Foreign Minister Downer risks inflaming

Foreign Minister Downer risks inflaming tensions with Papua New Guinea over Australia’s hardline aid policy when he reads them the riot act tomorrow. Michael suggests we are ‘disrupting’ PNG’s sovereignty while our government is suggesting that corruption is incompatable with aid and the money is for the people, not the PNG ministers holiday homes in Cairns. I trust it will eventually sink in to PNG and all the other small Pacific nations we help – receiving aid from Australia has certain responsibilities associated with it. Update: Reader Dave points to a political development in PNG and leaves some good links in ‘comments’.