Comments

“Voters, as May sees it, are typically pragmatists – supporting candidates they think likely to help.” In a country of 850 languages and thousands of clans deeply anchored to “their” land with little expectation of influence beyond clan boundaries, this goes to the heart of the issue. The consideration most likely to exercise the mind of the voter is which candidate, if any, might bring some benefit to me and who do I not vote for to minimise damage to my clan’s interests? The observation that voters tend to see “the state as the source of things,” a theme with traditional significance has been weaponised by the modern generation of politicians to their advantage. This was why Sir Mekere Morauta failed to hold onto power. A technocrat and darling of the World Bank and IMF, not a wheeler and dealer and only someone from Gulf Province to the average punter. Since his defeat what has emerged is a seething cauldron of opportunity for the opportunists and the consummate opportunist who seized power in 2011 has shaped the destiny of PNG ever since. I believe the observation that “perhaps there is a positive pathway forward, involving a burgeoning civil society, and changing political dynamics” is one from which to take heart. Traditionally, power vested within each community or clan group and it still does. Each clan was supremely independent and ostensibly, they still are. If the interests of these units of governance are concentrated around common goals the results can be powerful and encouraging. I take the view that in addition to our focus on the organs of state there should be a major realignment in development assistance in a way that recognises traditional governance and empowers civil society to be a part of the solution to issues they want addressed is a practical way forward.

Certainly, it is rather clear that Australia and other nations totally missed the risk that Micronesia would pull out if their candidate was not successful. I appreciate it when you mentioned that Australia has been trying to fix the role of an honest broker in facilitating a deal.

Helloe, I am but merely a student at the University of Technology and I have on opinion of PMJM reign. I am writing an essay on the topic,Take back PNG. There's a lot I do not know yet about our history from colonial days to present, but I know I do not like where we are going at present. The country right now needs good and transparent leadership, that is the only way, we can take back PNG. Take Dubai, for example, it is now one of the richest countries in the world, they do not have various natural resources like PNG but only oil and because of good leadership, they are where they are now. We have made grave and bad decisions in the past, our leaders have and we the people are facing problems of inflation, poverty, gender-inequality and poor service delivery. We are spending money on luxurious and short term activities such as hosting national events and sports. Why don't we focus on the elephant in the room, why don't we focus on reducing poverty level, increase employment opportunities and reduce the current inflation situation. The country is at a very critical stage, where we are bound to hit rock bottom, if nothing is done. I am not sure if my opinion made sense but please get back to me with your opinion on my piece. Thank you Dr Bal Kama.

“Global economic and political challenges mean that resources to support poverty relief programs are finite. It’s clear that ... we need to allocate those resources as efficiently and effectively as possible.” Calum Scott Agreed. There is an enormous need to identify what works and support it in a big way. Are micro finance providers (MFP) then a major part of the answer? Possibly. Understandably, MFP like all lending institutions focus upon the capacity of the borrower or in the case of MF, the borrower and their peer group to repay the debt. While we understand that the model pioneered by the Grameen bank was a huge success in Bangladesh, this model has not translated well in Papua New Guinea for example. As a tool to lift rural people out of poverty on a family by family basis it is largely a nonstarter because culturally that model does not integrate well within Melanesian communities. Individuals at the bottom of the social hierarchy are not of themselves agents for change in these societies. It is true that PNG Microfinance, Village Bank and others have had a modicum of success but in each instance, they became reliant upon retaining a handful of success stories that developed into SMEs to cover costs. Rather than focus upon the individual households as agents for change, I am of the view that mobilising whole communities around common goals resonates more strongly in these settings. If an idea resonates strongly enough in a community or group of community settings, there is the possibility of reaching the economies of scale to effect real change. This idea has been demonstrated in Western Province, PNG. The single largest province by area, most sparsely populated, with least accessibility to basic services and 4 km from Australia's northernmost border. An industry built around family rubber blocks, started by a visionary thinker in the 1960s is today collecting rubber from close to 10,000 families each of whom can expect returns of around AUD$800-1,000 per annum. Each block was funded by a MFP as part of a broader vision supported by the necessary transport and downstream processing to create impact at language and cultural group scales. This model of economic empowerment which integrates well within cultural and social norms, can reach the economies of scale to also bring positive change to health and education outcomes on a significant scale. I suggest that this type of integrated approach is where Australia, as the leading provider of development assistance to PNG, should be directing greater focus to.

Hi Jeremy The PNG Update is free for all presenters and attendees. No registration is required. The conference program will be released on Friday 23 September. See https://devpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au/png-update

Hi, is the PNG Update forum open to the public for attendance? Or is it paid?

This policy will be helpful to every businessman and woman in our country and most of all it will reduce the rate of unemployment and increase job opportunities for the people.

Hi Bernard, Thanks for the observations. Yes the support of those 4 will be crucial, as well as Hela and Highlands MPs in general. A lot will also have to do with commodity prices. The more money the PM has, the more DSIPs the MPs get. Happy MPs means stable government. O'Neill's 2012 - 2017 term is a good case. To get those constitutional amendments he needed numbers. He bought the support of MPs with DSIPs. Due to space limit I couldn't talk about these factors, including the big 4.

Hi Philip, As noted in the article, votes of no confidence in PNG usually needs a narrative. Sometimes the narrative doesn't make sense except to the politicians. If it's not the issues listed above, it will be something else. But there will be at least an attempt to remove Marape. Even if he's does a great job in the next 17 months. That's been the case since 1977. Vote of no confidence is a permanent feature of PNG politics.

Thanks, Ryan! Happy you enjoyed the review. Both of those books are in my queue. I've also heard great things.

Lovely review, Matt. Thank you. I am not sure if you are taking requests, but I hear great things about 'How the world became rich', by Koyama and Rubin, and 'Fully Grown', by Vollrath.

Inflation is a global issue. Marapes son’s alleged case is minor and before the courts. We can’t deny that we have serious law and order problem even before the 2022 elections. Thus there is no justification to get into vote of no confidence unlike O'Neill term where he literally manipulated the constitution. Just my take away from this blog.