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National Gold ltd was the first company to promoted and supported small scale alluvial gold mining in ESP in 1997 . We tested many rivers and introduce the gold dredging modern equipment we build in Wewak.The gold price price was k9 kina per a gram.

I agree keep this arrangement simple as is and out of too much political jugling. This is already giving answer to the high unemployment rate png govt has on hand. So keep it simple and if improvement is needed, they need to check and assess the current or present recruiting and selection criteria. Otherwise, Australia come gud liklik, PNG bikpla brother among the Pacific Islands in both landscape rich in raw marerials and population for labour if needed, as indicated in this excercise. Yes like everything else (PNG Youth), we must prove our worth, do things right. Thank you very much Australia for the PALM program - a next level program, eye opener and seriously for those of us (parents) not knowing what to expect next for our unemployed youth, this is God's blessing. God bless Australia and Papua New Guinea.

Indeed, it is all in making the branches operational. Substantial know-how, and further financing will be required. We are not there yet, but all in all it seems a step in the right direction.

So many Agricultural college graduates coming out of Agriculture Colleges every year doing nothing, no jobs, floating on the streets, feed those graduates to farms in both Australia and NZ, they are qualified and meet all the application procedures.

Due to Png currency is falling etc...we as indigenous of this country as to do something work outside ,for bitterness of our family hood and bring back more money into Png, uplift kina also into our regions,Eg $30-40/h and 1,152/day and 5,760/5d and 11,520/10d a person can have to fulfill their vision and dreams back at home after 8 months or a year etc.. Also we as indigenous we must be proud of some our great spokes man and woman with their free labour, also great minded leaders who spent effort to help this program Pacific Australia labour mobility (PALM) to attract and increase in financial goals in respective zones for the good of all citizens in our nation.

Any opportunities for Technical Trade people to go overseas earning better than being used as cheap labours back here at home?

Never too late, Never too soon, Working abroad brings a wider perspective and a more tentative experience. Mobilising an effective task force as control monitors of the hubs, would lessen hurdles faced by LMU and WRL.

Commend you for this insightful article

Upon initial reading I thought this article was a reprint from April 1st. Had it not been penned by such a reputable source I would not have believed how the system could have been designed so comprehensively to fail. Firstly, it is centralised in Waigani within the Department of Treasury. Take a moment to digest that. What has the Dept of Treasury got to do with labour recruitment? Secondly, it is handled at provincial and district level by the sitting Member. Does it really require the local MP to “support” the choice of candidates? How many people living in rural settings do you think would describe this as a fair and equitable approach? Thirdly, PNG recruitment hubs support mobilisation costs for people from their electorate through provincial or district services improvement program funds or internal revenue. Anyone reading this who has had experience seeking approval for anything from a local MP will know how this system is wide open to “non-performance.” It beggar’s belief on a mind numbing scale. If you wished to design a process good on intent but impossible to navigate, this has to be it. Apparently, while the “Big Three” (no irony here), Vanuatu (pop 320,000), Samoa (pop 220,000), Tonga (pop 107,000) have contributed 16,600, 6,700 and 6,500 respectively, PNG (pop 10,500,000) has managed 1,450 visas. These figures speak for themselves. I wonder how the average Australian would feel if subjected to this process. Article 23 of the Declaration of Human Rights states that people have a right to desirable work, a right of freedom from interference (Article 12) and movement in and out of their country (Article 13). In this instance, what was intended as an opportunity to access a regional labour market has turned into a dystopian bureaucratic nightmare. The government of PNG no more owns its people than any other and elected representatives cannot and do not represent interests of such a large population. We are not talking about a few villages here – at least half the population of Australia. And like the average Australian, PNG people are perfectly capable of navigating the necessary processes with assistance from a reputable migration agent and an intended employer. The nanny state over-kill exemplified by the current system treats applicants like children. It smacks of paternalism, implies some are more equal than others and will fail. As it stands it represents the worst excesses of bureaucratic overreach and does Australia’s reputation no favours. Apart from the issuance of passports keep government well away from it. Let the market and those with the desire to participate navigate this scheme in the usual manner.

PNG Labour Mobility efforts is handicapped by Lack of NID printing machines in the provinces and similar with the PNG Immigration office needs to streamline its services especially passport printing to all provinces. Namatanai District in NIP currently has 200 plus youths in Australia but can't send more due to lack of NID Card printing services in Namatanai or Kavieng and for passports you need to have a relative in POM to accomodate you for 6 weeks to follow up on your passport and Aus visa application.

A great article, thanks for giving us a better understanding of the internal DFAT dynamics in the past 10 years. Feels like the end goal for AusAID (development effectiveness) doesn't always align with the end goal for DFAT (diplomatic relations to promote Australia's interests)? An aid project can yield great development outcomes, but less clear diplomatic dividend, and vice-versa. In which case, the challenge for development staff is to show that our projects yield diplomatic dividend.

Paul you are right to some extent but it all starts from the regulators to regulate the industry and Tenement holders of each project to comply with relevant and put mechanisms in place for legitimate project area landholders to benefit equitably and it all starts with enforcement of Section 47(5) of Oil & Gas Act for Petroleum Sector and Section 155 of Minjng Act 1992 for Mining Sector. From there it is good to work bottom and and top down to maximize projects benefits. John Ipidari