Waigani Seminar, UPNG
13 August 2008, Main Lecture Theatre, UPNG, Port Moresby
Speech by High Commissioner to PNG, HE Mr Chris Moraitis
Theme: “40 years of the Australia-PNG relationship”
Ladies and Gentlemen
I’m honoured to have been invited here today to speak to you about the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea over the past four decades.
I don’t plan to give you a blow by blow description of everything that’s happened between our two countries over that period, but would instead like to explore some of the major trends and themes that have characterised our relationship.
Nonetheless, it’s difficult to talk about the story of our relationship without giving you a bit of a potted history.
Although I’ve been asked to focus on the past four decades, it goes without saying that the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea goes back much further than 40 years.
Australia was first granted an official role in the administration of what we now know as Papua New Guinea in 1902, when the British government placed the southern region of the country – then known as British New Guinea – under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia. Four years later, Australia took over formal administration of the region, which by then had been renamed the Territory of Papua.
Following the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, Australia took control of the northern part of the country from the Germans, who had taken formal possession of the region – which they called German New Guinea - in 1884. It remained under Australian military control until 1921, when it was placed under a League of Nations mandate.
Australia’s relationship with its northern neighbour faced its sternest test during the years of World War Two, when Japanese armed forces came within a few dozen miles of Port Moresby. The close cooperation between Australian defence personnel and many brave Papua New Guineans played a decisive role in the eventual defeat of the Japanese forces. Nothing symbolises this spirit of cooperation better than the black and white newsreels and photographs from the period that show Australian soldiers and the so-called ‘Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels’ side by side, knee deep in mud on the Kokoda Track, as they worked together to defeat a common enemy.
Following the war, the relationship between the Australian government and the people of Papua and New Guinea began to change, as both sides looked toward a future of greater autonomy for the territory. This was at a time when the concept of decolonisation was gaining increasing currency within the international community, and dozens of European colonies began moving towards independence.
It would be fair to say that Australia was not at the forefront of this trend as far as its relationship with the Territory of Papua and New Guinea was concerned, and Australian governments throughout the 1950s and 60s seemed to be more tightly focused on the territory’s economic development than on preparations for greater political autonomy.
All this changed quite abruptly following a visit to the territory by the then Australian Opposition leader, Gough Whitlam, in 1969. Whitlam criticised the gradualist approached of the current government led by John Gorton and announced that he would grant Papua New Guinea self government in 1973 and independence in 1976 if the Labour party won the 1972 federal election. Soon after Whitlam’s visit, Gorton announced that his government would take steps to lead Papua and New Guinea down the path of self government and independence.
Events then unfolded rapidly, with self-government being granted in 1973 and full independence in September 1975.
Interestingly, the debate about whether PNG was ready for independence didn’t end when the Australian flag was lowered in 1975. Indeed, it’s possible to still find people today who argue PNG was not adequately prepared for independence.
This is an interesting debate but it is also essentially an academic one. The fact is, Papua New Guinea was granted independence in 1975, and is now a well-established member of the community of sovereign nations. It is easy to forget that in the 1960s and 70s Western powers were coming under enormous pressure to grant independence to the territories under their control. We need to ask ourselves whether Australia could have realistically resisted this momentous global trend and delayed PNG’s independence much beyond 1975 – I suspect not.
Although Papua New Guinea’s transition to independence was in many ways a difficult and uncertain process, I believe both our countries can feel justifiably proud of the fact that PNG’s independence was won on the basis of negotiation and a smooth handover of power. Contrast this with the trauma and bloodshed that accompanied the passage of many former European colonies toward nationhood.
PNG’s relatively smooth transition to independence meant that from the earliest days of nationhood Australia was seen by most as a good friend rather than a hostile former coloniser.
This harmonious start to PNG’s independence continues to serve both of our countries well.
Just as Papua New Guinea went through enormous changes as it moved to independence and then nationhood, so too has the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea been transformed. For more than 30 years now, Australia and Papua New Guinea have been interacting as proud, independent nations, with their own set of interests, agendas and visions for the future. From time to time, we have had our differences on certain issues, but this is probably only to be expected.
What is more striking is the fact that, over more than 32 years of independence, our relationship has been placed under serious strain on only a handful of occasions. To a large extent, the overwhelming harmony of our relationship reflects the positive feelings that Australians and Papua New Guineans have towards each other.
From time to time we cop a bit of criticism in the newspapers or on the floor of parliament, but what has struck me as I’ve travelled to many parts of PNG is the overwhelming warmth most Papua New Guineans have toward Australia. Hundreds of ordinary people whom I have met on my travels have told me they appreciate the role Australia plays in PNG. The rapturous reception the Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd received when he travelled to PNG in March, particularly in Goroka, said a lot about the genuine affection many Papua New Guineans feel toward Australia.
Of course, this affection works both ways. I meet a lot of Australians who travel to PNG looking for adventure and a cultural experience that can’t be had anywhere else in the world. Only a few years ago, the number of Australians walking the Kokoda Track was just a few hundred. Now four to five thousand Australians of all ages are walking the track each year, and coming away with a deep appreciation for the beauty of PNG’s landscape and for the rigours that thousands of Australians and Papua New Guineans faced together during World War Two. Among the many Australians who have walked the Track in recent years are the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, and the Minister for Trade, Simon Crean.
And this affection for PNG isn’t limited just to Australian travellers. Within the Australian High Commission it is very common for officers from Australia to extend their postings, such is their interest in the issues facing PNG.
It was probably inevitable that after 1975 the number of Australians with a direct link to PNG would decline, as many of the government officials who had previously worked here under the Australian administration returned home. But many thousands of Australians continue to play an active role in PNG, particularly in the business field. We estimate that there are currently around 6,000 Australians living in PNG, many of whom are actively contributing to PNG’s economic and social development.
One of the consistent themes of the relationship over the last 40 years has been the willingness of Australia and PNG to work together in times of difficultly. The cooperative spirit was particularly evident during the peace process on Bougainville. Australia led the Peace Monitoring Group on Bougainville from 1998 to 2003, which involved around 3,800 Australian Defence Force personnel and 300 civilian monitors, and helped to create the right environment for the signing of the Peace Agreement in 2001, which in turn paved the way for the elections in 2005.
The “Strongim Gavman” Program, formerly known as the Enhanced Cooperation Program, provides a further illustration of the capacity for Australia and PNG to work together to achieve common goals. As I’m sure you are all aware, it hasn’t been all smooth sailing for the program. The Australian government and many ordinary Papua New Guineans were extremely disappointed when the policing component of the program, which saw Australian and RPNGC officers working side by side to defeat crime, had to be withdrawn in 2005 following a successful legal challenge. But the policing component was only one part of the ECP story, and around 40 Australian officials remain in key PNG government agencies such as Treasury, Finance and the Prime Minister’s Department, where they work with Papua New Guinean colleagues to progress reform in the areas of economic and public sector governance, border security and law and justice.
The SGP forms part of one of the most fundamental components of the bilateral relationship – the Australian aid program.
As with the overall relationship between Australia and PNG the development program has certainly evolved from its inception at the time of independence.
At that time, Australia agreed to provide a fixed and significant level of support to PNG’s budget. Initially this support, in the form of a monthly injection of funds to the PNG Treasury, amounted to 36 per cent of PNG’s revenues. Things have moved on substantially from the days when it was a simple matter of handing over a cheque every month, but Australia’s development cooperation program in PNG remains our most comprehensive and significant aid relationship – albeit now second behind the much larger Indonesia in dollar terms.
The aid program has evolved since that time from budget support, to a series of Australian-managed projects delivering training, goods and services across PNG, to a more recent focus on supporting the PNG Government and non-Government stakeholders to deliver their own strategies and programs. While this might sound complicated the premise is simple, let me illustrate with an example.
Rather than simply fund the construction of a road, school or hospital a program-based approach means supporting the National Department, provincial administrations and stakeholders such as the churches – who deliver much of the service to rural Papua New Guineans – to implement their own programs across the whole country.
This approach has its challenges, but also two major advantages. Firstly it means Australia is working with the Government of PNG on jointly agreed areas of priority and secondly it empowers the people involved, providing new skills and experience which, we believe, ultimately leads to better service delivery and development prospects for the people of PNG.
The approach is consistent with PNG’s current circumstances, in which the Government is now receiving substantial additional revenues as a result of high global commodity prices. PNG’s opportunity – and challenge – is to convert those additional resources into goods, services and tangible development for its people, and we want to work with you to meet that challenge.
Australia’s commitment to PNG’s development is reinforced by the recent Australian Government Federal Budget which showed estimated total aid to PNG for 2008-09 at K973.2 million, some K83.5 million above last year’s development program.
Mr Rudd’s visit to PNG earlier this year signified a fresh beginning in the relationship between the two governments, with significant implications in the development arena. The release of Prime Minister Rudd’s Port Moresby Declaration signified a commitment to a new era of cooperation with Pacific nations. The declaration set the course for progression on a range of fronts including new Partnerships for Development with Pacific neighbours.
The Partnerships for Development will provide a new framework for Australia and Pacific nations to commit jointly to achieving shared goals. Along with Samoa, PNG is expected to be a pioneer in entering such a Partnership. I anticipate that our two Prime Ministers will sign a PNG Australia Partnership for Development at the Pacific Island Forum Leaders meeting later this month.
The Partnership will support PNG in meeting its commitment to the Millennium Development Goals. These goals set out a number of challenges to be met by 2015 in key areas such as child mortality, education, HIV and AIDS, access to safe drinking water and many others. Growing Australian aid resources are anticipated under the Partnership. With a commitment from the Australian Government to grow the development program overall up to 2015 the future of our development cooperation relationship is certainly a rosy one.
One of the key focuses of the Australian aid program is democratic governance. AusAID, through the development of a new Democratic Governance Program in PNG, recognises that through civil society, communities can fully participate with government in public matters, and provide valuable input into government policy. This requires decisions being made openly, with everyone having a say and it requires people in decision-making roles taking responsibility for the outcomes of those decisions. When using the term Democratic Governance we mean shared governance based upon these democratic principles.
Australia supports communities, civil society, the media and other local organisations through the Democratic Governance Program. The goal of the Democratic Governance Program is to help articulate demand for democratic processes and institutions in PNG, and support the required reforms of the state and civil society to meet that demand.
AusAID works together with both civil society and the government in supporting robust and constructive partnerships for moving PNG’s development agenda forward.
Under the Democratic Governance Program Australia provides support to a range of initiatives related to political processes and community governance. These include:
* Strengthening electoral processes and institutions including: policy and legislation; PNG Electoral Commission; and community, civic and political awareness through training and education.
* Strengthening the media to increase access to information, improve media content, and give a voice to the people of Papua New Guinea. This involves partnerships with NBC and the PNG Media Council, and grants for community radio and other media initiatives.
* Developing the capacity of PNG Churches, Civil Society Organisations and communities through activities that strengthen their ability to be responsive and deliver tangible outcomes. By using inclusive, transparent processes at the community level, ownership and sustainability is enhanced.
* Supporting community sports activities to promote leadership, teamwork and community cohesion, and to engage young men and women in positive healthy activities that promote mutual respect.
A new program currently being considered by the Australian government is the “Strongim Pipol Kirapim Nesen” program. This program will place greater emphasis on support for national and local level partnerships between the state, civil society and the private sector, and encouraging shared decision making in development policy and implementation. Once approved, it will commence in early 2009.
Australia’s close engagement with PNG has been a constant feature of the bilateral relationship over the last four decades. But PNG’s enduring ties with Australia have not been to the exclusion of other relationships. It’s a cliché, but nonetheless true, that the forces of globalisation have made the world a smaller place, and of course PNG has not been immune from this process.
In recent years, PNG has developed closer ties with a range of bilateral partners, and we would expect this trend to continue into the future. PNG’s mineral resources will remain a great attraction, particularly for large developing countries that need to fuel their ongoing economic development. By the same token, Australia remains by a considerable margin PNG’s largest aid donor and its most significant trading partner, and it is likely to retain these positions for some time to come.
So what is the future for the relationship between our two countries? Prime Minister Rudd said during his highly successful visit here in March that it was time for us to turn a new page. The goodwill generated by the Prime Minister’s visit was again in evidence in April during the Ministerial Forum in Madang. And most recently, PNG hosted the visit by a man who in many ways is a living symbol of the warmth of the relationship between Australia and PNG, the Governor General Michael Jeffrey.
While I don’t have a crystal ball, I think it is undeniable that for the foreseeable future Australia and PNG will have a close relationship. Partly this is a consequence of geography – you are our closest neighbour and will always remain so.
But our relationship runs much deeper than that, for all of the reasons I’ve already mentioned – our shared history, our economic and business links, the aid program and the close personal relationships between Australians and Papua New Guineans.
Looking to the future, it is difficult to see the depth of our relationship eroding to any significant extent. Fundamentally, Australia wants for this country what most Papua New Guineans themselves want – a stable, prosperous and friendly PNG. At one level, this is about furthering our own national interests – Australia would have absolutely nothing to gain, and much to lose, from an undeveloped and unstable PNG.
But it is about much more than self-interest. Australia’s relationship with PNG has always been, and will continue to be, motivated to a very significant extent by simple altruism. We care about what happens here because we consider PNG a good friend and because the bonds between our countries run so deep.
All of us, on both sides of the Torres Strait, who in one way or another are involved in strengthening the ties between Australia and PNG - whether we are in the worlds of business, the arts, academia or government - have a vital role to play in ensuring the future health of this most important relationship.
Thank you.