New Guinea Commerce

A reflection of poor leadership as much as poor policy

By Jordan Shopov

Earlier this year, as part of his failed re-election bid, Kevin Rudd famously declared himself “an economic nationalist.” This re-branding exercise followed a string of comments surrounding the state of Australia’s foreign ownership laws, and underpinned part of the Rudd campaign’s dubious effort to win over the more xenophobic elements of Australia’s electorate.

Thankfully, much of the Australian policy community were quick to condemn Rudd’s “policy on the run” for its potential to limit direct foreign investment and hamper economic ties with Australia’s key trading partners. Such nationalist economic sentiment, however, has not been unique to Australia.

Over recent months, Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill, has gradually revealed his own brand of “economic nationalism.” His government has steadily implemented an array of regulatory measures that not only risk derailing PNG’s recent economic progress, but also pose a threat to long term socio-economic development.

Read the rest of this entry »

Why free markets and capitalism are good for the South Pacific

Too often in the South Pacific we hear free markets being described as ‘predatory’ and as an enemy of everyday people.  Capitalism is seen as driving greed and benefiting only ‘elites’ or those with political or economic connections.

But amid these perceptions it is worth stepping back and examining, realistically, some of the benefits of the free market system in the South Pacific.  This can be done by considering three broad points.

Firstly, self-interest is part of human nature.  The desire to think, to choose, to be industrious, and to acquire skill and opportunity are what drives people to do better for themselves and their families.  Some call this ‘greed’ but ‘self-interest’ is more suitable because it includes decent people seeking to earn a living.  Like it or not, the world revolves on individuals pursing their separate interests.

Read the rest of this entry »

This week Australia New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ) released a commissioned report titled Bold Thinking: Imagining Papua New Guinea in the Asian Century.

Written by Port Jackson Partners, the report is a coherent and ambitious assessment of PNG’s economic potential over the next few decades. “PNG,” the report summarises, “has the opportunity to grow resource sector export revenues to four to six times current levels, or US$23 billion to US$36 billion by 2030.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Is PNG’s Westminster system worth keeping?

Sean Jacobs, East Asia Forum, 5 October 2013

The Papua New Guinea Constitutional Law Reform Commission (CLRC) is currently scrutinising the viability of PNG’s Westminster system of government. PNG has persisted with a Westminster system since before its independence in 1975. But no one party has ever won enough seats to rule outright in the single-chamber parliament, resulting in a high degree of political instability, seemingly endless cabinet reshuffles and a series of votes of no confidence. Although Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s 101-seat alliance suggests a recent degree of political stability, it was not until 2007 — three decades after independence — that a PNG government completed a full five-year term in office.

Read the rest of this entry »

This is an ageing but decent podcast from back in 2000 (from the Free Library of Philadelphia) where David Gergen – adviser to four United States Presidents – speaks about great leaders.

Gergen makes two broad points.  First, what appears to distinguish history’s great leaders and Presidents is a keen understanding of history, which enhances judgment and the capacity to make wise decisions.  Winston Churchill, he memorably notes, could see “further forward” because he could look “further back.”

Former US President Richard Nixon will always be remembered by scandal but, according to Gergen, he was a leader who “travelled relentlessly, he learned about other cultures, he learned about their languages, their practices, and what their interests were.”

Read the rest of this entry »

This article is by Chris Guillebeau, author of the $100 Startup.  It’s a book I haven’t read but Mr Guillebeau recommends getting into a routine, which can help you preserve energy for things that matter most.  Making decisions, even if you aren’t aware of them, saps your energy.  It reminded me of a note from Thomas Sterner’s book, The Practicing Mind:

A large part of what makes us define something as work is that the activity requires a lot of decision making, which can be very stressful and fatiguing. This is especially true when the decisions that you are making are very subtle and you are not even aware that you are making them.

A good article by Jason Nazar, founder of Docstoc – an electronic document repository.  Some of the standouts from the list of 20:

• pick an idol and act ‘as if’
• speak up, not out
• social media is not a career (it’s a function of marketing)