Impact of British Colonial Methodology on Australian Policymakers in PNG

21.12.16

Impact of British Colonial Methodology on Australian Policymakers in PNG: This essay does not assess the efficacy of new colonial ideas in PNG, but instead explores the inspiration behind them. The forerunner for these new ideas was British planning, therefore by looking at how they implemented their development policies in Africa-through a series of case studies- a more thorough understanding of what eventuated in PNG can be made. If shown in its best light, PNG was little more than a well-regulated paternalistic police state or, at its worst, an exploitative colonial outpost used for little more than a security buffer. New theories of human rights pushed along by British liberal doctrine aspired to eradicate ‘privilege’, promote equal rights and raise the standard of living across the Empire. This essay will highlight the role of the Fabian society on British domestic and colonial policy, and how, by a process of permeation infiltrated existing institutions to disseminate enlightened principles of administration . In some ways it is surprising that Fabians supported Imperial rule, after all, colonialism is often regarded as an extension of capitalist markets. However Fabians accepted, and actually called for, what they described as a Socialist Commonwealth of “public spirited Imperialism” .