For as long as the camps were running, nothing else mattered. Regimes were propped up. Corrupt businessmen were paid. The rule of law was debased. Countries were left to teeter into bankruptcy.
This was Australia’s calculation: whatever happens in Papua New Guinea or Nauru is fine, so long as they continue to keep our secrets, so long as they agree to keep storing our refugees.
Both countries became less democratic in the time they ran Australia’s detention centres. Both saw corruption flourish and mismanagement go unchecked. Australia knew this and did nothing. In some cases, the government encouraged it.
It is in this context that Papua New Guinea’s prime minister, James Marape, addressed Australia’s parliament this week. He is the first Pacific leader to do so.
“These have all been our challenges, but as I visit you today, I ask you – do not give up on Papua New Guinea,” he said.