Comments

From KANUA NULAI on Changes needed to procurement to promote skills formation in PNG
How about the graduate survey carried out since 2019?
From Satish Chand on Obituary for Ronald (Ron) Charles Duncan AO
Thanks for the opportunity to say farewell to a good friend and mentor Nicole. We were blessed to have Ron beside us, and blessed most were those closest to him - i.e.; Rita, Rod, Rachel, and of course you!
From Bruce,Agaleye on Timber barons v carbon brokers: the Kamula Doso forest area in PNG
Logging, have no impact with in the landowners, in spreading infrastructure developments, like upgrading, schools, health and churches. We all have the fast experiences in mind on Wawoi,Gavin logging operations and majority of the landowners from Kamula Doso, block 1,2 and 3 we support Mayur Resources for Carbon projects with in KD block 1,2 and 3 concession area.
From Michael Dom on Half a day’s pay for a healthy household diet in PNG
Dietary requirements for instant noodles based on serving per 100g or any other metric specifically assume a per person basis, and I wonder if the consumption rate per person was measured. In my experience (Lae based, home of Maggie noodles!), very few people would cook up and consume an entire packet of noodles on their own, unless they're very hungry and, for low wage labourers, by that time they probably need the energy hit. You may have found out otherwise. A simple nightly family meal (the big daily intake, at least for Lae low wage folks) may also consist of one or, if koblere permits, two packets of noodles boiled with aibika (high cost/density), pumpkin tips or choko tips (low cost/density) so, I assume that noodles nutrition would be divided by number of plates per household member (say 3-7). Again, it's been my experience that most people have an aversion for Maggie noodles alone because it is too salty and there is a common perception that it is fattening. Otherwise, the local product is a very valuable contribution to household nutrition if used appropriately. The "poorest" meal I've heard described was "kumu, olsem lip sako nating wantaim Maggie noodles long grisim", for a family of seven. Sounds like bordering on vegetarian to me and not half bad nutritionally if they threw in an egg or two. I don't know if that would be the case in Port Moresby too.
From Hafford Norea on Tertiary education in PNG: a critical review
While commending the team for providing such a comprehensive and thought-provoking review of the tertiary education landscape in PNG. Drawing on the insights presented, I would like to ask few questions: 1. While the study identifies a "gendered imbalance in access" as a critical challenge, it would be highly informative to further explore the "specific cultural and physical drivers of this disparity". It will enable us to answer very important questions like: can administrative reforms like the "online selection systems" truly bridge the gap if the primary barriers to female enrolment are rooted in safety concerns or traditional family priorities rather than just the selection process itself? 2. The push for digital learning and e-learning platforms is a forward-thinking recommendation. However, without massive, parallel investment in national telecommunications and power grids, there is a significant risk that these models will inadvertently exclude the rural population and worsen the existing rural-urban divide. 3. While the study rightly recommends "merit-based appointments" to address "weak governance," the research is relatively silent on the external political pressures that often create these governance issues. It would be valuable to critique the role of political patronage and the influence of provincial governments on institutional management, particularly in the context of newly established institutions.
From Julie Olsson on Nauru’s remarkable recent economic success
All views are very informative. In all of this talk of wealth a real concern is the authoritarian-type regime and accompaniment of a ministerial-heavy parliament. My greatest worry in all this overwhelming talk of wealth is the state of this land, development and customary ownership. We are people of the land. Rehabilitation of this land is in tandem with our physical, health and spiritual rehabilitation after a century of degradation and continuing degradation of our land and our dignity. It is now some 40 years since the call for rehabilitation and so far it is a dying call that those in successive power are skirting. With further delay is the real fear that by then (whenever), when we no longer exist, our children and their children etc will not know what their customary land is. While waiting for rehab to happen, and for the sake of our children that they are apprised of their true land legacy, that the country undertakes a land review/ consultation that informs and educates the children of today of their land rights. Keep your cash and I keep my land.
From Nicole Duncan on Obituary for Ronald (Ron) Charles Duncan AO
On behalf of my mother, Rita, and my siblings and our families, I thank you all for your tributes to my Dad. I'd like to call out Satish for his beautiful eulogy at Dad's funeral, and also to those who contributed to The Fiji Sun, plus the comments above. We are really touched by your words. We have a big hole left in our lives, by the loss of a loving husband, father and grandfather, but we know we are incredibly lucky to have been his family. We could see and feel everything you write about, because it was exactly how he acted at home and with friends. It is a real consolation to know that he made such a positive impact on so many people directly and indirectly. This is what made him happiest. Thank you all. Nicole Duncan
From Jesse Doyle on Tributes to Ron Duncan
Incredibly sad to hear that Ron is no longer with us. I had the honour of working with Ron on some of the research we carried out on Pacific labour mobility with the World Bank. He was an incredibly supportive mentor, a brilliant mind, and a generous soul. My thoughts are with his family.
From Peter MacSporran on Nauru’s remarkable recent economic success
The first two decades of Nauru’s Independence were far from disastrous, although it must be said that Hammer DeRobert’s foray into the airline and shipping businesses put the country onto what turned out to be the top of a slippery slope and an eventual downhill slide exacerbated by the collapse of phosphate prices and the failure to adjust royalty payments from a fixed amount to a percentage of the FOB price. Today things look rosy, but the question is: are they really? The country relies on revenues that are far from predicably reliable over coming years. From the outside we tend to overlook the vulnerability of the country that has, since 2013, moved, perhaps inexorably, toward an authoritarian-type regime. The original constitutional structure of the country has been eroded by the creation of Deputy Ministers who, together with an expanded Cabinet control the Parliament to the extent that of the 18 members (excluding the Speaker) there is at present a government of fourteen, consisting of the President, eight Ministers and five Deputy Ministers – Parliament scarcely counts. With a national average salary of $24k, (which takes account of the large salaries paid to government and its employees), the salary of $90k for a Minister, $85k to a Deputy Minister, $75k for an ordinary member and the $110k of the President, pushes the average well above the true wage level of the average Nauruan. None of this would be possible without the larges of Australia and others providing funds to keep the country onside. I suggest that closer examination of the spread of the ‘wealth’ would find it done carefully done to maintain a power structure that looks after itself first. How things will pan put if David Adeang leaves power is another question I suggest there is far more to Nauru than Australian money tells us – particularly when we really don’t know where it is all going.
From David Ealedona on Nauru’s remarkable recent economic success
Exactly remarkable, Dr Howes. I was part of the educational reforms funded by DFAT and NZ Aid from 2006 to 2012. Building the education sector to get more of their students then into the employment sector. 14 years on and this impact is felt across the smallest republic in our world today.
From Maho on Does extreme rainfall trigger tribal violence in PNG?
Thanks Cian, for the violence pre-ACLED, is this publicly available?
Subscribe to our newsletter