Louise Morauta

Louise Morauta (born 1945) is an anthropologist and former public servant in Australia. For many years she taught anthropology and sociology at the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG). She was the first wife of the former prime minister of Papua New Guinea (PNG), Mekere Morauta.

Early life

Louise Morauta (née Hogg) was born in England. She studied at the London School of Economics, where she obtained an BA degree in sociology in 1966 and a PhD in social anthropology in 1972. She carried out the fieldwork for her doctorate in the Madang Province of PNG (at that time the Territory of Papua and New Guinea) in 1968-69 and returned to the area to conduct research on the 1972 national elections, in association with UPNG.[1][2]

Career

Morauta first taught at UPNG in 1970. She was also a visiting fellow at the Institute for Applied Social and Economic Research (IASER) in PNG's capital, Port Moresby. In the 1980s she left Papua New Guinea and joined the Research School of Pacific Studies in the Department of Political and Social Change, at the Australian National University.[2]

In 1987 Morauta joined the Australian Public Service. She became first assistant secretary in charge of the acute-care division of the Department of Health and Ageing. While at the ministry she played a role in the development of Medicare and pharmaceutical benefits and financing in the health sector. She chaired several committees, including one on health insurance and another on pharmaceutical benefits. She was chair of the Jurisdictional Blood Committee (JBC).[3][4][5]

In 2004 she was seconded to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to work on a health task force to examine the interface between state and federal health programs. In 2005 she transferred to that department as a deputy secretary in charge of social policy, health and indigenous affairs, where she stayed until 2008.[3][5][6][7]

Following her retirement from the public service, Morauta was appointed to the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Human Research Ethics Committee, in January 2010. She also served as Director of the Lowitja Institute, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organization working to improve the health and wellbeing of indigenous Australians.[3]

Awards and honours

In 2005, Morauta was awarded the Australian Public Service Medal for work on Australia's health financing arrangements and the supply of blood and blood products.[5]

Publications

Mourata's publications include:[8]

  • 1974. Beyond the village: local politics in Madang, Papua-New Guinea
  • 1979. Rural-urban relationships in Papua New Guinea: case material from the Gulf Province on net flows
  • 1979. Facing the facts: the need for policies for permanent urban residents
  • 1980. Traditional conservation in Papua New Guinea: implications for today: proceedings of a conference
  • 1984. Income, unemployment, and welfare in low-income urban areas
  • 1984. Left behind in the village: economic and social conditions in an area of high outmigration
  • 1986. Law and order in a changing society

References
  1. Morauta, Louise (1974). Beyond the Village Local Politics in Madang, Papua New Guinea (PDF). London: (Monographs on Social Anthropology, No. 49). London School of Economics. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. Morauta, Louise (September 1979). "Indigenous Anthropology in Papua New Guinea". Current Anthropology. 20 (3). Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  3. "Past Directors". Lowitja Institute. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  4. "Annual Report 2007-08". National Blood Authority. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  5. "LSE Magazine" (PDF). LSE. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  6. "Upheavals begin at PM's office". The Age. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  7. "Canberra insider". Financial Review. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  8. "Morauta, Louise". WorldCat Identities. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
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