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Significant paper. Too often serendipity has been the dominant factor in maintaining Australian relationships with our neighbours. Former students and colleagues whom we taught and worked with in Laos in the 70s, 90s and early 2000s, Cambodia in the 90s, Vanuatu 90s and Indonesia 2000s remain close personal friends. We talk to them regularly and visit often. These links are important at the personal level and fairly significant at very senior levels. Former students and colleagues are now directors of major government departments and government ministers or leaders of multinational organisations. We benefit as individuals, but almost nothing is known or gained at higher levels.

Hello Mr Bourke, Your article is a very realistic analysis of key factors affecting choices in domestic/local agriculture in PNG. I once tried rice farming with a community in a remote offshore New Ireland locality, but the enthusiasm died after the first harvest. Presently, with an indigenous community between Lae and Nadzab, we're again seriously considering rice farming on a 15+ ha land with excellent water sources on site (hopefully before the huge oil palm plantation next door makes a move to utilise the same site). We've given ourselves one year to attempt it, and if we can't, we abort the plan (a.k.a surrender to oil palm because a fair number of the group will suggest it). Now 15+ ha is quite large for a village people without any assets or cash flow. It would also entail a fair bit of complexity (or care) in planning and implementation, not to mention the initial labour and capital required. So along such considerations, one could say that starting up agricultural ventures of some scale is also a problem to interested villagers. But we're determined. We're of the view that to really address poverty/economic inequality, groups of villagers (along clan or lineage lines) need to engage in large agricultural projects that also have opportunities for business/commercial extensions which enhance the main incomes. The current trend in aid - enhancing small farmers skills every now and then with brochures and workshops in some think-tank backed aid/donor program - is just too "soft and lofty for the field" to be effective, given the red tape, too many requirements for qualifications, technicalities, procedures and compliance of sorts. A villager may not understand the dynamics of soil pH levels and water diffusion in different soil types; but any villager knows the law: that if you borrow, you repay; if you partner up, you share the profits. I was browsing to see if peanuts were a good choice for rotation (with rice) when I saw your article. And as you have rightly pointed out, the returns is the defining factor in any agricultural undertaking. Thank you and we would most welcome any word of advice from you. Wing

Hi Michael, Thank you for the informative sharing on the processes involved in VONC. May I seek your opinion on the current VONC taking place this year 2024? Do you think the VONC should take place without any hinderance? (please state your reasons)

This needs serious fact-checking. It is not true that 90% of Rohingya live in Bangladesh - there are 100,000 in Thailand and another 100,000 in Malaysia, and around a half million or more still in Myanmar. The figure who was murdered in 2021 was named Mohib Ullah, not Mohid Ullah. And I think one could argue that Rohingya have been remarkably resistant to radicalization, given their situation - implying otherwise feeds the Islamophobic agenda. Finally, blaming the economic woes of Bangladesh, a country of 170+ million, on the presence of 1 million Rohingya, whose shelter, medical care, and food are not at all financed by Bangladesh but by foreign donors (in fact, Bangladesh benefits, as food purchases and shelter materials are purchased from Bangladeshis) is unfair. If we want to talk about economic woes, I would argue that corruption is a much bigger factor than the presence of Rohingya who have nowhere else to go.

Great tribute Stephen. Harold's support to the centre also meant many people coming up in the sector, like myself, got the chance to learn and engage, and the space to think critically and creatively about how we do aid. These spaces are all too rare in the Australian development sector, and I'm very grateful for the opportunity his support provided. The things that the centre has achieved by leveraging the Mitchell grant really make a compelling argument on the impact of flexible funding. It was an extraordinary opportunity from an extraordinary person.

Bob McMullan provides a compelling argument for Australia's engagement with Africa through multilateral institutions like the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). He underscores the importance of addressing global poverty, leveraging Australian expertise, and strengthening diplomatic ties. However, while the EBRD's extension to Africa presents opportunities, it's crucial to ensure that such expansion doesn't dilute the bank's primary mission in Eastern Europe. McMullan's optimism about Australia's eventual membership in an African development bank is tempered by the challenges of missed opportunities and shifting geopolitical dynamics. Nonetheless, his call for proactive engagement and seizing potential benefits reflects a pragmatic approach to international development and diplomacy.

I was pleasantly delighted to learn of the Pacific business community's initiatives to promote women's leadership in the area. As someone who is concerned about gender equality and women's empowerment, I am encouraged to see that businesses are realizing the value of promoting and supporting women in leadership positions. I recently signed up with Echelon Front for various training sessions on this matter. The article's data, such as the low representation of women in senior positions in the business sector and the high incidence of gender-based violence, underline the importance of taking action. Initiatives like the Pacific Women in Business Mentoring Program and the formation of women's networks are critical in providing support, resources, and opportunities for women to succeed in their careers. It is also encouraging to see that businesses are not just focusing on promoting women within their own organizations, but also in the wider community through partnerships and collaborations. 

Good analysis and in-depth presentation on the Connect PNG Program. It helps gives the public a general perception in terms of policy and government's commitment and aspirations towards this very vital and important development initiative. The study can be used as a deep stick to measure government's achievements, highlight limitations and develop effective strategies that can enhance and optimize program outcome as envisioned by the government.

Well outlined.

thank you for the survey and your blog.

This is an important article. It captures the major decline in the national health budget between 2013-2017, which dealt an almost fatal blow to primary health services. But this is not the only factor driving these alarming statistics. Since the 1980s the primary health system has progressively lost its ability to undertake outreach and connect with the communities it is supposed to serve. Once a staple of primary health services, immunisation and antenatal outreach is essential if population coverage is to be achieved. The figures quoted from the Solomon Islands are instructive. While a much smaller country, nonetheless the geography can be equally as challenging. I remember carrying a cold chain box up a mountain side on Isabel island in 1980 as a volunteer mule for a health team on immunisation patrol. From the statistics presented in this article I gain the impression little has changed there. By comparison, in PNG you would struggle to find a community health worker who regularly sets out on foot to visit communities on the hill, or the next valley. They generally run an aid post clinic walk in service that may, or more typically may not have cold chain and doesn’t offer vaccinations. This leaves the practice of the annual (if you are very lucky) immunisation drive undertaken by NGOs in collaboration with provincial health workers. In short, the process is hugely underfunded, piecemeal, incomplete and nearly always reliant upon NGO participation. What characterises this approach is the service is not owned in any sense by those who need it, and it is never sustainable. For example, a look at the geography of Milne Bay or Southern Highlands provinces should tell a planner, logistician or health worker that service delivery by government alone is out of the question. In the 1980s Milne Bay communities located on the remotest islands were served by a fleet of government ship-based health centres. In the mid 1980s the World Bank financed a multi-sectoral rural development project in the Southern Highlands that included transport to deliver health workers to remote sites. Today both initiatives are long gone. Both approaches represented the bold idea that with adequate funding and commitment, government would support these strategies into the future. This thinking still prevails and in the face of half a century of failure, it is plainly wrong. No amount of public sector strengthening will solve these issues as ongoing efforts will discover. In short, “government” in the image of a Westminster system does not represent “the people.” Only a deep dive into the traditional views that underpin community culture and politics will explain why this will remain the case. In my view, as a first-hand observer, I believe the solutions, if any, lie in placing the onus for supporting the delivery of services to communities where it has always belonged – with the communities themselves. They are the ones that can solve the issues around transport, access to where they live, construction and maintenance of infrastructure and guarantee health and education workers and community policemen a safe working environment. Not government. I am prepared to bet that if an area of Milne Bay that does not receive services was thrown the challenge, that as a pre-requisite the communities must provide safe transport, maintain infrastructure and whatever else to ensure immunisation and antenatal services reach them regularly. And that henceforth the services they receive would be dependent upon their contribution, they would do it. There is a PNG civil society driven initiative to do this, but because it is not wholly under the umbrella of government it is not funded. Given the track record since independence, reflected so grimly by the immunisation statistics reported in this article, I would urge development assistance planners to step outside the square and try something different.

I believe that health indicators are arguably some of the best indicators of good governance and development of a country. The plummeting immunization rates is a red flag signaling a failing health system and a failing government that is unable to deliver basic services. We are now faced with a double burden of diseases - prevalent infectious diseases and the rising non-communicable diseases! Much of the talk these days among government leaders is about building super hospitals and sophisticated equipment but fail to recognize that we have a primary health care that is in a mess. There is more that needs to be done within the space of primary health care - the basics!