PNG poverty realities, and more from the PNG Update
The PNG Update was held on June 12-13 and hosted by the University of Papua New Guinea after a gap of several years. A huge success, it promises once again to become an annual fixture. Among the many papers, John Gibson of Waikato University shared his findings from household survey analysis that poverty in PNG had stagnated at around 40%: a sign of “mass poverty”. Michelle Rooney of the ANU supplemented John’s national analysis with a case-study of a Port Moresby settlement. Michelle found that more than 60% of households in the settlement had a per capita income of 100 Kina ($40) or less per fortnight!
You can find most presentations from the Update here and keynote podcasts here. We’ll be bringing you more highlights in the coming weeks.
Growth arguments at the Pacific Update
The PNG Update in Port Moresby was followed on June 15-16 by the Pacific Update in Canberra. Economic growth featured strongly. Yongzheng Yang of the IMF showed that Pacific growth had slowed outside of the few resource-rich countries, but could be promoted by countries adopting more competitive exchange rates and chasing Chinese tourists: the number of Chinese tourists heading for the Maldives has increased from almost zero to over 300,000 in less than a decade. In a wide-ranging address, drawing on his decades of Pacific research, Ron Duncan emphasized the need for innovation, and the resistance to innovation by the Pacific elite. Tobias Haque of the World Bank argued that we should focus on employment rather than GDP, and that, in many Pacific countries, employment opportunities would come from the public not the private sector. You can access all of the presentations here and keynote podcasts here.
Thanks to all our partners, speakers, chairs and participants for making the 2014 Updates such a success. We look forward to your continued engagement.
A new aid paradigm?
Last week the Foreign Minister announced a new aid paradigm for the Australian aid program. Our analysis pointed to the continuities, but also some distinct areas of improvement and risk. We also welcomed the quiet release of the Blue Book on the same day, but highlighted that aid transparency had fallen to a new low, with project data missing from the aid website for over a month now.
People news
We said goodbye and thank you to Ron Sofe this month, who worked with us on an internship under the Prime Minister’s Pacific Fellowship. We’re delighted that he has returned to the National Research Institute in PNG, one of our key partners.
We welcome David Osborne as a Visiting Fellow. David, a former economist with the Australian aid program, is working with the NRI on PNG’s Sovereign Wealth Fund.
Events
2014 PNG and Pacific Updates
The PNG Update was held at the University of PNG in Port Moresby on June 12-13 and the Pacific Update was held at ANU on June 16-16. Presentations from both here.
2015 Australasian Aid Conference
Our now annual aid conference will be held on February 12-13, 2015. We are now calling for papers. For more details on how to submit an abstract, visit the website.
Blog highlights
The World Bank calls on Australia to introduce a Pacific Access Quota.
Michelle Rooney on the dynamics behind PNG’s political crisis.
Australia does less than just about all other donors to support private sector development.
Misinformation lowers contraceptive use among Pacific women
Blog summary
You can find a list of all posts since our last newsletter two weeks ago in the list below.
Reflections on constraints to growth in Pacific Island countries by Ron Duncan.
NZ RSE: time to think carefully about sending communities by Luke Craven.
It’s a ‘Hela’va’ time in PNG by Michelle Nayahamui Rooney.
Global Peace on the decline in 2014 by Camilla Schippa.
Why inequality and climate change need to be on the post 2015 agenda by Joy Kyriacou and Simon Bradshaw.
The new aid paradigm: is it new, and what does it do for aid reform? By Stephen Howes and Joel Negin.
G20 take note – women the drivers of development by Archie Law.
PNG Ombudsman Commission: can the watchdog bite? By Bal Kama.
The varieties of engagement: Devpolicy’s submission to the parliamentary inquiry into the role of the private sector in development by Robin Davies and Margaret Callan.
In brief
Call for papers: ‘PNG and the World’ symposium
Public seminar in Moresby on Sovereign Wealth Fund
Pacific women and contraceptive use: what are the barriers?
Better a month late than never – Australian aid Blue Book released
Labour mobility key, says FM, but no mention of reforms
Aid transparency hits a new low
World Bank calls on Australia to introduce permanent migration scheme for Pacific islanders
This is the fortnightly newsletter of the Development Policy Centre at Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, published every second Friday.
