Passing of Secretary Gei Ilagi
29 November 2007; Port Moresby, PNG
Australian High Commissioner to PNG, HE Mr Chris Moraitis
Can I begin by offering my condolences to Gei Ilagi’s family and to his many colleagues in Government who have lost a leader.
The news of the passing of Gei Ilagi was met with great sadness among the many people in the Australian High Commission who had come into contact with him, particularly staff from AusAID who have worked closely with him over some years.
After talking to a few people about their relationships with Secretary Ilagi a few consistent themes quickly became obvious.
Secretary Ilagi was a real people person. The thing that would strike people when they first met Secretary Ilagi was his capacity to take a genuine interest in them. In this day and age where everyone is in a hurry, Secretary Ilagi had the capacity to show people that his interest was genuine and that his focus was total.
He was a man who led, inspired, and supported those with whom he came into contact – all undertaken in his honest and genuine manner.
Secretary Ilagi was a man passionately committed to improving the lives of the millions of men, women and children living simply in PNG’s villages.
While humble, he could be a fiery orator, challenging us all to respond and achieve the best possible outcomes. And part of this was a steely determination to ensure that the Australians he came into contact with developed that same deep appreciation for the challenges faced by these people, his people.
Secretary Ilagi was one of the key drivers of the PNG Government’s Provincial Performance Improvement Initiative and Australia’s program of support – the Sub National Initiative. The associated programs support grass roots government in providing better services for regional Papua New Guineans.
And he was also behind our new policy of co-location – having AusAID officers working side by side with their PNG counterparts within the National and Provincial government systems.
He was a man of foresight who realised the value of partnerships. He could see the substantial benefits to be gained by tapping into the experience of others and how this would ultimately help his people.
For the Australians I represent here today the legacy Secretary Ilagi leaves will be the long and enduring relationships he has both developed and facilitated. But more than this it will be the respect and understanding he has fostered and how this respect and understanding will be used to help those Papua New Guineans he was so passionate about.
Thank you.