HERVEY FORSYTHE

Keith Jackson at 80, January 2025

RICHMOND VA, USA – For those just tuning in: PNG Attitude is a blog covering Papua New Guinea affairs. It was founded and is run by Keith Jackson AM, a notable Australian journalist with deep ties to PNG.

This blog serves as a hub for news, opinion pieces and cultural discussions about PNG, featuring contributions from both PNG citizens and international writers, mostly Australians, with an interest in PNG.

DDA WATCH
| A branch of the Act Now! civic advocacy group

PORT MORESBY – The new corruption perceptions index (CPI) figures, released on 11 February by Transparency International, highlight Papua New Guinea’s failure to deal with widespread corruption.

PNG is classified as having a ‘high perceived risk of corruption’ which has shown ‘no meaningful progress’ in anti-corruption efforts. It is the worst ranked country in the Pacific Islands region and ranks 127th out of 180 countries globally.

KEITH JACKSON
| With thanks to Oceanic Arts Society

NOOSA – In late March, Scene Theatre in Sydney will present Worlds Alive, public readings of plays never seen before in Australia including one by Papua New Guinean playwright, the late Nora Vagi Brash.

Event organisers secured permission from the Vagi family to include in the event Which Way, Big Man?, a comedy about PNG’s transition to independence, and The Amazing Adventures of Omai.

KEITH JACKSON
| With thanks to Lindsay F Bond

NOOSA – I don’t know if you’re on to this but Earth may have a visitor on the way that will cause a bigger bang even than the Trump- Musk combination.

Asteroid 2024 YR4 was discovered just last December and has become a major focus for astronomers due to its potential collision risk with Earth in 2032.

EDDIE TANAGO
| Act Now!

At an ACT NOW! media conference Eddie Tanago (left) talks with Paul Barker of the PNG Institute of National Affairs

PORT MORESBY - Transparency International recently released its 2024 Corruption Perception Index revealing that Papua New Guinea is still languishing in 127th place out of 180 countries with a CPI score of 31 out of 100, the worst in the Pacific region.

At least in part, this abysmal result reflects PNG’s complete failure to tackle widespread forest crime, despite the establishment of the Independent Commission Against Corruption and repeated promises from the government.

PHILIP FITZPATRICK

Phil Fitzpatrick on patrol in the Star Mountains, early 1970s

TUMBY BAY - When I was training to be a pikinini kiap (cadet patrol officer) at the Australian School of Pacific Administration in 1967 - and had developed a more thorough understanding of what I was getting myself in for -  I acquired a few reservations about the whole exercise.

Despite the semantics which distinguished Papua as an Australian territory and New Guinea as a United Nations trust territory (rather than simple colonies), I was in no doubt that Australia’s role was a colonial one with many of the features, good and bad, of similar regimes in places like Africa and Asia.

JUDITH WHITE
| Culture Heist | Extracts

Extract from video installation 'You' by Khaled Sabsabi

TWEED HEADS, NSW - The board of Creative Australia (formerly the Australia Council) has betrayed its mission by enabling censorship and gross political interference in the arts.  Its members must resign or be sacked.

On 13 February, five days after Lebanese-born artist Khaled Sabsabi was appointed to represent Australia at the next Venice Biennale in 2026, he was unceremoniously dumped by the board.

NEWS DESK
| Bougainville News

Speaker of the Bougainville Parliament, Simon Pentanu

BUKA – The Speaker of the Bougainville House of Representatives, Simon Pentanu, has announced the official dates of the 2025 Bougainville general election.

Mr Pentanu said writs will be issued on Monday 7 July in accordance with Section 107 of the Bougainville Constitution.

PHIL AINSWORTH
| PNG Association of Australia | Edited

John Mills and Clive Troy, December 2010

SYDNEY - Clive Troy – who has died in Sydney aged 87 - was a leading light in the Papua New Guinea Treasury, a successful entrepreneur in the Philipines and a man always ready to lend a helping hand, especially if the project involved PNG.

He was born in Wollongong, New South Wales in 1937 and completed his education at Warwick in Queensland before, in 1955, being appointed to a position in the Department of Treasury in Papua New Guinea.

MICHAEL KABUNI
| Academia Nomad

USAID has been responsible for half of long-term foreign assistance by the US government

PORT MORESBY - Whilst there’s much talk about the potential impact of cuts to USAID on the Pacific Islands, in the case of Papua New Guinea I cannot point to a specific USAID project and say with confidence it has transformed lives.

This is not a criticism of USAID. The quality of life in PNG is not the responsibility of foreign countries and donors. We Papua New Guineans get that.

IAN LING-STUCKEY
| PNG Minister for Treasury

State Owned Enterprises Minister William Duma,  Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey and Foreign Affairs Minister Justin Tkachenko,  Hilton Hotel,  Port Moresby,  December 2024

PORT MORESBY - The recent announcement of a K1.4 billion budget support loan from Australia is good news for Papua New Guinea.

The Australian loan interest of 4.2% is only half the rate of the expensive commercial loans pursued by the former O'Neill government of 8.4% plus high up-front costs in fees.

PAUL OATES

The Australian flag comes down, 16 September 1975 (National Archives of Australia)

CLEVELAND - Fifty or so years ago, many of us who worked in Papua New Guinea and were acquainted with its new leaders had mixed feelings about what seemed to be a rush to independence.

In 1975, there was certainly hope for the future and good wishes for our Papua New Guinean friends. But there was also a feeling that what was offered to PNG was a sugar coated pill that contained a more bitter reality.

PETER S KINJAP

Peter Kinjap explains Bitcoin at one of his frequent seminars

PORT MORESBY - Crypto (cryptocurrency) is digital money that exists only online. It’s not like kina or toea that you can hold in your hand. Instead, it’s stored on a computer or smartphone.

The best known crypto is Bitcoin but there are many others – Ethereum, Solana, probably hundreds more.

BUSA JEREMIAH WENOGO

Fifty years ago - the leaders of PNG's independence coalition: Thomas Kavali, Michael Somare, Julius Chan and John Guise

PORT MORESBY - The recent passing of Sir Julius Chan has prompted me to reflect on the life and journey of the founding fathers of Papua New Guinea, especially their work to establish a new nation.

I am reminded of the Spanish-American philosopher and essayist, George Santayana, who said: “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it”.