A Subject! - An agenda for reform‏ in Papua New Guinea (PNG)

By Laurie Meintjes*

The capacity of the political leaders in PNG to acknowledge and meet the real needs of the people of Papua New Guinea, especially those in the rural areas, seems to be severely limited. Although there are a number of serious-minded politicians who genuinely seek to serve the electorate, they seem to be a diminishing minority.

The general picture is more bleak and, looking in from the outside, I get the distinct impression that the political establishment has become a self-serving institution mired in cronyism and corruption. And it goes all the way to the top.

I well remember PNG's passage to self-determination and independence, and vividly recall the voices of caution that urged a more prudent program that focused on the actual process of reaching independence, rather than an accelerated program that focused on the goal of independence.

Sure, it is important in any worthwhile endeavour to set goals and to keep these in mind, but the goals should never blind us to the process of getting there. It is a little like trying to walk the Kokoda Track without paying attention to appropriate footwear and logistics and the step-by-step mechanics of the journey itself.

The Australian Administration of pre-independent PNG has come in for its share of criticism, and much of this criticism is probably justified. In my view, there were two major weaknesses in Australia's colonial role.

Firstly, the colonial administration did not move seriously on the issue of independence until long after the Second World War. The official view seemed to be that, Yes, PNG would become independent, but that this would be well in the future and that in the meantime the business of administration would carry on as usual.

It was this first weakness that led directly to the second because the lack of a meaningful program towards independence meant that the Australian Administration lost control of the independence agenda which came under the de facto control of certain sections of nationalist opinion, led by the young movers and shakers who went on to form the Pangu Pati.

Their call for an early independence for PNG was echoed by the United Nations which, by the 1960s, had become a conduit for nationalistic aspirations fervently promoted by the growing number of newly independent African nations that had gained UN membership. The UN put pressure on Australia, and the rest is history.

Of course, one happy note is that an independent PNG has maintained, more or less, the democratic impulse it inherited, and the Australian Administration can take credit for this. Other ex-colonies, especially in Africa, have not been so fortunate and many emerged from colonialism into a grim cycle of despotism and machete politics. So, in some ways, PNG can count her blessings. Nevertheless, this is not to suggest that the social and political situation in PNG is acceptable; it is not.

What can people do to remedy the situation, to turn it around so that all the people of PNG can feel that their aspirations are being met, and being met fairly and evenly? There is no simple answer because the problems are entrenched and the path to a solution is hedged about by vested interests.

And the greatest beneficiary of those vested interests is a political machine that is very good at self-preservation because it is relatively united (despite surface differences), and is able to control and manipulate information better than the heterogeneous citizenry can. This suggests that the first step in a campaign to turn things around must be to encourage a citizen's movement that enjoys a similar unity and capacity to manipulate information.

And here the internet is your best ally because it provides an ideal forum for you, and other like-minded PNG nationalists, to come together in a common cause. Your goal must be to marshall public opinion, at every level of PNG society, and then guide that opinion to effect meaningful change.

If the people of PNG can find a united voice then their influence will be powerful, and no polical machine will be able to withstand them. This all sounds fine on paper, but it will not be easy to translate it into reality. The first steps will be small ones. But you will have to start somewhere. Perhaps you already have.

Meintjes was a former kiap in Papua New Guinea and now lives in Australia*

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@