Aust to help grow PNG’s economy

Business

By SHIRLEY MAULUDU
THE Australia-PNG Business Council now has a much better working relationship with the Papua New Guinea Government to grow the economy and make it easier for Australian investors to continue investing in the country.
Peter Taylor, the council’s new president, was speaking during the closing of the 33rd Australia-PNG Business Forum and Trade Expo on Tuesday.
“I’ve been through a sort of the learning process and have a good network with politicians in both countries. We had actually, as a business council, become much closer to the Government in terms of working together, in terms of achieving at the end of the day what really are mutual goals,” he said.
He said the goals were to develop the PNG economy to improve the lives of ordinary citizens and to make it easier for Australians to invest in PNG. Taylor thanked his predecessor Greg Pawson for his leadership in the past three years.
“Greg you have done a wonderful job and thank you for that. I look forward to the challenge in the next 12 months at least. I suppose having been president before and being on the executive committee for at least 20 years, at least I can hit the ground running,” he said.
Pawson said the council had its annual general meeting on Tuesday during which he stood down.
“After three years of president, I took the opportunity to stand down as part of our constitution. We renew the presidency every three years,” Pawson said.