Comments

Oops. Sorry, my estimate of savings from not increasing aid in line with inflation was way out. If we assume that rather increasing aid in line with inflation (as laid out in the last budget's forward estimates) we instead hold aid at its nominal 2016-17 level, in fact the savings are not $385 million over four years but over $900 million. This assumes inflation of about 2.5%. Even if this is adjusted downwards, that is a much larger sum which could be used in any aid-security swap.

Very sad and story of my home Province,Gulf. Thank you for this blog. We have a lot of work to do to turn the tide course for appropriate development slowly and progressively to meet the real world of changing times.

professor, i think the institution is not important. If it could benefit the people, it is a good institution. Pollution problem happens along with the economic development. This is not a only problem for China. In history, Britain, America, Japan and Italy, all of them also have had a severe air pollution problem, and some of them lasts for 50 years. i think the broken of environment might be the sacrifice for the rapid economic development. The most important consequence of air pollution is the threat to people's health. Recently, most of my parents' friend died in cancer (lung caner). It worries me a lot. To eliminate the pollution in China is hard, because we don't want to stop the economic development what could lead to a social chaos. For now, national stability is what the government wants.

Fiji should not just look at Singapore, but Eritrea also!

Quite an insightful and refreshing article, notwithstanding that the jury is still out on wether Singapore proposers because of, or in spite of its political systems. Needless to say, democracy in all its variations is an incredibly complex concept/work in progress, and its ideals do not always match the realities. Democracy doesn't deliver/work equally well in all situations and we should not be afraid to question it - a simple point that is perhaps too often overlooked, with devastating consequences. Trying to force democracy down a nation's throat can have untold consequences (Iraq?). At one time Fiji was ranked better than Singapore by Freedom House. But Fiji ranked well below Singapore on many HDI measures. There are other rights and freedoms besides civil and political rights and freedoms: freedom from crime, right to good education, housing, health, higher life expectancy - on all of these, Singapore leaves Fiji for dead. Fiji is trying to emulate Singapore. While journalists, politicians and academia rightly decry the lack of rights, the people have spoken with their votes. Bainimarama continues scores consistently well in scientific polls (although a truer picture will emerge after the 2018 poll). This begs the question: who knows what is best for the people - the political and journalistic elite, or the people themselves? Of course Fiji is no Singapore, with its history of corruption. But from a cost-benefit analysis viewpoint, are Fijians willing to tolerate a certain amount of corruption the sake of stability?

Having worked in a mix of advisor/inline posts in a number of small island developing countries, funded by different development partners, around the world, I fully recognize the issues raised in the paper and the comments. They apply just as much in those situations. Working to develop greater clarity on roles and relationships is important. Historically, UK used to have a clearer distinction between advisors, and inline funded positions, aka Overseas Staffing Assistance Schemes (OSAS). OSAS staff covered a wide range of posts including teachers, doctors, lawyer, engineering, other senior technical/managerial posts, even heads of ministries/departments. Australian also used to have an Australian Staffing Assistance Scheme (ASAS). Currently both Australia and NZ have funded senior inline positions, such as Judges and Police Commissioners e.g. in Tonga. A review of the lessons from these historical systems (if sufficient people can still be found to give valid assessments of them) as well as assessment of current operations would help inform specifically the PNG situation and more generally the situation in many other countries facing the same issues. BTW: current aid funded inline posts in the Pacific are not just filled by Australian or NZ citizens but also by citizens from one Pacific Island Country (PIC) working in another. This helps to increase experience and opportunities for qualified staff from PICs and helps to contribute to the development of a greater pool of skilled workers in the Pacific which can begin to help address the diseconomies of scale faced by PICS’ small labour markets.

Thanks Bal - good to be reminded of the historical context.

Thanks Terence for the article. Women in politics is a topic of lengthy discussion and rightly so in many quarters. The affirmative argument has gone past the issue being a mere democratic choice argument (assuming the 'choice' is inherently discriminatory) to calling for guaranteed seats in PNG. In such reflection though, it seems, little is mentioned about PNG's liberal political history where the country, in its first election in 1977, had three women elected. More so, Mrs Nahau Rooney was given one of the most senior ministerial position (only a few years after Independence) - as Minister for Justice and Attorney General - a feat not many democracies in the world, including Australia or USA, can boast about. Important insights can be drawn from historical reflection, perhaps to suggest hope in the debate of women in politics.

Democracy or not, China has witnessed rapid industrialization and accompanying growth in income and a commensurate decline in poverty the past three decades. I am in China now and evidence of the growth in industries, public infrastructure - the bullet trains as an example, and consumerism (foreign brands, abundant food) is all around you 24/7. But this is not for free! Air pollution in Northen China has been at a record high for the past two days. The one advantage of a centrally planned state is that these concerns are being registered and there is a determination from the center to address such 'tragedies of the commons'. Climate skeptics are likely to have less traction here than anywhere else on the planet. BTW, I saw the moon and a star (rather a planet as an astrophysicist pointed out) last night but this is a rare sight here. Hope China is able to convince the world of the need for action on the climate front.

Lovely article Susie Concise yet informative and interesting to read. I didn't realise you had found improvements in your recent trip-maybe you had something to do with that, as would having more grads out there? Proud Mum

Super interesting piece, Sue. Your findings are analogous to what I've found in the health system in the area of Myanmar I'm researching. The expectation that "all health workers had the necessary skills for managing childbirth" is deeply embedded even though the workers themselves acknowledge they don't have the skills to manage very many complications at all. I'm pleased you've been able to observe improvements in the system.

Thanks John, another good comment and very interesting to hear about the woman LLG member in Chimbu. Terence