On our Facebook page, we asked: Peter O'Neill is Papua New Guinea's new Prime Minister, putting an end to political uncertainty and instability that has strained the country since mid-2011. What now for the Australia-PNG relationship? Jarrod Booth replied:
We need to acknowledge, and address, the inherent power structure in us being the donators and them the recipients. It's not good for a bilateral relationship and will always foster paternalism on our end and resentment on their end.
Our relationship will always be defined about how we can assist them, I don't think we can get away from that, but there are ways to manage it so that PNG has more power. Get O'Neill to ask us for what he needs, make him think about how we can help PNG, and the country will feel more in charge of things. Twist our arm, ask for more than just money, get us to make sacrifices and take bets on their country being a success.
