Comments

I am a Papua New Guinean living in New Zealand and my inlaw's been coming annually for the last three years on the RSE program. Her experience of applying and registering with the sending department was frought with corruption and nepotism. She and many of the other workers had to bribe officials through cash or gifts. They continually did so until they were confirmed and granted visas and tickets to come over. She stressed that (normally) everyone is doing it and she stood a very slim chance of success if she were to stay on the straight and narrow. Also the opportunity to earn quadruple than what she would earn in a year was too good for her to let it go. So highlighting this, we could see how loosely character vetting and identificaton can be for those sending countries and for PNG especially for SWP and RSE. One of those considerations...

thankyou Richard and Stephen for providing a clear description of promised and implemented changes that are happening in the SWP. As an AE it is refreshing to hear that some items that have been on our AE priority list for years may be happening. We are the ones working closely with our Pacific teams and know what barriers need to be overcome to enable the SWP to be the success it' potential shows . Though we are still waiting on official updates from border and djsb to advise current AE's what changes have happened. lucky you have published this article to update the AE's. many thanks Kerry

Were there any studies done in PNG? Especially in coastal provinces that hold a lot of such potentials but are used as attraction for tourism. Provinces in the Islands Region, Milne Bay and Popondetta, Madang have some best reefs that may unlock unlock this potential.

Tankyu tumas Michelle for candidly sharing about your PhD research process and the importance of closing the loop with those who were part of that collective journey. The perseverance and considered approach to working with our Melanesian communities is an inspiration to us all. Looking forward to seeing more from you!

Thanks Gemima. This Devpolicy blog on the same topic from 2017 also worth a read: https://devpolicy.org/australia-must-restore-shortwave-radio-pacific-20170919/.

Great review and a critical subject matter - can't wait to get my hands on this - thank you!

Hi Camellia I had read your comments and very pleased I am very keen to talk to you to recruit seasonal workers from the pacific

I do are agree that health workers are doing much to save lives at where they are working and engaging. Currently, to be frank grandaunts from nursing schools, CHW training schools and medical schools are not performing competently unlike 10 years ago. Their work performance has gone down the drain. I used to wonder how did they get in to the training schools, as the saying goes "garbage in garbage out". We already have incompetent health professionals who are suppressing the programs and the health system. There should be through investigation and monitoring of enrolling of new students in health training schools and also every employer should give competency test prior employment. Therefore, I recommend proper screening in both enrolling and employing.

Thank you for this post as this is an eye opener. I look forward to reading more articles.

Hi Kien, this book doesn't discuss migration, it discusses aid projects, but there is substantive literature on the benefits of migration and labour mobility, including many posts about it on this blog. You can find them <a href="https://devpolicy.org/tag/seasonal-workers/">here</a> and <a href="https://devpolicy.org/tag/migration/">here</a>. Ashlee

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.