Comments

Thanks Bob. I agree that the data don't fit well with either country's preferred narrative of itself. Definitely depressing.

Terence, A terrific piece but very depressing. I am not surprised by the data but it is still depressing to read it. I agree that Australians are not overall selfish people but we need to improve the information flow to them about the real situation. This data might help.

The PNG National Population Policy (NPP) 2015-2024 is in line with the commitment to the International Conference on Population and Development's (ICPD) Plan of Action signed by the PNG government focuses on sexual and reproductive health including family planning as a key component. The last NPP (2000-2010) and its current successor were formulated with this commitment in mind. Community health posts (CHPs) staffed with a trained midwife and able to provide deliveries and antenatal care would do so much more to reducing high infant/child and maternal mortality situation in the country. Further, family planning and education go hand in hand in post poning age at first marriage and age at which a women has her first baby thereby reducing chances of any complications due to risky fertility behavior (having children outside ages 22-36, spacing of having children by a year or two, having more children, etc). Furthermore the ICDP recognizes both the intangible and tangible outcomes of reproductice health but often times, only the tangible is the main aim of programmes. These considerations should be kept in mind when talking about reproductive health generally.

Nothing is impossible if people and leaders put their minds to solving the service delivery disconnect affecting Gulf people. It would start with good determined people who have a heart for their people. In terms of the survey results I would like to see actual reasons why other than the apparent why there is a disconnect between government at Waigani and the rural health posts and community schools. I often wonder why government services during the colonial patrol officer days with limited gocernment resources achieved more. Maybe its also the system letting the people down.

Thanks Margaret and Grant for mentioning this book. I bought it last year in Madang in a dark gift shop at the Kalibobo Resort. At first they said $40 then I eventually bought for about $15. I enjoyed reading it then went to find the diaries of Maclay online which I have devoured. I live in PNG and find this early history fascinating. Thanks Grant for your excellent comments about life here and the gentle people.

Would PM O'Neill now after one term be classified as a member of the elite "Old Guard"?..or is he still a first term PM desperately vying to stay on in power and may be afforded another chance by the voters who most may still view him as young kid on the block compared to other rivals from the "Old guard" contesting the PM position in election '17?

I am concerned with the labour mobility issue for the Pacific Island countries being discussed and implemented while many of the Pacific Island countries do not have proper policies in place on to mainstream labour mobility into their overall development framework. The whole issue of migration-development nexus should promote a nuanced approach to development under which seasonal short term labour migration should be used for the benefit of the migrant, the sending community as well as for the destination country. I have just completed my research thesis on this topic with reference to PNG and my research shows that the Australia-Pacific Island Seasonal Workers Program - WAPSWP (2002) failed for Pacific Islanders because of institutional and political setbacks and they must be addressed before advancing such multilateral/regional programs to another level. I am ready to work with any one from this site wishing. Capacity building in the PICs remain a priority, that includes training, regime and policy updating and a whole of governments teamwork ready to work with IOM, ILO and other global organizations that could provide some technical assistance. The migration-development nexus needs to go beyond just labour mobility because without addressing the push and pull factor of migration labour flow is not feasible. Please contact me for further information if you gave any queries regarding the nuanced approach to a migration-development model that can work well for the Pacific Island community.

I second the argument that PACER-Plus will do little to promote development in the Pacific, and the argument from Bob McMullan that PACER-Plus represents a 'waste of time and effort' and that it would have been better to pursue alternative arrangements for regional cooperation. Along with many others I have, for years, suggested alternative policy priorities that would do more to promote Pacific island trade. <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/app5.34/full" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">See here</a> for example.

Linking these aspects of girls' feminine health will make advances in both hygiene and family planning more effective. Girls' self-respect and education will benefit, and they will gain a better position in the community. This program is impressively thoughtful and sensitively articulated, and should provide convincing data for growth.

Thank you for this sensible and sober analysis. It’s just what this overheated “debate” over PACER Plus needs. Some of the statements coming from Pacific-based NGOs – for instance that [PACER Plus] <a href="http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/331926/pacific-ngos-maintain-opposition-to-pacer-plus" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">“will be one of the biggest threats the Pacific’s people and environment have faced in a generation”</a> or that <a href="http://pina.com.fj/index.php?p=pacnews&m=read&o=14390929915937329d843dc9b0e39e" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">“PACER Plus could seal Australia and New Zealand’s economic dominance in the region”</a> - seem rather sweeping and emotive in tone rather than reasoned. Your analysis only underlines this. Equally, to suggest that there is something inherently suspicious about a standard Most Favoured Nation clause in a trade agreement (as the second link quoted above suggests) doesn’t seem particularly constructive.

I have a sister working in Oxford, UK. She sent remittances home (Dili, Timor-Leste) to pay for my tuition fee and build our house. She is just a brave sister I have. Really proud of her. Thanks Portugal, UK and North Ireland. Thank you.

It is great that you are doing this! Some of the most pervasive problems in development arise from pursuing "results" aggressively with little attention to "processes". The fact that it is not legally bidding is also important because it requires of the parties a lot of ownership and engagement. Checking assumptions and re-evaluating / re-negotiating is key. Good luck!