Strike #2 coming up - but change is more than removing a PM
01 November 2018
PORT MORESBY - Gudpla sindaun na bel isi. Settle down and take it easy. Change is more than just changing faces.
Our people want change but change is more than just removing a prime minister.
Our people want change. However it’s not just the change of personalities but a holistic change that will improve their livelihood and wellbeing.
Such change does not just come from removing a prime minister but from redefining Papua New Guinea’s model of development. It’s about social, economic, political and cultural reform that will create an inclusive and just society.
It is about a development pathway that empowers the people of Papua New Guinea so the people and not politicians lead the country into a brighter future.
To replace some individuals with other individuals without redefining the underlying model of development is a band-aid solution.
Public policy for instance should not be dictated by large multinational corporations that claim to be ‘developers’ at the same time they bring misery to local communities.
Wholesale changes to the philosophy of government, investment in human capital and institutional reform are needed alongside changes to faces.
We do not blindly support the opposition's calls to boycott, we also intend to set the development agenda of Papua New Guinea.
Strike 2 – which I coming up soon - is part of our push as citizens of PNG to articulate an alternate model of development where the rich don't get richer at the expense of the poor.
I don't think you can avoid the issue of replacing bad people with good people to get the outcome you desire, Martyn. The good people will be the drivers of whatever changes you want to make.
O'Neill and his cronies may not necessarily be inherently bad people. What they are is bad leaders. They are the wrong people for the job at hand.
They neither have empathy for or an understanding of their own people. Just like our lot in Oz, they have been captured by power and money and that influences how they govern.
Create a manifesto and select leaders capable of carrying it out I reckon.
Posted by: Philip Fitzpatrick | 01 November 2018 at 09:03 AM