Publication

This paper examines political and security developments in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the implication of these for Australia. PNG is reaching for a golden era of economic growth, supported by a new round of gas, copper, gold and nickel exploration. The challenge for the government is how much of the natural resource wealth can be legally harvested to confront the appalling problems of health, education and infrastructure that put PNG in the lowest rank of the developing world. This analysis examines four areas where Australia has been both a player and a partner to discuss the dynamics of this most intimate of neighborhood relationships.