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There is possibility to apply for those chance to work in Australia?

We had a look north policy by a successive Government. I do not know what good it has done to PNG but one thing is very sure, "CORRUPTION". Look at somethings imported, only good to last just one week and then all the money spent is gone and too the purchase. Job have gone. Expateriates looking fixedly over the shoulder and the hands of the local cashier. No trust. All supposedly reserved businesses are taken up by foriegners to the extreme of operations in the villages, settlements and districts. The people should wakeup and see the reality and take action. There should be a review of such stupid policy and...........

Aid to Manus didn’t happen. If we want to point a finger at corruption in PNG - which is justified - we need to thoroughly investigate and prosecute everyone involved in the farce that was Lombrum, became the town camps and continues to this day in hotels in Brisbane and the centre in Bomana. Whatever your thoughts on the refugees I doubt that anyone would accept millions of Australian tax payers dollars going in the pockets that it did.

I agree to this, corruption is the main evidence. It's the best way to expose such things that have been kept secret by this selfish leaders. Totally agree.

My Father Ken Jarvis built the airstrip on the Fly in the early sixties - I drove a backhoe for him at Kiunga - I have stories and photos - anyone is intetested

Maybe PNG got its political independence from Australia too early when it wasn't ready to provide for its own citizens after independence. On the other hand has Australia done enough in the 45 years after PNG gained independence? It's not only on monetary terms but all other sectors. Australian tax payers should be rightly asking where all the millions of dollars given throughout the years have gone. It is no secret that corruption at all levels of governance in PNG is not only systematic but also endemic. Important funds meant for service delivery to the bottom level villages most often dry up along the way between financier (governments) and service providers, sometimes only set up overnight just to lay hands on these funds. Only when the public service machinery change the mindset of the people in the system can improvements be expected in how services are delivered to the people.

Thanks, Stephen, for this great review. You raise some really thoughtful points. A couple of comments I'd like to make in response. Migration across the border into Australia, via the Torres Strait, is not really an option. Border crossings under the Torres Strait Treaty are limited to short visits for traditional purposes. Our focus is alleviating poverty on the PNG side as this ultimately undermines border security. Infectious diseases like TB and COVID are difficult to stop at the border, as are biosecurity threats like African Swine Fever and Fall Armyworm, so it's best to reduce their prevalence along with the pull factors across. South Fly villages obviously need a minimum standard of water and sanitation infrastructure, basic health services, and economic livelihoods that give them resilience. And as South Fly villages collaborate with Australian authorities to manage the border, it is disingenuous to alienate relations with them through petty and mean-spirited rules that limit cross-border trade. You also raise a big policy question about whether Australia’s aid program should be focused on Australia’s security concerns, or on places with the most potential. I think the former is pretty much a given, but I wonder about the latter. You add that Western Province is already well funded, but we can certainly say from our research how little of this hits the ground. Governance reform in PNG has been particularly intractable. Many people are looking to the market instead. Trading into Australia is not the only option for communities in the South Fly. It borders Merauke Regency of Indonesia with a population of more than 200,000 people, as high as anywhere in northern Australia. One thing about COVID-19 is its disruption of supply chains. There is now an opportunity to rebuild these supply chains, to be less exploitive of South Fly fishers and farmers, and to reduce the impact on the environment. Maybe there is an opportunity to open new economic corridors into the places where most of the rural population in PNG live. Isn’t it also possible that the returns may be highest, where the needs are the greatest?

Hi Elizah, you can find the results on our interactive data explorer <a href="http://devpolicy.org/pngelections/data-explorer/">here</a>. You can download a pdf book of all election results <a href="http://devpolicy.org/pngelections/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2019-Results-book.pdf">here</a>. You can download a spreadsheet of all election results <a href="http://devpolicy.org/pngelections/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/PNG-Election-database-BASIC-18-10-19.xlsx">here</a>. Terence

Whether you like it not vanuatu is our country and decision taken is to benefit The whole nation. It's seems that the agents have been fooling workers all this years. This is The best approach.

Hi Frederick, Thank you for this informative blog. The amount of K2.573 billion for SIPs sound like a lot. Do you know what percentage of the total government budget this represents? And/or how it compares with other service delivery budget lines? thank you

Tanks for updates very valid words

Support governments decision to abolish Vanuatu local agent. To many rubbish as been going on by local agents. Corruption involving some of the agent.