Australia did their best with PNG. After independence over half the national budget was provided by Australia. Yet the country failed to achieve. Most of the money was wasted or stolen. Hence the attraction of tangible projects that pictures can be taken of. Life expectancy was under 50, illiteracy was rampant, but check out our satellite dishes. Crazy. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
This was a big aid project, bringing modern telecommunications to PNG. It took over four years. So the stamps showing it off went all out. This stamp was one corner of a four stamp bloc. The stamps show satellite dishes, relay stations and helicopters slinging heavy loads up Mt. Tomavatur. If natives ever sent a letter, they must have thought the colonials nuts. They surely were allowed nowhere near it.
Todays stamp is issue A81, a seven cent stamp issued by Papua New Guinea on January 21st, 1973 ahen it was still a colony of Australia. It was a six stamp issue, four in the block and two others. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used. Keeping the block of four stamps together would have increased the value 40% all the way up to $1.40.
Australia at it’s closest point is only 4km from the island of New Guinea. So during World War I, they cleared the area of the former German colony. In World War II, the Japanese landed and it was a much harder slog to clear the Japanese from the island. The campaign cost over 8000 Australian deaths. Natives were uninvolved in either war. Post war Australia rethought it’s defense strategy abandoning fortifications on islands like New Guinea and acquiring aircraft carriers and long range bombers for forward defense.
Still a grave mistake was made on New Guinea. Instead of leaving, Australia turned the place into a colony. Post war this was a new style colony that sought to bring the people up. The World Bank was brought in to design the program. It all this sounds expensive it was and unsuccessful. Hence the lure of silliness like satellite dishes that at least give you something to show for the money spent.
Papua New Guinea became independent in 1975, but Australian aid was still the bulk of the economy. They lucked out in acquiring the services of Prime Minister Sonome. He designed PNG’s development plan because after all driving a car gets you no where if you do not know the destination. Economic activity did not actually get going so in 2011 PNG developed a new growth roadmap. It quoted liberally the failed 1975 plan and still had Prime Minister Sonome to implement it. You can read it here, http://www.treasury.gov.pg/html/publications/files/pub_files/2011/2011.png.vision.2050.pdf . PNG had acquired a leader for life, Africa Style. Australia has finally started scaling back the aid, now “only” 500 million a year. PNG noticed that Australian government spending on Australians have gone up recently and they are annoyed. They recently asked for 600 million in emergency aid from Australia, the new Prime Minister is apparently having trouble fulfilling his campaign promise of making PNG the richest black nation on Earth. When will leaders learn to under promise? He thinks the aid would work better if it was redirected straight to the government. Ha.
Telephones in PNG are not originally a Australian idea. The first phone lines were laid by the Germans in 1905. They connected the 18 phones in the colony. Mount Tornavatur is still home to the satellite dishes and now also hosts cell phone towers. Life expentancy now has made it to 57 and literacy to 70%.
Well my drink is empty and I may have a few more while I contemplate the Australian failure on PNG. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.