Comments

Fair analysis by Dr Henry Ivarature. Its good for public consumption for the population to make a fair judgement on historical issues.

Autonomy is the only solution for New Ireland under the current circumstances and moving into the future if it is to fully maximise its potential as a prosperous part of PNG. The more educated people in New Ireland and to an extent PNG become, the more informed they are about the current flawed system of governance and mechanisms on how wealth of a province is distributed. Fun facts about New Ireland: - New Ireland is certainly in the top 10 revenue generating province of Papua New Guinea. - Due to its low population density and few seats in parliament, NIP usually gets the lowest annual budget from the national government normally second last or third last. This is disproportionate to the revenue it contributes to Papua New Guinea which is very unfair for anyone. - New Ireland is the largest province in Papua New Guinea in terms of its geographical coverage (land and sea), the second one is Western Province. Most tuna and other fish caught in the waters in PNG for large commercial enterprises are caught in the seas of New Ireland due to its breeding ground for tuna, yet this does not translate to monetary gains for NIP. Papua New Guinea obviously will find it very difficult granting autonomy to NIP as well as ENB as it is like "killing the goose that lays the golden eggs". It will have significant financial implications to PNG.

However the slow the process is with internal and external challenges; New Ireland Autonomy is inevitable with strong sentiments in the province for this noble cause. If the old veterans like Sir Jay and Dr John Momis are advocating for strong autonomy and decentralization, that is a tree planted so to speak. Once an ideology is given birth to, it will not die out regardless of how much effort people will try to use to undermine it. Just few weeks ago from this comment Dr Momis again emphasized the idea of decentralization of powers back to the people for fair democracy and participation in the democratic process. Watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/qeosOGM2vp0?si=a52gwhZCsqVMnbKG

Dear Sir, Currently, there are how many PNG seasonal workers in Australia today?

Thanks for these close comments, which I have not seen elsewhere. I am sad the NZ is dropping into the non-contributing nations of the world. It is shameful selfishness.

Mika, Your criticism of the Government of Samoa's delayed response to Australia's offer of access to its new Pacific Engagement Visa (PEV) falls short on one detail. You state at the end of your commentary that 'brain drain should not be a big issue if we have an effective training scheme to plug any skill gaps'. Not this is not as simple as it sounds. To address potential brain drain, information is needed on the occupations and industry sector of those granted a visa. This is not available at present in the case of the Samoa Quota. The Government of Samoa needs to request the Australian Government to collect this highly relevant information from those selected in the ballot when they apply for their visa. Visa applicants (but not those merely registering for the ballot) should be asked to say in two or three words what their current occupation in Samoa is (eg secondary school teacher or registered nurse). They should also be asked to identify from a list what sector of the economy they work in. This information request should also be made to the New Zealand Government for its Samoan Quota visa applicants. The quota for this visa is far larger (1,100 persons each year plus a further 550 extra places each year until 2026) than the quota for the PEV is likely to be, which is yet to be announced but is likely to be about 100, based on Samoa's resident population size. In this way, the Government of Samoa can work out where the skill gaps in the labour force will be. But training required often takes time. There can be a delay of several years while the new trainees acquire the skills in demand. Although the ballot ensures that everyone who registers has an equal chance of selection, those granted a visa are likely to be different in their socio-economic profile. The PEV requirements for a primary visa applicant to have a formal ongoing job offer in Australia and to have basic English language skills will determine who gains a visa. This means that most, if not all, PEV primary applicants will come from the formal economy because they will need to have the skills in demand in Australia to get an ongoing job. In addition, the high cost of settling a family in Australia will ensure only those applicants with enough savings are likely to migrate.

Yes Darian, I agree that CSOs do have an important role to play. We do recognise this. For instance recently in WNB we trained priests for the Kimbe Catholic Archdiocese on financial literacy. The idea is that they will then go out and impart this knowledge to their congregation or dineries. Milne Bay in partnership with the Milne Bay Provincial Administration we conducted mentoring and coaching support to the trainers they they trained on Financial Literacy. is a charity organization that works alongside rainforest communities to halt deforestation and its impact on climate change and it is currently involved with Communities in the Suau LLG of Milne Bay Province. Cool Earth Global is gradually promoting climate friendly economic activities to stimulate economic growth within the communities it is working.

Thanks Kingtau, As stated we still have a long way to go.

Concerning the NEFC report on the status of New Ireland Province, it is very sad to know that we scored the lowest. However, I think we deserve something better as we continue to contribute more to the National Budget than any other province in this country.

Thanks for sharing this and I agree with this arguments presented in this paper. As a New Irelander there need to be a change in the Leadership comes 2027 if the Province's quest for autonomy is to be fully realized.

Thank you for this insightful and comprehensive piece. Grateful if you can also give an update, when information is available, on what the Australian Govt means by 'adequate' funds to support applicants and dependents for the 12 months, after migrating.

No, you have to between 18-45 years old.