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Inaccurate and flawed information. While the graph showing female participation from other countries may be correct, it isn't for PNG. PNG has been sending female workers to Australia for 4 or 5 straight years now. My wife and her sister, Joyce and Roselyn Lawrence worked on a farm with 3 other ladies in Brisbane signed on by MADEC (employment company) in 2019. I am not sure how it could be possible that PNG did not send any female at all under the Seasonal Labor Program till 2022 to be given a 0.0 % rating.

Great blog. Three points worth stressing I feel: 1) The civil servants at the time were arguably stronger both in terms of the security of their positions and perhaps also technically. The great KT in Treasury and Loko in IRC were huge assets. 2) Sir Mek was unflinching in terms of taking on corrupt practices, whether they be within the development partners, as we saw with the World Bank, or within the Government as we saw numerous times with Ministries like Trade in particular. This ultimately cost him his position. 3) At the time Treasury and Finance were one agency. With planning and IRC also under the remit of the Ministry of Finance. Today there is an unwillingness to take on the issue of corrupt and or poor spending practices. This task has been made worse by the botched computerisation of the PFM system and the splitting of Treasury and Finance. So that task today is arguably a bit more difficult from an administrative point of view but as you point out the economic situation back then was actually worse.

Well articulated article. Thanks Matthew for your contribution.

Important reflections on a tumultuous time. Sir Mek’s legacy of prudent reform and financial stability is being preserved for hopefully several more generations.

Thanks for sharing your blog with us, such a really amazing blog

I totally Agree. Approved Emplyers are money focused and dont care about worker wellness. Each Pacific Natation need to step up and create roles for wellness ofgficers to protect their own people. I'm glad someone was bold enpough to pint the dark secrets. Any Approved Employer in the Lockyer Valley need to take caution to care for the wellness needs of their workers. Organisations are rising up to ensure accountable measures are in place. Approved Employers need cultural competency training, it's a two way lane.

Thank you Huiyuan. An interesting read. As and when the information about sub-contracting becomes available, it will be great to know about the level of involvement of local (Pacific Island countries) companies.

I see. Thanks Ashlee for the clarification.

Thank you Rod. That's helpful to know. The top contractor list back then is quite different from our list in 2011-12, so the aid contracting market then was a lot more liquid than it is now.

Thanks Huiyuan Liu. There is a lot of interest in your article. And, for a little nostalgia, the following data is from a 2005 AidWatch Report, called 'The Boomerang Effect': https://aidwatch.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2005-CoA.pdf The top 10 contractors by $s in 2003/04 (in order) were reported as: ACIL ($313M), SAGRIC, Hassall, GRM, IDP, Melbourne Uni, IDSS, URS, GHD ($64M). 'All other contractors' managed 49% of the money and 86% of the # of contracts that year.

Ms ‘Ofakilevaku (‘Ofa) Guttenbeil-Likiliki highlights a serious issue. Her experience of the high handed, attitudes of those who believe they know better than the people with lived experience, is sadly common. I can attest that her description of how she and her colleagues were treated, marginalised and made to feel worthless is replicated elsewhere by “we are here to help you” specialists with tunnel vision who are also deaf to local nuance and desires. So called experts with no local lived experience, who do not speak local language(s), whose world views do not accord with local realities, who are oblivious to the nuances around social interaction and who arrive with preordained solutions that ignore local knowledge. An earlier blog posted by Ms Huiyuan (Sharon) Liu, “An overview of Australia’s aid program procurement,” appears to highlight systemic issues. Her analysis reveals that delivering Australian Aid has become a mega business dominated by a few players where the percentage of funds allocated directly to local partners has averaged 1.2 percent of annual contract value over the past decade. If correct this surely has become a recipe for what Canberra desires rather than the recipient. Where is the balance, partnership, collaboration and support for local empowerment in that relationship? It is understood that DFAT requires transparent accounting of funds. However, what should be an administrative requirement appears to have morphed into an attitude of we know what’s best for you and we have a mandate to deliver it – like it or not. That is a recipe for harm. I agree with ‘Ofa’s assertion that it is past time to recognise that where life is defined by the community space, supporting local leadership to address issues in accordance with their world view, not the donors, often produces the best results. Further to her quotation of a Hawaiian proverb I am reminded of words of wisdom offered to me when seeking advice about a failing international program. “There are lots of trees in the forest – some big trees and many smaller ones. You have only spoken to the big trees. You need to speak to all of them.”

Thank you 'Ofa. I see neo-colonial and patronising attitudes and behaviours continue around us, and it is well past time for us on the donor side of things to wake up to the damage we all do. We shouldn't need to keep being told this, but we do. I hope that by now you have received some sincere apologies from Australian colleagues - for the fact that we keep making these mistakes, and that we will not or cannot listen, and that so many in our so-called humanitarian and development community still do not get it. If any readers of this blog are tempted to question or label 'Ofa's gift to us, then think, and please think again. She is gifting us a heartfelt truth. I feel so angry and sad that you went through all this, and I hope that your messages were well received at the recent AAC conference.