Comments

I totally agree with your commentary. PNG is a typical case where government rushes to draw up new policy & plans but never implement them. It 's good to raise awareness to these domestic and regional failures. It would be good to involve the private sector more in these debates as policies and development plans affect investment etc.

Dear Roderick - thanks for this additional piece of info on the rising scarcity of ag scientists in the ag value chains. The need for adequate skills is also pertinent in developing the ag chains in developing countries. It highlights the role of agriculture related education, something we could have highlighted more. We do so in the full Food Policy article. Best wishes and feel free to share any additional insights. Luc

Any tertiary loan scheme for this year? Can I apply? Or how can i apply for loan to help me for my tuition fee.

Recent Developments – Barrick (Niugini) v. Papua New Guinea (ICSID Case No. CONC/20/1). The Chairman of the ICSID Administrative Council announced on 7 Jan 2021 that Anne-Karen Grill (Austrian) had accepted the Council’s appointment of her as conciliator. Ms Grill joins the Barrick appointed conciliator Mr Menon. The ICSID rules (Article 29) require one or an uneven number of conciliators. The two parties, Barrick and Papua New Guinea, must now agree on the selection and appointment of a Chairman conciliator. In the event that the two parties do not agree then the reponsibility for the choice of a Chairman conciliator falls on the Chairman of the ICSID Administrative Council (Article 30). Ms Grill is known for her alternative dispute resolution and commercial mediation expertise. Vailala

Thanks for a great article Luc, Zachariah and Edward. The shortage of farm labour is of great concern in many countries. Paradoxically, it coincides with a time where jobs in agribusiness in Australia are booming. As an ag scientist, I have been waiting 40 years to be able to say that! In June last year, the Australian government reduced student fees (known as HECS here) to just $3,700 p.a for ag science degrees, while the government subsidy of the ag degree course increased to the same level as medicine and dentistry. Many international development workers started out as ag scientists. In the words of our former Prime Minister 'there has never been a better time to be' ... an ag scientist (in Australia anyway).

Sarah, on point. There is no reflection of those big aids coming into the country on the ground.

Thanks Mel, Both for the comment and for two very good questions. On the first, I really think the different approaches are complementary. Studies like Richard Moore's and the Stakeholder Surveys identified issues that would not be easy to spot in a study of aid flows. At the same time, the aid flows study has picked up issues (and strengths) that may well have drifted under the radar otherwise. That said, one area where the Stakeholder Surveys and the findings of this aid flow paper touch upon a common theme is the much appreciated focus on gender. The aid flow data also offer suggestive evidence that the increased focus was thanks to Julie Bishop (at least initially). This appeared to be the view of many stakeholders in the Stakeholder Survey too. On the second, I share your view and do not have a preferred modality for aid work, although a precipitous drop in funding to NGOs or multilaterals would worry me. The sense I get is that the NGO spend that is not counted in the DFAT data owing to money being given to other actors who many then contract NGOs is probably small. Thanks again. Terence

Terrence, and team. This is a great piece of work. As an industry participant I am grateful for this analysis. Many aspects interest me in this report. I am pleased that (as I read it) there is a positive tilt towards the efforts of the Australian aid program, and that this is balanced by a very clear call to action. There are two specific items that interest me for which your thoughts would be valued. First, you open with commentary about the various ways in which the aid program has been analysed, one being perceptions. I wonder how this data relates to those perceptions. Secondly, noting I am on record through this blog as an advocate that all actors in supporting the directions of the Australian aid program (and all aid and development programs) should be in this together (and nothing has swayed me from this), your commentary about the NGO trends do stimulate interest. As graphically presented, a clear narrative is painted, though footnotes to this representation acknowledge that there might be more to the picture if involvement other than directly to DFAT were factored. I wonder if your work is looking to address this more completely than a footnote might satisfy. Fundamentally, I do not care about who does what. If the intent is delivered and what the aid program seeks is achieved, or exceeded, then that is what is important. So, this last query is pure curiosity. Again, terrific work and another demonstration of the value the Development Policy Centre delivers to the development discourse.

Thanks Ross for this highly informative eulogy for Sir Mek. Ross and Mek, as this eulogy demonstrates, were close both professionally and as friends. Ross was a member of the International Advisory Group that assisted Mek during Sir Mek's term as the PM. Mek was amongst a select few who spoke at the dinner for Ross at the Great Hall in Parliament House when Ross retired from the ANU. Mek then shared some of their stories of the past which brought much (loud) laughter and applause in the Hall, but even more importantly it spoke of their long and deep friendship. Good to know that Ross was there for his friend at the end of his momentous journey.

Thank you, Ross for the challenge that to remember Sir Mekere is to continue his vision of building and reforming the country.

I’ve seen many former students, who participated in the protests in 2001 against Mekere’s reforms whilst at university (esp UPNG), who talk about how wrong they were on social media in the last two weeks. And how the reforms actually saved PNG. I was in primary school in 2001, and all I heard from my uncle who owned a radio was NBC reporting on the shooting. Had a negative view of Mekere until I went to university and started reading about the reforms. The opposition (or Luddites) misled the people, including students, for political gain. Mekere showed that reforms can be done in two years. Reforms in PNG must continue from where Mekere left.

On 22 July 2020 the ICSID Secretary-General registered an application by Barrick (Niugini) Ltd for a conciliation (a cooperative, non-adversarial dispute resolution process) with Papua New Guinea under the ICSID Conciliation rules. The registration referred to a contract between Barrick and Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea has been a contracting State to the ICSID Convention since 19 Nov 1978. On 18 December 2020 the ICSID web-site advised that Mr Sundaresh Menon had accepted Barrick’s appointment of him as a conciliator. Mr Menon is the Chief Justice of Singapore. Prior to becoming Chief Justice in 2012 Mr Menon was the Singapore Attorney-General. Mr Menon has represented Singapore at UNCITRAL working groups and is known for his support for dispute resolution by arbitration, mediation and the ADR method. He is also known for conducting Bible study classes at his church. On 23 December 2020 Barrick filed a request for the Chairman of the ICSID Administrative Council to appoint the conciliators not yet appointed by Papua New Guinea. ICSID Conciliation Rules stipulate that “the Chairman shall, at the request of either party and after consulting both parties as far as possible, appoint the conciliator or conciliators not yet appointed”(Rule 4(1)). Less than 2% of ICSID cases have registered for a conciliation hearing. Conciliation hearings are confidential to the parties and remain so after the completion of the process unless the parties agree to publication. Conciliators’ reports to the Secretary-General are not published. ICSID published case records simply state whether the parties made an agreement or failed to do so. There is no record of a State party failing to appear before an ICSID Tribunal. Mr Menon may be the sole conciliator if both Barrick and PNG agree. Otherwise PNG may nominate a conciliator and/or accept the conciliator/s proposed by the ICSID Chairman. Should PNG not respond and not appear at the convened tribunal hearings the appointed conciliators will report this failure to the ICSID Secretary-General. Failure to respond and appear may cause PNG to breach its international law obligations. It is a common interest of State signatories to the ICSID Convention that having joined with ICSID the ICSID jurisdiction is irrevocable. Failure to respond may lead to many of the ICSID signatory States adopting counter-measures against PNG. The first ICSID conciliation case was 'Tesoro v Trinidad & Tobago'. In 1985 the sole arbitrator/conciliator prefaced his findings with a statement that he “conceive[d] that his task in these proceedings is to examine the contentions raised by the parties, to clarify the issues, and to endeavour to evaluate their respective merits and the likelihood of their being accepted, or rejected, in Arbitration or Court proceedings, in the hope that such evaluation may assist the parties in reaching an agreed settlement” (Nurick and Schably). Vailala