SYMPOSIUM: PNG TODAY - AND TOMORROW?

Friday 27 May, 2011

Papua New Guinea is ‘on the cusp of an extraordinary economic, social and political transition, one the country has not seen since gaining independence from Australia in 1975’ - Rowan Callick, The Weekend Australian, 25 March 2011.

Papua New Guinea’s place and status in the Pacific region is undergoing a historic shift through its growth in population and the development of its natural resources. Papua New Guinea is undergoing dramatic change.  In 2011 its economy is likely to grow faster than China’s.  Unprecedented economic growth generated by PNG’s mineral-resource wealth is set to continue into the medium term. Projections suggest PNG’s population could reach 20 million by 2040, further enhancing the country’s prominence and relative weight in the Pacific region.  The communications revolution has arrived in PNG and has the potential to further alter social structures.

For Australians, this transition will require our own transformation.  How should we respond to PNG’s growing influence in the region? The future shape of Australia’s relationship with PNG depends in part on our understanding of these changes and the opportunities and challenges they present for both PNG domestically and the wider region. Yet, Australian university interest in teaching and research on the Pacific has waned in recent years, while the Australia-PNG bilateral relationship has matured and diversified.

At the invitation of the Hon. Richard Marles MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, the Alfred Deakin Research Institute, with the support of the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), held a symposium entitled Papua New Guinea Today — And Tomorrow? to help reacquaint  Australians with PNG, and its relevance to Australia. The one-day symposium, involving more than 100 participants from business, government, academia and the wider community, was held at Deakin’s Melbourne City Centre on Friday 27 May. 

View media release for this event. 

The Alfred Deakin Research Institute's Research Chair in International Development, Professor Mark McGillivray argued that resource riches need not be a curse for PNG; and Senior Research Fellow, Dr Jonathan Ritchie spoke about the race against time to capture the ‘story’ of PNG.

Program

Download Symposium Abstracts (801 KB)


Symposium Convenors
Professor David Lowe
Dr Jonathan Ritchie

To obtain further information regarding this event, please contact  the Alfred Deakin Research Institute on +61 3 5227 1464 or at adri-events@deakin.edu.au.