Comments

It all sounds very familiar. I think these days improved donor coordination might mean that they are a bit more aware of what other projects are doing and try to avoid too much duplication, but small countries are still swamped with good ideas that they have little hope of implementing effectively.

Thanks Stephen, Good memories. When my wife and I started working in Laos in 1970 we worked for ADAA which after a couple of years changed its name to ADAB. I still have our original appointment documents and copies of our (and earlier) project reports. Happy to pass them on if anyone is interested. Best wishes, Bill

Thanks Jim, That's a good point. I have a forthcoming paper on aid fragmentation in the Pacific based on Lowy data, and -- when I did the analysis with a colleague -- I was astounded how many donors were in the Pacific. Nevertheless, Australia (in particular) and NZ are still dominant. And our dominance, combined with fewer alternatives, needs to be factored into decisions. Thanks again. Terence

Terence - As someone who has worked in Africa and the Pacific, there is an additional point that would argue that the Australian (and New Zealand) focus on the Pacific is particularly important relative to an increased focus on least developed countries. While you make the correct point that Australia and New Zealand are the largest donors in the Pacific, you also need to recognize that the actual number of bilateral donors in the Pacific is very modest relative to the number of donors in most LDCs. In particular, the absence of European donors in the Pacific creates a dependence on Australia and New Zealand support which is markedly larger than the dependence of nearly all African states on individual bilateral donors. In my work in East Africa, donor coordination typically involved over twenty bilateral programs, providing a level of bilateral support and options of donor approaches which exists nowhere in the Pacific. While this dependence has a variety of costs and benefits, it also needs to be an important factor in the aid strategies of the two dominant donors in the region.

I note the elephant in the room in the form of China has not been mentioned. Not sure how the scale (real and potential) and its ‘cold war’ with Australia will pan out in this context, with leverage that China can bring to bear. Good that NZ has generally not bought into it, and PNG is fence sitting in relation to both China and Pacer, maybe less fence sitting with China.

First things first, with the current global meltdown, our leaders should be mindful of the financial capacity to be a government that is financially independent and not forever dependent on overseas governments, donors and other financial institutions for funds.

I remember my first year in Pom, I was held up by youths (unwise of me to walk up 6 Mile Saraga street at night). Two young girls, who probably live in that suburb, scolded the boys and the boys left. Most times you get help from other PNGeans. And it’s a general rule the pickpockets get bashed by the crowd.

Dr Grant Walton, Thank you for this carefully-worded piece. I read it with some hesitation but I was pleased to find that you had handled this rather difficult topic sensitively. I would agree that the experience of men is different to that of women. I would also agree that PNG women suffer the most. This piece has reminded me of cases when PNG people helped me too. The cases that come to the fore of my mind were during the few years that I lived in Madang, a coastal province some distance from Port Moresby. I can easily recall at least three occasions when a stranger aided me in a public place, preventing theft or other difficulties. Thank you again for this piece on a very challenging subject. Amanda

I will take this opportunity to highlight two programs that connected PNG and indigenous Australian creators. The first was the Ninti One work on indigenous/creative intellectual property, mentioned in this article. The second was Laikim Sista, a women-led SME program facilitated by The Difference Incubator that connected indigenous businesswomen with PNG businesswomen. It was a truly fantastic program, and long-term relationships were built. We now have one woman-led coffee company supplying coffee to an indigenous Australian retailer, and other connections continue. These were wonderful programs and show just a fraction of what could be done with more indigenous participation in development cooperation.

I am samuel Toroitich from hardwork 32 years of age married with two twins and looking for work. I have a bit of an idea on farming - plz help get a job there.

Congratulations on your review of this very important initiative. As part of the research team on the Western Sydney Uni (Whitlam Institute) research, the perspective of Pacific islanders from Fiji, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu on the absent relationship between themselves and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was an eye-opener for us. It's been similar for lots of people to whom we have presented the research. It is notable that no-one among our 150 research participants (representing a cross-section of government, private sector, civil society and grassroots) seemed to be aware of the IPP, despite the fact that many felt deeply the dissonance between Australia's white face and what they know of its Indigenous population. Especially in Solomon Islands and Vanuatu there is a strong sense of kinship across the Coral Sea that does not find expression in our bilateral relations. So there is clearly huge potential for the IPP. If it were better known in the region I suspect there would be a strong demand for it, both with Indigenous led assistance, and mandating significant Indigenous representation in the design and delivery of programs. Expansion beyond the aid program to other commercial and cultural relationships would also be welcome. Among all of the rhetoric of the Step-up this could be a valuable contribution to deeper and more respectful relationships between Australia and its Pacific island neighbours. Our Pacific Perspectives research found that Pacific islanders don't think that Australians are very good at negotiating the cultural gaps between us. A prominent Indigenous presence can only help.

Grant you have put a beautiful and worthy of consideration caveat to it drawing from your experiences and thankyou so much.