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Column H – March 05

Aiding Security

In 1993, the Government of Australia through its international aid agency (then AIDAB) funded a capacity building project with the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC). The project comprised 52 advisers and was originally costed at about $79M AUD. This was the largest project ever implemented in PNG by AIDAB and reflected the recognition by the PNG and Australian governments of the importance of improving police capacity in that country. The project was the second phase of assistance to the RPNGC and was followed by a third phase which commenced in 2001 and which is scheduled for completion in 2005. Apart from a relatively small training program in the Solomon Islands in 1992 (implemented by the Australian Federal Police) PNG was the frontier for Australian aid projects (implemented by Australian Managing Contractors) with police agencies.

The assistance to the RPNGC provided an invaluable learning curve for AusAID and the Australian contracting community. Included in the key lessons learned in PNG was the need to utilise civilian specialist advisers in support of key administrative support areas of police organisations such as HRM, finance, logistics and strategic and corporate planning. This has been incorporated in all subsequent projects. The successful application of the development assistance model to police in PNG saw additional projects scoped and developed in Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Samoa, Vanuatu, Cambodia and most recently East Timor. In addition, a regional program was developed for the Pacific Island nations with a focus on those not already the subject of specific projects.

Accompanying the increasing assistance to police agencies was the evolution within AusAID of the sectoral approach to delivery of assistance. This principle became incorporated initially into the Cambodian and Solomon Islands projects as they were being designed producing a Law and Justice sector approach under the even broader umbrella of Governance. While the move to sectoral projects was reflective of international changes to delivery of assistance it is equally relevant that the need for this approach was well demonstrated in PNG where the lion’s share of support had been provided to police with significantly less applied to the judiciary and prisons.

Through its initial activities in PNG and from the lessons learned there and in other countries AusAID had refined its approach producing the sector wide model as an “ideal” while still retaining the capacity to work with individual sector agencies where applicable particularly in collaboration with other development partners who may be working in the sector. (AusAID has now moved to a Law and Justice sector Program approach in PNG)

The impact of the terrorist attacks on the United States has resulted in a significant shift in Australian foreign policy and our relationships with our near neighbours. This was first demonstrated in the Solomon Islands where the breakdown of law and order and government resulted in a more interventionist form of support. While initially, the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) co-existed with the AusAID development assistance project to the law and justice sector, specific development assistance to the Royal Solomons Islands Police (RSIP) has now been withdrawn and the international police within RAMSI have assumed responsibility in line positions within the RSIP. Similarly, future police specific support in PNG is to be provided by the AFP through the provision of Australian police (approximately 200) in line positions over a five year period.

While the requirement for intervention in the Solomon Islands is acknowledged, the need to sustain some form of capacity building within the RSIP cannot be ignored. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than in PNG immediately after independence. The RPNGC leading up to and immediately post independence was largely managed by ex-patriot police officers who understandably saw their role as one of managing rather than developing their RPNGC counterparts. Even in the mid nineties, some key administrative areas within the RPNGC were still managed by ex-patriot contract officers. More recently, critical assessments of United Nations support to policing in post conflict environments have very clearly identified the ineffectiveness of short term support by international police in building capacity in police agencies, particularly in administrative support areas.

Regional security needs will require Australia to support its near neighbours as they continue to strive for economic and social development and stability. Accordingly, the support should include the building of capacity for this to occur rather than simply providing the capacity. While the development assistance or capacity building model is seen by some as ineffective ( PNG is often cited as an example), this criticism fails to recognise the long term nature of the approach and the numerous environmental influences and constraints faced by police agencies in developing countries.

Bernice Masterson

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