Comments

Thank you, Andy, for sharing the reality in the rural villages. I am from a remote place up in the mountains of Morobe province. Our village had an aid post, but it has been closed since 1999. Recently a teenager in my village died from a snake bite. Even though he was taken to the nearby government outposts clinic, there was no medicine for the snake bites. So he died at the clinic. Law and order are also going backwards. The number of youths getting into drugs has been increasing; there seem to be a race of accumulating arms to signal others- "not to mess around with us or else we will deal with you". Once respected and confident, village constables are now demoralised and less confident to execute their responsibilities out of fear that lawbreakers will retaliate. I think the Melanesian way of taking care of and defending tribes man is heading in the wrong direction to maintaining law and order in society as the trend of protecting lawbreakers from being arrested is on the rise. Youths consciously support their tribe's man against law enforcers even though their tribe's man broke the law. Village elders educated to grade 6 in the 1970s and 1980s speak fluent English more than recent village grade 10s and grade 12s. I have no data to support my claim but I think most of the students selected for limited space in University/colleges are likely from cities and towns who have chances to a better education than their rural village counterparts. Obviously, inequality between urbanites and rural dwellers will be widened in the future if this rural decay is not reversed. Thanks again for addressing rural decay in your speech.

I think that the above visa quotas allocation proposal missed the point all together. The real underlying reason which born the Pacific Engagement visa is to help the small pacific island nations by producing a means for its population to migrate to Australia thereby strengthening their economy and the bond and ties between Australia and these small pacific island nations to keep them from the temptation of sliding to the other side of the fence into China's welcoming arms with its "Loan to Own a Country" financial schemes, which it has already been dishing out quietly for decades, throughout to most of the Pacific island nations . The smaller the nation, and the poorer the population, the easier it is to fall prey into Ciina's welcoming arms. This is the reason why the Australalian foreign minister Ms. Penny Wong visited these small Pacific island nations as soon as the Labour government won the election. It was to strengthen the ties and bonds between Australia and its small Pacific nations neighbours, and hence the reason for the Pacific Engagement visa. For this reason the pacific engagement visa quotas must be allocated strategically, with a military point of view in mind. Not just by diasporas, population, and the size of the country only, but rather careful considerations must be given to these small islands nation's economic status topmost, and their geograpgic locations. If you consider the locations of the nations named in the proposed tables above with the smallest quotas, they have some of the largest international water rights to sea areas amongst them in the South Pacific. If you combine these sea areas and their international water rights together according to their location, then you can see what China sees as the whole picture. If it can LEGALLY control, let alone own these small nations with their VAST sea rights, then there is nothing in the world that can stop them owning the rights to the waterways of the South Pacific and setting up strategic naval bases in these island nations right in front of Australia's doordtep. This is what the Australian government is trying to avoid from happening. This is why Australia is trying hard now to revive and strenghten the close ties and strong bonds with these Pacific Island nations, where some have been neglected and overlooked over the years, including Papua New Guinea and the solomon islands. This is the sad underlying truth behind the Australian government's efforts to secure the security of the Soth Pacific from China's web of ecoconomic strategic planning to control the Pacific not with bullets, but with cash. This is why the Pacific Engagement visa was born, to keep the warm ties between Australia and the poorer small nations of the South Pacific from falling into the temptations of the Chinese dollars dangling from the other side of the fence. Therefore the quotas allocations fot this Pacific engagement visa, should take the economic status of each island nation into consideration first, when allocating quotas which will help keep them warm towards Australia by showing that Australia cares, and is still the Watchdog of the Pacific, as it has been throughout the years.

Failing Government System in PNG In the recent mass media news reports, there were concerns raised by leaders in various government agencies that governing systems were failing. This is bad for Papua New Guinea (PNG) as a developing nation to achieve its developmental goals, enshrined in its Vision 2050. There are several reasons that have contributed to failing governance systems. In the following discussion, the main contributing factors are being discussed in length, and providing with strategies which the government can adopt to address these issues for to make the governance system work effectively. Firstly, and most pressing issue is the higher prices of goods and services that is felt by the citizens of this developing country, Papua New Guinea. For example, previously diesel was K2.90 per litre in 2012 and now increased to K4.45 per litre in June 2022. Now further increases to K4.50 per litre. This is due to high inflation rate in the economy. Inflation simply refers to an increase in prices of goods and services over time, resulting in the loss of buying and selling power for customers. The impact of inflation can be very severe as every Papua New Guineans are going through, where many people are living below the poverty line and struggling to meet their daily needs as prices of goods and services are increasing rapidly. One of the primary causes of inflation in Papua New Guinea is excessive government expenditures on paper contracts. Government often resort to printing more money for their spending, though the blame goes to Russia-Ukraine conflicts and covid-19, which leads to an increase in money supply and eventually inflation. Papua New Guinea has a history of high government spending, with large investments being made in infrastructure projects. While these investments may be necessary for the country’s development, they also contributing to inflation by putting more money into circulation. Furthermore, heavy reliance on imported goods and services is another cause of inflation in Papua New Guinea today. As a smaller island nation, Papua New Guinea can import many of the goods and services it needs. When the value of country’s currency declines against foreign currencies, as often happens in periods of inflation, the costs of imported goods increases. This in turn drives up the prices of local goods and services, leading to inflation. High inflation rates reduce the value of people’s savings and reduce the purchasing power. This is leading to lower standards of living, increased poverty rates, increases social unrest in both rural and township, which PNG is experiencing today. Moreover, businesses shutting their operations like Lae Biscuit company, and investors are less likely to invest in the country due to the risk associated with inflation. This is now limiting the economic growth and developments, further exacerbating the country’s economic problems. So, to address these issues, the government needs to take steps to control its spending by cutting down expenditures on imported goods and promote domestic production of goods and services. And also, foreign investment should be encouraged to help diversify the country’s economy and reduce reliance on imports. By taking this approaches, Papua New Guinea can work to restore its economic stability and improve people’s lives. Another factor that is crippling the economy of Papua New Guinea is government’s mismanagement on public funds. The government is mishandling the economy by unnecessarily creating all kinds of entities which were previously run under one department. As this is the cause, huge amount of money is being consumed into those areas which is a waste of public funds. For instance, like for the department of civil aviation, there are four (4) entities; (1) National Airports Corporation (NAC) looking after all the 21 airports (major airports) in the country, (2) Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), which is the regulator of all the airports in the country, (3) NiuSky Pacific Limited, which is another organisation that is responsible for looking after and collecting fees for other planes from other countries for using PNG’S airspace, and (4) is the Air Investigation Commission (AIC), which is the body that investigates any plane crushes. So, all these four (4) organisations are coming under one- Civil Aviation Sector. Previously it used to be the department of Civil Aviation, or Civil Aviation Department, and only 4 directors look after all of those, which is cheaper to look after in terms of public service salary. But now, what Marape government has done is, when they created those entities, they are like companies comprised of managing directors, deputy managing directors, and general managers which are very highly paid, and summing up with the salary expense for the staffs and other bottom line workers of each of those four entities, the government is spending very significant amount of money. And that is why it is consuming a lot of money there which is a waste of public funds. That is one area that the government should have saved money. If it was one department (in this case Civil Aviation Department) running them then, those four entities should be looked after by four directors, or First Assistant Secretaries (FAS), and then some staffs working under, and that is more-cheaper to look after. As the economy is in dire need today, government needs to look into such areas and cut down those unnecessary costs and use those money for other government’s priority areas like health, education, and infrastructure. Another example is like PNG Power. PNG Power is seen as a liability to the government. Every time government is subsidising PNG power to run because it cannot make its own money. PNG Power should be a self-income generating entity but it does not. Why? This is simply because all the revenues generating are being consumed into the staffs. Managing directors, CEOs, and all the other officers down the line are all being highly paid. Much of the money is being wasted here. This entity, PNG Power, supposed to be the department of Petroleum & Energy, but not. And, now they have created another entity called National Energy Authority (NEA) which they are trying to put in those other power related areas like harnessing renewable energy and downstream gas industry to be administered under this new authority which is not right as it is going to consume a lot of money. It should just come under Department of Energy, with one secretary, and then some of those deputies and directors so that they look after PNG Power and other energy related areas. In this way, government will safe cost in that department. Finally, one of the very main factors that is contributing to the failing governance system in Papa New Guinea is none-other than corruption. Rampant corruption at all levels from public (government) sector to the private sector is the main impediment towards the progress of this nation. As PNG is well associated with multi-cultural groups with abundance of availability of valuable resources, the country should have been fully developed some decades back. Yet, PNG is still in poor state. This is simply because of corrupt practices of the so-called leaders, especially parliamentarians. Thus, these bad practices at highest level leads to stagnancy in terms of economic growth of the country. Particularly, political corruption is hereby described as use of position of trust (power) for dishonest gain or personal interest. Most of the people think that being parliamentarians means to build one’s empire because every elected member in parliament now a days are likely doing so. Meanwhile, the most common and well-known bad practices being practiced which fuelled to existing corruption by our leaders are nepotism (wantok system) and bribery. These unpleasant systems dwelling in all levels of government systems and processes have been seen as root cause of various issues dramatically evolving throughout the nation like increased unemployment, acceleration of goods and services price, over borrowings and deficit budget. These are all happening because elected leaders as well as bureaucrats in the higher offices have been promoting corruption by performing their duty with dishonest and greed. Stealing, bribery, nepotism and favouritism for their self-interests and, or political interests, all have caused setback and downfall rather than being progressive and prosperity in achieving some of the major goals and objectives in the country. Therefore, government should need to take steps ahead and put forth some specific measurements in place purposely to eradicate the corruption. This could be targeted when constitutions that were outlined and amended under democratic governing system in PNG must be reviewed. Just because of freedom, people take advantages and do things according to their own will because they without doubt, know that they will be safe because the law (mama law) itself and law enforcement bodies are so weak in this country. To conclude, it is understood that there are many more factors which are becoming detrimental to the progress of this nation. But the very main factors that are heavily contributing are excessive government spending, mismanagement on public funds, and corruption practices by our so-called leaders. This nation (PNG) is facing economic doldrum as a result of growing expenditure with slow and lower revenue collections. Higher rate of inflation leading to skyrocketing of the prices of goods and services, and other issues like increase in crime rates, increased unemployment, rural urban drift, and the list goes on… To address these pressing issues, the government really needs to get to the bottom and fix the root causes. Systemic corruption, mismanagement and overspending are the root causes of all the other effects that are being felt on our economy. In doing so, the effects or indicators will go away. References

Congratulations my brother. I am always proud having you around. A very wise man who fills with God's Wisdom. Keep pursing more in with no limitations to human inflicted circumstances. You're a strong man, a visionary leader and a change to your family, community and nation for the public consumption of your input in nation building. A great story that can influence your emerging leaders in your locality and the far your message like other's may have reached. Salute Salute Salute!!

Young Man thank you for sharing your experience. Your experience is full of courage and determination that can influence other young kids of today, you've overcome all difficult times and success is just around the corner. You are a man of endurance and I Pray Our Good Lord will fulfill your Dreams 👃

Wow! brother, your background information shared is unique and very challenging to me. I hope others are also inspired too. Facing challenges. Encounter bright future.

May 22, 2023 Very pertinent at this moment when the Prime Minister Marape of PNG is caught in a net of his own making--about to sign off on a 'security treaty' crafted in large part by the US behind closed doors. Based on what is known so far the treaty will undo most, if not, all of the many years of effort put into the SPNFZ treaty and related instruments of peace and security. PNG's gambit is dangerous and irresponsible born of greed and a mindset that appears to be shallow and simplistic.

Indeed. The ~$1b value of those unsatisfactory investments alone makes for eye-watering reading, when considering the budget cycle and likely ammunition needed to make the long-term case for building the ODA/GNI ratio. DFAT is not doing itself any favours by burying this failure rate. Articulating and communicating a clear strategy for quality improvement, in both project prioritisation, co-design and implementation (along with staff capability development) might be a way to avert the naysayers.

Brother, thank you for publicizing your school journey; Very inspiring and I know it will give strength for those who will follow the same journey.

Congratulations on your success son, God has been with you thru out your journey. Stay fast with God and remeber to enlighten your wonderful parents lives. Keep shinning more.

The term Pasefika/Pacifica is also foreign, and I would say, Namarong is wrong. You only saw the one off event up in the highlands and come up with all these differences, however, you have not fully see the real character that blends into what the ocean people are. New Guinea Islands have history and stories connected all the way to Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. The resemblance of most or if not all NGI societies are all found in those smaller Pacific states. All NGI languages are similar to all those Pacific Island languages, their way of cooking, mumu, the names of items are similar and their counting system the same. The Nakanai people of WNBP have 211 items similar to Fijians, and have their counting system exactly same as Fijians. All NGI people eat the same starchy foods, taro, and tapioka and eat taro leaves just like, SI, Vanuatu, Fiji and other smaller atolls. Description of items and the taro species that are planted in WNB, ENB, NIP have their stories traced back to those smaller islands. So, NGI region can prove this perception wrong as we do, act, eat and share the same culture like all other Pasifika.

Hi Stephen, Thank you so much for your valid comments. The rural health services that serve the bulk of the inhabitants lack the capacity to deliver optimum healthcare to the rural population. The primary healthcare settings including, health centres, sub-health centres, community health posts, and aid posts, are struggling to deliver basic health services. There are constant reports of a long-term shortage of essential healthcare workers in all tiers of healthcare settings. Health centres run out of basic medications frequently. Fundings earmarked for the delivery of rural health services simply do not seem to reach the facilities which are responsible for translating health policy through public health programs. There are reports indicating that funding for the health sector has dramatically increased over the past decades. Despite these increases, rural health facilities are struggling to cover the cost of many of their operational activities. Also, the overall health indicators have not improved with the given funding. The shortage of funding has affected other recurrent programs. That suggests that there is a need to seriously reconsider how the funds are disbursed to the province and to facilities. The national health department should revisit the 5th National Health Plan strategy to transfer funds directly to health facilities rather than provinces. From my experience working in health services management with the Lutheran Health Services for 16 years, this approach works fairly well-provided health managers, the officer in charge and facility administrators are adequately trained with health management skills. The basic healthcare infrastructure, including inpatient wards and diagnostic facilities, is poorly maintained. We can't emphasise enough that there is a need for good leadership, management, and accountability at all tiers of the healthcare system including, the local level administration, district health services and provincial health authority. There is a need to strengthen the capacity of the rural health services. The government should concentrate on improving the district hospitals, health centres, community health posts and aid-post. There is also a need to refocus the model of healthcare from an institutional-based to a community/population-based approach by engaging more population health programs, maternal and child health, health promotion and education through the healthy island concept and addressing the social determinants of health (SDOH), such as water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH), housing, access to primary healthcare, and income earning opportunities. More investments are needed in these areas. The majority of the rural populace in PNG access primary healthcare via public health programs. Therefore, if the government can decentralise health services via primary healthcare services, we can witness improved health indicators over the years.