Andrew Peacock and his unique role in Papua New Guinea’s development

It often troubles me that while the Labor Party fully acknowledges its political "heroes", the Liberal Party all too often does not do so anywhere near adequately.

The tributes to Andrew Peacock, the former Liberal Leader and Senior Minister, have been warm and genuine. He was a substantial player in Australian politics for over a quarter of a century.

But there is an aspect of his long service in public office that really needs greater recognition, though I note that his frequent leadership rival John Howard did highlight it in his tribute to him over the weekend.

I got to know Andrew Peacock when he succeeded Sir Robert Menzies as MP for Kooyong in 1966 and more particularly when he was appointed Minister for the Army in the Coalition Government led by John Gorton in 1969.

It came as a surprise to many when Prime Minister William McMahon appointed him Minister for External Territories in February 1972, succeeding Ceb Barnes, the Country Party Member for McPherson, who had held the position for a decade.

Andrew Peacock was only to hold the position for about 10 months leading up to the 1972 national election won by Labor.

But in that short period he embraced the challenge of being Minister responsible for the then Territory of Papua New Guinea with enormous enthusiasm, and great effectiveness.

As even Gough Whitlam acknowledged, Andrew Peacock in that short period laid the ground work for PNG gaining self-government in 1973, and ensured a bi-partisan approach to constitutional development that was so essential in securing a peaceful and generally widely supported granting of Independence in September 1975.

The great tragedy is that a visionary like Andrew Peacock was did not assume the External Territories Ministry a few years earlier!

While the McMahon Government with his leadership and guidance, and the subsequent Whitlam Government, laid out the right basis for a modern PNG Constitution, a robust parliamentary system, and an independent judiciary, the neglect of key economic areas during the long ministerial oversight of Ceb Barnes could not be made up for in the less than three years between self-government and independence.

But Andrew Peacock cannot be held at all responsible for that. As soon as he assumed the ministry he began a genuine engagement with the emerging leaders of Papua New Guinea, and with the then Pangu Party Leader, Michael Somare, in particular.

He made a wise call, as when the PNG national elections were held mid-1972 a coalition led by Sir Michael Somare, to the surprise of many, was successful.

But by then the neglect of three key areas was simply a task beyond the capacity of the new PNG Chief Minister and his team, and the Australian Government, had gone on for far too long under the Barnes stewardship.

The real areas of neglect were inadequate basic infrastructure development (notably all- weather roads), the broadening of agriculture (including the establishment of a sugar industry) and the proper funding of schools to improve low education and literacy levels.

But what Andrew Peacock did effectively was work in a collegiate way to ensure that the emerging PNG Government had confidence in the genuineness, and the bi-partisan commitment, of the Australian Government, and Parliament, at a critical time.

The debate about whether or not Papua New Guinea was granted independence too early, or at about the right time, continues.

Guided by Andrew Peacock, the Australian Opposition led by Billy Snedden and then Malcolm Fraser formed the view that September 1975 was the right time, and that a bi-partisan approach would serve the best interests of Australia, and its relations with the new nation on our border.

After the 1975, Australian elections, Andrew Peacock, assumed direct responsibility for relations with the newly-independent Papua New Guinea.

When I joined the then PNG Opposition Leader, the late Sir Iambakey Okuk, in mid -1978, as his chief advisor, it was apparent to me that Andrew Peacock was held in the highest possible regard by all of PNG's political leaders.

His five years as Foreign Minister, was a vital period for the new nation. It could not have had a more passionate, or better informed and better connected, advocate in the Australian Government than Andrew Peacock.

Relations have never been as harmonious as they were in that post-independence period. He gets the lion's share of the credit for that and deserves to do so.

When Prime Minister Somare instituted Papua New Guinea's own national honours and awards system in 2003-2004 he resolved to recognise a small number of Australian political leaders who had been Papua New Guinea's best and most genuine friends in Canberra.

It came as no surprise to me that in 2006, Sir Michael Somare awarded PNG's highest honour, Grand Companion of Order of Logohu, to Andrew Peacock. At the time the announcement of the award was warmly welcome across the political divide in Papua New Guinea.

As Andrew peacock's passing in the United States is mourned, I hope that there is special recognition for his unique and remarkable contribution to Papua New Guinea's peaceful transition to Independence is fully acknowledged. It deserves to be!

And I hope that in time the Liberal Party might properly chronicle that contribution as well as the other outstanding roles by Liberals to Papua New Guinea's development and peaceful independence.

If you read most of the history of the Papua New Guinea's achievement of self- government and then independence you would assume it was driven by Labor Governments and Labor Ministers alone.

That is a poor representation of the true story. Liberal Governments, principally led by Andrew Peacock, played a no less important role.

Liberals should be proud of it, and be grateful to the Honourable Andrew Peacock, for his wisdom and his leadership at an important and challenging time.