Christianity in Papua New Guinea may gain national religion status

The Christian churches in Papua New Guinea are one of the great "hopes" for the nation, and the nine million people, at the most difficult times in its post-independence history.

Today Papua New Guinea faces a Covid-19 virus crisis that is far worse than almost anyone in authority is prepared to acknowledge, or fully address. The economy is in dire straits with only limited prospect of improvement during 2021. And as a consequence of the poor economy, and possibly the spread of Covid-19, crime is rising rapidly in a number of urban communities, including gang lawlessness in once peaceful centres such as Alotau and Rabaul-Kokopo.

The influence of Christianity, and the Christian churches, is one of the few hopes for better times ahead. But the churches need a significant boost to state funding (and even Australian development assistance funding) for the vital health, school education and vocational training they provide.

Constitutional status might enable the churches to exercise more "clout" in not only securing the funding they have been promised but also the increase they need to meet the desperate welfare and family life challenges they confront on a daily basis.

But they are going to need to be encouraged to do so by a listening government, and frankly by regional neighbours who see Christian churches as part of the solution, not part of the problem!

The other obvious advantage of declaring PNG a Christian country is that it will infuriate the Peoples Republic of China which remains unrelenting in its efforts to minimise Australia's influence in PNG.

So far the PRC, and its agents in PNG, have generally avoided confrontation with the mainstream churches but there can be no guarantee that will continue, especially as China is increasingly funding schools and training centres where Christianity plays no part.

Declaring PNG a Christian country may also wake up a few national leaders, and provincial leaders, who seem to be doing the PRC's bidding at every opportunity.

The Australian Government should be prepared to embrace the benefits declaring PNG a Christian country will open up.

Until the arrival of the Abbott Government, and Julie Bishop as Foreign Minister, in 2013 limited Australian development assistance programs in PNG, and elsewhere in the Pacific, were delivered through the Christian churches.

What needs to happen now is for the federal government to significantly, and urgently, expand its engagement with the Christian churches, and church-based agencies, in meeting the enormous challenges facing the "community of Papua New Guinea". I deliberately say "community" for in many parts of our neighbour it is only the churches who are delivering basic school education, health care, vocational training and family life support programs.

It is nonsense for Australia to minimise engagement with the one great entity holding PNG together – the mainstream Christian churches. The very opposite needs to be the case – that engagement needs to be increased.