14 December 2012
Moning tru olgeta
It has been a very big year for Papua New Guinea, and for the relationship with Australia.
We were glad to be part of what was the most positive story of the year - one in which the Government of Papua New Guinea put its trust in the people and staged an election in accordance with its constitution. It was, as always, Papua New Guineans who led the way. As Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr said last week, if PNG can do it with all its challenges, no country in the world has an excuse not to hold an election. For our part, Australia provided strong surge support from about May this year (Australian Defence transport, Civilian Corps specialists and the building of a police radio communications network) to help PNG deliver what Papua New Guineans so clearly wanted.
A lot of the action in the Australia-PNG relationship seems to have happened in the last fortnight, with Prime Minister O’Neill’s impressive presentations in Australia, and then the visit to PNG of Senator Bob Carr and a number of his Australian ministerial colleagues for the 21st Australia-PNG Ministerial Forum.
It was a very positive couple of weeks, and we were particularly pleased with the conduct and outcomes of the Forum. Generally, we think the profile given to these events was terrific. The central outcome was the initialling of a new Economic Cooperation Treaty, underlining that the evolving relationship is not just about aid, but extends to include substantial two way trade and investment.
It’s important, though, to mention some of the aid announcements that took place during Bob Carr’s visit. They included very significant additional funding to support free education in this country, and to assist in addressing key health challenges including infant and maternal mortality, and Tuberculosis in Western Province. Australia also agreed to respond positively to PNG’s request that we look carefully again at the aid relationship to ensure it is matching the O’Neill Government’s priorities.
The discussion between governments has been great, but I have also seen a great deal of nonsense being pedalled in the media about the aid program over the last few days, so I need to say a few more things about this part of the relationship – just to set the record straight.
There are two absolute howlers I want to mention.
First, someone in the media seems to have decided, all on their own, that Australia is about to provide a whole host of advisers to help manage budget expenditure at a local level. The number 89 seems to have materialized out of nowhere. And as a result we have seen a small number of MPs and others come out publicly describing this imagined move as either “interference” or (wait for it) “boomerang aid”.
Please. Give me a break and check your facts. If you are a journalist or media commentator, did you see anything in the Ministerial Forum communiqué indicating any decisions were made about the provision of advisers in this way? The truth is that we think there are ways we can help strengthen local capacity for budget management using the aid program, but it certainly won’t involve a blanket rollout of advisers in the way being bandied around in the media. Any technical assistance to support local budgetary capacity will, like all other aspects of the aid program, be in line with whatever the PNG Government requests.
Second, there has been some criticism that the 1400 scholarships Bob Carr announced last week - to train nurses and midwives to help PNG reduce the dreadful maternal and infant mortality rates in this country - was intended to force Papua New Guineans to study in Australia. I’d be fascinated to know who makes this stuff up. These scholarships are for study at four educational institutions in PNG: University of Goroka; Pacific Adventist University; UPNG School of Medical health Sciences; and the Lutheran School of Nursing in Madang. There are already eight midwifery trainers funded by AusAID working across these institutions – two per school - working directly to strengthen the quality of the training. 49 new midwives successfully graduated in training in PNG institutions this year.
In any case, anyone who uses the term “boomerang aid” has obviously not been paying attention for the last decade. It’s a very old-fashioned, 1990s term. The reduction by a third in the number of advisers working with the aid program over the last two years, generating tens of millions for concrete work in areas such as health and education, is a matter of clear public record. And the program has been “untied” for a very long time.
Having dealt with the myths, let me look back in a positive way at what has actually been happening under the Australian aid program in the last twelve months.
Achievements have included the delivery of 1.5 million text books to almost 4,000 schools and millions in subsidies to eliminate school fees in the first three years of school. Essential drugs have been distributed by AusAID to thousands of remote health centres. The number of female court magistrates has increased enormously thanks to Australian training and support. (There were ten in 2004; there are now more than 700.)
“But what about infrastructure?” I hear you ask. Well, in 2012 alone, Australian aid constructed a further 110 classrooms and 80 teacher houses across the country. We also upgraded and constructed buildings at the Madang Maritime College to the value of PGK 5.8 million; provided more than PGK8.4 million for infrastructure at Divine Word University; funded an PGK7.8 million upgrade to the Vanimo General Hospital; as well as an PGK7.2m upgrade at Kerevat National High School and new buildings to the value of more than PGK5.1 million for Notre Dame Secondary School near Mt Hagen.
Oh, and we have also funded construction of 14 STI Clinics throughout the country; a new TB Ward at Daru General Hospital and a PGK800,000 upgrade to the Non-Scalpel Vasectomy Clinic in Goroka; as well as new buildings for the midwifery schools at Lutheran School of Nursing, University of Goroka, University of PNG, Pacific Adventist University and St Gerard’s Community Health Worker Training School.
I haven’t finished yet. There’s also been the construction and rehabilitation of six court houses and justice complexes in five provinces, as well as a police training unit and renovated police accommodation in Buka; housing for correction service staff in Morobe; the construction of a lecture hall at the Legal Training institute in Port Moresby; and the redevelopment of a Correctional Services Institution in Western Highlands. And let’s not forget the maintenance on thousands of kilometres of national priority road network; an upgrade on PNG’s maritime distress safety system; and improvements of aviation navigation and communication systems.
Given the strength of feeling the aid program still generates, I think it’s worth understanding the facts.
To me it should go without saying that the relationship is about more than aid these days. Papua New Guinea is a proud country with a rapidly growing economy and population, playing an increasing leadership role in the region, and contributing to the management of security challenges in places ranging from Solomon Islands to South Sudan. Australia and PNG work together on common interests internationally. PNG played a substantial role in garnering support for Australia’s successful UN Security Council candidacy this year. We are very grateful for that.
I’m off on some Christmas leave at the end of the week. I am looking forward to what looks to be another promising year for Papua New Guinea. Happy Christmas to you all.
Banoho Namo Namo.