Heed PNG's plea to realign development focus
By Sanjay Bhosale Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill's call for a thorough rethink of Australia's aid policy towards his country deserves serious consideration. On his first visit to Australia since his re-election in August, O'Neill delivered a thorough assessment of PNG-Australia relations and expressed his desire for a change in direction for AusAID. Addressing the National Press Club on November 28, O'Neill began with a complaint about the Australian media's coverage of PNG. ''It frequently disappoints me that journalists with most limited knowledge about Papua New Guinea describe my country as a failed state or a failing state. This is just simply, totally wrong,'' he said. ''I have no problems with journalists being critical of my government or my country. There are times when we deserve it … but such sweeping claims are harmful and quite frankly they are also very hurtful.'' O'Neill's grievance is just