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