Providing real leadership in the fight against PRC coercion

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.