Comments

From Bob McMullan on What happened to Australia’s leadership on disability inclusion? A tale of two summits
This seems a sad decline in what was and needs to be a bipartisan commitment to assist the poorest of the poor. Let us hope that whoever wins the next election will resume the proper priority on this issue. It is true that a middle-power like Australia can't take a lead on everything, but this was an area in which we led and of which we could be proud.
From Desmond Goru on Introducing the PNG MP Database
Information is power. Thank you for the great work done. Such information needs to get down to the people.
From Peter Nasale on Why many Papua New Guineans reject the COVID-19 vaccine, and why I changed my mind
A good read indeed. Thank you Anslem for sharing your personal experience and insights in regards to the rejection of getting the vaccine. Yes, life is somewhat normal here in PNG.
From Sarah Kuman on Introducing the PNG MP Database
Excellent work! It would be even more interesting to show what government spending on different seats looked like at different points in time and whether party affiliation makes a difference. I know there is a difference between money being budgeted for something and actually being released/spent, but I'm wondering if you can tell that if the budget contains reports on what money was returned to consolidated revenue from each seat, at the end of each financial year.
From Stephen Howes on Rationale fades as ag visa details emerge. Will Indonesia decide to antagonise the Pacific?
Looks like Thailand is in fact one of the four countries negotiating for entry. See https://www.pattayamail.com/thailandnews/thailand-warns-public-of-australian-agriculture-visa-program-scams-389040. Not sure what the Thai demand "to lower some of the criteria set by Australian officials" refers to.
From Steven Kilage on Settlement evictions in Port Moresby between 2012 and 2021
Love this piece I'm a huge advocate for housing. Would like to speak to you more about your article as I'm doing a policy called 1 family 1 home policy to address this housing crisis in Port Moresby. My name is Steven Kilage.
From Busa Jeremiah Wenogo on Settlement evictions in Port Moresby between 2012 and 2021
Hi Michelle, Congratulations on another great piece. I am glad that you have written this piece to advocate for a better solution to the eviction issue. No doubt very little is given attention to by the courts on the impact of settlement on the livelihood of ordinary Papua New Guineans when it makes it decisions. In addition, I feel that urban authorities and government in general should also push for "resettlement as a mandatory requirement" when it comes to granting "development permit" for developers who are keen on developing UDLs that are already occupied by people. On social media, I can see that the negativity around settlement still persists but there is also a growing number of Papua New Guineans who see that the real underlying problem is the "housing crisis" that successive governments have yet to tackle. I am in the process of putting together a piece on the recent eviction towards the end of 2021 and recently this year. Your piece provides with me some valuable insights. Hopefully I get this published soon. Best Regards, Busa Jeremiah Wenogo
From Clare Whelan on Life of an international aid worker in a COVID-19 world
Great take Atiq on what has been a very 'interesting' couple of years for us, international aid workers. I love your last comment, "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade”. I'm typically a 'glass half full' type person too, which is a view that has been very difficult to maintain since March 2020, but I feel very privileged to still have a job in International Development, when so many others have lost their jobs.
From Stephen on Have living standards improved in PNG over the last two decades?
Also, the book which contains this research is about to be published. Look out for it "Papua New Guinea: government, economy and society" edited by Howes and Pillai, published by ANU Press.
From Angela Lenn on From participation to power: women’s economic empowerment in the Pacific
Isabelle, thanking you for posting. 'From Power to Participation' is an excellent piece of work by the Pacific Women team and an invaluable resource for gender programming in the Pacific, based on findings of almost 10 years of program. Great that the lessons learned can shared (and hopefully adopted) more widely.
From Arichika Okazaki on Have living standards improved in PNG over the last two decades?
Dear Raka, Many thanks for your interest. This seminar is not going to be recorded unfortunately, however, the presentation slides will be available on our <a href="https://crawford.anu.edu.au/news-events/events/19849/have-living-standards-improved-png-over-last-two-decades" rel="nofollow ugc">website</a> after the event. Regards, Arichika
From Raka Sidik on Have living standards improved in PNG over the last two decades?
Hello, I would really like to attend but cannot due to work requirements. Would a video on this be posted online? (If so, where). Thank you.
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