Could Papua New Guinea have become Australia’s seventh state? And would that have saved us money on an NRL franchise?

On Afternoon Light #153 Georgina Downer speaks with Dr Brad Underhill to discuss how PNG was once an Australian territory. After years spent trying to foster development and ‘prepare a nation’, independence came suddenly, reluctantly and possibly prematurely.

Dr Bradley Underhill is a research fellow in Deakin University’s School of Humanities and Social Science. An expert in the history of Papua New Guinea, Brad recently co-edited a special edition of Australian Historical Studies exploring the subject. His forthcoming book, Preparing a Nation?: The New Deal in the Villages of Papua New Guinea, will tell the story of the post-war development of PNG.