PNG tries to put the boot in

PNG tries to put the boot in

It began in March with a diplomatic scuffle over a pair of shoes; those removed from the feet of Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister, Michael Somare, on the orders of security officers at Brisbane Airport. Sir Michael was outraged that Australia could treat a Pacific island leader, in transit to New Zealand, with such "apparent contempt and disdain".

Suddenly, Australia's $800 million rescue package for PNG was suspended, pending an official apology.

None has been forthcoming. Canberra has, instead, assured Port Moresby that security checks are a universal requirement from which no VIP is exempt. The problem is that some groups in PNG are enthusiastically sharing Sir Michael's injured pride. A meeting of PNG police officers this week demanded the immediate departure of some 150 Australian police officers deployed to assist law enforcement under the rescue package, Australia's largest aid program.

The PNG police complained the Australians are "just driving around all day", telling them what to do. A constitutional challenge is also under way which seeks to force out the Australian police by quashing their immunity to prosecution under PNG law. These tensions are not unexpected, but they highlight the unpredictable emotional terrain of Australia's new Pacific policy.

Australia's recent foreign policy shift ties Pacific aid to outcomes. In PNG, this goes as far as putting Australian officials into key positions in the PNG police and economic ministries to ensure Australian money is properly managed. The return of Australian officials to PNG is highly sensitive; Australia was the colonial administrator until 1975.

But there is another side to the story: Australia has invested more than $50 billion in aid since 1975 yet, according to new World Bank figures, Papua New Guinea is the only nation in the Asia-Pacific region which is getting poorer.

Sir Michael is a proud nationalist. He has recently sought to reduce PNG's dependence on Australian aid by courting China, Malaysia and Indonesia. The "good governance" conditions attached to Australian aid are rightly non-negotiable. Diplomatic protocol at Brisbane Airport appears to have been lacking. But that should be a minor irritant, not a bilateral crisis. There is far too much at stake. If the stand-off is allowed to drag on, the only losers will be the long-suffering, ordinary people of PNG. -- The Sydney Morning Herald