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Papua New Guinea

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Papua New Guinea’s untold media freedom challenge

This article is based on the podcast series “Developing” featuring interviews with PNG journalists, industry leaders, and politicians. Papua New Guinea has gained a reputation – at least, in international reporting on the country – for being corrupt, violent and poor, yet also a

By Himmat Shaligram

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PNG’s confusing budget debate

Papua New Guinea is in the grips of a confusing debate about the state of the 2019 national budget, including the Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey, Shadow Treasurer Joseph Lelang, and former prime minister Peter O’Neill. It is difficult to determine who is stating the facts as a matter of national

By Bernard Yegiora

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Bougainville’s predicament, independence or not

The referendum to take Bougainville a step closer to full independence finally looks set to start on 23 November, after the issuing of the writs late last month. Voters will have a fortnight to reach the polling places, which will close on 7 December. The Referendum Commission, chaired by former

By Annmaree O’Keeffe

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PNG: Has education policy reform worked?

Papua New Guinea continues to reform its education sector. In recent years, the spotlight has been on teaching quality. Research by the World Bank indicates that teacher effectiveness is the most important school-based predictor of student learning. Despite this, PNG has lacked a clear roadmap and

By Rachel Mason Nunn, Genevieve Nelson

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Quiet and unquiet graves: letter from Port Moresby

“Our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them”. I remembered this line of George Eliot as I rattled around Port Moresby in a bus these last few days searching for remnants of colonial New Guinea for a book I am writing. Papua New Guinea was Australia’s only colony, and before

By Gordon Peake

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The changing dynamics of Australia, PNG and the Pacific

Prime Minister Scott Morrison showed he was serious about the Pacific “step up” when he ensured that his first overseas visit was to the Solomon islands and the first foreign dignitary he invited to host was Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape. The visit by Marape represented a

By Watna Mori

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Bougainville: A nation in waiting?

On 23 November this year, Bougainvilleans will vote in a referendum to decide whether they wish to stay part of Papua New Guinea or become an independent nation. It is perhaps the high point of a 20-year peace process that in turn followed a gruelling, 10-year battle for independence waged between

By Ben Bohane

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PNG: making sense of a massacre

It wasn’t long ago that Hela Province, in Papua New Guinea’s southern highlands, wasn’t a province at all, and hardly attracted the attention of the outside world. Now in just a few short months, it has found itself very much in the spotlight. The May election of James Marape as Prime

By Watna Mori

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Economic diplomacy: Guns versus butter, trade wars, and feeding PNG

Separation anxiety A new call to split trade negotiation from diplomacy in Australia has once again underlined how the rise of China has unsettled traditional frameworks for making policy about economic and security interests. The divide between neo-liberal economic policy approaches

By Greg Earl

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PNG: Marape’s blueprint for change in a fast vanishing honeymoon

Last week, the Australian government hosted Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape on an official “Guest of Government” visit, just two months after Marape assumed the leadership of its nearest neighbour. Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison pulled out all of the stops, with

By Shane McLeod, Jonathan Pryke

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Karida village killings: violence and the vulnerability of women

When so many external “experts” have contributed reflections on the violence last week in Papua New Guinea’s Hela province, there is, I recognise, a point where another outsider does little more than fatigue and enrage local people. Nonetheless, I feel motivated to contribute to debate on the

By Nicole George

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More women – with more chances – is key to PNG’s democratic future

The last few months in Papua New Guinea’s politics have been described as political “chaos”, “turmoil”, “upheaval”, “crisis”. The Australian newspaper even went so far to describe PNG as a “potentially disintegrating neighbour.” For Papua New Guineans, it was a mere harkening

By Watna Mori

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Australia’s aid in PNG: the need for a gendered approach

Gender equality is fundamental to human development. Papua New Guinea is Australia’s closest neighbour and biggest recipient of Australia’s bilateral development aid globally – but significant and persistent inequalities remain when it comes to the status of women in society, sexual violence

By Divya Venkataraman, Jonathan Pryke

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Stepping out – and up – in the hot mess of the Pacific

Scott and Jenny Morrison stepped out into the humidity of Solomon Islands historic Henderson airport earlier this week to a legacy Pacific welcome, a mix of indigenous traditions and colonial pomp. Being decked in finely wrought shell necklaces by young island maidens before inspecting the tiny if

By Mary-Louise O’Callaghan

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The Pacific’s social politics

When the news broke that Peter O’Neill had finally resigned from PNG’s top job last Thursday, it spread instantaneously, lighting up mobile phone screens across the country. It was social media, much more than PNG’s traditional news outlets, that had bored away relentlessly at O’Neill’s

By Alastair Davis

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PNG: the Peter O’Neill legacy

The past two weeks have been an anxious wait and see in Papua New Guinea politics, and will continue to be so until such time as a vote of no confidence takes place, if at all. On 6 May, prior to the PNG parliament’s last sitting, Prime Minister Peter O’Neill released a statement that his

By Watna Mori

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Waiting in Waigani: PNG in political turmoil

Two Port Moresby hotels have been the backdrop for the story of PNG politics this past weekend. Members of Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s government are perched in the Crown, looking over the CBD as they negotiate to stave off a determined parliamentary challenge. Up and over Burns Peak –

By Shane McLeod

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A billion reasons: the future of PNG’s Sustainable Development Fund

In the three years Sir Mekere Morauta was Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, from 1999 to 2002, he pursued an ambitious reform agenda. Some parts of that legacy have fared well, like the privatisation of the country’s state bank. Others, like political party reform, have fallen over in the

By Shane McLeod

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Australian media: missing in action on Bougainville

The ABC Managing Editor Asia Pacific, Kellie Mayo, has subsequently disputed aspects of this article; read her response here. Bougainville – the autonomous region of Papua New Guinea which suffered a brutal 10-year civil conflict in the 1990s – was due to have a referendum in June to

By Annmaree O’Keeffe

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Plugging in PNG: electricity, partners and politics

Getting the leaders of five Asia-Pacific nations together for the photograph amidst the tumult of a APEC Leaders Summit in Port Moresby last November was a triumph of logistics. But the last-minute scramble to get an upside down Papua New Guinea flag turned the right way up was maybe a sign of how

By Shane McLeod

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Australia’s PNG gateway: far north Queensland

Just a few kilometres separate Papua New Guinea and Australia at their closest point. But when it comes to migration procedures, people on both sides of the Torres Strait can sometimes feel like the countries may as well be on separate planets. Visas remain a constant obstacle to building a

By Shane McLeod

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The curious case of aid concentration in Papua New Guinea

The aid industry is complex. Dozens of bilateral donors, hundreds of multilateral agencies, and thousands of non-governmental organisations litter the development landscape in all corners of the globe. In aid jargon, this is known as “fragmentation”. Conventional aid-effectiveness literature

By Jonathan Pryke

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2018 Australia–Papua New Guinea Emerging Leaders Dialogue Outcomes Report

The Lowy Institute hosted the sixth annual Australia–Papua New Guinea Emerging Leaders Dialogue from 4 to 6 December 2018 in Cairns, Australia

By Shane McLeod, Jonathan Pryke

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Bougainville’s Panguna – “a challenging opportunity”

With just under six months before Bougainvilleans go to the polls to decide if they want independence from Papua New Guinea, last month’s APEC leaders’ meeting in Port Moresby gave fresh impetus to assertions that Bougainville is yet another fly caught in the web of influence and counter-

By Annmaree O’Keeffe

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Conflict, romance, and PNG: the APEC Summit

You get the sense that while Donald Trump didn’t make it to Papua New Guinea for the APEC Leaders Summit, his reality TV producers could have had a hand in how it played out. APEC 2018 had it all: conflict, romance, an exotic setting, and a dramatic finale that will keep trade diplomats on

By Shane McLeod, Jonathan Pryke

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PNG and APEC: who gets to keep the Maseratis?

Three weeks ago, the American Journal of Transportation reported that Air Bridge Cargo Airlines had delivered 40 Maserati sports cars to Port Moresby. One of the first social media outlets to report this news was in a Facebook post by Emmanuel Narakobi, runs the blog Masalai. Narakobi was then

By Watna Mori

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The Orchids’ tale: PNG’s women’s rugby league team

I never set out to make a film. But, as many filmmakers seem to discover, the story found me. I have always been interested in the power of sport, and in 2014 I moved to Papua New Guinea to work in media and communications for the NRL-run, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade-funded League

By Joanna Lester

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Deciding the future for PNG’s provinces

It’s been quite a week for Papua New Guinea’s national government and the evolving relationships it will have with the country’s provinces in the future. Last Friday, PNG’s Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and Autonomous Region of Bougainville President John Momis finally agreed on the

By Annmaree O’Keeffe

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Facing ghosts of the past in Bougainville

There is disquiet among many for how post-conflict Bougainville society will evolve over the next generation if impunity reigns for the wartime horrors. Over the next few months, the spotlight in our immediate region will turn to Bougainville and its referendum on independence from Papua New

By Catherine Wilson

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Australia-PNG: relationships are what matter

Papua New Guineans tell each other with pride and excitement that the eyes of the world will be upon them 40 days from now, when they host the APEC Leaders Meeting in Port Moresby on 17-19 November. They are not fazed that Donald Trump won’t be there. His representative, Mike Pence, is

By Ian Kemish

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PNG: new friend versus old, APEC and polio

The condemnation of China last week by Nauru’s President Baron Waqa at the Pacific Island Forum leaders’ meeting may have been bolstered by Taiwan’s substantial investment in that tiny Pacific nation of 13,000 people. Nauru is one of six Pacific countries to have diplomatic relations with

By Annmaree O’Keeffe

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Prime Ministerial persistence: Australia vs PNG

Remember when Australia used to refer to its near neighbours in the region as the “arc of instability”? The leadership shenanigans on Tuesday will have given the BBC’s former Australia correspondent Nick Bryant an opportunity to update his description of Canberra as the “coup capital of the

By Shane McLeod

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The new battle for Bougainville’s Panguna mine

Speculation about the future of the Panguna copper mine in Papua New Guinea’s autonomous region of Bougainville, which ignited a decade long civil war in the 1990s, peaked late last year when an application for exploration by former Rio Tinto subsidiary, Bougainville Copper Ltd (BCL), was put to a

By Catherine Wilson

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Polio in PNG: a menace resurfaces

The news of pulse polio resurfacing in Papua New Guinea has created new challenges for a public healthcare system already confronting many related health problems. Polio virus is a potentially deadly disease that can spread through communities, causing paralysis and disability, mostly among

By Kaveri Devi Mishra

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Speech by the Hon. Charles Abel, Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer of Papua New Guinea

The Hon. Charles Abel, Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer of Papua New Guinea, delivered this address at the Lowy Institute, Sydney, on Monday 18 June 2018

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What a partial internet shutdown would mean for PNG

Debate arose in Papua New Guinea last week over comments made by Communications Minister Sam Basil about the possible imposition of a month-long ban on Facebook. This partial internet shutdown, according to Basil, would allow the government to conduct research on the use of anonymous

By Kasek Galgal

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What PNG hopes to win from hosting APEC

It is not clear when the big-man politics in Papua New Guinea’s foreign policy began. It was likely during the prime ministership of Sir Michael Somare, in the early 2000s, when he pushed for PNG to be an aid donor to the region. At the time, and to this day, PNG continues to be Australia’s

By Watna Mori

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Women’s participation and preferential voting in PNG elections

In March, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill declared his intention to return to a first-past-the-post (FPP) electoral system. He said his government would introduce legislation to replace the limited preferential voting (LPV) system that had been in place for three general elections,

By Kerryn Baker

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The challenges to women on Bougainville

On 15 June 2019 there will be a referendum held in Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea, to determine the territory’s future political status. As I found during a recent research trip to Buka, Bougainville’s administrative capital, there is excitement at the prospect. I was in

By Nicole George

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Resettlement in PNG was never a viable option

In mid-2015 I was approached to work as a claims assistance provider at the Manus Regional Processing Centre. Initially, I was hesitant because I did not want to be part of an arrangement I believed was morally, if not legally, reprehensible. The processing of asylum seekers was of concern

By Watna Mori

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Natural disaster mismanagement in PNG

On Monday 26 February, an earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale hit the highlands region of Papua New Guinea. Its effects throughout the Southern Highlands and Hela provinces were disastrous, and tremors continue to cause damage in the Enga and Western provinces. There are

By Watna Mori

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2017 Australia–Papua New Guinea Emerging Leaders Dialogue Outcomes Report

The Lowy Institute hosted the fifth annual Australia–Papua New Guinea Emerging Leaders Dialogue from 12 to 15 December 2017 in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

By Anna Kirk

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Tuberculosis: a good news story from PNG with thorns

It’s not often that Australian media carry a good news story about Papua New Guinea. But that’s what happened last Tuesday, when the ABC’s Eric Tlozek reported that PNG’s health authorities were stopping the spread of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis in communities in Western Province

By Annmaree O’Keeffe

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The Belt and Road to nowhere: China’s incoherent aid in Papua New Guinea

This article is based on Episode 18 of the Little Red Podcast, featuring Walkley Award–winning journalist Jo Chandler and Louisa Lim of Melbourne University. At the tail end of this month’s episode, Jo Chandler shares a story from her visit to Manus in 2014, when she caught up with Powes

By Graeme Smith

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Australian aid can secure private investment in frontier markets

Last month in The Interpreter, Clay O’Brien proposed the creation of a Development Finance Institution (DFI) for Australia’s aid program. This shift in thinking about the way the government could engage in development is most welcome, particularly in Papua New Guinea. More can be done. PNG

By Stephen Nash

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Favourites of 2017: PNG speaks

As a close observer of Australia’s nearest neighbour, I often lament how little commentary there is on Papua New Guinea's short history from a local perspective. The most contemporary example is former prime minister Julius Chan’s autobiography, which gilds the lily on a few too many

By Jonathan Pryke

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What next for Papua New Guinea?

It has been a tumultuous year for Australia's nearest neighbour. The protracted and controversial elections in Papua New Guinea took up most of 2017, with Peter O'Neill winning a second term and cementing his position as the most formidable politician of his generation. The government

By Jonathan Pryke

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Pacific island links: PNG snapshots, the French PM in New Caledonia, Mini Games and more

By Euan Moyle, an intern with the Lowy Institute's Pacific Islands Program. The Lowy Institute has released Papua New Guinea: Seven Snapshots of a Nation, which analyses PNG’s political, social, economic and security trends. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has kicked off his four-day

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Papua New Guinea: Seven snapshots of a nation

The Lowy Institute has produced seven papers assessing the contemporary challenges facing Papua New Guinea in 2017

By Bal Kama, Jenny Hayward-Jones, Paul Barker, Jonathan Pryke, Sinclair Dinnen, Craig Lawrence, David Osborne

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No course correction in PNG budget

It is no secret that the Papua New Guinea economy is facing some very tough times. The collapse of global commodity prices, a severe drought, an ongoing foreign exchange crisis, and questionable government spending have all contributed to a dramatic reversal of fortunes for a country that just four

By Jonathan Pryke

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