On 16 September 1975 Papua New Guinea gained its independence, but how well did Australia prepare its former territory for that day?

On this week’s Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Nicholas Ferns to unpack the ideology and policies known as ‘developmentalism’ – Australia’s concerted attempt to help its neighbours achieve the same level of economic prosperity & political stability enjoyed in ‘the lucky country’.

Nicholas Ferns is an ARC DECRA Research Fellow in History at Monash University. He is a historian of development, empire, and decolonisation with a particular focus on Australia’s role in the Asia-Pacific region. His first book, Australia in the Age of International Development, 1945-1975, examined Australia’s colonial rule in Papua New Guinea and foreign aid policy in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. He is now working on his second monograph, which examines Australia’s relationship with the World Bank and its impact on development and decolonisation in Australia and Papua New Guinea.