On many measures of ethno-linguistic diversity, Papua New Guinea is the most fragmented society in the world. I argue that the macro-level political effect of this diversity has been to reduce, rather than increase, the impact of ethnic conflict on the state. Outside the Bougainville conflict, and (to a lesser extent) the recent upsurge of violence in the Southern Highlands, ethnic conflicts in Papua New Guinea have not presented a threat to national government. In contrast to most other ethnically diverse societies, the most consequential impacts of ethnic conflict in Papua New Guinea are at the local level. This paper therefore examines the disparate impacts of local- and national-level forms of ethnic conflict in Papua New Guinea.
On many measures of ethno-linguistic diversity, Papua New Guinea is the most fragmented society in the world. I argue that the macro-level political effect of this diversity has been to reduce, rather than increase, the impact of ethnic conflict on the state. Outside the Bougainville conflict, and (to a lesser extent) the recent upsurge of violence in the Southern Highlands, ethnic conflicts in Papua New Guinea have not presented a threat to national government. In contrast to most other ethnically diverse societies, the most consequential impacts of ethnic conflict in Papua New Guinea are at the local level. This paper therefore examines the disparate impacts of local- and national-level forms of ethnic conflict in Papua New Guinea.
This volume comprises papers presented to the Department of Political and Social Change's fifth annual seminar on Papua New Guinea, held at The Australian National University in May 1984, together with an introductory paper by Professor Maev O'Collins. It brings together contributions by Papua New Guineans and foreigners, politicians and scholars, women and men.
Papua New Guinea (PNG) is one of Australia's closest neighbours and is a country that most Australian citizens are ignorant of the ingrained social problems that affect women throughout the country. Due to low social indicators PNG receives aid and assistance from a number of Non-Government Organisation$ (NGOs) such as a number of United Nations agencies and CARE Australia and international governmental agencies, such as from Australia and New Zealand. This brings to mind images of development or an improvement in the situation in PNG as they are working with a number of organisations to bring about gender equality and sustainable development. The mirage that the knowledge of assistance creates is one that is shattered instantly when the statistics of the Human Development Index are examined. PNG is still experiencing high levels of gender inequality throughout the nation. Health care, education, employment and political representation are all affected by lack of development, growing levels of poverty, and an ingrained system of patriarchy and male dominance. Gender base d violence is a common occurrence for women throughout PNG, most believing that it is just a fact of life; its part and parcel with marriage and is experienced by all women in society. The situation in PNG is one that is in need of change. Due to the interconnectedness of issues affecting women it is very difficult to address any one problem. If health care is focused upon people lack the education to alleviate superstition and practices such as sorcery-related killings can occur. If education is focused upon solely there will be less focus on the accountability of the police force and corruption will continue, as will lack of access to justice. HIV I AIDS can be found in epidemic proportion s, increasing superstitious ideas that women carry the virus, and decreasing the health status of the nation. Corruption in the government and male dominance throughout society compounded with high illiteracy rates in women is ensuring that PNG continues to be a patriarchal society that experiences high rates of gender inequality and violence against women. The multifaceted nature of gender inequality is explored showing just how difficult it is to address the problems that PNG faces without the assistance of a range of organisations so that all areas can have the attention that they deserve. To enable NGOs on a community to make a difference, there must also be change at a provincial level, and on a national level. The implementation of initiatives that are in accordance with International Conventions is needed so that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) can be reached as PNG is currently falling further behind in reaching its targets. The government of PNG needs to work with NGOs and other international governments to try and overcome the gender inequalities that are now stopping the country from developing and from rising out of poverty.
"This paper has sketched the potential impact of ICT on the practice of politics in Papua New Guinea. Categorising changes in ICT access as changes in information flows, it proposes that key effects arise in transparency, collective identity and action, and the participation of new political actors. However, outlining these potential effects serves largely to emphasise the dearth of research on ICT in Papua New Guinea. Examples from elsewhere are useful, but unlikely to be conclusive in as diverse a country as Papua New Guinea ."- page 8 ; AusAID
"This paper has sketched the potential impact of ICT on the practice of politics in Papua New Guinea. Categorising changes in ICT access as changes in information flows, it proposes that key effects arise in transparency, collective identity and action, and the participation of new political actors. However, outlining these potential effects serves largely to emphasise the dearth of research on ICT in Papua New Guinea. Examples from elsewhere are useful, but unlikely to be conclusive in as diverse a country as Papua New Guinea ."- page 8 ; AusAID
Papua New Guinea's modest recovery continues. GDP grew again in 2004 by 2.6 per cent. As in 2003, good weather and buoyant commodity prices played an important role: but last year showed signs of a broader base to growth, as the government's efforts on the deficit and debt management improved the overall business environment. The budget was in surplus, inflation fell, key interest rates eased and public debt fell relative to GDP. There is little room to relax on the public finance reforms that are re-establishing control over waste and unplanned spending and helping to achieve good fiscal outcomes. But attention also needs to be focused on strengthening strategic and policy influence on spending plans, if public sector service delivery is to improve and progress made on the Government's medium-term development objectives.
The first firm step towards independence for the people of Papua-New Guinea was taken in 1964 with the election of a representative legislature. This book describes how the Members of the House of Assembly were chosen. Officials conducting the elections were confronted with the difficulties of making the electoral process comprehensible to men and women who had had no previous contact with the institutions of modern government. At the same time the local candidates lacked a party organization or a nationalist movement or ideology through which to appeal to the voters. In such circumstances the usual pattern of election studies, focused on a national campaign, would have been inappropriate. Instead the core of this book consists of twelve studies of different constituencies, typical of different parts of Papua and New Guinea, each written by an anthropologist or a political scientist who was either working in the area or visited it for the election period. These studies have a common framework, and they are accompanied by chapters on the Legislative Councils which preceded the House of Assembly, on the political education campaign conducted by the Australian Administration and on the administration of the elections themselves, on a seminar which was held after the elections to train the new Members in their parliamentary duties, and on the first two meetings of the House of Assembly. The authors provide a wealth of material on the problems of transitional political systems, few of which are so fragmented or so underdeveloped as Papua-New Guinea. Their book is also a contribution to the political history of that country, and as such reveals much of crucial importance about Australia{u2019}s nearest neighbour.
Mapping of expected rural poverty rates in Papua New Guinea at provincial, district and local government levels shows that national grants to provinces appear to be unrelated to poverty status. Moreover, given the high level of within-province heterogeneity of poverty, public spending that tries to target poor provinces is likely to miss large numbers of poor people in other provinces, while benefiting the non-poor in the areas selected for interventions.
Doing Business 2020 is the 17th in a series of annual studies investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 190 economies— from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe—and over time. Regulations affecting 12 areas of the life of a business are covered: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency, employing workers, and contracting with the government. The employing workers and contracting with the government indicator sets are not included in this year's ranking on the ease of doing business. Data in Doing Business 2020 are current as of May 1, 2019. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms of business regulation have worked, where and why. This economy profile presents indicators for Papua New Guinea; for 2020, Papua New Guinea ranks 120.
'Governance' is governing-- what governments do, however well they do it. Discussions about governance tend to focus on issues of corruption, or on administrative processes, whereas political structures and processes are often ignored. This paper argues that governance is a highly political topic, and cannot be examined solely in administrative terms. Economic structures also determine the activities of state and affect governance. The consequences of poor governance are a decline in public welfare, unpopular government and loss of authority for the state. Not only do most provinces in Papua New Guinea lack sufficient funding and staff for their range of responsibilities, but they suffer from a political structure which is quite dysfunctional. This paper points towards the need for a frank and fearless review of political and provincial governance structures, without ejecting 'the baby with the bathwater '.
Natural disasters invariably involve complex social, political and economic systems that can make a bad situation worse. The 2015 El Niño drought in Papua New Guinea (PNG) has few precedents. Poor strategy in response could have serious implications. Rather than a centrally coordinated national disaster response, the PNG government has decided to provide drought relief through the controversial District Services Improvement Program (DSIP), coordinated by the recently introduced District Development Authorities (DDAs). Drawing on recent fieldwork in three drought-affected districts, this In Brief considers the risks of relying on politically controlled development funds to provide drought relief to communities that need it most. ; AusAID
This article examines the relationship between ethnicity, democracy and development in Papua New Guinea. Drawing on an earlier co-authored study, it shows that a key cause of disparities in provincial development in Papua New Guinea is variation in the levels of ethnic diversity between provinces. Even when alternative explanations such as size, government performance and resource endowments are factored in, more diverse provinces have significantly lower development levels than more homogeneous ones. Increasing levels of ethnic diversity are associated with lower overall levels of development, in part because ethnic divisions encourage rent-seeking behaviour, leading to sub-optimal outcomes for the country as a whole.
The Social Journalism Awards (SJA) is a journalism exchange programme providing Papua New Guinean journalists with opportunities to report on development issues. This article draws on information collected from SJA participants, and analysis of the media content they produced, to gather insights into development journalism in Papua New Guinea. The study found that Papua New Guinean journalists are interested in reporting on development issues but they lack appropriate opportunities to do so. The main issues facing Papua New Guinean journalists include few opportunities to report on issues outside the national capital; few professional development or training opportunities; few opportunities to report on development issues, particularly those affecting the rural poor; conflicts of interest for media owners including the government and foreign corporations with mining interests; and low pay within the industry. The study showed that when given appropriate opportunities, PNG journalists can contribute to development and democracy in meaningful ways. The article concludes that it is important for media indices to go beyond procedural freedoms and to measure substantive freedoms, or opportunities, available to journalists.
The modern prison system in PNG has a relatively short history. For much of the colonial period the imprisonment of offenders, usually for short periods, was administered as an integral part of the larger system of �native administration�. Prisons were viewed by colonial officials as educational institutions in which prisoners learned about the ways of the Europeans and acquired respect for the authority of the colonial government. �Education� consisted primarily of physical labour and prisoners were utilised in a range of public works from grass-cutting to road construction. Every government station had its own gaol under the control of the resident magistrate who served simultaneously as judge, jury, prosecutor and jailer. The first prisons provided important sources of recruitment for some of the early members of the �native constabulary�, as well as offering other Papua New Guineans employment in some of the only minor positions in the colonial government that were then open to indigenes (Reed 2003, 29�42).
