The following Editorial was published in "The Guardian", newspaper of
the Communist Party of Australia in its issue of Wednesday, September
24th, 2003. Contact address: 65 Campbell Street, Surry Hills. Sydney.
2010 Australia.
Phone: (612) 9212 6855 Fax: (612) 9281 5795.
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Editorial : Intervention and stand-over in PNG
Australia's interventionist, neo-colonialist and stand-over of Papua New
Guinea and other Pacific Island nations took another step last week with
the visit of Foreign Minister Downer to Port Moresby. He apparently
succeeded in foisting upon the PNG Foreign Minister an agreement that
could lead to the posting to PNG of at least 200 Australian police and
the virtual takeover of PNG Government departments by Australian
bureaucrats.
The Government's step followed the publication in August of a Senate
Inquiry report into Australia's relations with PNG and other Pacific
Island nations. The Senate Committee that conducted the inquiry, with
three Labor Party Senators among its six members, made no declaration of
support for the sovereignty of these states.
Its principle recommendation called for the establishment of a "Pacific
economic and political community" which could involve establishing a
common currency "preferably based on the Australian dollar" and a
"common labour market and common budgetary and fiscal standards".
The report makes clear that the economic policies already foisted on all
the Pacific Island states that have already had disastrous consequences
are to continue.
In its submission to the Senate Inquiry the ACTU at least recognises
this truth. It said: "The IMF/World Bank policies which have lead to the
privatisation program relating to PNG airlines, harbour facilities, the
national bank, and water and electricity utilities . have not achieved
the stabilising economic, political or social results promised".
Unfortunately the ACTU did not offer the Committee any alternative
policy proposals.
The Australian Government's policies are to be enforced by the use of
Australian police, financial bureaucrats, auditors and possibly military
force as is already happening in the Solomon Islands. One daily
newspaper report warns that, "If left alone, PNG may require military
intervention."
Last week's "negotiations" were accompanied by threats that Australian
aid would be cut. A Sydney Morning Herald article said "A senior
Australian Government source admitted some aid programs may be cut if
PNG did not agree to the initiatives [of the Australian Government]".
The real value of Australian aid has been seriously challenged by PNG's
Prime Minister Michael Somare and by PNG's National Planning Minister
Sinai Brown who says that most of the aid was returning to Australia.
Australian managers, contractors and equipment are brought in for
specific projects, and then flown out upon completion, overlooking local
communities, he said.
Oxfam in a recent statement said that eight cases investigated by it
showed that Australian-listed mining companies operating in Indonesia,
PNG, the Philippines and Peru had contributed to increased conflict and
instability in local communities.
"We have communities that have complaints in terms of the use of
security forces against them involving violence or even in some cases,
killings", said Oxfam spokeswoman Ingrid Macdonald. "We have complaints
about forcible relocation from land and evictions without compensation".
The Australian Government on the one hand raises the spectre of
"transnational crime", the use of the Island states as terrorist havens,
and the alleged corruption in their police and governments and claims
that Australia's intentions are to "help", "assist" and "protect their
security and stimulate their economies".
These bland statements of good intentions are contradicted by the
reality. "Transnational crime" is in fact being committed by the
Australian, Japanese, Malaysian, French and other corporations that are
ripping out the mineral resources of the island states, despoiling their
timber resources without regard for the environment and stealing the
land of the Indigenous people.
The consequence is the impoverishment of the people, massive
unemployment, displacement from land and the breakup of communities.
There is much noise being made by Australian politicians about "good
governance". The Senate Inquiry report says, "Current good governance
programs are often based on Western modes which downplay the significant
rights entrenched in many Pacific Constitutions." The report then
proceeds to ignore this statement and calls for the establishment of
institutions identical to those in Australia and arrogantly declares
that, "If these mechanisms are in place, law and order will emerge".
The report also says, "It is essential that public sector reform is
carried out in conjunction with programs to assist private sector
development".
And that's what it is all about - securing the interests of the big
private corporations while privatising public sector enterprises and
services.
Such policies will only, as they have done elsewhere, worsen the
situation for the people of the island states.
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