Australian Aid to PNG - AusAID

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• Increased PNG public access to and confidence in the Ombudsman Commission,reflected in the 100% increase in complaints over the life of the project.• Heightened community awareness of electoral matters.• Strengthened capacity within the National Statistics Office, enabling thesuccessful planning and conduct of the 2000 national census.• Helped PNG to better control the movements of people into and out of thecountry through installation of computerised migration control systems in PortMoresby and in overseas missions in the 1990s.• Developed relationships between central government agencies and theirstakeholders inside and outside of government, as well as with relevant agencieswithin Australia.• Improved the operational and institutional capacity of the Taxation Office,resulting in increased tax revenue, despite serious project implementationproblems.• Provided flexible and responsive advisory support across all aspects of governmentplanning and administration.• Improved macroeconomic forecasting capacity within the Treasury.• Developed new superannuation legislation.• Introduced initiatives to streamline revenue collection procedures within theTreasury.• Improved customer servicing within the Bureau of Customs and Excise, resultingin more timely revenue collection and fewer defaults.• Sustained improvement in customs and excise processing and operations in PortMoresby.Institutional strengthening support and capacity building assistance is nowbeing provided across all central public sector agencies, with a particularemphasis on supporting public sector reform. In addition, Australia’s aidprogram is actively engaged in strengthening government at a provincial levelin a range of areas, but particularly in the management of public funds. Giventhe recency of most of these initiatives, and the long-term nature of capacitybuilding, it is not yet possible to identify broader impacts of Australian aid, orto assess the likely sustainability of the governance reforms being introduced inthis sub-sector in Papua New Guinea. Nevertheless, a range of shorter termbenefits can be identified which, if sustained, are likely to contribute toimproving governance in Papua New Guinea.An important recent initiative has been the attempt to introduce incentives-basedprograms that encourage and strengthen good government. The Papua NewGuinea Incentive Fund was established in 2000 to assist organisations thatdemonstrate excellence in program management and financial accountability to40 The Contribution of Australian Aid to Papua New Guinea’s Development 1975–2000
deliver community and public services. Early reviews 20 of the two streams of theFund 21 have been positive about the concept of the Incentives Fund and thepotential for using incentives to motivate behaviour change in Papua New Guinea.5.2.3 CIVIL SOCIETYAustralia has consistently supported the development activities of nongovernmentorganisations (NGOs) in Papua New Guinea since independence.Since the late 1980s, this support has been extended to other communitydevelopment initiatives, as well as support to strengthen human rights, labourrights and other industrial relations matters. To a much smaller extent,Australia has also provided support for private sector development, particularlythrough micro-enterprise development, but also in assisting with trade policydevelopment. In recent years, support for the development of civil society hasincreased markedly. By enhancing community awareness and participation, it ishoped that this support will facilitate better public scrutiny of governmentpolicies and practices over time, ultimately contributing to improvinggovernment accountability in Papua New Guinea. Since 1999–00, Australianfunding for community and private sector development activities has averagedA$7.7 million per annum, compared with an average of A$2.5 million perannum over the previous decade (1989–90 to 1998–99). In addition to theseamounts, substantial assistance has been channelled through NGOs to supportpeace-building efforts on Bougainville, particularly since 1996.The largest activities, the Community Development Scheme (CDS) and theBougainville NGO Project, have been operating since 1996. In its first phase,the CDS succeeded in delivering grants to small NGOs, church, or communitybasedorganisations in all provinces, including in rural locations beyond thereach of other existing schemes. It was also able to achieve an equitabledistribution of available funding, including the active participation of women.Overall, the final report of Phase I concluded that the impact of the fundedprojects had been overwhelmingly positive on participating NGOs and recipientcommunities. The longer term viability of many of these small groups remainstenuous, and Phase II of the CDS is focused on developing strategies to promotesustainability. Australia has also provided training for more than 800 people insmall business and micro-enterprise training programs, located throughout ruralPapua New Guinea as well as in urban settlements of Port Moresby.20 Draft Report of Independent Review of the PNG Incentive Fund, AusAID, September 2002 and Draft Review ofIncentives and the Australian aid program, Program Evaluation Section, AusAID, December 2002.21 The PNG Incentive Fund has two components – a Program stream which, at the time of Review, had funded19 awards totalling K121m and a Policy stream that approved four awards, all in the Health sector, totalling K2m.The Contribution of Australian Aid to Papua New Guinea’s Development 1975–2000 41
Page 5 and 6: BOXESBox 3.1 The Dutch Disease in P
Page 7 and 8: FOREWORDAs part of a broader focus
Page 11 and 12: programs to improve living standard
Page 13 and 14: sector since independence, 65% has
Page 15 and 16: 1 INTRODUCTIONThis report provides
Page 17 and 18: Figure 2.1 Real GDP per capita in P
Page 19 and 20: 1985 1990 1995 2000PNG HPC LIC LMC
Page 21 and 22: significant strain on the budget an
Page 23 and 24: • Improved central coordination a
Page 25 and 26: Connell (1998, pp. 311-2) highlight
Page 27 and 28: y the successful mobilisation of cu
Page 29 and 30: 3 INTERPRETING THE DEVELOPMENT ANDG
Page 31 and 32: The estimated increase in private c
Page 33 and 34: 3.4 Reconciling the Growth and Deve
Page 35 and 36: 3.5 Implications for AidTo summaris
Page 37 and 38: Although the precise extent of the
Page 39 and 40: program saw a decline in the overal
Page 41 and 42: criticism that the withdrawal of Au
Page 43 and 44: Ministerial Forum found that real p
Page 45 and 46: management for Papua New Guinea, ov
Page 47 and 48: 5 THE IMPACT OF AUSTRALIAN AID INPA
Page 49 and 50: • Improved retention rates at sch
Page 51 and 52: • Achieved operational efficienci
Page 53: policing are being introduced, alon
Page 57 and 58: BOX 5.5 HEALTH IMPACTS OF AUSTRALIA
Page 59 and 60: also improved 24 , and there is evi
Page 61 and 62: 5.5 Renewable ResourcesIn total, Au
Page 63 and 64: Land Use Management• Established
Page 65 and 66: New Guinea needs donor financing fo
Page 67 and 68: only assist within the context of t
Page 69 and 70: Both within sectors and more broadl
Page 71 and 72: However, it seems reasonable to arg
Page 73 and 74: useful to document the findings of
Page 75 and 76: ANNEX A EVOLUTION OF AUSTRALIAN AID
Page 77 and 78: ANNEX B SECTOR BREAKDOWN OF AUSTRAL
Page 79 and 80: 8 REFERENCESAhai, N., 1988, The Dev
Page 81 and 82: Garnaut, R., and Baxter, P., 1984,
Page 83 and 84: Growth Strategy, Final Report, prep

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