WHEN prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare meet, it would be interesting to be a fly on the wall and learn what they discuss.
Australia/PNG relations is among the most complex and diverse of all other relations so the discussions can be expected to be wide ranging.
One discussion which should not be raised at all is the PNG and Pacific Islands governments’ position to place seasonal labourers in Australia.
I make this comment because it appears to me to be a singular admission that Island nations and particularly PNG has failed in the application the billions of dollars Australia has spent here in aid.
Just place yourself in an Australian’s position and it becomes clear.
You are an Australian parliamentarian.
You are in your 40s, well read and open minded. You have no hang-ups or emotional sentiments about Australia’s past relations with Papua New Guinea or any of the rest of Pacific Islands countries.
Still, you sympathise with the development aspirations of each Island nation.
You realise that they need external assistance to fund their development efforts.
You vote, year after year, for the generous allocation of Australian aid to the Island nations and have no grudges about the lion’s share going to Papua New Guinea.
At the same time, you winch as you read almost daily about the horrendous and regular murders and sex crimes in the Islands but especially in PNG. You hear about the wild spread of HIV/AIDS. You hear about the random acts of violence, theft and lack of respect for fellow countrymen and women and property. You read about official corruption being rampant, about lack of discipline in the supposedly disciplined forces and about lack of development in the rural areas.
The vital statistics of PNG indicate to you that the country is going backwards, not forwards and you wonder what has happened to all the billions of dollars that Australia has given to the country.
At this point, a proposition is broached by colleague MPs from the Islands, led by PNG, that they wish Australia to employ unskilled Islanders for seasonal jobs in Australia.
I would not blame you if you suddenly saw with alarming clarity the number of Islanders, who would throw away their passports and get lost in Australia.
You would, would you not, see an increase in theft and rapes in the orchards and the farms of your outback? You would see lawlessness increase. You would see HIV/AIDS cases on the rise.
And you would put your foot down and draw a big line across the Torres Straits and say – NEVER, NEVER, NEVER.
The scene shifts.
I am an ordinary, proud, hard working Papua New Guinean.
I believe in working one hour for an hour’s pay.
I am not perfect but I try to be true to my Christian principles and respect my traditional values.
Coming from a giving traditional society, I am eternally grateful at the kindness of Australia and many others, who pour in millions to help lift my people and I from the misery of underdevelopment and all it brings.
Like the Australian MP, I also read the crimes perpetrated by my fellow countrymen and the changing fortunes of my country and I hang my head in shame sometimes and sometimes I get absolutely angry.
Then I get to hear about my politicians pushing to put my fellow brethren into Australia as seasonal labourers and when Australia says NO, we storm and rant and rave and call it names.
If Australia cannot accept this proposal, it is “inhuman and racist”, our politicians seem to be saying.
This begging has got to stop.
In direct response to the call for seasonal labourers, the then Australian prime minister John Howard offered to fund technical type education for the Islanders.
This it has proceeded to establish with various companies in Island nations in various fields.
To me, this seems to be the sensible thing to do. People trained in Australian type technical training can seek employment in Australia. It is far better to place skilled and semi-skilled labourers in Australia then to send seasonal labourers with absolutely no skills.
I am sorry. We asked. They said “no”. Let the matter lie and let us move on.
If you wish, get our semi-skilled labourers in the likes of our mechanics, our welders, our electricians and our specialised machine and equipment operators. I think there you will find a ready market.
Fruit pickers? Forget it.
Then there is a big need to redirect the aid monies Australia has been pouring into the country.
Over the years, the aid emphasis has shifted from budget support to programme aid.
Still, there is a perception that aid money is still not producing the desired result.
And perhaps that is because aid money is still being channeled through the Government system.
I would like to see more aid money going to the churches and to the private sector in the country.
The churches have the whole country covered through their networks. They education, health and social sector programmes are far superior and are working. To channel money through the churches makes sense.
Towards that end, the new Churches Partnership Programme (CPP) established by AusAID in 2006 should take on a bigger role.
Additionally, aid money ought to be used to grow the economy. The private sector is the engine room for development. It would make sense to establish a similar arrangement as the CPP through the Australia/PNG Business and the local chambers of commerce and industry to channel aid to businesses.
Both Mr Rudd and Sir Michael are big on the environment so I expect this will receive attention but what exactly they will discuss, I cannot imagine.
I expect the forestry sector might receive attention but Mr Rudd has not made his views on this known.