Comments

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.

Where can i find election results for 2017.

Thanks for your comment on our suggestion that if the Vanuatu Government wants more revenue from the SWP and RSE, it could charge workers an entry fee on return. I think that SWP and RSE workers would be happy to pay a tax to their government if there was a direct benefit for them. In particular, ni-Vanuatu workers have lacked the support of liaison officers while working overseas. The tax could fund one or more liaison officers to provide this support. A levy would also enable workers to hold liaison officers accountable in terms of their responsiveness and ability to resolve problems on the ground. A levy would also give workers the right to demand greater accountability more generally. A debriefing session on their return would give workers the chance to give feedback on their approved employer, their workplace supervision and the performance of the government-funded liaison officer. The ESU conducted these debriefing sessions in the early days of the RSE but they have long since ceased.

Why suggest a solution that takes money out of the hands of the worker? That would be unfair given the spurious deductions they have to pay weekly, as well as the 15c in every $1 that they pay to the Australian Government in tax.

Clearly an inspirational individual.

Totoka Varun. Why were international students treated differently? Indeed China did what was necessary to contain the virus. The efficiency on how they went about it is wow.... just wow. Congrats again on your achievements, both academically and just enduring being confined in your room. Life lessons eh.

I'm curious to know what model of psychological First aid you're referring to. There are several here in the US- John Hopkins, Subsatance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the World Health Organization. Would it be one of these or a model developed in Australia?