Ian Ling-Stuckey, the Treasurer of Papua New Guinea. Photo: Supplied
Papua New Guinea's Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey says successive governments have failed to improve the wellbeing of ordinary citizens, and the country "must learn from the mistakes of our past".
Ling-Stuckey made these comments at the University of Papua New Guinea during the launch of a new book on the country's economic history since independence.
He described the book titled, Struggle, Reform, Boom and Bust, which highlights that living standards have not progressed as expected, as a "profound wake-up call".
He said the book has been too generous in its assessment of PNG's economic performance.
"Using the National Statistics Office estimates of population (12.3 million people in PNG in 2022, not 9.3 million) and the Consumer Price Index lowers PNG's average living standards performance significantly, from 0.4% per annum as set out in the book, to negative 1.3% per annum.
"This is a very depressing statistic. This is a real wake-up call."
PNG is celebrating 50 years of independence this year. The country is one of the most culturally diverse places in the world, home to multiple ethnic tribes and over 800 spoken languages.
Since gaining independence from Australia on 16 September 1975, the country has faced a range of challenges, including political instability, economic and infrastructure underdevelopment and social issues such as tribal conflict and corruption.
"We are deaf if we do not hear these factual realities of historic failure," Ling-Stuckey said.
In 1980, living standards averaged K11,089 per person, in terms of today's kina, he said.
However, more than two decades later, that figure had fallen to just K5903, he said.
"This has been a shameful economic performance."
He explained that the decline from 1980 to 2005 overshadowed the "boom" of the following decade led by late Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare, which only raised living standards to K7380 by 2014.
"The 'bust' of the fourth period, from K7380 to K6483 under Prime Minister O'Neill, is also undoubtedly catastrophic, with a fall in living standards of over 12%. Then COVID made things even worse."
"As we celebrate our extraordinary achievements as the world's most diverse country after 50 years, let us acknowledge that successive governments since independence have failed our people economically."
"We must learn from the mistakes of our past and draw nourishment from our successes. We must reflect on our budget policies and ask what we can do to lift our revenues, particularly from the resource sector. We must reflect on the effectiveness of our government expenditure."
He added PNG must also reflect on the excessive ambition of our plans, rooted in idealism rather than realism.
"We must reflect on our industrial policies and ask if we have learnt the lessons from our past. We must look at the red tape and increased fees that our businesses are complaining about."
Ling-Stuckey is a member of Prime Minister James Marape's Pangu Party, and is currently serving his third term in the PNG national parliament representing Kavieng.
Struggle, Reform, Boom and Bust is free to download from the ANU Press website.
