusiasm."

Downer was scathing of Rudd's diplomatic performance. "Mr Rudd used the position rather obviously to try to engineer a comeback as prime minister," he said.

He said Rudd failed on key relationships in Australia's neighbourhood, including the political crisis in Papua New Guinea.

"I think in our neighbourhood we've let the grass grow a bit," Downer said.

Carr will no doubt feel mighty relieved that Downer said he will have a chat with him “to pass on advice”.

Can an overseas diplomatic posting be far from the thinking of the man who left Australia’s relationship with PNG in such a diabolical mess.

Is this exercise no more than a very public job application?

Marles visits at ‘important time in relationship’

AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

AUSTRALIA’S PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY for Pacific Island Affairs, Richard Marles, says he is visiting Papua New Guinea for five days this week “at an important time in the relationship.”,\.

 “PNG’s upcoming elections will be an opportunity for the people to decide who will represent them in parliament and government,” Mr Marles said.

 “Australia is pleased to be playing a supportive role in providing the PNG authorities with the technical and logistical assistance they need to deliver peaceful and orderly elections on schedule.

“Economically, PNG is also at a defining moment. The PNG LNG project and the creation of the sovereign wealth fund will have the capacity to transform PNG’s economy for the benefit of all Papua New Guineans.

“The LNG Project will also provide exciting opportunities for Australian businesses, enhancing our existing $7 billion trade relationship.”

Mr Marles will meet senior members of the PNG government as well as business leaders.

He also plans to participate, along with high commissioner Ian Kemish, in a veterans’ AFL match scheduled for Saturday.

This week is Australia Week in Papua New Guinea

BY KEITH JACKSON

THE AUSTRALIAN HIGH COMMISSION in PNG is staging its sixth annual Australia Week celebrations from today until next Sunday.

Australia Week is a chance to showcase modern Australia to Papua New Guinea, and the close links between both countries.

At the launch this morning, prime minister Peter O’Neill will open the Australia Week exhibition featuring work by noted artist John Gould (Australia) and Ratoos Gary (Papua New Guinea).

By the way, readers will be interested in some remarks about the High Commission made by outgoing Australian foreign minister in a farewell speech to DFAT operatives in Canberra late last week.

Mr Rudd included a special reference “to our colleagues in Port Moresby”.

He said: “Can I say, in particular, thank you for the extraordinary professionalism I have seen on the ground in recent months dealing effectively in the best traditions of diplomacy, with the unfolding challenges to security and stability in Papua New Guinea. Well done Team Australia.”

Bob Carr: Please take note.

Marles says Australia treats PNG with respect

RADIO AUSTRALIA

AUSTRALIA'S PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY for Pacific Island Affairs, Richard Marles says Australia has been treating PNG's own long-drawn leadership crisis with a lot of respect.

Mr Marles said this in response to accusation by Andrew Kumbakor, the defence spokesman for the Somare faction that Australia has been ignoring the country's political crisis.

“What I would say is the situation in Papua New Guinea has obviously been very difficult,” Mr Marles said.

“We've been trying to treat this with the outmost respect as a very close friend and a close neighbour and obviously we've been watching very carefully how events have panned out in PNG.

“We have been advocating for those events to pan out in a peaceful way and almost exclusively that is what's occurred, which is a real credit to PNG,” he said. “And we have also been advocating that that occur in the context of the Constitution.

“I think we've all got to understand it's a difficult time in PNG's history, but they to have elections coming up in the middle of this year.

“I think the whole region looks forward to those elections as an opportunity for PNG to move beyond what has been a very difficult period and obviously we will continue to work with the government of the day.”

Mr Marles also told Radio Australia that the government has been “working with Peter O'Neill, but there's also been contact kept with all the players in PNG”.

“Our view has been to relate to PNG in a respectful way as possible as a close neighbour and a close friend and what we want to see is that government happens in an orderly way and I think that is occurring.”

Gillard slammed for interfering in PNG politics

BY ROWAN CALLICK
THE AUSTRALIAN

THE MICHAEL SOMARE TEAM, which has failed to regain power in Papua New Guinea, has launched a vitriolic attack on the Gillard government for backing the rival cabinet led by Prime Minister Peter O'Neill.

Sir Michael's defence spokesman, Andrew Kumbakor, released an open letter saying Canberra "cannot interfere in domestic PNG politics by picking and choosing what leadership it prefers".

He said Australia had been involved with PNG for too long not to realise there were discrepancies in the behaviour of Speaker Jeffery Nape and parliament in choosing a new prime minister on 2 August without establishing that Sir Michael, undergoing medical treatment in Singapore, had vacated the office.

"Prime Minister Gillard eagerly congratulated and embraced the illegal regime of Mr O'Neill," whom she "received with open arms during his state visit to Australia late last year", Mr Kumbakor said.

Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has also come under fire for failing to engage sufficiently with PNG as the constitutional crisis played out. "It is for Papua New Guineans to resolve their political differences," Mr Kumbakor told parliament this month.

He said that since PNG's Supreme Court had by a 3-2 ruling ordered the return of Sir Michael to the prime ministership in December, "Australia has maintained its engagement with the illegal regime".

"The regime's contemptuous conduct has not drawn any condemnation from Ms Gillard or the Australian government."

Such an approach when "a regime is using the police force to intimidate the public is incomprehensible", he said.

Australia had taken a different stance when such events occurred elsewhere in the Pacific. "I urge Australia to be a real partner and trustworthy neighbour to PNG.

“We do not want a return to the past where we have experienced interference in PNG's affairs," including in the downsizing of the PNG defence force while Mekere Morauta was prime minister.

Somare accuses Australia of ignoring crisis

RADIO AUSTRALIA

A REPRESENTATIVE OF FORMER PRIME MINISTER Sir Michael Somare has accused Australia of ignoring the country's political crisis.

In late January, Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard officially recognised Peter O'Neill as PNG's leader.

Sir Michael has being trying unsuccessfully to have his claim to power officially endorsed for months.

Now, Sir Michael's Defence spokesman, Andrew Kumbakor, has written an open letter accusing Ms Gillard and her government of ignoring irregularities in the system.

Mr Kumbakor says he believes the situation could soon descend into violence and says Australia has a responsibility to step in before it's too late.

Australia & NZ need to prepare for PNG migration

RADIO AUSTRALIA

PROFESSOR RICHARD BEDFORD is a specialist in migration studies who has been looking at population movements in the Asia-Pacific region since the 1960s.

He says that between now and 2050, Australia and New Zealand can expect much larger numbers of migrants from Melanesian countries.

He says this new wave of Pacific migration is something both countries need to begin preparing for.

“I think we're going to find that we become more engaged as we have been in the last decade with the western Melanesian countries [like] Vanuatu, Solomons and Papua New Guinea.

“And we're going to see I think a lot more people from those island countries coming to New Zealand and Australia as part of the ongoing development processes in their countries, and maybe also part of our own shortages of labour, particularly in less skilled areas in the economy.

“I think one of the things on the policy front that we will have to be more sympathetic to is the pressure that will build for access to opportunities in our cities from our near neighbours,” Prof Belford said.

“I think we're going to need to see some more thinking like that, how we accommodate the pressure for assistance and support and opportunities for young people in those regions in our particular countries.”

Papua New Guinea’s great power conflict

BY JOHN F.M. KOCSIS
HARVARD POLITICAL REVIEW

IN ONE OF THE COMING DECADES’ most important developments, tensions between the United States and China have begun to escalate on a whole host of new fronts.

Prospects for the presidency have soared to new heights of monetary nationalism, the Obama administration has announced plans to station 2,500 marines in the Pacific, and Chinese diplomats have turned up the heat on American allies in the South China Sea.

As in all great rivalries, China and America both have proxies whom they support, provided the junior partners act in their interest.

One such proxy nation is Papua New Guinea, the resource-rich Pacific nation whose domestic political instability has made it a surprising focus of American and Chinese geopolitical manoeuvring.

Of potential flashpoints for conflict in the Pacific arena, Papua New Guinea is generally less studied than its regional counterparts, such as the Philippines and Vietnam.

New Guinean history is primarily viewed through the lens of Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel. This ignores the island’s long history on the world stage.

 A battleground between Allied and Japanese forces in World War II, the country was restored to Australian ownership at the campaign’s end. Sir Michael Somare, a perennial leader of Papua New Guinea, finally won his people independence in 1975 – but ever since, the Melanesian state has been fraught with conflict.

Despite recent military developments, Papua New Guinea is ostensibly in the throes of a petty constitutional crisis.  Sir Michael Somare, in his fourth non-consecutive role as prime minister until this past August, has returned from his convalescence in Singapore claiming to be the country’s rightful legislative chief.

The person serving in that position now, Peter O’Neill, toppled the placeholder Somare who appointed in August and was voted by the parliament as the rightful prime minister.

The small nation’s supreme court ruled that because Somare left for heart surgery with full intention to reclaim his seat, he is legally entitled to the role of prime minister.

By and large, parliament disagrees – and Papua New Guinean ministers strongly support the new prime minister, Peter O’Neill. This vehement disagreement at the highest levels of government led to a mutiny attempt to remove O’Neill and restore Somare.

The rebellion was successful at first. Hired by Michael Somare, the Indonesian [sic] colonel Yaura Sasa and his troops seized control of the military barracks in Port Moresby, the capital, and captured Brigadier-General Francis Agwi, the Commander of the PNG Defense Force.

After days of escalation [sic], soldiers surrendered their weapons on January 30.  They promised to stand down instead of facing prison time.  The colonel was jailed but later released on the grounds that he was merely operating under government commands. The government of Sir Michael Somare, which the Supreme Court deemed legitimate, had, after all, executed the order.

A surface-level reading of this scenario focuses on an internal struggle within government leadership over political control and resources, a common occurrence in developing nations.

However, a broader and perhaps more accurate view of the situation requires putting it in terms of American and Chinese interests.  Papua New Guinea is an attractive destination for investors due to its untapped 22.6 trillion cubic feet in natural gas, not to mention its copper and gold wealth.

Australia has "little to gain" from PNG involvement

RADIO NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL

AN EMERITUS PROFESSOR AT THE Australian National University says Australia has nothing to gain from becoming involved in Papua New Guinea’s ongoing political crisis.

There have been calls, most notably from former foreign minister Alexander Downer and the Lowy Institute, for Australia to step up its involvement to ensure the stability of its nearest neighbour, where two factions are claiming to be the legitimate government.

But Dr Ron May, a senior associate in the ANU’s State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Program, says Australia should stay clear of a messy situation that PNG must resolve on its own.

He says any involvement by Australia would be seen as interference.

“I don’t think there is much it can do,” said Dr May.

“It can make statements about upholding the rule of law maybe but to try and do any more than that would be counterproductive.

“Papua New Guinea is heading for elections fairly soon and I think we have just got to hold off and see how the situation resolves itself and hope that with new elections we can start again and get the political system sorted out again.”

Australia deeply saddened by loss of lives at sea

AUSTRALIAN HIGH COMMISSION

THE AUSTRALIAN HIGH COMMISSION in Papua New Guinea has expressed its deepest sympathy to families in who lost loved ones in the sinking of the MV Rabaul Queen.

“The thoughts of Australians are with those families at this difficult time,” said High Commissioner Ian Kemish.

As might be expected of a close friend and neighbour, Australia has been heavily involved in support of the PNG-led response to this disaster.

At 7.25am on Thursday 2 February, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) Rescue Coordination Centre received an initial satellite detection of a distress beacon belonging to the passenger ferry MV Rabaul Queen. This information was immediately communicated to the PNG Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre.

AMSA broadcast a message to shipping in the area and requested shipping to advise of their ability to respond and estimated time of arrival. A number of vessels responded and nine arrived on scene to undertake rescues with assistance from local craft.

The first of the Australian aircraft to be deployed - a Cairns-based AMSA Dorner aircraft - then arrived on the scene. This had the capability to drop life-rafts to assist survivors while they waited to be collected by merchant vessels.

A Royal Australian Air Force P3 Orion aircraft also joined in the search that first day, and two other civilian aircraft and three helicopters were engaged by AMSA in the search.

Reports at 10.50am that day indicated that the vessel had sunk and the assisting vessels were recovering many survivors from the water.

Reports from the scene at that stage indicated that the vessel could not be seen, indicating that it had sunk in water of around 1,700 meters in depth. However, the aircraft continued to search for several days after the sinking.

AMSA also deployed several Australian rescue and recovery personnel to Lae to assist. The High Commission deployed a naval officer to the PNG Maritime Safety Authority, and other Australian Defence members, led by Major Rod Clavan based in Lae, coordinated with local agencies there, and arranged refuelling of the aircraft.

AusAID provided 250 blankets and 250 rubber sleeping mats for survivors, which were distributed through local organisations including PNG Red Cross.

“Australia was pleased to support PNG’s response, but none of this can change the fact that this was a great national tragedy,” Mr Kemish said.

Photo: Australian Defence Force Lieutenant Commander Tim Koroi (right) with Executive Manager, Search and Rescue, PNG National Maritime Safety Authority Captain Nurur Rahman (left) in Lae during the response

Rudd's itinerary anywhere but PNG

BY ROWAN CALLICK
The Australian

KEVIN RUDD, THE WIDEST-TRAVELLING FOREIGN MINISTER in the nation's history, is coming under fire for neglecting the prolonged crisis closest to home, in Australia's nearest neighbour, Papua New Guinea.

"Of course we have a lot at stake in the crisis," says Hugh White, the head of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University. "But there is little any Australian leader can do to help unless they have real standing within PNG themselves - unless they really know the players in PNG and are known and respected by them."

He laments: "Alas, no Australian political leader has that kind of standing in PNG today. Protecting our interests in PNG requires more than episodic crisis management. It requires long-term investment in building contacts and networks and standing.

"And, of course, you cannot do that if you spend all your time in the Middle East saving Libya or in Africa drumming up UN Security Council votes."

Or in Australia itself drumming up backbench support for a tilt at the leadership.

This week, Rudd's office has sought to stress the importance of the discreet behind-the-scenes role he and colleagues have played to help defuse the PNG crisis - which took a further twist on Thursday night when Prime Minister Peter O'Neill suspended Chief Justice Salamo Injia, who has been a thorn in his government's side.

But critics continue to call for Rudd to visit PNG more, to stay longer, to take some initiatives there and to push it nearer the top of his crammed agenda.

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop spent a week in PNG last July, and is planning a further visit in April, to work towards the kind of standing outlined by White.

"I've said repeatedly that PNG should be one of our highest foreign policy priorities," she says. "It is not in Australia's national interest to neglect PNG. But under Labor it has slipped down the agenda.

"Kevin Rudd as prime minister started well," Bishop says, by visiting PNG first, "but now his focus is firmly on his bid for a temporary seat on the security council, and PNG no longer has his attention," although it receives, after Indonesia, the second-largest amount of Australian aid, $482 million this year.

Today, PNG is mostly conducting business as usual, with O'Neill's administration in clear command. But the battles over the pecking order of PNG's core institutions, and the bitterness of the antipathy between the political rivals, run deep and cannot be fixed this side of a national election due by mid year.

……

Rudd has defended his restless travels - clocking $1.1m in the first nine months of last year - saying: "Last time I looked at the map of the world, Australia was a long way from most places, except New Zealand."

But it is even closer to PNG, just a motorised canoe ride away.

There are, of course, limits to what Australian governments can do in PNG, says Shearer. "We can't just wade in lecturing them. But neglecting PNG means losing our leverage when events are moving in directions against our interests. We have unique responsibilities there, and should offer not only material but also moral support. We should show we are not a fairweather friend, and that at any time they have our full attention. That's missing at the moment."

This is an extract from a longer article in today’s Australian newspaper

PNG returns to tuna talks as USA “comes good”

PAPUA NEW GUINEA HAS REJOINED crucial talks with the United States over the South Pacific Tuna Treaty after initially rejecting the US approach.

In talks in Nadi, the PNG delegation set out the conditions for its return to the negotiating table.

Presenter Jemima Garrett spoke with Sylvester Pokajam, Managing Director of PNG's National Fisheries Authority

GARRETT: The Papua New Guinea minister leading the delegation, Charles Abel, has brought a letter from prime minister Peter O'Neill to the US. What did that have to say?

POKAJAM: Our prime minister has been getting a lot of feedback from his Pacific neighbours. They have requested him to consider the withdrawal of the withdrawal. Prime Minister has taken that into account, and also of the very key interests we have in the Pacific and also with the United States. So it was a wide range of issues that the prime minister took into account….

GARRETT: When PNG says it wants the US to pay $35 million, who does that 35 million go to? Is it all the Pacific countries or just Papua New Guinea?

POKAJAM: It is not $35 million it is $45million. And the US is offering $35 million, but that $35 million is for the parties. It is for everyone to be shared equally.

GARRETT: You also mentioned there has been some movement by the US. In the past, they have been driving a pretty hard bargain. What sort of positive steps are you seeing?

POKAJAM: They've come very good now [on the] application of national laws to the US vessels. In the past, it is the Treaty that drives the management of the vessels fishing in our exclusive economic zones of the coastal states. But that has changed now.

The US vessels fishing in the EEZs of the Pacific Island parties are subject to our domestic law, in terms of conservation and management measures, enforcement and things like that. So that is a big, big plus for us.

GARRETT: The current treaty expires in May. How real is the risk that it will expire before a new deal is reached?

POKAJAM: There is a real risk in here

Source: Radio Australia

New heads of diplomatic missions announced

THE PAPUA NEW GUINEA Cabinet has appointed new heads of PNG's overseas diplomatic missions and posts, and taken decisions on other diplomatic positions.

The changes will take place in the next three months.

Meanwhile, Cabinet revoked the appointment of the controversial Kevin Conrad as PNG's Special Envoy and Ambassador for Environment and Climate Change.

Here is the full list of appointments:

Charles Lepani - Ambassador to the United States.

Chris Haiveta - High Commissioner to Australia.

Paul Nerau -  Consul-General in Sydney.

Veronica Landu Maladina - Consul-General in Brisbane.

Simon Sei - Consul in Cairns.

Veali Vagi - High Commissioner to Malaysia.

Christopher Vihruri - Ambassador to the Philippines.

Kuma Aua - Ambassador to the Republic of Korea.

Anthony Wagambie Sr - High Commissioner to Singapore.

Winis Map - Consul-General in Jayapura, Indonesian Papua.

Alexis Maino - Roving Ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands.

Winnie Kiap - High Commissioner to South Africa and Cyprus.

Falcongate: Peace breaks out in multiple dimensions

BY KEITH JACKSON

INDONESIA AND PAPUA NEW GUINEA are putting on friendly faces, and so too are PNG’s prime minister Peter O’Neill and his deputy Belden Namah, after what has been termed “a recent bout of diplomatic snippiness” externally and between PNG's two senior politicians.

External tensions had risen between the two countries after two Indonesian military aircraft nearly collided with a Falcon F900 jet carrying Mr Namah, senior government officials and Malaysian logging entrepreneurs returning from Kuala Lumpur on 29 November.

The reasons for the flight remain a deep mystery to all but Mr Namah and a few accomplices.

Then internal tensions within PNG’s governing coalition went through the roof when Mr Namah, after waiting more than five weeks to disclose the incident, decided Mr O’Neill’s soft-edged diplomatic response was too girly by half.

Mr Namah, military man to the core, wanted to expel the Indonesian ambassador and cause a fully-fledged diplomatic incident with PNG’s neighbour.

On Monday, police in Port Moresby dispersed what seemed to be an organised protest outside the Indonesian embassy as rent-a-crowd politics came to PNG.

The group of about 50 men purported to demand an explanation of the airspace incident.  They probably should have been asking harder questions of Mr Namah about what he and his entourage had been doing occupying Indonesia airspace on 29 November.

Later, several Indonesian politicians said their government should retaliate against the threat to expel the Indonesian ambassador.

Fortunately wiser counsel prevailed and Peter O’Neill toned down the Namah rhetoric at all levels, including thanking the Indonesian government for its explanation of the incident: which was that the near-miss was caused by a “discrepancy in the original flight clearance authority” issued for the Falcon jet.

Mr O’Neill said “the incident was most unfortunate” and he might well have added that so was his deputy’s melt-down when he called upon Mr O’Neill to resign.

Everyone concerned now considers the issues resolved.

But you don’t have to be either a diplomat or a political genius to know that deep suspicions will remain – especially about Belden Namah’s role in the Falcon flight and his subsequent attack on the prime minister.

We must respond harshly over PNG, says lawmaker

THE INDONESIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY is still refusing to acknowledge that one of its fighter jets intercepted an official PNG government aircraft carrying deputy prime minister Belden Namah in late November.

And University of Indonesia defence expert Andi Widjajanto says the PNG government owes his country an apology.

Brigadier General Hartind Asrin said no aircraft had tried to intercept PNG’s ‘VVIP aircraft’ as claimed by the PNG government.

“It seems that there was faulty coordination between the Foreign Ministry and the TNI [Indonesian military] over a VVIP flight path the PNG [Falcon jet was taking],” Widjajanto said.

“The TNI should say that their Sukhoi jets did not try to intercept [the PNG aircraft] and were conducting standard procedures, while the Foreign Ministry shouldn’t have mentioned the root and the type of the problem,” he said.

“The Foreign Ministry should instead ask [the PNG government] for an apology, without blaming the TNI.”

The incident took place on 29 November when Mr Namah and several senior government officials passed through Indonesian airspace on their way home from Kuala Lumpur.

On Friday, prime minister Peter O’Neill threatened to expel the Indonesian ambassador from Port Moresby if the Indonesian government failed to provide an explanation for the incident within 48 hours.

In late breaking news, an Indonesian parliamentarian has told the government to be stern with PNG over its threat to expel the Indonesian ambassador.

Mahfudz Siddiq, chairman of the House of Representatives’ committee overseeing defence and foreign affairs, said Indonesia should not be provoked by threats, adding that the country should stand up for itself if the ambassador was kicked out by the PNG government.

“If they do it, the government must respond accordingly. If we are treated harshly, we will also respond in a harsh manner,” Mahfudz said.

Source: Mustaqim Adamrah / Jakarta Post / Tribun News

PNG - Indonesia relations sour after mid-air incident

BY KEITH JACKSON

IN AN EXTRAORDINARY DEVELOPMENT that turns Papua New Guinea’s placatory policy towards Indonesia on its head, prime minister, Peter O'Neill has threatened to expel Indonesian ambassador to PNG, Andreas Sitepu, because of an incident in Indonesian airspace on 29 November.

Two Indonesian military aircraft almost collided with a jet carrying PNG's deputy prime minister Belden Namah and senior government officials as they were returning from Malaysia.

Mr Namah says it was an act of aggression and intimidation and there are allegations the Indonesian military was tracking the PNG government officials.

"I am very angry. I demand an explanation; if I do not get an explanation within 48 hours all diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea will be strained," Mr Namah said.

"I have already spoken to the ambassador and if it means we have to get the ambassador to leave this country and withdraw our ambassador from Jakarta we will do so."

In a story ambiguously headlined “Defense ministry clueless over PNG air-drama”, the Jakarta Post quoted Indonesian defence ministry spokesman Brigadier General Hartind Asrin as saying that no Indonesia military aircraft had ever tried to intercept a PNG jet as the PNG government has claimed.

“I’ve talked to our defence attaché in Port Moresby, and there have been no complaints filed by the PNG government or any other fuss regarding the claim,” he said.

Hartind said if any aircraft had tried to intercept the PNG jet, “they were probably [other countries’] planes”.

But Indonesian presidential spokesman Teuku Faizasyah’s resposne was slightly different.

“We are collecting information and facts from all relevant institutions, including the Foreign Ministry, the Transportation Ministry and the Indonesian Military. It’s still ongoing,” he said.

“I hope it [the incident] didn’t happen on purpose, but was, say, perhaps a procedural issue. This is what the government is trying to examine.”

He refused to confirm if the Indonesian government would provide the PNG government with an explanation within 48 hours.

Sources: Radio Australia / Jakarta Post

We want your opinion on PNG’s security challenges

BY KEITH JACKSON

PETER AIMOS, WHO’S LIVING IN CHINA, has written to me saying he recently came across PNG Attitude and thoroughly enjoys reading the thoughts and discussion herein.

“I have a short but perhaps complex question for you,” Peter wrote. “What are the main security challenges facing PNG at present?”

Well I wrote back to Peter identifying three broad security challenges that I think face PNG, and these are reproduced below.

But I thought readers might like to have their say and give Peter a hand with his project.

Here is my response.  You can add yours by making a Comment.

(1) Regional strategic issues - mainly the big power rivalry between China and the US in which PNG is an important chess piece together with the threat posed by guerilla warfare across the border in Indonesian Papua.

(2) Internal governance - the failure of PNG’s national government over a long period of time to ensure that the benefits of resource exploitation get down to the grassroots population in terms of appropriate economic and social development.  If this is not addressed there is the potential for civil unrest in PNG.

(3) Internal political stability - with an election due in six months and recent political and constitutional conflict, PNG faces the prospect of political uncertainty at a time it needs to be engaged in more substantive decision-making and development action.

OK, over to our readers.

Seasonal worker program is made permanent

THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT HAS ANNOUNCED that the Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme in which Papua New Guinea participates will be made permanent following the pilot’s expiry in June 2012.

The $21.7 million program will begin on 1 July 2012 and will build on the success of the pilot.

“Australian employers in the horticulture sector unable to source enough local Australian workers will now be able to access a reliable, returning seasonal workforce,” Australian Employment Minister Bill Shorten said.

“This valuable program contributes to economic development in participating countries, while offering Australian employers seasonal staffing help when needed.

“Employers will now have certainty at harvest time and seasonal workers will be able to improve their skills and have a level of financial security.”

Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said the decision to fund a permanent program provides a clear indication of Australia’s commitment to development and engagement with the Pacific region and East Timor. 

“This program will provide valuable economic opportunities for workers from the Pacific region and East Timor and will make a real difference for them and their communities,” said Mr Rudd.

The Australian government will also carry out a small-scale, three-year trial with accommodation providers in the tourism industry. Cotton and cane growers as well as fishing operators will also be included in the trial.

PNG has sent 41 workers to Australia under the pilot scheme with new recruitment expected in early 2012.  The workers have developed a reputation for being very hard working and have been excellent ambassadors for their country.

Source: Australian High Commission

Fully fledged guest worker scheme in 2012

AAP – AUSTRALIAN FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GROWERS will be able to employ seasonal workers from Papua New Guinea, the Pacific and East Timor from the middle of 2012.

But they will have to show they can't find local workers at harvest time before accessing a $21.7 million program announced by the Federal Government yesterday following a successful pilot scheme.

Cotton and cane growers as well as fishing operators will be included and the government will also conduct a small-scale, three-year trial with the tourism industry.

The government says growers in the horticultural sector will be able to access a reliable, returning seasonal workforce from 1 July.

Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson described the trial as a "win-win" outcome for Australian tourism operators and regional workers who would be able to improve their skills through education and training.

There are about 36,000 vacancies in the tourism industry, as the sector faces severe labour shortages brought about by a booming resources sector competing for workers.

Seasonal workers taking part in the permanent program will be employed in accordance with Australian work standards. Employers will contribute to travel costs.

The new US agenda: 'It's our backyard too'

BY PAUL OATES

IN HIS ARTICLE, Risky play? Shifting US strategy in the Pacific [PNG Attitude, 19 November], Francis Hualupmomi, a Papua New Guinean MA candidate in international relations at the Institute of International Studies at Jilin University, China, wrote:

China is not really a big threat to US in the region as it does not intend to become neither a hegemon nor an expansionist power – it believes in mutual cooperation and level playing field.

A number of nations (China, Malaysia, Philippines, Brunei, Taiwan and Vietnam) are currently in dispute over the Spratly Islands where there are reportedly large reserves of oil and natural gas. The region also has a significant percentage of the world’s sea transport transiting through the area.

It will be interesting to see how China might try to resolve this dispute using ‘mutual cooperation and a level playing field’. Could this terminology be a new form of dialectic for resolving disputes over the negotiating table or might it be a euphemistic definition for previous gunboat diplomacy?

Yesterday’s ASEAN meeting in Bali widens today into the East Asian Summit and includes Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and, for the first time, the United States and Russia.

Territorial integrity and maritime security will be high on the agenda and may be set to gain priority over other areas of finance, education, disaster management and health.

Predictably, Japan and the Philippines welcomed the announcement that the US will be paying more attention to the region.

The intentions of North Korea in the nuclear arms race are still anyone’s guess despite the modifying influence of China.

Muslim extremists on the southern Thailand border with Malaysia have been a constant threat. So too are the Muslim separatists on the southern Philippines island of Mindanao.

Indonesia has raised the possibility of escalated tensions in the region as the US is reducing its military presence elsewhere. Darwin is admittedly geographically close to both Indonesia’s West Papua and PNG, both areas of significant US and Chinese mining interests.

The potential of a natural disaster in the region is high given the region’s location on the Pacific Rim of Fire and the concentration of population. The availability of US personnel and transport could be very advantageous in the future. Look at the ongoing assistance the US provided to Haiti?

Australia has hosted a number of joint US facilities for many decades and a few hundred extra military personnel are hardly threatening.

What does resonate in the region is that the US does not intend to withdraw altogether once the planned drawdown in military involvement in Afghanistan gets underway.

Given the existing potential for natural disasters and the possible escalation of any current SE Asian dispute, is that such a bad thing?

Violence could be keeping PNG out of ASEAN

PAPUA NEW GUINEA has long harboured ambitions of becoming the 11th member of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Theoretically it’s closer, culturally and geographically, to the Pacific islands to its east and, historically and financially, tied to Australia in the south.

But the benefits of being part of a trading bloc that accommodates 500 million people whose economies have enjoyed unprecedented growth and live on its back door are all too obvious.  ASEAN knows this, and approaches by Port Moresby have been met with a polite ‘no thanks, not yet.’

Some commentators have suggested racism (and a dislike of blacks) stands behind the rebuff.  It’s an argument I doubt, though.  Racism is alive and flourishing in Southeast Asia, no doubt, and at a level that makes old fashioned prejudices in the West appear relatively mild.

Nevertheless, at an official level, PNG’s isolation from ASEAN has more to do with the behaviour of its people as opposed to the colour of their skin.

About 15 years ago, ASEAN was sharply criticised for allowing Cambodia, Laos and Burma into the trading bloc.  The three were seen as either ill-equipped, corrupt or morally bankrupt.  Those criticisms were probably justified, but with the benefit of hindsight, Cambodia and Laos are now much better places because of their admission, despite their flaws.

Burma is showing some signs of finally opening up.  The bait has been Naypyidaw’s desire to exercise its right to chair the prestigious annual ASEAN summit in 2014.

In short, ASEAN has had its hands full with difficult countries for more than a decade, and the inclusion of PNG, which has held special observer status since 1976, was simply seen as too much.

Times have since changed, ASEAN has evolved into a formidable political institution, and perhaps the bloc should revisit PNG’s application.

The problem remains the country itself.  Its taste for violence is notorious, though difficult to quantify as summed-up by the US government in its travel advice on the country:

Although reliable statistics are difficult or impossible to obtain, violent crimes is a serious threat in many areas of Papua New Guinea.

The visitor can minimise the potential to become a victim of crime by taking appropriate precautions...

Persons who plan to stay in PNG for more than a week or two should get in touch with the embassy or long-time residents for additional guidance.

The latest ethnic clashes erupted in Lae over the past week and have left nine people dead and businesses closed.  Riots also left 1,000 people homeless.  A state of emergency has been imposed as gangs went on a rampage and attacked each other with iron bars and bush knives.

There are just 4,800 national police in a country of seven million people.  Tribal communities prefer village justice to the rule of law.  As the US Embassy noted, response times by the police are measured in hours, not minutes.

In the 2011 United Nations Human Development Index released last week, PNG sits at 153, three spots below Burma and 14 places behind Cambodia and Laos.

Norway and Australia finished first and second respectively.  Singapore was the best ASEAN performer at 26, Brunei followed at 33 and Malaysia on 61.

The survey is far from absolute. However, its results, coupled with the latest round of violence in Lae, simply reinforce stereotypes and perceptions that PNG must break with the past if it is to join the Southeast Asian trading bloc.

Source: The Diplomat, 9 November

Our readers will input Australia's PNG policy

BY KEITH JACKSON

MY MUCH ANTICIPATED meeting with Julie Bishop’s foreign affairs and trade adviser, Sam Riordan, has been scheduled to be held about two weeks from now.

Sam accompanied the Shadow Foreign and Trade Minister to Papua New Guinea earlier this year and our meeting will allow me to put to him views readers have expressed about how the PNG-Australia relationship might be improved.

In August I asked you to let me know what issues you'd like me to raise with Sam, what policies you thought the Australian government should be pursuing in PNG and what priorities you saw for action.

Your responses, summarised below, will be provided in detail to Sam.

As I’ve said before, along with other observers I’ve been impressed with the way in which Julie Bishop has come to appreciate the importance of the PNG–Australia relationship, even though the government has picked up its game in recent months since the election of Peter O’Neill as prime minister.

And, if you’d like another opportunity to offer an input to Australia’s political thinking on PNG, add your comments at the end of this article.

Extracts from readers’ suggestions:

Peter Kranz - I suggest the encouragement of grassroots business initiatives - especially for women and young people - by loans for start-up projects. Not just hand-outs.  Maybe small, but significant enough to help start a small enterprise or local project.

Barbara Short - I have the feeling that many of the PNG-owned and run businesses need help. I think there must be some way that Australia can help these PNG-owned businesses do a better job. Often they have trouble getting supplies and lack management and financial skills.

Martyn Namorong - Can someone tell what the purpose of AusAID is? (1) Neo-colonisation.  (2) Just filling gaps.  (3) Developing PNG.  The fact that AusAID has existed for decades in PNG does indicate to me that it is about the first two.

Trevor Freestone – I hope Sam is going to spend quite some time with you as there are so many issues to be sorted out.  So many issues but surely the two main ones are the disregard for the villagers' rights and the lack of respect for the environment by mining and logging companies.

Phil Fitzpatrick – A clear, simple English statement, without any spin or bureaucratese, about what AusAID will do for PNG under the Coalition is required. A draft for public comment, both in Australia and PNG, would be a good start.

Paul Oates - Every program funded by Australia must first establish a jointly agreed assessment benchmark for measuring success and be prepared to be effectively and independently audited) and transparently reported on. No deal, no cash.

Max Aitken – Having lived and worked in PNG over the past 35+ years, it seems clear to me that the major issue is poor governance - no surprise there, and I know it's not easy to address.

Glick Lambea - Introduce competition in state-owned enterprises, especially power generation.  Help PNG authorities to reduce impediments to doing business.  As PNG's per capita GDP increases, decrease Australian aid to PNG - we won't need it.

Jeffrey Febi - AusAID's money has not made much difference to the lives of those people in rural PNG. It's been a long time and AusAID needs to shift focus more to rural areas.

Colin Huggins - To me, it seems such a tragedy that PNG is not promoting tourism the way it should and to make tourism a safe experience. An opportunity lost, I believe.

Don Tapio - Bring back the Enhanced Cooperation Program involving Australian policing assistanc], please. The grassroots people in PNG need this program if any aid from Australia is going to filter down. I know every honest hard working Papua New Guinean will embrace it.

New Australian visa centre opens in Lae

THE SECOND Australian visa application centre in Papua New Guinea opened for business in Lae on Monday. The office is located within the Central Court Building on 7th Street.

“I am pleased to announce the opening of an Australian Visa Application Centre in Lae,” said Australian High Commissioner, Ian Kemish. “I am especially happy to say that travellers in Lae will now find it considerably easier to gain access to visa services.”

The first visa application centre was opened in Port Moresby in September. Both centres will result in faster processing of applications and demonstrates the Australian Government’s commitment to high-quality service in PNG.

The changes to the way the Australian government delivers services have seen visa lodgement hours extended to 8.30am-4.30pm on weekdays, almost double the previous times. Phone lines are also open to handle travellers’ questions and enquiries from 8.30am until 7pm weekdays.

Additional services will include an SMS alert service, internet kiosks, photocopying, and the issuing of passport photographs.

Staff at the centres are trained to a professional standard, and applicants’ personal information is protected in line with Australia’s privacy rules.

The visa application centre has no involvement in decision-making. All applications continue to be assessed and decided by the Visa and Immigration Office at the Australian High Commission in accordance with migration legislation and policy.

Source: Australian High Commission, Port Moresby, 31 October

Peter O’Neill’s breakthrough visit to Canberra

BY JENNY HAYWARD-JONES

THE VISIT OF new Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill to Canberra last week represented something of a breakthrough in bilateral relations.  Mr O'Neill brought nine cabinet ministers with him, who met with Australian counterparts in the 20th bilateral Ministerial Forum (pictured).

Importantly, Prime Minister Gillard took the opportunity of her welcome speech to recognise the role of women in leadership and support efforts in PNG to reserve seats in parliament for women. 

Despite past differences of opinion and a staunchly independent approach to politics, Papua New Guinea's population does take notice of what happens in Australia.

Australian news dominates the PNG media and Australian television stations are available to most who have access to television. With its first female prime minister and first female governor-general, Australia has a unique opportunity to influence a change in attitudes towards women in PNG politics.

Unlike his famous predecessor, Sir Michael Somare, Mr O'Neill was remarkably frank in his comments about PNG's development progress. He was also open about PNG's poor corruption record.

Mr O'Neill's comments to the media that there would be 'no protection of anybody – members of parliament or ministers' suggested the government would pursue politicians for corruption, another departure from his predecessor.

Australia's Opposition also recognised the importance of the relationship with PNG. Foreign Affairs and Trade Spokesperson Julie Bishop had led the way with this speech to the Lowy Institute in June.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's participation in the lunch the government hosted for Prime Minister O'Neill on the same day the Carbon Tax legislation was passed in the House of Representatives reflected a welcome bipartisan commitment to good relations with Australia's nearest neighbour.

The occasion of the Ministerial Forum allowed both governments to announce the long-awaited results of the review of the PNG university system led by Sir Rabbie Namaliu and Professor Ross Garnaut. Both governments committed to funding the reforms proposed by the review.

The PNG Government has also committed to providing free education to all students up to year 10 by next year, following similar initiatives for primary school in Vanuatu and Solomon Islands. If realised, this promises to make a big contribution to improving PNG's poor education outcomes of recent years.

The introduction of a Work and Holiday visa arrangement is probably not as exciting as it sounds. This type of arrangement is typically a political tool, offered to add breadth to a bilateral relationship but with only limited benefits for the young people of either country.

Unlike the more liberal Working Holiday Visa available to young people from a number of European and North Asian countries, the Work and Holiday visa has a quota of only 100 in PNG's case and requires applicants to have the support of their government, putting the onus on students to convince their government they are worthy of inclusion in the program. 

Our nearest neighbour deserves visa arrangements a little more generous than this, and than the Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme (which has so far not seen large numbers of Papua New Guineans participate). But it is nevertheless a good start to encouraging closer people-to-people relations.

As a sign that the official relationship is evolving beyond aid, both countries agreed to sign an Economic Cooperation Treaty. Australia committed to further assistance for the establishment of PNG's sovereign wealth fund.

The much more significant role played by business in the Ministerial Forum and during O'Neill's visit is a further indication that Canberra acknowledges relations with Australia's 15th largest trading partner should be about more than aid. The establishment of a committee of senior government officials and business leaders is also a positive move.

O'Neill may only be Prime Minister until national elections are held in mid-2012, so he has little time to prosecute the reforms he promises before being subjected to the infamous uncertainty of PNG elections.

But on initial impressions, he and his government appear to be serious about changing PNG and deserve the serious attention they are attracting from Canberra.

Photo courtesy of foreignminister.gov.au.

Source: The Lowy Interpreter, 19 October
http://lowyinterpreter.org/post/2011/10/19/PNG-prime-ministers-breakthrough-visit.aspx

Visit underlines Australia’s commitment to PNG

PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY for Pacific Island Affairs Richard Marles is visiting Papua New Guinea this week, underlining Australia’s commitment to a stronger, multi-faceted relationship with our nearest neighbour. 

Mr Marles will meet senior ministers and members of PNG’s business community, following up the visit by Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd earlier this month and the recent Australia-Papua New Guinea Ministerial Forum in Canberra.   

“Papua New Guinea is one of our most important and diverse relationships and it is crucial that we maintain the momentum generated by Mr Rudd’s visit and by last week’s Ministerial Forum,” Mr Marles said.

“Ministers agreed at the Forum to advance negotiations on an economic cooperation treaty, enhance policing cooperation, support for the 2012 PNG election and assistance to manage expected revenues from the LNG Project.

“These will be our priorities over the coming months.”

Mr Marles will also meet PNG representatives of AFL and Rugby League to further partnerships with Australia aimed at developing these games.

“These partnerships are not only essential to reinforcing our strong people-to-people links. They are also about community development at the grassroots level, which is where Australian sporting assistance is targeted.”

Mr Marles will travel to the Eastern Highlands Province to see how recent reforms to the Australian aid program are improving vital service delivery in health, education and law and justice.

“Australia is helping PNG enhance access women and children have to basic services,” Mr Marles said.

“I will visit a family planning centre, school and police station to see how this is being done.”

Source: Richard Marles’ Office, 18 October 2011

New chapter opens in Australia-PNG relations

IN HER MEETING with Papua New Guinea prime minister Peter O’Neill this week, Australia’s Julia Gillard affirmed that PNG is not only Australia’s nearest neighbour but also a friend and a genuine partner

Ms Gillard said that today PNG stands on the threshold of an historic opportunity to develop its significant natural resources wealth in a way that delivers lasting benefit for the Papua New Guinean people.

She said a new chapter in Australia-PNG relations is beginning and committed Australia to a strong and close partnership geared towards supporting PNG through the period of change ahead.

A new economic chapter

Australia and PNG’s trade and economic relationship is vibrant and growing. Australia is PNG’s largest export market and two-way merchandise trade is worth around $5.7 billion. Australian firms are an active presence in PNG’s growing economy.

Reflecting a maturing bilateral relationship in which economic ties and cooperation take on a greater role, both prime ministers tasked officials to move quickly to commence negotiations on a proposed Economic Cooperation Treaty.

Support to PNG’s female leadership

Participation by Pacific women in regional parliaments is very low and Ms Gillard commended prime minister O’Neill on the introduction to the PNG Parliament of ground-breaking legislation which will ensure 22 reserved seats for women.

In partnership with the Australian National University, the PNG Office for the Development of Women and the United Nations Development Program, Australia will support efforts through a new $1 million project to help women in PNG gain skills in democratic politics.

Delivering results through the aid program

Prime ministers Gillard and O’Neill welcomed the considerable work done to reshape Australia’s development cooperation program for PNG to focus strongly on education and health.

They welcomed the endorsement by the PNG-Australia Ministerial Forum of programs covering education, health and HIV/AIDS, transport and law and justice. Ms Gillard said she shared Peter O’Neill’s strong focus on increasing access to education and improving its quality.

Under the Partnership for Development, Australia and PNG have agreed to work towards a higher enrolment rate in basic education by 2015 and 52,000 graduates from higher education institutions between 2011 and 2015.

The Prime Ministers welcomed the release by the two Foreign Ministers of the Universities Review and its endorsement as a blueprint for future cooperation in the tertiary sector.

Ms Gillard advised Peter O’Neill of 20 Australia-PNG Prime Ministers’ Awards for rural students in PNG to gain teaching qualifications.