A few weeks ago we hosted three authors from PNG and asked: What do we need to think about for the future of the Australia-PNG partnership?
Papua New Guinea will celebrate 50 years of independence in September. This is a natural point for leaders on both sides of the Torres Strait to take stock.
So, this week we’ve asked the same question – but looked in the mirror.
Across these two editions, all of our authors have asked that both PNG and Australian leaders confront what isn’t working and find ways past ‘weary cynicism.’ And there is a clear call to build – or, perhaps, rebuild – a broader-based relationship.
When we think about the future shape of PNG, we should imagine a country with a population approaching contemporary Australia’s, led by a new generation who take their independence for granted and who are inclined to be selective in their international dealings. It will continue to enjoy unmatched resources but will remain confronted by major development challenges.
So far PNG has shown a resilience that has proven the doomsayers wrong. It’s survived civil war and a pandemic, held elections regularly, and people still speak truth to power. But there’s also corruption, a weak, male-dominated political culture, poor security, and failed health and education systems. Its developmental immaturity makes it vulnerable to the influence of autocratic China.
Australians need to understand that it’s never been our job to ‘fix’ PNG. We arrogantly judge our performance there as if it is, but only national leadership can transform the country. Australia’s main job is to protect its own interests, working relentlessly to ensure it remains partner of choice. The aid program is only useful if it is valued in PNG. This needs work. We can be confident about what else we have at our disposal, from our close defence ties to a plethora of personal, educational, sporting and commercial links.
And let’s not be distracted by others’ failures. The sky won’t fall as the US retreats from constructive engagement in the region. It has never delivered anyway. No other nation is as serious about PNG as Australia.
The weary cynicism that has crept into Australian thinking about PNG won’t help us in the years ahead. We must remember that prosperity and stability for our neighbours is in our own interests.
Mr Kemish is a former senior Australian diplomat and corporate executive. He is the founder and managing director of Forridel, an international strategic advisory firm, and chairs a number of not-for-profit organisations including the Kokoda Track Foundation in PNG. He is also an adjunct professor in History at the University of Queensland, a Distinguished Advisor at the ANU National Security College, and a Director of the Australia-Indonesia Centre at Monash University. Mr Kemish was the Australian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea from 2010 to 2013. Mr Kemish had a range of experience within Australian foreign policy, including as a Prime Ministerial Adviser and Ambassador to Germany, before moving to the private sector. Ian’s book The Consul provided an insider account of international crisis management by the Australian consular service. At the Lab, we love Ian’s thoughtful insights on Australian diplomacy and international development in a challenging international environment.
Much has been made, especially in recent years, of Australia and PNG’s familial ties. In a speech last year, PNG PM James Marape referred to Australia as a “big brother or sister”, echoing ‘family -first’ language from successive Australian Prime Ministers in describing the relationship.
In an era of heightening geostrategic competition, though, the idea of ‘family’ has become less about vibes and more about binding security arrangements. From the 2023 Bilateral Security Agreement to the recent NRL deal, it is clear that we are entering into an increasingly securitised partnership model that enshrines our specific commitments to each other in black and white. .
But what does security even mean for the future of the Australia-PNG relationship?
If we must securitise the partnership, let it encompass an expanded definition of security that prioritises the everyday experiences of citizens in both countries. This includes climate insecurity. Australia and PNG share a similar elevated exposure to climate change-induced disasters, and will increasingly need support from each other as in the 2019-20 Australian bushfires. It also includes gendered insecurity – an estimated two in three women in PNG, and one in three women in Australia, have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. The shared challenge of gender-based violence is one that could benefit from collective solutions.
Bringing this security conversation from the geostrategic to the interpersonal level would not only secure development outcomes for both nations, but also strengthen what will always be the core of the relationship: people-to-people links between Australia and PNG.
Dr Baker is a highly regarded researcher and expert in Pacific politics. Her research focuses on women’s leadership and political participation, electoral reform, civic knowledge and citizen engagement. She has research experience in Papua New Guinea (including Bougainville), the French Pacific, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu. Her book Pacific Women in Politics: Gender Quota Campaigns in the Pacific Islands was published by University of Hawaii Press in 2019 and won the 2021 APSA Carole Pateman Gender and Politics Book Prize. At the Lab, we’re huge fans of Kerryn’s work, and credit her as one of the most exciting and impressive thinkers on Pacific politics and geopolitics in Australia.
Papua New Guinea and Australia are joined by proximity and history, not culture. Many Papua New Guineans view Australian engagement as substantial but often remote. To many Australians, violence and governance concerns are paramount; they know little of their neighbour.
Linkages, based on genuine exchange, are therefore critical. Australian state-level linkages are sometimes most relevant. Diversified links in education, technology and research are key. New players and sustained partnerships - alongside cultural exchanges - are needed. Additionally, long-term economic and legal connections build expertise and confidence. Policing requires a stronger operational focus, drawing more on the principles underpinning the exemplar Defence relationship. And shared initiatives addressing violence can be scaled up.
Travel between the countries should expand. Visa reform could underpin this. Assuming the NRL initiative is an opportunity for Papua New Guineans to share with Australians, liberalising visas is a corollary. Exposing more Australians to PNG is a further priority. Beyond exchanges, expanding coast-based and high-end tourism is one option.
Existing investment serves economic and national interests but there are also opportunities for diversification, for example in agriculture, digital services and specific sub-regions. The contrasting demographics of the two countries can be a major plus.
For most of their shared history, Australians were in all corners of PNG. An all-of-country approach is critical, including through development, religious, commercial and security activity and presence. The approach requires reciprocation. Intensive cooperation in the Torres Strait remains a priority. Australia should be proactive in supporting third party facilitation with regards to Bougainville’s future status. And trilateral cooperation in the Papua New Guinean, Indonesian and Australian border region would be a worthwhile investment for the future.
Mr Davis is the former Australian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea. He served as High Commissioner from 2015-2020. Mr Davis also previously served as the Vice-President of the Asian Development Bank, Deputy Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum and was the Director-General of AusAID from 1999 to 2009. Mr Davis’s extensive experience across Australian foreign policy in the Pacific gives him unique insight into the 50th anniversary. At the Lab we love the breadth with which Mr Davis thinks about Australia’s relationships.
