Two Christmas gifts Australia might offer the people of Papua New Guinea

2. Offer to begin the process of rebuilding the nation's major hospitals – including modernising facilities and equipment, and locating experienced Australian doctors, nurses and administrators to skill and upskill Papua New Guinean health workers who do an outstanding job often with long delays in getting paid, and being forced to use inadequate and unsafe equipment.

3. The process could begin with the Angau Memorial Hospital in Lae. Australia paid for several new wards this year – but the hospital remains under enormous pressure. Angau could provide "feeder" health services to smaller hospitals and health centres across half a dozen or more provinces.

The total cost of this program, in the first year, could be met for less than $300 million. But it would need to be targeted and properly monitored. And the PNG Government would have to commit to ending corruption and waste in the public health system as part of the "gift" being accepted.

The second area we might offer a "Christmas gift" is in regard to two of PNGs most important agricultural products – coffee and cocoa.

Recently the PNG Agriculture Minister proposed the establishment of a government run marketing and export "system" for the nation's agricultural production. He perhaps inadvertently let the cat out of the bag when he commented that China would like to take close to half of PNGs coffee exports but could not do so under existing free enterprise export arrangements.

China would be delighted to buy the stated 20,000 bags of PNG coffee but at what price??

Australia needs to get in first – and offer to take up to half of PNGs coffee exports and do so at international price levels, something China would not do.

There is growing evidence in many countries linked to the PRC Belt and Road debt agenda are "encouraged" to prioritise exports to China as part of their agreements.

That is not yet happening in Papua New Guinea, despite the growth in Belt and Road loans. But it is clearly not far away judging by the Agriculture Ministers comments.

Australia could offer to buy, at world prices, up to half of PNGs coffee and cocoa production and ensure it gets to the Australian market via subsidised freight. That would eventually benefit PNG growers, the majority of whom have been afflicted by poor infrastructure and the prevalence of crop disease because of poor extension support services.

In return Australia could use some of the remaining aid budget to provide subsidised fertiliser to PNG growers – as an incentive to improve crop quality.

The PNG coffee and cocoa industries have been in decline for years. Coffee production today is barely half what it was 30 years ago….yet in 30 years the population of Papua New Guinea (and especially the rural majority) has more than doubled!