Amid the escalating trade war provoked by the White House, including tariffs on steel and aluminium, the Australian public also seems to want leadership that can directly reckon with Trump’s challenge…. Polling conducted by Australian public broadcaster ABC found that more than seven in 10 Australians thought Trump’s actions will leave them worse off financially, while a majority no longer viewed the United States as a reliable security partner.

Three months into Trump’s second term, 66% of Australians said their country could no longer count on the United States and needed to further develop its own military capacity. That figure last June was under 40%. The shift in attitudes has had a direct effect on the election. One-third of voters in Australia — where voting is mandatory — said they were less likely to vote for the conservative opposition leader Peter Dutton because of their views about Trump.

Dutton, not unlike Canada’s Poilievre, was ahead in the polls just before the start of Trump’s presidency. He embraced Trumpian rhetoric about wokeness, campaigned on a platform of immigration restriction, deregulation and slashing of the federal government, and positioned himself as a change candidate at a time when ordinary citizens were chafing under rising costs and housing prices….

Building an AI-driven finance set-up
| Peter S Kinjap | Condensed

PNG is stepping into the future. One good example is Nasfund, Papua New Guinea’s leading superannuation company. At a recent conference, its CEO Rajeev Sharma shared how it uses an AI-powered system to manage invoices. In the past, staff had to check every invoice by hand. Now, AI does it automatically — saving time and reducing mistakes. This means Nasfund can serve members better, with less paperwork.

AI in financial technology can:

• Help farmers get mobile loans faster
• Let teachers get paid on time through smart systems
• Make it easier for students to apply for school fee support
• Allow local businesses to track spending and pay bills more easily
• Help government avoid double payments or missing records

We don’t need to build everything at once. The government can start by:

• Setting up a small National AI Taskforce
• Choosing one or two departments to pilot AI projects
• Partnering with universities, banks and companies like Nasfund
• Hosting PNG’s first AI Innovation Festival — to inspire young minds and showcase local talent

This is how we can build a smart PNG — with technology made by our own people, for our own future. AI is not science fiction anymore. It’s already working in PNG. Nasfund has shown us that. The next step is for the government to take the lead, build the right infrastructure and help more people benefit from this smart technology.

PNG anti-corruption efforts stall
| Transparency International PNG

In February, Transparency International released the results of the 2024 Corruption Perception Index that scores and ranks countries based on perceptions of their public sector corruption. The index revealed that Papua New Guinea continues to struggle with a high perceived risk of public sector corruption, scoring just 31 out of 100.

We are calling for action and for the PNG government to demonstrate its firm and unwavering commitment by empowering national anti-corruption agencies and providing adequate resources to integrity institutions. The index, which reflects the views of economic experts and business people, highlights the urgent need for the government to take meaningful action against corruption.

TIPNG's chair, Peter Aitsi, noted that the failure to address corruption has led to the recent Financial Action Taskforce grey-listing PNG, with serious repercussions for international banking and the nation's credit rating.

During the release of the index results, we emphasised that corruption directly impacts the lives of ordinary Papua New Guineans by preventing access to essential services like quality education and healthcare, reducing economic and income opportunities and undermines public trust in the government.

We are calling for action and for the PNG government to demonstrate its firm and unwavering commitment by empowering national anti-corruption agencies and by providing adequate resources to integrity institutions. The Corruption Perception Index, which reflects the views of economic experts and business people, highlights the urgent need for the government to take meaningful action against corruption.

Peter Aitsi noted that the failure to address corruption has led to the Financial Action Taskforce recently grey-listing PNG, with serious repercussions for international banking and the nation's credit rating. Earlier this year we emphasised that corruption directly impacts the lives of ordinary Papua New Guineans. It prevents access to essential services like quality education and healthcare, reduces economic and income opportunities and undermines public trust in the government.

We are calling for action and for the government to demonstrate its firm and unwavering commitment to:

1 - empowering national anti-corruption agencies
2 - providing adequate resources to integrity institutions
3 - acting on the Financial Action Taskforce recommendations
4 - Increasing transparency and accountability in government operations, including the enactment of a Freedom of Information Law.
5 - promoting a culture of integrity within the public sector through strengthening codes of conduct, ethics training and promoting a merit-based system and ensuring that competence and integrity are valued above all else
6 - fostering collaboration with civil society, the private sector and international partners.