PNG's success unequalled in western Melanesia

Since 1975, PNG has endured episodes of political chaos and disorder – some of them so bizarre that they might have inspired airport novels. Corruption appears to have become increasingly pernicious, affecting all levels of government. Health and education service delivery, particularly in the remote islands and hinterland, has fallen below internationally acceptable standards. But PNG's post-colonial narrative makes far happier reading than the equivalent sagas of Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Nauru, and Vanuatu. Indeed, compared to countries farther afield that won their independence around the same time, PNG stands a beacon of democracy and progress.

A less likely candidate for successful independence than PNG could hardly have been imagined in 1975. The country's rugged and impenetrable interior meant that colonial rule barely existed fifty years prior. The idea or concept of national identity or belonging was non-existent. Over 800 languages are spoken on the mainland and the scattered islands, and village allegiance or wantok ranks above all other loyalties. It has been remarked that the Westminster-style governance model bestowed on PNG by Australia was completely inappropriate for a country of such linguistic and cultural divides. But it has proved to be a reasonably durable model, if needing a few legislative tweaks to reduce the frequency of changes of government.

The very characteristics that made PNG such an unlikely democratic prospect – its diversity of languages and cultures – might be said to have been its greatest check and balance against the emergence of a strongman or demagogue. Nonetheless, wantok allegiances have manifested themselves in ugly ways, including cronyism, separatism, and bitter disputes over the division of proceeds from natural resource projects.

One such project, the Panguna copper mine, sparked an armed independence struggle on Bougainville in the late 1980s. When Australia rebuffed PNG's calls for military support to put down the rebellion in 1997, prime minister Julius Chan's government hired a group of mercenaries to help the PNG Defence Force do the job. The deal became public knowledge, and after a tense standoff between police and PNGDF soldiers, Chan resigned.

Fourteen years later, in 2011, an even stranger standoff occurred when the PNG Parliament disqualified prime minister Sir Michael Somare as an MP for missing three consecutive sittings, appointing Peter O'Neill in his stead. Sir Michael, who had been recuperating from heart surgery in Singapore, returned to Moresby claiming that he was still the country's leader. The Supreme Court ruled his removal had been "unlawful" and that he should be reinstated. The Governor-general declined to act, however, triggering a constitutional crisis and the bizarre spectacle of two rival administrations vying for the loyalty of parliament, the courts, the police and the military.

If the crisis appeared to indicate an irredeemable weakness at the heart of PNG democracy, subsequent events have shown otherwise. Peter O'Neill was declared the legitimate prime minister after the 2012 election, ushering in an unprecedented period of political stability. His term has also coincided with strong economic growth, particularly in the resources sector. The development of liquified natural gas projects in the Southern Highlands and Western Provinces, and the signing of export deals with Australia and Japan, should result in hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties and taxes flowing into government coffers in coming years.

Ensuring this revenue is directed at those people who need it and not siphoned off into the pockets of corrupt politicians and their cronies will not be straightforward, however. PNG's anti-corruption capabilities remain hobbled not just by insufficient resources but by a lack of will among some individuals wielding political and economic power.

Australia has an important and continuing role to play here, for PNG's endemic corruption will only be curtailed with our help and expertise.

The nation-building challenges that PNG has successfully overcome in 40 years have been significant, and with Australia's continued help and encouragement, there is every prospect that the country will continue to thrive politically and economically.