PNG: more to Australia than just another point on a star
by JOHN GARNAUT Australia hasn’t noticed the cracks appearing in the government of its closest neighbour and biggest aid recipient, and that’s dangerous. When Tony Abbott was trying to steer the conversation away from Bronwyn Bishop, he called a press conference to argue that the Northern Territory should become our seventh state. With desperate times bringing desperate measures, the Prime Minister canvassed the idea of altering his beloved flag. "If the Commonwealth star was to be a seven-pointed star rather than a six-pointed star, that's hardly a massive change," said the Prime Minister, explaining how the territory could be represented alongside the six federated states. One problem with the Prime Minister's attempt at national distraction was that the big star beneath the Union Jack already has seven points. It's been that way for more than a century, since 1908, when the six states made room for the territory of Papua. The bigger problem that A