Comments

She says there is a root cause for violence but still fails to define what root cause. The solutions she offers are just other bandaids, not the real solutions, because she did not point out the root cause.

I remember talking to a Timorese diplomat about her compatriots living and working in the UK, and was dismayed by her negative and dismissive comment about 'brain drain', despite it being 'money gain' especially as this was in the mid-2000s when far fewer Timorese migrant workers would have had university degrees than now. But even if they are university graduates, why shouldn't they look to work abroad, even if it's unskilled work? Is it any different from doing what New Zealanders call the 'OE' or 'Overseas Experience' (I don't think Australians have a similar term) with the added bonus of being able to support their families back home? An increasing number of Timorese in the UK are applying for permanent residence as Brexit (if and when that happens) will bring their ability as Portuguese citizens to live and work in the UK into question. There are large numbers of them in Northern Ireland, with Dungannon being 'New Dili', but they may move across the border into the Republic, where there was once an active solidarity campaign headed by Dublin bus driver Tom Hyland.

Thanks Elizabeth. We agree that the important work that Voice for Change, Kup Women for Peace and Highlands Human Rights Defenders has been integral to mobilizing community and police support in addressing many issues, including SARV.

I want to work in any seasonal work to improve my standard of living, plus the economic growth of my country - Solomon Islands.

There are about 160,000 first year working holiday visas issued each year and about 40,000 second year visas issued. The proportions have only changed slightly over the past eight years. It is along bow to suggest that the visa is morphing into an agricultural visa. Only one in four working holiday makers applies for a second visa which has the requirement of having completed 88 days work in a prescribed occupation in a regional area. We think the downturn in first year visa applications (fallen every year in the past six) has to do with the high visa fee (more expensive than competitive destinations), the difficulties is some source economies (eg Germany and UK), high university fees (which leave students with high debt) and finally the so called backpacker tax now back in the news again.

Nothing I will talk about but only a question..my question is - why government intention to keep borrowing more money to fund APEC in Papua New Guinea in 2018?

Companies like Viterra are employing back Packers over young locals, or if they employ young locals they give the backpackers longer hours, even though the locals want hours too. These are usually European backpackers,and include jobs like weigh bridge operator, that you should not need to get overseas workers for, and should not send a local home after 4 hours and let a backpacker continue the shift. There should be a specified ratio of backpackers to Australians in some of these jobs.

Thanks Shane.

Thanks for the comment. Just want to clarify we weren’t trying to make a causal link. Regards, Stephen.

Well said

I do not want to appear pessimistic but PNG's biggest issue is still endemic and systematic corruption at the political and bureaucratic level. We are one of the most corrupt countries in the world, our public service is essentially dysfunctional or dead. To me, those that coin such phrases as "PNG becoming the richest black nation in the world" have an agenda to distract the general population from rising up against corrupt politicians and public servants. James Marape is Peter O'Neill with another name and face whether we like it or not. Democracy has not really worked for us in the last 44 years. Those that frame our national policies are some of the most corrupt themselves. Communism may be an alternative to solving the corruption problem in our politics and public service. Death by firing squad or life sentence to any corrupt leader in politics or the public service will pave the way for us to become a better country. Like cancer, corruption must be surgically cut out and removed. Corruption must die for us to become what we envision. Communism may be an alternative to solving the persistent corruption problem in our politics and public service. And maybe, just maybe we can achieve this foolish pipe dream our politicians have thrown at us.

I agree with you Soniah, that is a brilliant idea proposed