A 25th, or silver, anniversary tends to be an occasion for both celebration and reflection. Both activities are apt when, as on the occasion of Papua New Guinea’s 25th anniversary of independence, silver itself has contributed significantly both to national revenue, as the third most valuable metal export, and to one of our greatest national tragedies, the violent conflict in Bougainville between 1989 and 1997.

The broad scope of this book on state and society in Papua New Guinea enables the author, Dr R.J. (Ron) May, to draw attention both to some of Papua New Guinea’s greatest strengths and achievements and to some of our shortcomings since independence. It also provides an opportunity to explore some of the links between them – a vibrant constitutional democracy and enormous economic potential, especially in agriculture and the resources sector. The accuracy and pertinence of the author’s observations are made all the greater because of the way that they draw on his two academic specialties, economics and politics.

In an essay written to explain Papua New Guinea to an Australian audience after 10 years of independence (reprinted here as chapter 2), Ron May writes of ‘Port Moresby and the Bush’. In doing so, he refers indirectly to an old Australian dilemma – Sydney, especially (or some other Australian capital city), ‘or the bush’. At the same time, he draws attention to the reality that, for almost all Papua New Guineans, even those who have lived longest in towns, the focus of life is still Port Moresby, Lae, Mount Hagen, Rabaul, Wewak, etcetera ‘and the bush’, or home.

In fact, even for the longest-serving Members of Parliament, including myself (I have been elected and re-elected for an unbroken 33 years), national politics and government in Port Moresby are only aspects of political life and public affairs: the clan and village, the local-level government ward where they are located, and (especially since the provincial government reforms) the District, the Province, and sometimes the region are also very important.

The various studies that make up this book recognise the diverse arenas in which Papua New Guineans pursue different interests as well as our national destiny.

In doing so, they draw on the author’s detailed research in my home province, East Sepik; his work on the challenges of micro-nationalism; his practical experience in helping to set up two important national institutions, the Bank of Papua New Guinea and the National Research Institute (formerly, the Papua New Guinea Institute of Applied Social and Economic Research); his consultancies to government; as well as his knowledge of other developing countries, especially the Philippines. They also provide a glimpse into his appreciation of the arts in Papua New Guinea, both traditional and modern.

I am, therefore, pleased to introduce this book, which brings together a quarter century of Ron May’s scholarly work on Papua New Guinea on the 25th anniversary of independence. Our views have not always coincided, though I appreciate the independence, clarity and knowledge with which the author has expressed his. I continue to value his learning, his contributions to mutual understanding with people in other countries, especially Australia, and his critical analyses of significant events and trends in development.

I commend this book to everyone interested in Papua New Guinea, both for the insights it provides into the first quarter-century of Papua New Guinea’s independence and as a valuable stimulus to national self-examination.

Sir Michael Somare, known throughout Papua New Guinea as ‘the Chief’, was Chief Minister of Papua New Guinea from 1972 to 1975; the first Prime Minister from 1975 to 1977, and Prime Minister from 1977 to 1980 and 1982 to 1985; as well as a senior Minister in subsequent Governments. He was re-elected Prime Minister in 2002.