living
NATIONHOOD
40 years of Independence Then, the Government-owned telephone network was pretty basic. Now, the mobile phone penetration is astounding, with hundreds of mobile phone towers enabling connections to even some of PNG’s most-remote villages. One of the most ambitious recent changes is the introduction of free education. It is a signature policy of the current PNG Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill. He says his aim is to reform the whole education process in the country. “We are allowing tuition-free education for our young from elementary school all the way up to Year 12,” he says. “And now we are embarking on a loan scheme for students similar to that in Australia to enable them to undertake tertiary education.” Paul Barker from the privately funded think tank, the Institute for National Affairs, says that while PNG has had its difficulties and problems it has survived. “Some people had forecast that the country would fall apart, that it would be chaotic from an early period. But to its credit, despite being
84 Paradise – Air Niugini’s in-flight magazine
Field of dreams … big crowds gathered for the Independence activities and ceremonies in Port Moresby in 1975.
extremely diverse culturally, physically and geographically and a very expensive place to provide and deliver services, it has stayed together as a single state. It’s obviously had its conflicts – in Bougainville notably – but by and large the country has stuck together. It still adheres to democratic principles albeit that they are a variation on what some would expect to be the norm.” Titi Gabi, a journalist who is the general manager of the online news service PNG Loop, does not discount the challenges PNG faces but urges people to appreciate how dramatic the journey has been. “We have gone from walking to flying!” she says. “Straight – from walking to flying in one direct hit. There are now a lot of educated Papua New Guineans and highly educated Papua New Guineans today in a lot of fields. That’s one big plus. We have pilots flying passenger jet aircraft in the Middle East making a name for themselves and for the country. That’s amazing when you think back to 1975.”