unhappy” with

PNG minister “not unhappy” with Jackson Report

Discussions on something over SA7O million worth of new investments in Papua New Guinea occupied minister for industrial development, Karl Stack, during his recent visit to Australia. “If I get just one tenth of what we have been talking about I will be very happy,” he said. “Interest in PNG is now very positive from quite a num ber of middle-range companies looking at establishment of in dustries ranging from cement making, through brewing, ship building and fertiliser manufac ture to hot dip galvanising and textile processing,” he said.

Import substitution was an important aspect of the projects under study, Mr Stack said.

“We have been pointing out that because of the SPARTECA trade agreement between Aus tralia, New Zealand and the Pacific Forum countries that anyone establishing a factory in PNG automatically has open access to two export markets ...

Australia and New Zealand.”

But PNG was looking for new industries, as well, as was made clear, he said, in the

recently-published government

White Paper on industrial deve lopment.

“I met no nervousness among potential investors. Our political stability is good. We have had changes of govern ment without the slightest prob lem. Our party system is based upon leadership styles. No ideological differences exist. We have no communist party; our

village system is a sort of pure socialism, but it is not in any way shape or form commun ism.

“Australian investors to whom I spoke did not ask questions about continuity of investment. It isn’t a question for us. Whoever is in power in PNG there will never be na tionalisation of industry, and nor will anyone be arrogant about investments,” he said.

Mr Stack said he had not been asked about the effect of the difficult situation on the West Irian border, at least so far as it might affect investment.

“Maybe in 100 years Indone sia will kick our arse,” he said.

“I cannot predict that far into the future, but at the moment it’s not seen as a problem for our investors.”

On the Jackson Report on disposition of Australian aid he said he was “not unhappy. I challenge the basis of some assumptions, and I most cer tainly challenge some of the comparisons made, but, overall it is quite fair.”

Later, speaking in Port Moresby, Mr Stack was more critical of the report and pur sued his point about compari sons with more vigor. It was unfair, he said, and wrong, to say as the report did that PNG’s development compared badly with that of some African coun tries. Australian businessmen to whom he had spoken did not seem highly impressed with the Jackson document, he said.