ED BRUMBY

PLAYING basketball had been the central feature of my high school days.

While neither tall nor particularly fleet of foot, I possessed good hand-eye coordination and peripheral vision.

Countless hours of practice gave me half-decent jump and long shots and constant membership of high school, city and regional representative teams as a playmaker-guard.

By 1966 I was in Papua New Guinea and, with the aid of some cases of SP as gris, a few fellow basketball enthusiasts and I persuaded the Public Works Department to lay some tarmac.

Then Elcom, through their largely Manus Island apprentices, installed the hoops on their pylons and provided suitable lighting in the Wewak local officer compound.

And so the Wewak Amateur Basketball Association was born. It soon joined the PNG Amateur Basketball Federation, began organising twice-weekly night competitions and sent teams to national tournaments and championships in Madang and Lae.

This is where I meet the onetime head of the Education Department’s publications and broadcasts branch and stalwart of the Port Moresby Basketball Association and the Kone Tigers basketball club, Pritt (Frank) Hiob.

At some time during 1968, Keith, then editor of school publications, decided to pursue a career in broadcasting with the ABC schools broadcasts division.

His predecessor, Hiob, tasked with finding both a new editor and eager for some new blood in the Kone Tigers basketball team, bypassed the usual Education Gazette advertising process and persuaded the Director of Education, Ken McKinnon, to summon me to take up the editor’s position in Konedobu.

Being perfectly content as head teacher of Passam Primary T School – and quite in love with a fellow New Hanoverian teacher – I was loathe to leave the idyllic life of Wewak and its hinterland.

Thankfully, in retrospect, I had no recourse but to obey McKinnon’s command and duly moved to Moresby where, as well as beginning a new career (and assuming custodianship of Yokomo from Keith), I transfer my BEd studies from the University of Queensland to a BA program in linguistics and literature at UPNG.

In between work, study and playing, refereeing and administering basketball – and writing pre- and post-game game reports for the Post-Courier and the ABC, I continue to develop my classic guitar playing skills.

Over time, I was persuaded to share my rudimentary classic guitar competence with a small number of friends and colleagues in weekly lessons.

Somehow or other, this came to the attention of the wife of the then Public Service Commissioner who invited me to provide lessons for her daughter.

We agreed on the princely sum of two dollars for a half-hour lesson and, commencing in late 1971, after work every Monday afternoon I attended at the verandah of the Commissioner’s house on the nether reaches of Paga Hill to instruct young Kate (not her real name) on the vagaries playing classic guitar.

Meanwhile, with my BA studies nearing completion, I was motivated to pursue postgraduate studies and decided Edinburgh University offered the best applied linguistics program with elements that applied directly to my work in the Education Department.

I completed an application for a public service scholarship and submitted it to the chief staffing wallah who advised I was wasting my time because scholarships were now reserved for local officers not expatriates.

He took the application but left me with the impression that he would not pass it up the line to the Public Service Commissioner’s office

A month or so later, having just finished another classic guitar session on the verandah with Kate, I awaited her mother and the two dollars.

Out came the Public Service Commissioner himself, whom I had never met. He handed me the money and said, “I hear that you are going to Edinburgh”.

Postscript 1: I spent a year at Edinburgh University and played in its representative basketball team and also refereed in the Scottish National Basketball League.

Postscript 2: Kate, went on to study classic guitar at the Canberra School of Music.

GARRY ROCHE & PAULINE PORA KAMA

THE late Paul Pora, three times Member of Parliament and founding chairman of Air Niugini, was the son of Australian patrol officer Dal (Dalkeith) Chambers.

Dal Chambers, who was officer-in-charge in Mt Hagen in the Western Highlands, had befriended a local Yamka (Yamuga) woman, Rok, a daughter of a Yamka Pepka man, Marai. Rok became pregnant.

In 1942, because of World War II, the Australian patrol officers including Dal Chambers (and his wife Joan) were ordered to leave Hagen.

According to accounts, the young pregnant Rok and three of her male cousins accompanied Paul Pora’s father on the journey to Goroka, but later turned back. Sometime later, Rok gave birth to a male child.

It was said that, after the war, Dal Chambers returned to Hagen to try and find his child. The Yamka people told him that the woman and child had died at childbirth. In fact, Rok had been married into the neighbouring Mokei Komunka tribe.

The child, Paul Pora, was hidden from his father and other Europeans for some years for fear they might take him away.

For a long time, Paul Pora’s children were not aware that Dal Chambers was their grandfather. That Paul Pora also used the name Paul Pora-Schmidt led some people to believe that his father’s name was Schmidt.

He probably used the name in acknowledgement of a Lutheran family named Schmidt who, in his earlier days, assisted him with his education. It was also said, incorrectly, that Paul was the son of Ludwig Schmidt, an Austrian gold prospector who was active around Hagen, Porgera and other parts of PNG in the 1930s and 1940s.

People became aware of the connection between Paul Pora and Dal Chambers because of the resemblance between them and because Paul himself several times drew attention to the name ‘Chambers’.

The name ‘Dembit’ or ‘Dembits’ which appears in some Hagen church records after 1944 may have been an effort at pronouncing ‘Chambers’.  When Paul Pora’s mother was asked by her grandchildren about his father, she uttered a name that sounded like ‘Jemis’ or ‘Chemis’.

Apparently the Leahy family was aware of the connection between Dal Chambers and Paul Pora. In 1995 John Fowke published a book, Kundi Dan, which was mainly about Danny Leahy. In the book was the photo shown here of a group of expatriates on the airstrip at Mt Hagen.

Dal Chambers is in the photograph and there is a strong resemblance to Paul Pora, both in facial expression and stance. The photo was shown to some old Yamka Pepka men from Paul’s mother’s clan and they immediately recognised Dal Chambers as being Paul’s father.

Paul Pora studies politics and economics at the University of Papua New Guinea in the early 1970’s and went on to become the first Chairman of Air Niugini. He was three times member of parliament and spent time as Minister for Finance and Minister for Civil Aviation. He was a gentleman and a peacemaker.

His contemporary at university and publisher of PNG Attitude recalls him as “smart, gentle and a great pleasure to be around”.

At Paul’s funeral in 2010, the relationship to Dalkeith Chambers was mentioned by Garry Roche, who also knew Paul, to John and Dulcie, two of Paul’s children.

With assistance from Garry, Paul’s daughters Dulcie and Pauline later contacted Dal Chambers’ relatives in Australia.

The Chambers’ family had become aware of the possible connection just before being contacted by Garry Roche and Paul’s daughters. It was a situation that had to be handled carefully out of respect for Dal’s wife Joan Chambers (deceased) and her children.

More recently both families have had DNA testing done which proves that Paul Pora was indeed the son of Dal Chambers.

Dal Chambers’ children did tell Paul’s daughters that their father had gone back to New Guinea in the early 1950’s for an unknown reason. In more recent times, members of Paul Pora’s family have had friendly meetings with members of Dal Chambers’ family in Australia.

Group photo: Pilot Willy Schaffhausen a mission pilot died in Fokker aircrash near Alexishafen Madang in 1939. Pilot Charles Raymond (Bob) Gurney of Guinea Airways died in combat during World War II.  Gurney airport is named after him.  The Klemm monoplane may well be the one that was still flying recently (see Pat Studdy-Clift, ‘The Incredible Klemm’).

Authors’ note: Telling the story of Dalkeith Chambers and Paul Pora, is in some ways a sensitive issue.  As John Fowke noted in an earlier comment in PNG Attitude (see below), some missionaries also had relationships with local women and produced offspring, some of these cases are well authenticated. None of us are in a position to be too judgemental about such events.  It seems that Paul Pora’s father made a genuine effort to find him, his mother’s people decided not to help him, but he did try.

Footnote: John Fowke posted this comment in PNG Attitude on 24 March 2013:

I was approached a year or three ago by a lady of the same family who works for Patrick Killoran, Banz Kofi, in his office at Kagamuga. I was able to provide her with a photograph, and memories from my talks with late Dan Leahy of Korgua and Kuta back in around 1990. The Leahys, notably Clem and Joe, both present in Mt Hagen area today, all believe that Dan’s recollection that the Pora/Schmidt family is descended from Dal Chambers is correct. I expect that the present-day descendants of Father Ross would also be able to confirm this – they are present in Mt Hagen today.

Dan and Mick Leahy were in close contact several times with Ludwig Schmidt as he moved thru the Hagen area and on to Wabag and Maramuni and would have known if he had left a child behind him. I also found a reference to Dal Chambers’ war-service which I passed on to the lady mentioned above. I know nothing of his life after the war, or indeed if he survived it. On page 146 of my book Kundi Dan there is a photograph of a group at Mt Hagen on the old Mogei airstrip taken in 1938. Included in the group are both Dal Chambers and Mrs Chambers. The book is available from Patrick’s café at Kagamuga and from the Christian Bookshop in town.

KEITH JACKSON

BOUGAINVILLE police are reported to be baffled by the unannounced visit to central Bougainville of the Papua New Guinea government jet, Kumul (still not sold despite a four-year old election promise).

The small passenger aircraft was seen at Aropa airport on Christmas Day soon after Bougainville president John Momis expressed fears the PNG government might be seeking to initiate backdoor talks with Panguna landowners as part of its plan to try to take over the gold and copper mine.

Aropa is the closest airport to the mine.

Earlier in December, Dr Momis told Sam Walsh, managing director of the mining company’s majority owner, Rio Tinto, that he was concerned the O’Neill government was positioning to buy Rio's equity in Bougainville Copper Ltd.

In the letter, Dr Momis advised Mr Walsh that this information had been conveyed to him by two PNG government ministers.

One of them, Ben Micah, had let Dr Momis know that, following a series of meetings with Rio Tinto, PNG wished to purchase the company’s 53.83% equity and was seeking the unlikely agreement of the Autonomous Bougainville Government to the deal.

Before Christmas, Dr Momis stated in the Bougainville parliament that he had been invited by Mr O’Neill to attend a meeting with Rio Tinto in Singapore.

His attendance seems unlikely, as Dr Momis is determined to do whatever he can to stop a deal taking place.

He assured parliament that the minerals in Panguna were owned by the people of Bougainville and reminded members that the people had shed blood over them.

RADIO NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL

BOUGAINVILLE president Dr John Momis has told the autonomous region's parliament that his government will take the Papua New Guinea government to court if it continues to fail to meet its financial obligations.

Dr Momis said many millions of dollars is due to Bougainville according to the terms of the peace agreement that formally ended the civil war and which was concluded with PNG in 2001.

In a lengthy statement, Dr Momis said his government estimate that PNG had underpaid Bougainville for the recurrent unconditional grant and owes at least US$33 million dollars, which must be paid immediately.

He also said Bougainville is owed another US$207 million under the Restoration and Development Grant.

Dr Momis said the national tax office is also failing to hand over taxes collected in Bougainville.

He said that under the peace agreement once Bougainville has achieved a degree of restoration equal to that of the rest of the country, it could start setting and collecting its own taxes.

Dr Momis said he believes that has now been achieved and Bougainville wants to take over the collection of personal income tax and goods and services tax.

He said the peace agreement was a negotiated contract to end war and given effect by PNG constitutional laws.

If PNG cannot be trusted to implement the financial arrangements of that agreement, then the ongoing relationship is threatened, he said.

Dr Momis stated that, if there is no solution by the next joint consultative meeting in February, court action will follow.

PNG TODAY

PAPUA New Guinea’s opposition leader Don Polye has accused Agriculture and Livestock Minister Tommy Tomscoll of turning ‘deaf ears’ into allegations of corrupt practice within an agency which reports directly to him.

Mr Polye said allegations against the National Agriculture Quarantine Inspection Authority’s managing director Joel Alu had thrown the agency into disarray.

He said Mr Alu had cast fear into several employees within the agency with his crusade on sacking those who have reported his alleged corruption to police and the Ombudsman Commission.

He urged the Mr Alu to clear his name in the courts and refrain from intimidating his employees.

“Why has the minister gone into hiding while someone who has been arrested on counts of corruption is doing all this nonsense?” Mr Polye asked.

“NAQIA plays an important role in protecting the country’s flora and fauna and the actions of one person just cannot stall its operation.”

Mr Polye reiterated his condemnation of the sacking and bashing of a driver who had exposed alleged corruption within NAQIA

The opposition leader also blasted prime minister Peter O’Neill and his government for the delay in enacting the whistleblowers protection law.

CHRIS OVERLAND

PHIL Fitzpatrick's recent article, The apathy and ennui of the Papua New Guinean people, resonated very strongly with me for a number of reasons.

I have come to believe that liberal democracy as we know it is not an end point in the development of human societies. Its recent triumphs over fascism and communism are not evidence of the end of history.

Rather, liberal democracy is yet another stage in a range of complex social, political and economic processes that have been happening for several millennia.

These have been characterised by the ebb and flow of "civilisation" (being the urge to establish an orderly, highly structured society governed by known laws) and "barbarism" (being the explicit rejection of such a society in preference for an essentially anarchical and highly fragmented collection of loosely affiliated communities of interest).

Thus there is a constant tension between the state, in whatever form it takes, and the desire of individuals to pursue their own interests largely unfettered by others.

Liberal democracy is an attempt to reconcile these competing forces and overall, so far at least, it has worked pretty well.

However, it is not the one right way to do this because liberal democracy is culture dependent. Basically, it is a product of European, and especially British, historic experience.

At the moment, places like Russia and China have adopted aspects of liberal democracy even while maintaining quite oppressive quasi-autocratic state structures designed to maintain the power and influence of the relative handful of people who constitute the political and business elites.

In places like Australia, the state is less oppressive and more responsive to public opinion but there are still powerful elites who dominate the political and economic processes.

So, what has this to do with contemporary Papua New Guinea?

It is my belief that PNG has thus far failed to truly transition from a state of “barbarism” to that of “civilisation”. Thus, while PNG now has many of the formal structures and processes associated with civilisation, its peoples are still instinctively drawn to the more familiar and culturally comfortable barbaric state.

This, in turn, makes it very hard for them to comprehend that their social and material aspirations cannot be achieved without fully embracing the rules of civilisation, not just its forms.

In short, the PNG state is little more than a mask behind which the political and business elites can pursue their individual interests in a largely unaccountable way. As each successive generation of politicians fails to meet the expectations of the people, it is replaced with another which, in turn, pursues its own interests in preference to the public interest.

Thus a cycle of perpetual exploitation and despoliation continues despite a supposedly democratic political process being in place.

There are now a few people appearing, and Gary Juffa is one, who understand how this dynamic works and are trying to break out of it. The difficulties attached to this cannot be underrated.

Nothing in history suggests that there is a peaceful and painless path to creating a genuine democracy. In fact, all the evidence points to the opposite.

ANDREW MOUTU | PNGBuai.com | Summary & Conclusion

THIS paper has three messages to impart: we are subjects of a new colonial order; what is the place of Papua New Guinean ways in this new colonial order; and a call for a judicious appropriation of different systems of knowledge, information and information technology.

It examines common place discourses to show that common place discourses are not always common with truth as they often cover up for not so common truths. I think talk about globalisation, information super-highway, information technology and so on is framed in so universal, so common a language.

And because it is so common it conceals a particular truth, a fundamental ideological problem - the question of power relations, for instance, who has the upper hand in the production and sale of information technology, who controls the market of information technology, who sets the priorities of the PNG government?

Thus I am of the opinion that so long as we continue to drift along with the tide of common place discourses without trying to rethink them or "essentialising" them, we will be perpetuating the hegemonic interests of the developed Other.

This paper begins with two quotes from Bernard Narokobi who wrote of the imposition of conceptual constructs like the "state". Needless to say they are countless other such concepts and the problem of having to use a non-Melanesian language to convey our ideas and conceptions.

I believe that English language together with other institutions brought to us by colonialism is now part of our heritage to appropriate. I also believe that we are subjects of new colonial order, the intellectual and economic imperialism of the developed Other whose story is narrated to us in common sense discourses that we do not know we are subjects of this colonial order.

As much as you and me are necessarily part of our families, clans tribes, province and the country, Papua New Guinea is necessarily part of the globe and so we can resist being part of the world and all that goes all too often in and around the world.

But, I like many others before me, am persuaded by reflection that in the face of this dialogic encounter of power relations, there is lasting hope in Papua New Guinean ways of doing things which have survived the test of time to this day.

Before we get caught up in rhetorical illusion brought to us in universal discourses, I ask again, where is the place of Papua New Guinean ways?

Dr Andrew Moutu is director of the Papua New Guinea National Museum & Art Gallery. You can read the complete paper here

RASHMII BELL

MY inclination to defend anything topical concerning Papua New Guinea might be compared to my approach when contemplating former BFFs (best friends forever).

Acknowledge issues exist, accept the friendship breakdown (for the time being) but be damned if I sit silently if ever their names are dragged through the proverbial mud.

Phil Fitzpatrick and Ed Brumby in their reflections* exercised little restraint in their assessment of the aftermath of reactions fuelled by Papua New Guinean readers and contributors  to Keith Jackson’s initial and later (thank goodness!) retracted announcement.

‘Stoic, apathetic and ripe for exploitation’,‘ self-indulgent helplessness’, ‘ talk big, promise lots but do nothing brigade in Papua New Guinea’. Woah, geez, steady on now.

I’d doubt any Papua New Guinean’s humanity if they didn’t take an inkling of offence to this talk. Characterising a group of people like that. Our group of people!

Sure, when I’ve had Papua New Guinean family and friends dish it out in not-so-endearing terms, I’m apt to react with nonchalance, even acceptance.  But when an expatriate says the same, it’s different. It’s anger-provoking because, well, the truth hurts.

Several hurtful truths were highlighted again in Gary Juffa’s impassioned article, ‘I will not go down like a coward, and I hope you won’t either’. Here the Oro Governor makes another call for the marginalised majority to take tangible action to diminish the all-pervading gross inequalities across PNG.

But whether it’s the ongoing development of PNG writers and literature, or the larger much-sought positive societal change demanded by so many people, the question remains, as asked by Paul Oates, ‘husait inap a?’

I found Chris Overland’s comment in response to ‘The apathy and ennui of the Papua New Guinean people’ the most plausible in its understanding of the stagnant reaction often observed when such a question (‘who’s up to it?’) is asked.

This reaction can perhaps be visualised as a stationary cloud precipitating nothing other than utter weariness, discontent and lack of interest throughout the nation.  A weariness overwhelming Papua New Guineans of countless generations and clearly frustrating many non- Papua New Guineans.

Led by a reference to liberal democracy, Chris’s discussion entailed a comparison between ‘civilisation’ and ‘barbarism’. He proposes that contemporary PNG has stopped short of a full transition from one to the other.

The core of his explanation is that whilst ‘civilisation’ and its formal structures urge all to adhere to a highly structured society governed by known laws, in PNG it plays second fiddle to ‘barbarism’, which rejects this preferring an anarchical and highly fragmented collection of loosely affiliated communities of interest which compete with the public good.

The strain is inevitable. It overarches our communities as people struggle to function in what purports to be democracy but which lacks the broad cultural acceptance of democratic norms. Generation after generation.

Yep! Sounds like the Papua New Guinea I know.

Governor Juffa’s plea to ‘live every moment as if it is your last and remember the faces of your children and ask yourself, where will they be tomorrow if I fail them today’ rightfully implicates every Papua New Guinean to the task-at-hand.

But the reality is we’ll need to sit this out as most of us unlearn the ingrained behaviours of apathy and ennui.

And so whilst that runs its course, perhaps (as noted by Phil and others) there is a need to increase pressure on the capable sector of society - students, academics, researchers, universities, professionals - to promote the growth of PNG writers and literature and also to facilitate nationwide pro-social change.

Education’s curse seems to be its ability to espouse in some people a highly inflated sense of worth, delusions of superiority and notions of selective pedigree based on a refined ability to regurgitate, cite, footnote and reference another’s ideas and ideologies.

But, like Chris and Phil, I’m inclined to suggest that rather than being leverage, the sanctuary of academic elitism serves only to mask fear.

Fear of what? Fear of standing out? Fear of not knowing enough? Fear of the power of government? Fear of each other? It could all of these, and then some.

I yearn for the demise of the ‘Papua New Guinean shrug of regret and the sound of feet shuffling into the distance’. This is also manifested in my Generation X counterparts and our successors (the Millennials), particularly those of us who’ve been the recipients of a high standard of education, some abroad.

We are a sad paradox, we muffled voices. The end-product of exposure to settings that required active participation if we were to thrive in an effective liberal democracy but where we failed to so participate.

Imagine the momentum we might gain if everyone just waddled down from their damn ivory towers and strove for organisation and action.

To be fair, several people have gone on to create advocacy groups, organisations and charities – activities that are all crucial and admirable.

In their own way, these people are facilitating much- needed change in PNG. Others epitomise their vocal strength in social media. And still more utilising written expression across various forms of communication.

But a definitive choice is required.  Civilisation or barbarism? Where is the marginalised majority of Papua New Guineans determined be?

The former will disintegrate the overhanging cloud. The latter will continue to ruthlessly oppress and continue to breed apathy and ennui amongst our people.

* See‘PNG Attitude– let’s celebrate a fine achievement’, ‘Why don’t we roll over and go back to sleep’, ‘The apathy and ennui of the Papua New Guineanpeople’ and ‘PNG Attitude & Croc Prize: an opportunity and obligation’

FRANCIS NII

EIGHTEEN months from now Papua New Guineans will vote in the eleventh national parliamentary elections.

People from all walks and of all creeds will vie for a seat in the national parliament, re-elected every five years.

In Simbu, and I believe elsewhere, intending candidates are making their intentions known to potential voters and supporters. Many more will join the race as we move toward 2017.

Some people are campaigning quietly, confining themselves to acquaintances, associates, workmates, clansmen and others at social gatherings and buai markets.

The usual election ‘traditions’ are well underway: sponsoring sporting activities, buying coffins, shouting a few beers, handing out cash.

An intending candidate for the Karimui Nomane electorate gave me K100 the other day although I have not voted in Karimui Nomane since 2002. I gave the money to my wheelchair assistant.

There is a mind boggling quagmire of people who contested past elections and are re-contesting and new names and faces.

Considering their political aspirations, most do not have leadership acumen.

The person who gave me K100 does not speak English, these days a serious handicap. It is not enough that he is a local leader and a member of the provincial executive council.

Other contenders with inadequate credentials and weird temperaments are also going to join the game.

What really drives people like this to run?

Having discussed the issue with knowledgeable people, I’ve established the answer.

And it has nothing to do with winning an election to serve the people and the country.

If we ask them why they want to stand, all of them say they want to bring development to their electorate. It’s a glib response.

But if we ask further what kind of development, the veil falls away and the truth surfaces.

Those with no political vision or election platform become angry and defensive. Instead of answering the question, they retaliate with a question.

Some beat around the bush before coming up with some nonsense.

Others change the subject.

Very few can spell out clearly defined and feasible development goals.

The truth is that these would be if we could be’s are not contesting because they’re committed to development and change.

They are driven by reasons to do with greed and narcissism.

Most want to become wealthy overnight. They think politics is the way to get rich quickly.

Some want to destroy the winning chance of a rival candidate because of tribal feud or jealousy.

Others want to take down the incumbent MP because they are not awarded contracts or their project proposals are overlooked. Simple payback.

And there are those sponsored by the sitting MPs to extinguish other candidates’ chances of winning so the incumbents can win back their seats.

Such practices are engineered by thieves and non-performers who know well that their chance of winning back their seats is zilch.

Then there are those with no leadership acumen but with money and cargo to influence voters. They are crowd attracters and pleasers.

The most detestable thing, though, is that the people know these characters, their background and who and what is driving them. Yet they still vote for them because of family and tribal ties or bribery.

As a result, good candidates with leadership acumen and clearly defined development visions have not garnered the numbers.

The aftermath is rampant corruption and lack of development, especially in rural-based electorates, because the wrong people are elected.

So the mass of the people must blame themselves for corruption and lack of development. To blame the MPs is only part of the story.

It is my hope that our people are not going to again blindly fall into this trap in 2017.

Let us heed the call made by Oro Governor Gary Juffa.

As we meet people at church gatherings, coffee houses, betel nut markets, sporting arenas, educational and health institutions and elsewhere, let’s make it our business to hammer into their brains to be diligent and considerate in their choice of leaders in 2017.

They must think carefully and outside their little family and tribal enclaves. They must move away from tribal and ethnic politics. They must think nationally and globally.

We cannot go on forever repeating the same sin to the detriment of ourselves, our children and our descendants.

We must change and play our part by at least voting for the right people. If we are to not only serve the electorate’s interest but change the trend of politics at national level, we must communicate the reality of what voting means.

This current regime – so corrupt, dishonest and evasive of the law – must not become the model for our country.

2017 is time for a people’s call. It’s our call to set the stage for a new course and direction for the betterment of our country.

It’s our only opportunity to make a difference. We cannot afford to gamble on the hopeless and whine for another five years.

We must embrace the responsibility implicit in our vote and consciously do the right thing for ourselves, our children and their children.

We must vote the right people into parliament in 2017.

DAMIEN MURPHY | Fairfax Media

TWENTY five years ago, concerns about Papua New Guinea's ability to take care of its own domestic problems caused the Australian cabinet to develop new guidelines for handling its closest northern neighbour.

"The course of PNG's development has significant implications for Australia given its crucial strategic location for us," said Defence Minister Robert Ray and Minister for Foreign Affairs Gareth Evans in a submission to the cabinet.

“Problems between PNG and Indonesia could complicate our own relationship with Indonesia. Indonesia's opinion of Australia is shaped by, inter alia, its assessment of our ability to protect shared security interests in PNG.

"A close strategic relationship with PNG benefits our regional security environment. PNG's weaknesses could create opportunities for inimical foreign involvement and the divergence of regional strategic perspectives.

"If its problems are unchecked, PNG could cease to be a positive factor in our defence planning, undermining assumptions about the security of our north-eastern approaches. We would then have to review our defence planning and force structure."

The cabinet was told of concerns about the ability of PNG police to remain loyal to the government in Port Moresby and defence co-operation should focus on improving the PNG defence force's leadership, discipline, planning, basic military skills and logistic support systems.

"We should support PNG's efforts to improve its capacity to administer and create conditions for order in the country, but we should accept that we cannot engage in crisis management on PNG's behalf."

A note on AustralianCabinet records release: Cabinet records for 1990 and 1991 held by the National Archives of Australia became eligible for access from January 1, 2016. Information about the cabinet records, lists of the documents and copies of key cabinet documents, including selected submissions and decisions, are available on the Archives' website (naa.gov.au). Click on the "Collection" tab, then "Popular research topics", then "Cabinet".

FRANCIS NII

Swifts of the grottos
Teensy weensy yet tenacious
Asinine yet witty
Naïveté yet dexterous
Setting hallmarks of esteem

Soaring to the mountains
Bearing the insignia of intelligentsia
Heralding sage’s songs of edification
Awakening the literary neophytes
To the fore of cognition

Swifts of the grottos
Petite though
Your versatility surges
Your adroitness resonates
Setting trails of virtue

Swifts of the grottos
Keep soaring high
Keep singing
Those songs of transcendence
To the triumph of the neophytes

BEN JACKSON | Bougainville 24

WE’VE just finished a good year at Bougainville 24, the BCL-sponsored blog on happenings around the autonomous region which also encourages Bougainvilleans to write on matters of interest to them.

More than 300 articles were published in 2015, a majority being original work by Bougainvillean contributors.

These people included Gideon Davika, Anastasia Hagai, Maryanne Hanette, Veronica Hannette, Liza Kabui, Pauline Karalus, Peter Karatapi Jnr, Eleanor Maineke, Zilpah Maurua, Jennifer Nkui, Benjamin Heriberth Noibio, Ishmael Palipal, Alice Peter, Timothy Poroda, Leonard Fong Roka, Ancitha Semoso, Tevu Tenasi and Winterford Toreas.

Bougainville 24 is also dependent on the continuing support of readers. In 2015 the blog received an unprecedented 72,000 views from over 24,000 people. The relative figures for 2014 were 50,000 views from 10,000 people.

The most read story in 2015 was Leonard Fong Roka’s tragic story on the death in Buin of his baby daughter Dollorose.

This terrible news resulted in an outpouring of grief from the extended Bougainville 24 community, with more than 300 messages of condolence on the blog and on Facebook.

Leonard, a pre-eminent Bougainvillean writer and past Bougainville Copper Foundation scholar, also wrote the second most-read story of the year – a piece on the downturn of gold panning in the Tumpusiong Valley and the effects that had for Panguna.

2015 also saw the launch of the Bougainville 24 Facebook page, which has grown quickly to about 2,150 likes.

The top ten Facebook posts for 2015 were:

Walking and living an empty life after burying my Dollorose– Leonard Fong Roka

Buka airport declared the worst in PNG– Anthony Kaybing

Final year students present research on AROB– Ishmael Palipal

New Marau market rivals Buin– Leonard Fong Roka

John Roka’s final day– Leonard Fong Roka

The day of bullets– Benjamin Heriberth Noibio

Reconciliation & burial for daddy John brings peace to Roka family– Leonard Fong Roka

Eight major Arawa roads upgraded– Australian High Commission

Konnou students prepare for awareness campaign– Benjamin Heriberth Noibio

Dame Carol Kidu says Bougainville leads the way with historic election– Bougainville Copper Limited

Throughout 2016 Bougainville 24 will continue to deliver original perspectives and stories from Bougainville.

PHIL FITZPATRICK

DR ANDREW Moutu, director of the PNG National Museum and Art Gallery, is always worth listening to.

In a paper PNG Attitude recently abstracted under the headline Navigating tricky waters, he argues that there should be a place for “Papua New Guinean ways of doing things” in the evolution of the PNG polity and state.

He contrasts these Melanesian ways with western ways which are being adopted in PNG because they are assumed to be superior or more evolutionarily advanced.

We've seen this notion of the evolution of ideas and systems expressed in numerous articles and comments in PNG Attitude. The central theme is that concepts like the Westminster system evolved over a very long period of time and that PNG, as a young nation, hasn't had time to get used to them but will, given enough time.

It is a view that conforms to the idea that western systems are naturally superior to traditional PNG systems and that history is lineal, that is, much of PNG and its ways of thinking are pre-capitalist and therefore inferior.

In his paper, Dr Moutu argues that the impact of western thought on PNG in all its various forms is a new form of colonialism - not so much something to be resisted but something to be very wary about.

The danger for PNG which he identifies is the perpetuation of the vested interests of agents such as resource developers and media interests.

He has an interesting take on 'development' where he suggests it is actually pillaging. He suggests that “a judicious appropriation of different systems of knowledge, information and information technology” might be a good idea.

I've argued elsewhere that appropriation of these systems, including the Westminster system, have been less than judicious and has been disorderly and determined by exigencies not in the nation's best interests.

It seems to me that what Dr Moutu is suggesting is a re-think of the way PNG is run so that Papua New Guinean ways are given much more prominence, for example, modifying the Westminster system to suit PNG social and cultural conditions - refocusing the blurred image of reality.

That to me seems like a really good idea.

Dr Moutu's paper is academic and couched in fairly dense academic language. You have to read it very carefully to get his drift. That, in itself, is a bit ironic considering what he is arguing about.

What I think would be really good is if he produced a simple English version comprehensible to the man and the woman in the PNG street (or bush). It would then be a valuable contribution to the pre-election debate as it gathers momentum during 2016.

CHRIS OVERLAND

RASHMII Bell’s The stationary cloud, published in PNG Attitude on New Year’s Day, is an excellent piece.

In every nation where a Western style democracy has taken root, an absolute prerequisite has been the emergence of an educated, articulate, motivated and activist middle class to seize control of the political process.

This has always been fraught because those in power characteristically resist sharing that power, much less being held accountable for its exercise.

Right now, Papua New Guinea’s nascent middle class seems more concerned about its material well-being rather than challenging the political status quo and thus, by default, becomes complicit in political dysfunction.

A few leaders, like Governor Gary Juffa, are beginning the important task of appealing directly to those who Marx and Lenin described as "the masses", explaining that their collective failure to wield their vote for the greater good is grievously damaging both their present and their future.

It is very hard for the ordinary PNG voter to understand this because it is an alien idea, not connected to culture and tradition, where the pre-eminent construct was "them" versus "us".

Somehow, the idea of "we, the people", has yet to grip Papua New Guineans and ensure they they compel their elected representatives to make urgently needed changes in the way politics works in PNG.

Lenin, Mao, Castro and their ilk decided that this change in outlook could only occur when those who understood the "objective reality" of the situation seized power by force.

In Britain and Europe, the change process started much earlier in history and was much more protracted. It also was sometimes violent but usually fell short of all-out war.

The trick for PNG's middle class is to carry out this process quickly and, hopefully, without violence. In my assessment this is possible but not easy.

Rashmii and those who think like her can do it provided they can galvanise enough support amongst their peers and create the required political structures.

The bad news is that, if so-called "western civilisation" is any guide, this process is a never ending task because the great and powerful always seek ways to accumulate power at the expense of the sometimes somnolent masses.

This is why an effective democracy always needs intellectual gadflies, whether from the left or the right, expounding their sometimes dopey ideas but, in doing so, keeping constant pressure on the political and business elites.

Complacency and ennui are lethal to true democracy: only constant scrutiny and a fear of losing power will "keep the bastards honest".

Free children’s books for PNG schools

310 are already on the way to PNG - order some for schools in your area

Trickery at the Crocodile Pool is a collection of children’s stories from the 2015 Crocodile Prize edited by Ben Jackson & available free courtesy of Paga Hill Development Company.

We invite PNG Attitude readers throughout PNG to give the books to schools and libraries that need them. All you have to do is tell us your postal address and say where you will distribute the books. Email us here. Books are being sent out now.

SHANE WRIGHT | The West Australian

PAPUA New Guinea will boot 15 Australian public servants from the country over fears they are spies and making local workers lazy.

In a substantial blow to diplomatic relations between Australia and its former colony, PNG has gone ahead with a threat to end contracts for foreigners brought in to the nation’s public service.

There had been 33 Australian public servants seconded to various PNG departments including officials from the Tax Office, Customs, the Auditor-General, the Ombudsman, Treasury and Finance.

They had been part of a long-term program aimed at improving the quality of public administration in PNG - Australia’s largest aid recipient - which has struggled since its independence in the 1970s.

Many of those employed under the Strongim Gavman Program included staff in key justice areas of PNG including its Attorney-General Department, the Office of the Public Prosecutor and the Office of the Solicitor-General.

But mid-year PNG prime minister Peter O’Neill stunned onlookers by announcing the end of the Strongim Gavman Program with the start of 2016.

The Australian advisers, he claimed, had made local workers “lazy” while in some cases decisions were being made not in the interest of PNG in a direct suggestion the internal affairs of the country were being relayed to Canberra.

In September, Mr O’Neill tried to play down the threat. He said then that “nobody is being thrown out on the street” while arguing he wanted people posted to PNG to show loyalty to the government.

But The West Australian can reveal 15 Australian advisers had their deployments ended on 31 December. They covered a range of Australian staff drawn from Finance, Treasury, Transport and Justice.

A “small number” of new liaison officer roles are to be established this year to maintain relationships between the PNG and Australian departments but it is understood they will not be as fully embedded as the former staff.

Australian officials fear the move will undermine years of work and put at risk the financial sustainability of the struggling nation.

PNG is facing a massive fiscal challenge, agreeing to host the 2018 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ meeting. There are already signs the logistics of handling the presence of the US and Chinese presidents plus leaders from Indonesia, Australia, Japan and Canada may overwhelm PNG.

Mr O’Neill used his New Year’s Message to focus on how his government was improving conditions in PNG with a heavy focus on ridding the national police force of corruption.

“We will continue to work to deliver the services of government, and we will continue to make Papua New Guinea a better place,” he said.

This year Australia will deliver almost $480 million in assistance but relations between the two countries have been strained over the Manus Island immigration centre.

MATHIAS KIN

AS I have written previously, the current Papua New Guinea drought – particularly affecting the highlands - is showcasing the foulness, rot and dirt existing in the PNG government and its Waigani bureaucracy.

The O'Neill government is worried that outsiders may, in the process of assessing this disaster, pinpoint the many weaknesses, inefficiencies and chronic corruption existing in the elected politicians and bureaucracy of PNG.

PNG is already ranked one of the most corrupt nations in the world.

In the previous major drought of 1997, during the governments of Julius Chan then Bill Skate, experts from Australia and other countries were allowed in to carry out assessments of the extent of affected communities.

As a result, appropriate relief supplies were sought and obtained  through the many friendly countries including a heavy contribution from Australia.

Now, since this drought started in March last year, not one reliable assessment had been undertaken. So nobody knows exactly what the situation is in the villages.

In many parts of high altitude areas in the Southern Highlands, Western Highlands, Enga and Simbu provinces, frost has completely destroyed huge areas of food gardens.

In southern Simbu, an area I visit frequently, and many other regions of the highlands, around September and October, during the worst time of the current drought, I saw people eating banana and china taro roots.

It really disturbed me that in this age when PNG is earning billions of kina from its hydrocarbon and other natural resources, its citizens still suffer dreadfully from the effects drought and frost.

Can they not give back to the owners of the land from which they made billions just a few kina for their survival? How irresponsible and greedy a government do we have?

Maybe it will take a crisis to change the people's mind set about their politicians. Crime and corruption seems to have become tolerable, perhaps a crisis is the answer.

Civil unrest may teach the people a few lessons but at what cost? O'Neill does not seem to care for the welfare of the people of this nation.

Papua New Guineans are a very resilient people, no ordinary drought will kill us off. In a land of self-sufficiency, the affected communities will regain their feet with or without government.

But many people will suffer in the meantime.

What needs to happen, as pointed out by good people through PNG Attitude, there needs to is a dramatic change in the mindset of the voters – a change to not let lamb flaps, pigs and cash change their vote in 2017.

However the O’Neill government is now devising every tactic imaginable to counter attempts to stop them continuing beyond 2017.

The government will spend millions of kina helping those candidates they endorse. So the well intentioned next generation of young Morautas and Namalius will not have a chance against these very corrupt money-riddled candidates.

What is more, the government has posted its own men in all the top posts of the bureaucracy.

The defence commander is O'Neill's own man from Ialibu, the police commander is O'Neill's own choice as is the recent appointment of the electoral commissioner, It is reported that the electoral commissioner's deputy is another O'Neill tribesman from Ialibu.

PNG may be headed for a bigger disaster than an El Nino induced drought in this land of plenty. Maybe that is what we need.

God save Papua New Guinea.

FRANCIS NII

ONE of the major challenges for Papua New Guinea’s  Electoral Commission and for its voters in the coming 2017 national election that the ballot should be free and fair.

All the good things we have talked about for 2017 and beyond, including our dream of a good and honest government that will steer PNG out of troubled waters, boils down to this one crucial factor –free and fair voting.

There had hardly been free and fair voting in past elections and it is most unlikely there will be in 2017.

The bribery, hold ups, hijacking of ballot papers, threats, coercion and multiple voting experienced in the past are likely to be repeated next year unless the Electoral Commission comes up with a strategy that will contain or minimise these problems and produce a free and fair election.

Two important approaches that come to my mind involve biometric electioneering and security.

The Electoral Commission talked about biometric electioneering (e-voting) some time ago and it appears to me as the fairest way for people to cast their votes freely without intimidation or fear.

The system creates equal opportunity for everybody to exercise their right to vote.

Furthermore, it deters and insulates against the violence involved in hijacking ballot papers and other foul play and discrepancies as there are good checks and balances. This means an honest outcome.

Unfortunately e-voting is probably not going to be employed in the coming election because of time limitation as it will involve training, awareness, biometric registration and so forth.

Adding to the lack of time is lack of funding. The system will demand a lot of money and, in the economic crisis the country is facing, the government will not be willing to spend the cash.

The Electoral Commission has already been complaining about underfunding for election preparations. They have publicly voiced that they are not sure how well they are going to get everything ready under current budget constraints.

The second option for a free and fair election is to heighten security especially in violent and trouble-prone polling locations, most of which are in the highlands.

Polling in coastal areas and urban centres has been quite peaceful and orderly in the past. But in the highlands, especially rural areas, it has been violent and aggressive and involving the use of firearms.

The chance of such scenario being repeated in 2017 is high. The most reliable way to stop it is to deploy the army to oversee and provide security for polling officials and voters.

The 2007 election was said to be generally peaceful and orderly in the highlands and elsewhere because the military was deployed in polling places alongside police and correctional personnel.

People were afraid of getting bashed up by the armed forces and behaved well and cast their votes in an orderly way.

It had been different in 2012. Violence, hijacking of ballot papers, gang control and juvenile voting were prevalent because there was a lack of security. Polling in some highlands electorates was declared void because of this.

Women, old people and disabled people were pushed aside. They were not given the opportunity to vote.

I believe the Electoral Commission knows the likely trouble spots. And these are the areas that require a heavy presence of army and other disciplined forces to supervise and control polling so every eligible voter - including women, the old and disabled people - can cast their votes and do so freely.

If we want credible and honest people with qualifications, experience and vision to get into parliament to run the country’s affairs, polling must be free, fair, peaceful and orderly without any form of duress and intimidation. Can this happen in 2017?

My prediction is that, if the government does not deploy the army to control and provide security, 2017 will offer us a flawed election.

We will have desperados using tactics like duress, intimidation and hijacking ballot papers to vote themselves into parliament and get rich.

BONIFACE KAIYO

INDONESIAN intelligence agencies went into overdrive in recent days to cushion the spillover effects anticipating an announcement by President Joko (Jokowi) Widodo during this week’s visit to West Papua that he will offer a referendum to decide the future of the Melanesian province.

Papuan leaders have been calling for a referendum to decide the province’s future since the ‘Papuan Spring’ of 2000.

Jokowi has to walk a fine line on the issue of allowing Papuans a plebiscite which could threaten to break up the unitary state of Indonesia.

There are other secessionist movements seeking to separate from Indonesia in 17 other regions of the Indonesian Archipelago, and the referendum option for West Papua to decide its political future and separate from Indonesia could create momentum for other regions to follow suit.

According to a security assessment, which faults President Jokowi for accommodating Papuan aspirations for self–determination, the promise of a referendum formed Jokowi’s main campaign platform in West Papua during the Indonesian presidential elections.

Political analyst Arbi Muslims has confirmed the policy shift is already in the pipeline.

"If you look at it, the referendum proposal had been circulated when Joko Widodo built his presidential campaign on the promise for a referendum for Papuans,” he told Indonesian national security organs last July.

“President Jokowi is trying to prove something now. His solution to deal with outstanding issues at the time came down to the promise of referendum for Papua."

Calls for a referendum picked up a lot of momentum in the highlands of West Papua when Papuans took President Jokowi’s word that, after he got elected, they would decide their own political future to continue as part of Indonesia or to separate.

“The calls for referendum for Papua are final, and Indonesia must anticipate turmoil if the option for referendum is delayed or denied any further," Arbi Muslims said.

However he added that Jokowi was yet to clarify the conditions of his offer and the ramifications for Indonesia.

"President Jokowi should provide the details and clarify the deal reached with Papuans in return for the outstanding issues affecting West Papua to be resolved through the promise of referendum,” he said.

The Indonesian Parliament has yet to resolve how to deal with the West Papua issue and says it does not have enough information on the referendum.

But according to Arbi Muslims, the Indonesian parliament needs to move fast.

“Papua is a very sensitive issue and many foreign interests are stakeholders in the Papua Conflict, and are manipulating the outcome,” he said.

For example, the United States has economic interests which are best served by having Indonesia’s occupation continue in West Papua and keep it as part of Indonesia because of the great wealth of natural resources.

West Papua has the largest tract of rain forest outside the Amazon, the world’s largest gold and copper deposit and it has one of the world’s largest natural gas deposits.

But West Papuans are not reaping the benefits from this economic development. They are among the poorest people in Indonesia as are their health standards, including a huge HIV epidemic.

Indonesia is not taking care of the West Papuan people, who have been struggling for self-determination for 54 years in circumstances where it’s one of the world’s forgotten conflicts.

The history of West Papua and its long struggle for self-determination from Indonesia is a story of failed decolonisation. In the 1960s, West Papua was due to be given independence as a former Dutch colony. Then Indonesia invaded.

As a result of negotiations between the US, the Netherlands and Indonesia, Indonesia was to take custody of the territory on condition it gave a vote for self-determination. That vote for self-determination took place in 1969 in sham circumstances where a handful of West Papuan leaders were forced to vote under threat of violence.

Since becoming part of Indonesia against their will and in breach of international law, the West Papuan people have suffered widespread human rights abuses.

It is now 2015, and President Obama’s record on the West Papua issue continues to fall short of the expectations of Papuans. He recalls in his book, Dreams of My Father, the stories his stepfather told him about the oppression of the West Papuan people. And he took lessons from that.

His stepfather had said to him, "If you can’t be strong, find friends to be strong, because stronger people will take your land and take your women and take your resources." Obama has direct personal experience of how devastating the Indonesian military occupation was through his own stepfather.

When he came into the presidency, Obama said, because of his experience, that he would be able to say things to Indonesia that other leaders had not been able to. But on West Papua, he has failed.

Yet, as the country that brokered the deal between Indonesia and the Dutch which sealed West Papua’s fate as part of Indonesia, the US has a historical duty to do the right thing

Jokowi is courting the destruction of his own nation if the referendum option for West Papua is put away. West Papua’s history of integration into Indonesia stands to be rectified. The evidence of Indonesia’s failure to formalise the decolonisation thesis after the Dutch left demands a verdict today.

PAUL FLANAGAN | East Asia Forum

PAPUA New Guinea is a land of contrasts. 2015 started with the prospect of it having the highest GDP growth rate in the world at over 21%. It finished in crisis management and cash shortages.

PNG proudly celebrated its 40th anniversary of independence, hosted a successful yet expensive Pacific Games and its prime minister strode the world and regional stage.

But the 2016 Budget, rushed through Parliament in November given a looming vote of no-confidence, introduced even more extensive expenditure cuts than Greece has endured.

Extensive currency controls are hurting businesses and undermining growth. Local businesses are facing major drops in sales and most believe the outlook will not improve in 2016.

Newspaper stories report shortages of government cash. Funding is not being paid to urgent medical programs, there are uncertainties as to whether public servants will be paid, teacher entitlements are being deferred and superannuation contributions are not being deposited.

A sovereign bond was the planned solution to these cash flow problems but it has been put on hold until the middle of 2016, reportedly due to a lack of market interest.

The new PNG LNG project is functioning better than planned and LNG export volumes are booming. This should have been an opportunity for PNG to improve its international credit rating. However both Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s have moved PNG onto a negative watch list.

So what has gone so wrong?

The overly simplified short-term answer is to blame the fall in oil prices. Government ministers initially denied that there would be any impact on revenues from LNG, PNG’s largest export, claiming PNG LNG contracts were based on fixed prices.

Officials acknowledged the inevitable budget hit in early August with revenue forecasts being reduced by 20%. But there were no specific expenditure cuts to match the fall in revenues. In early October the government finally recognised the export earnings decrease, yet no changes were made to monetary or exchange rate policies.

The 2016 Budget released in November looked good on paper. This was possibly an attempt to win over potential investors in the proposed sovereign bond solution. But more detailed analysis shows that the budget suffered from serious errors and contained unrealistic levels of expenditure cuts.

A more complex answer to what went wrong is based on the tendency of PNG’s political leaders to focus too much of its hopes on its resource sector rather than its people.

Like in the early 1990s, the government started spending up big before actually receiving any revenues from major new resource projects.

PNG’s budget deficit levels reached 9.5% of GDP in 2013 and 8.6% in 2014 — the highest deficits in its history.

If the fiscal starting point in 2015 had been similar to the almost balanced budgets of the previous decade, then the fall in commodity prices could have been met with an expansionary fiscal policy rather than fiscal consolidation.

Greater focus on improving the performance of the agriculture sector would do much more for the people of PNG than a focus on the resource sector. Around 80% of PNG’s population still depends on subsistence agriculture.

From 2003 to 2015, real per capita growth rates in the agriculture sector averaged only 1.1% per annum — one-third of the growth rate of other non-resource sectors. The high exchange rate is possibly the most important policy instrument that undermines incentives for growth.

Looking ahead, economic policy in 2016 will be greatly affected by the uncertainties of a possible vote of no-confidence in the government and the rapidly approaching 2017 elections.

The easy option will be to talk up the foreshadowed major Papua LNG project. Providing generous tax concessions will help get the project underway. And the investment stage of such a project could start injecting cash into the economy by the time of the 2017 election. But such resource tax concessions are part of the reason for PNG’s current fiscal problems.

A harder path politically would require a more balanced and realistic approach to PNG’s medium-term development. A lower, market-based exchange rate would improve the incomes of agriculture exporters and import-competing industries as well as boost the prospects for foreign investment.

The revenue base will need reinforcement and tax reform proposals suggested by the government’s recent tax review need to be embraced. The expenditure focus should be on effective implementation and fighting corruption.

Wages and competition policies also need to support longer-term growth. PNG has muddled through similar crises in the past. But on each occasion, there has been a change of prime minister and an international assistance package.

PNG has great prospects, but slow policy responses and a growing number of poor policies hinder its outlook. Yet, given the politics, it is unlikely that PNG will benefit from the leadership required for making the tough decisions rather than taking the easy way out.

Paul Flanagan is a Visiting Fellow at the Development Policy Centre in the Australian National University