In his quiet, understated way he showed not only a firm grasp of the demands of political leadership and how they must be met, but also a sophisticated understanding of the geo-strategic position of Papua New Guinea and what it will take to steer a steady course towards the nation’s goals.
Peter O’Neill has a clear view of the country he wants PNG to be and a solid appreciation of what he needs to do to get it there.
That was impressive – a leader with vision and a practical approach to breathing life into it.
As Ben Jackson remarked to me later, “What've we got to do to get a prime minister like that?"
Mr O’Neill also admitted to being a regular reader of PNG Attitude and thanked me and our contributors for their interest and support of PNG. It’s moments like these when I feel like a very proud old publisher…
There were at least four or five good news stories that could be derived from Mr O’Neill’s speech.
But perhaps the most significant was his creative thinking around the regional processing of refugees and illegal immigrants, an issue Australia has been wrestling with unsuccessfully for years.
He said PNG proposes to establish a permanent regional refugee processing centre in Manus and open it up to other nations in the Pacific.
In doing so he reminded Australia that it was not the only country that has a problem with illegal immigrants – “it is also a problem for us,” he said.
I was given the opportunity to ask Mr O’Neill a question and decided I’d seek a response on the role he saw for the Melanesian Spearhead Group in the south-west Pacific.
As part of a discursive reply he mentioned that he looked forward to seeing Australia and New Zealand re-engaging with Fiji as it travels the tortuous road back to democracy.
“We must know,” he said, giving the ANZAC alliance some sage advice, “that, if relationships are not built with Melanesians, we tend to lose interest.”
Mr O’Neill also made reference, in a soft jocular fashion, to the recent Australia in the Asian Century statement by Julia Gillard making no mention of PNG.
“The bilateral relationship is in very good shape,” he said, “but it must not be taken for granted.”
BEN JACKSON WRITES...
PETER O'NEILL said that Australia’s relationship with Papua New Guinea should not be affected by PNG-China relations.
O’Neill was speaking at the Lowy Institute in Sydney and addressed the topic of ‘Papua New Guinea in the Asian Century’ and was optimistic about the role PNG will play in regional relations.
The prime minister expressed the ongoing gratitude to Australia for its foreign aid to PNG, but also praised the People’s Republic of China for their development assistance.
“PNG will always appreciate the support of Australia, but the responsibility of our government is to its people,” Mr O’Neill said.
O’Neill also pointed out that although China is important to PNG for trade and investment, Australia and the USA are the only nations that PNG has a security relationship with.
One point that was revisited several times during the seminar was the allocation of Australian foreign aid, which O’Neill suggested does not necessarily go to areas that the PNG government sees as priorities, such as roads and transport infrastructure.
China is now the second largest contributor of aid after Australia, however it seems that Chinese aid is more likely to be diverted to projects that are important to the PNG government.
O’Neill was statesmanlike in his speech and in the way he handled questions, and also showed pragmatism and a connection to the realities of the region.
No comments:
Post a Comment