Speech
Opening Address by at the Australia-PNG Ministerial Forum
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 15 November 2002
Building Stability, Security and Growt
It is a great pleasure to be back again in Port Moresby.
I congratulate you and your colleagues on your success in Papua New
Guinea's recent elections and also on your appointments to the ministry.
I would also like to extend a particular welcome to representatives
of the business community -- we look forward to talking with you.
As our Prime Minister said during his visit to Port Moresby in August,
Australia and Papua New Guinea are the very closest of friends.
Papua New Guinea is our nearest, largest and most important partner
in the South Pacific, and we have long-standing ties.
Some six to seven thousand Australians live and work in Papua New
Guinea, and we are major trading and investment partners.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of some of the battles
in the New Guinea campaign during World War II, notably on the Kokoda
Trail.
It is not too much to say that the campaign to defend Australia was
fought largely in New Guinea.
This is another reason why your country has made an indelible mark
on Australia's collective memory, and on our national psyche.
We also share many common interests – not least of which is to build
a more secure and prosperous South West Pacific region.
At today's Ministerial Forum I want to reaffirm how important Papua
New Guinea is to Australia.
This Forum is an important meeting, at a crucial time.
The world, and our region, faces the scourges of terrorism, people
smuggling and other trans-national crimes, as well as the threat of
weapons of mass destruction.
We have to work together, especially in the Asia-Pacific, to address
these issues and achieve a safer and more stable region.
As your Prime Minister has acknowledged, Papua New Guinea also faces
tremendous challenges.
The next decade will be a testing time for Papua New Guinea, and
will be crucial to its future.
We do not underestimate the difficulties that lie ahead.
- Papua New Guinea faces growing
external debt.
- The country's population is growing
rapidly.
- Essential services and infrastructure
badly need expanding and rehabilitating.
- Young people in urban and rural
areas need job opportunities.
- Papua New Guinea's tremendous
natural resources are not yielding the benefits they should – petroleum
resources and many mines will soon reach the end of their operational
lives.
- HIV/AIDS is having a devastating
impact.
The new government of Papua New Guinea has moved to address some
of these issues.
We particularly welcome the apparent determination to continue rebuilding
the economy, to work with the international financial institutions,
and strengthen investor and business confidence.
We think the Treasurer's supplementary budget was an impressive and
important first step in addressing the budgetary difficulties your
government faces.
The Australian Government has given its wholehearted support to Papua
New Guinea's reform efforts.
We know there are some very tough decisions to make, and we know
that there are no easy or short-term solutions.
Economic adjustment and reform will take time, and the process will
be painful – but it also is essential to long term growth and development.
Australia has been supporting change, and therefore the social and
economic development of your country.
In recent years our assistance has amounted to over K2.5 billion
(A$1 billion).
- Government to government financial assistance has totalled $193
million.
- Financial and material support for restructuring the defence force
amounts to $35 million.
- Strengthening capacity in key institutions, such as the Treasury,
has been an important part of our assistance.
- We have supported peace keeping efforts in Bougainville and strengthened
our cooperation in the Torres Strait.
- The international financial institutions, in particular the World
Bank and International Monetary Fund, have heard Australia advocate
Papua New Guinea interests.
- And, importantly, we have an ongoing annual aid program of some
$300 million.
Australia is here to work with you for the long haul.
We are willing to help the Papua New Guinea Government implement
the supplementary budget, develop a budget for 2003, and prepare for
an IMF and World Bank program.
We also are prepared to look at re-focusing of our bilateral aid
program – in terms of where, when and in what order our resources
are directed – so that adjustment and reform are most effective.
Of course, it is only worth Australia's while providing such assistance
when Papua New Guinea commits to working with the international financial
institutions … to implementing a credible fiscal and development strategy
… and to undertaking meaningful reform.
The confidence of international financial institutions, bilateral
donors, and international investors in the Papua New Guinea economy
is at stake.
Without that confidence, economic recovery will be almost impossible
to achieve.
We share the PNG Government's view that the process of adjustment
and change must go on: it will be a long and tough process – but it
is essential to development.
I would like to say also a few words about the Bougainville peace
process.
Great progress has been made in achieving peace on Bougainville –
the August 2001 Peace Agreement reflects great credit on both sides
of this tragic conflict over the past ten years or more.
I know that there is considerable concern about the pace at which
weapons are being disposed of.
I can only urge both sides to redouble their efforts, so that civil
authority can be restored and the people of Bougainville can set about
rebuilding their province, and their future.
______________________
Ministers, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen
If my message is stark, it is because of the extent of our genuine
concern about Papua New Guinea's current state, and outlook.
Fortunately Papua New Guinea has talent and goodwill, reflected within
the new Somare Government, that bodes well for reform.
It will only be with such reform that Papua New Guinea can re-emerge
with all the promise inherent in your physical and human resources.
The challenge before us is to ensure that support for economic adjustment
and reform can be engendered and sustained not just within Government
but also more widely.
It is vital that support be strong in the civil service, in parliament,
in the defence and police forces, in business and, ultimately, within
the wider public at large.
Australia and other donors can help, but we can only do so much.
As I said earlier this morning we will remain a reliable friend and
partner, and we will respect and support the decisions your government
makes for genuine change.
In the end, however, success will depend on the commitment and effort
of the government and people of Papua New Guinea.
I look forward very much to our ministerial discussions today, and
to the opportunity to cement relations with the new Somare Government,
and to share perspectives on our common future.
Thank you.
This page last modified:
Tuesday, 19-Nov-2002 15:59:02 EST
Local Date:
Sunday, 07-Sep-2008 17:07:24 EST
