Australia has repeatedly forgotten its history in the Pacific, and this issue seriously damages its relationships with neighboring countries. Over the past decade, foreign correspondent Shan Dorney pointed out that Australians are ashamed to acknowledge their colonial history in Papua New Guinea. Now, a decade later, a new book by researchers Joan Wallis and Jack Corbett shows that Australia remains indifferent to this legacy. They believe that Australia is experiencing a form of historical amnesia and that a better understanding of Pacific history, which goes beyond the administration of Papua New Guinea and Nauru, could help explain and address the complex challenges of the country's current foreign policy.
Lack of Public Awareness and Its Consequences
This recognition of Australia's historical amnesia is not new, and various voices over time have called for reform of this situation. Numerous studies indicate that ordinary Australians have little knowledge about the history and culture of the Pacific. This gap is just one sign of a lack of "ocean literacy," which refers to the understanding and awareness of ways of life in the Pacific. This deficiency can have real costs for Australia's relations with Pacific countries.
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Forgotten History and the Need for Investment in Education
In 1991, just 16 years after the independence of Papua New Guinea, a parliamentary inquiry observed that most Australians had generally forgotten that they once had a colony. This inquiry revealed that no efforts had been made to raise public awareness about Papua New Guinea, and mutual understanding between the two countries was not as deep as it should be. The media, due to sensationalist biases and ignorance of the realities in the region, have also failed to play an effective role.
Subsequently, in the following years, several committees were formed to address these issues. In 1996, academics like Hank Nelson and Edward Wolfers warned about the declining interest and knowledge of Australians regarding Papua New Guinea and emphasized the need for a deeper understanding of this country in universities, government, and the media. However, this awareness was in decline, and many individuals who had experience living or serving in this colony were aging and disappearing.
Overall, Australia's attention to the Pacific has fluctuated over time, swinging from neglect to intermittent engagement. In 2003, journalist Grim Dauble attributed this cycle of forgetting and rediscovery to a combination of political taboos and public deficiencies.
To overcome this historical amnesia, Australia needs an ocean literacy strategy that focuses on educating ordinary people and empowering them to understand and engage with this region beyond crisis situations. A request made in a report from the Whitlam Institute and Pacifica in 2022 highlighted the promotion of awareness about the Pacific and its languages in schools and universities and called for the establishment of an "ocean capability" strategy. However, the final committee did not provide any official recommendations in this regard.
Ultimately, the cycle of forgetting and rediscovering the Pacific cannot be resolved solely through diplomacy and personal communications. It requires long-term investment in the knowledge and skills that enable ordinary Australians to understand and engage with this region.
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