Pacific Magazine > Magazine > April 27, 2008

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Campaign For Change

Dame Carol's Plans For Social Transformation In PNG

By Samantha Magick, Sydney

Dame Carol Kidu campaigning here during the 2007 national election, is now campaigning within Cabinet for change.

A conversation with Papua New Guinea's Dame Carol Kidu is like listening to someone weave a bilum with words. Like a bilum-the traditional Papua New Guinea bag known for its ability to stretch to carry enormous amounts of goods-Dame Carol's vision for her work and Papua New Guinea is complex and all-encompassing. But its many strands, if successfully woven together, would make a strong and useful whole.

Dame Carol talks fast, and moves fast. She is adamant this is her last term in politics, and has set herself a list of things to achieve that would daunt many.

One of her goals is to help see through the process that would get more women into Parliament, initially through nominations and later by election, saying she was shocked that she wasn't joined by more women after last year's election. "I genuinely thought that perhaps the preferential system would have helped them (women) but it made no impact."

Cabinet is considering a paper submitted by Dame Carol that invokes a section of the Constitution to allow for the appointment of parliamentarians by nominated process. She suggests there be six-four women and two from other special interest groups.

"For me personally I will not be standing again and I think it's really important that we break this perception of me being 'Mama Bilong Papua New Guinea'. I just find it's awful you know, there are many Papua New Guinean women, indigenous women, far more qualified than me to be good members of Parliament."

Dame Carol has suggested the four women nominated to Parliament should go through a robust selection process that would involve recognized women's organizations, a bipartisan committee and a vote on the floor of Parliament-and that this happen in 2009.

"I see these four nominated seats as an intervention only. I think in the end we have to have a process by election not by nomination, because there are some women themselves who do not support the idea of nomination, they want an elected process, an elected process in which both men and women will vote.”

"I'm optimistic," Dame Carol says. "There are certainly people who have spoken out against it, the Speaker of Parliament himself has spoken against it, but the Prime Minister has publicly made a commitment, the Leader of the Opposition has indicated his support for the process and the Deputy Prime Minister has supported the process, so I am optimistic.”

As Minister for Community Development, Dame Carol is also acutely concerned about how to translate Papua New Guinea's strong recent economic performance into benefits for the wider community. Papua New Guinea's GDP grew by 3.7 percent in 2006, mainly fueled by the minerals and gas sector. But the country still rates poorly in terms of many development indicators.

"Sometimes it can be a disadvantage to be such a rich nation in terms of natural resource if the focus is on developing those natural resources without developing the people to manage the process and the changes that will come as a result of it. It can sometimes be disastrous. There will be some people moving ahead very rapidly but there can be an increased marginalization in society as a result of those benefits and royalties... not being utilized well by the landowners."

Dame Carol has spent time working with her department to develop a policy framework which she says is focused on "strengthening the family and the community unit."

What Dame Carol calls the "integrated community policy" is aimed at linking effective and existing community work with government—and encompasses sports for development, early childhood and youth and women's policies.

And while turning policy into action is something she sees as a long term project, that will involve "a generational change," Dame Carol is also looking to what she can contribute once out of Parliament.

"I think Melanesian culture has a lot to teach the world" she says, identifying globalization as perhaps the biggest challenge facing the Pacific Islands region.

"It's as big a threat as colonization, because it has no end.

"How do we define our Melanesian future, how do we as a region face globalization, rather than as individual nations? I'm concerned that in PNG, there is this pressure towards more and more breaking us apart and provinces calling for autonomy. Do we change to a federal system and can we so bold as to work towards a Federated states of Melanesia or a Melanesian Union? I am concerned about how we face the forces of globalization, and those things interest me a lot."