Comments

Hi, there seems a lot of controversy about the effectiveness of fiscal aid, but I understand that the positive effects of migration (on the migrants, the countries of origin and the countries of destination) are unequivocal (provided governments ensure the benefits of migration are inclusive, and help is given to local workers who compete with migrants). I understand there is a push by developed countries for “services liberalisation”at the WTO. NGO’s should ensure that any such liberalisation includes an expansion of opportunities for less developed countries to export labour services. So far, the “global rules” have privileged the movement of capital and free trade in goods; it neglected the movement of people and free trade in services. The world as a whole, and less developed countries in particular, will undoubtedly benefit in the long run from free movements of peoples. True?

Really nice review --thanks Ashlee. Look forward to reading the book.

The missing element is PAT (Participation, Accountability and Transparency)

It's actually true that politics can only go as far as abolishing school fees and providing resources required for education. The major challenge especially in Kenya is as much as the enrollment ratio has greatly improved, is the quality of this education also good? I loved this article.

It's great to see that DFAT promotes inclusive market development and that World Vision project has benefited the farmers including those most marginalised. I remember I met the farmer in the picture who was happy to grow melon which brought him more income during a visit to the New Zealand MFAT funded CADF project with iDE.

A wise person will not stand for PNG politics; only foolish people goes into PNG politics with the aim to change the system and mindsets.PNG cargo cult mentalities has twisted the hot iron of politics and disfigured the true and pure ideals of politics. Only bloodshed shall bring forth the ideal utopia of politics every soul desires.

Yes, I agree totally for incentives to be given to good recruiters and same time harsher penalties be issued to non-complying recruiters such as debarring. The introduction of licensing of recruiters by the three States (Victoria, Queensland and South Australia) is a welcome move. The mandatory licensing of recruiters across the States will lift the SWP image and reputation and achieve the triple win outcome that NZ RSE is experiencing.

I tend to differ from the argument that seasonal workers earn more and costs more compared to backpackers. This is due to the fact that the recruitment agents or farmers do recover back all the costs incurred to getting one seasonal worker in terms of transport, airfare, visa, accommodation and of course the increase in labour productivity by the seasonal workers.

This is a culture in PNG and I think its a very bad practise by our people and the Hon Member has made it very cleare on this false expectations by our people. Good MPs who don't meet their voters personal and business request get voted out and so long as we have this perceptions and practice this country will remain corrupt. On the other hand, PNG national politics is going from bad to worse. Those MPs who are not on the government side are made to suffer by successive Prime Ministers including Peter O'neill's regime. For this we will also remain corrupt and have unfair distribution of resources and development funds. Both these practices in PNG politics must stop. The question now is what should we do as a country to stop this trend of money politics.

The critique proposed in this review is on target: there is an urgent need to walk the talk summarized in the report. Repudiating the "liberal state-building model of the 2000s in its most simplistic and hubristic forms" and advocating working with domestic governments are fine and (today) hardly objectionable theoretical objectives. The urgent problem, however, is to transform these well-meaning macro-generalizations into systematically documented practice at the micro-level – a transformation that often requires moving beyond orthodoxy, and challenging its tenets. Two of these tenets –ubiquitous in the report- come immediately to mind. First is the notion of transformative change. Among the important ideas that the report fails to take into consideration, the absence of the SDGs is the most remarkable. As stated in the two brief references made in the report, the SDGs are about reducing poverty, about gender, and about the relationship between the environment and the economy. But they also provide insight into institutional development, strategic alliances, and rural-urban synergies, promoting innovation in the design, measurement and implementation of policy at the local level - objectives that while not grandiose (as in transformative change) are likely to result in improvements in human development, in a more robust society, and in a more responsive state. An SDG based definition (and measurement) of state fragility would probably erode the sharp distinction between fragile and robust statehood –transforming a polysemic dichotomy into a continuum where we could more easily differentiate, say, the “fragility” of a nation-state such as Haiti, from that of a state-nations like PNG. Second is the urban bias built into assumptions such as “overwhelmingly, economic growth happens in cities” (page 19 of the report). True, many times “during periods of conflict, people rush to the main city” (page 18). But this doesn’t grant the claim that growth is overwhelmingly urban, and doesn’t preclude the opposite scenario: migration to the rural areas due to urban conflict. To (continue to) bias aid and cooperation towards urban centers is to bias it away from where people live –and in favor of an urban elite that may not be most representative of the country in question. Urban based growth can’t take place without paying attention to the rural areas. To be sustainable, urban growth requires a vibrant rural economy capable of producing, at least, a food surplus. And then, a vibrant rural economy requires the existence of a non-predatory urban center capable of absorbing that surplus without exploiting the periphery. Thanks for the review. As usual, good food for thought.

The last four paragraphs summarises the current situation well. Things could be done differently & have a greater understanding of the region. In the case of PNG, people must see there is a genuine interest & faith in their capability, and above all, a bit of positive reporting in the Australian media could work some magic.

Great article