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Providing real leadership in the fight against PRC coercion

By Jeffrey Wall - posted Monday, 14 June 2021


The Prime Minister was on message when he committed Australia to fighting economic and other coercion in our region. But the time has come to match the rhetoric with real and substantial action and leadership - as the Peoples Republic of China is strengthening its influence, and stranglehold in PNG and the South Pacific.

Before I outline five steps that Australia ought to consider actually delivering with high priority, I want to refer to the latest evidence how dire the position has become.

Last week the PNG Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Soroi Eoe, visited China as guest of his PRC counterpart, Wang Yi. He delivered a statement (attached) which is the most pro-China policy statement I can recall.

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A veteran China watcher tells me the statement reads like it was prepared by the Chinese Foreign Ministry! It is hard to disagree.

Just a few words from the statement ought to raise serious concern in Canberra, and in the PNG Government and community. The Minister said "PNG hopes to deepen exchanges on state governance with China and draw on China's development experience…."

The Minister went on to highlight the very areas I have been warning Australia needed to focus on such as infrastructure, communication, agriculture, and health.

It would be interesting to know what the Minister meant when he talked about "state governance". Perhaps how to punish and isolate minorities, persecute Christians, crush dissent and control the media?

Whatever he has in mind there is one clear message Australia cannot ignore. The PNG Foreign Minister is in the PRC "camp" when it comes to key policy areas. He has not made remotely similar statements with regard to Australia.

I believe there are FIVE ways Australia must urgently consider to halt the side in our influence and our real relationship with Papua New Guinea and other South Pacific neighbours.

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1. Helping Papua New Guinea strengthen its democracy

National elections will be held in PNG in mid-2022. A very recent by election in Moresby North West exposed serious flaws in the elections process. There were allegations of illegal ballots being printed biased polling officials and even bribery.

National elections in PNG are massive events. In many of the 100 plus electorates there will be between 50 and 100 candidates. Campaigning is effectively already under way.

It is absolutely vital these elections, arguably the most important in PNG history, are free and fair in every electorate. In view of the breakdown in law and order and even social cohesion as well as economic decline and the Covid-19 impact the threat to free and fair elections will never have been greater.

Australia usually provides some assistance to the PNG Electoral Commission. That needs to be stepped up massively drawing on the resources of state electoral commissions as well as the Australian Elections Commission.

The priority needs to be helping the PNG counterpart ensure electoral rolls are transparent and that key electoral materials, such as ballot papers, are produced with integrity.

China won't be "helping" PNG deliver free and honest elections! Australia can and must do so. But what China is most likely to do is "meddle" in the electoral process, such as supporting pro-Chinese parties and candidates. That alone is why we must be more engaged in supporting the PNG Electoral Commission than we have done in the past.

2. Offer to take control of key areas of the dysfunctional PNG heath system

As I have recently suggested Australia needs to offer to help PNG restore public confidence in the PNG health system. Poor public confidence is one reason why the vaccine take-up remains a huge challenge. The long suffering people of PNG simply don't trust the health system to deliver the basic care they are entitled to expect.

It is just appalling that one of the worst areas of corruption in the PNG public sector is in the Health Department and health and welfare delivery agencies. It has been chronicled by parliamentary inquiries, media coverage and social media posts. It is arguably as bad as ever.

Australia cannot take over and run the whole system. But we need to offer to make a serious impact. We should begin with taking effective control of the major national hospitals, focussing on Angau Hospital in Lae which serves a large city and provides feeder health services to a significant number of provinces.

We should also offer to take back the delivery of medicines across the nation (which we stopped in 2013 when PNG authorities awarded contracts to a company with limited experience in the field. The result has been a lack of even the most basic drugs and medicines in large hospitals let alone rural health centres.

We have stepped up with regard to Covid testing equipment, and vaccine supplies – but the whole health system has failed resulting in the growth of cases of typhoid, malaria, infant mortality and even polio. If we take over the running of the major hospitals we can make an impact on these and other basic health challenges.

3. Massively boost direct funding for church health and education services

Papua New Guinea is a Christian country. Its Christian commitment is enshrined in the national constitution. More than half the health services in PNG are provided by church-run hospitals and health centres and NGOs such as the YWAM Medical Ships Program out of Townsville.

The PNG churches providing health and welfare services receive limited PNG Government funding. Australia provides very limited direct assistance to them, and to Australian churches working with their PNG counterparts.

The Prime Minister should convene a meeting of the seven mainstream Australian churches with PNG counterparts and offer to substantially boost direct financial assistance, and other resources, to their PNG counterparts. The PNG Government, led by a committed Christian Prime Minister James Marape, needs to be encouraged to fully embrace a greater role for our churches, with Australian Government funding, in supporting church run health centres, hospitals, schools, welfare services and vocational training centres.

I have been focussing on the crisis in the health system, but the state of the education system, especially community schools, is really not much better. Underfunding and poor teacher training and salaries have seen education standards really decline.

Given that ninety per cent of school students in PNG belong to a Christian family increasing direct funding for church schools and other education centres is an immediate and effective way to help restore a dangerously run down system which will have long term social and economic consequences if not addressed now.

4. Force the ADB to award infrastructure tenders via a fair and transparent process

The Australian and Papua New Guinea construction sectors have been effectively sidelined in the awarding of lucrative infrastructure tenders by an indefensible Australian Development Bank tendering process. I have written extensively about this recently. None of the claims I have made have been effectively disputed.

Australia needs to work with other ABD Members, such as Japan and New Zealand, to put an end to an ADB process that awards just about all ADB funded infrastructure projects in PNG to Chinese contractors. China's contribution to the ADB is about the same size as Australia's. Yet it receives over 90 per cent of ADB funded infrastructure and other contracts in PNG.

Australia must use its standing with the ADB to out an end to this practice, while at the same time ensuring all tenders, including those funded by the ADB but awarded by the PNG Government, are determined by a wholly transparent process.

5. Support Australian business and inudstry to enhance investment in PNG, especially with PNG partners

I have been asked by several readers whether one way to reduce China's economic stranglehold on the PNG economy would be to directly subsidise Australian businesses already operating in PNG, and those keen to do so, to form substantial business partnerships with PNG companies and individual entrepreneurs.

I believe it is well worth examining provided it is substantial.

China in really gives PNG little direct and untied aid. Australia gives in various untied forms around $600 million a year. But China cleverly ties up PNG (and other South Pacific countries) through loans that have a commitment to the use of PRC contractors exclusively.

The result is that the PNG construction sector is really struggling and the number of Australian contractors has declined. And so has the banking and finance presence of Australian entities declined to close to zero.

I intend to write more about this idea soon, but as a first step the Prime Minister might direct his ministers and officials to discuss the feasibility of such a programme with the Australia-Papua New Guinea Business Council.

Conclusion

The PNG Foreign Minister might have done Australia a significant favour by being so open about his view on the PNG-China relationship, grovelling though it was!

It is surely a "wake up call" to the federal government.

The Prime Minister in his Perth address and at the G& meeting in the UK has been on message.

But the time has come to match the rhetoric with substantial and practical programmes and projects!

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About the Author

Jeffrey Wall CSM CBE is a Brisbane Political Consultant and has served as Advisor to the PNG Foreign Minister, Sir Rabbie Namaliu – Prime Minister 1988-1992 and Speaker 1994-1997.

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Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

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