KEITH JACKSON'S PNG ATTITUDE

PNG has failed its people: Julius Chan

PNG has failed to live up to promises made in 1975 for improving the quality of life of its people, says former Prime Minister and New Ireland Governor, Sir Julius Chan.

“We have not provided the health care, the education and the infrastructure that we should have provided,” he has told a conference.

He said, according to the World Bank, the country has fewer aid posts today than it had at independence.

“We know the condition of those that are still open. They have no power, most have no clean water supply and many have no housing for our health care workers.”

Sir Julius said PNG has also failed to improve access to education.

“Our primary and elementary schools are falling apart. We do not have basic textbooks in the schools, we do not have decent toilets for our children, we do not have decent teachers’ houses and often we do not even have the teachers because housing is so bad that they cannot live in it,” he said.

Sir Julius said the country’s infrastructure was no better.

“We used to have roads that we could travel on but they have not been maintained for 10 or 15 or 20 years. Our roads have gone bush and our people cannot get to market to generate income,” he said.

Sir Julius said huge amounts of wealth had been generated but the people had suffered.

“That is not development. That is not progress. That is failure, pure and simple,” he said.

Source: ‘Quality of PNG life still not improved’ by Grace Tiden, PNG Post-Courier, 8 December 2009

Huge resource project will transform PNG

PNG’S huge liquefied natural gas project was given the green light in Port Moresby this afternoon.

Venture partners, including Oil Search and the global giant Exxon Mobil, and the PNG government signed the deal for the $10 billion project at a ceremony at Parliament House.

The plan to pipe gas from the highlands to Port Moresby for export to Asia is forecast to double PNG’s gross domestic product and create thousands of jobs.

The deal is expected to deliver $35 billion in revenue for the PNG government and affected land owners and is predicted to have a transforming effect on the PNG economy.

Inspector Huggins cracks the MvM plaque

The Montevideo Maru Memorial Committee’s recent submission to the Federal Government mentioned that there is a small memorial plaque at the Brisbane General Post Office commemorating three Rabaul-based wireless technicians of the Postmaster-General’s Department who died on Montevideo Maru: Wilfred Leonard Duus of Brisbane; Hedley Turnbull of Laidley; and TM Plunkett. COLIN HUGGINS sallied forth in search of the plaque, and reported on the adventure.

The plaque - to find it....

John Holland, Brisbane PNGVR historian, did give me a pretty good clue about where to look, but initially I couldn’t find it, so around and around that building I went - almost into the restricted zone!

I ventured into the private mail boxes - all the time thinking, someone is going to pat me on the shoulder and ask what on earth I’m doing. Seems to prove that security isn't all it is beefed up to be. If anyone looks like a possible terrorist, I fit the bill.

However I had my story ready for them if patted on the shoulder - the 44 page Montevideo Maru submission to the Government.

Just as I was about to give up, I found it.

P.M.G’s

DEPARTMENT

CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES

TAKEN PRISONERS OF WAR

WHILST ON DUTY

DIED IN ENEMY HANDS

WORLD WAR II – 1939-1945

DUUS W.L

PLUNKETT T.M.

TURNBULL H.F

The plaque is located on the right hand side of the building as you walk through to St Stephen's Cathedral - at the back of the front pillar.

I saw the very old paper seller at the front. He knew of the plaque, but had no idea what it represented. So I did my best to inform him. I spoke to a few other people, too.

So, hopefully, when they read something in the newspapers of the Montevideo Maru disaster, they will know what it is all about.

Whatever happened to those Kavieng computers?

Back in late August, PNG Attitude appealed to readers for help in transporting six sets of computer equipment to Kavieng Hospital.

The equipment had been assembled over a number of months by Dr Alan Lawford, a general practitioner in the southern Sydney suburb of Arncliffe.

He was responding to a request for assistance from a colleague at Kavieng Hospital.

Within 48 hours over 50 readers provided advice on how this equipment could be transported free or at minimal cost from Sydney to New Ireland.

“I am gobsmacked by the plethora of great suggestions from your friends who are in turn friends of PNG,” said Dr Lawford at the time.

“It is overwhelming that this could generate so much interest in these well wishers of PNG.”

Well, we identified an organisation that could deliver the computers – Rotary International.

And this week nine boxes of equipment left Sydney en route to Kavieng, where they will arrive early next month.

Many thanks to those people who assisted.

PNG: Time for all the good men to associate

BY PAUL OATES

“When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle” - Edmund Burke 1729-97)

David Ulg Ketepa asks on his blog why crime is increasing in PNG.

PNG inherited and enshrined a legal system and has laws that are the equivalent of those in any modern state. These laws derive from the PNG constitution.

In practice, however, it seems the constitution has been compromised by the use of political power.

The Office of the Ombudsman - arbiter of correct parliamentary practice – has been either unable or unwilling to act on complaints against political malpractice, burying responsible government in PNG.

There are many instances where the PNG Ombudsman could and should act. The Moti Report, Taiwan millions, missing public funds, forestry concessions and many other cases have all been canvassed in PNG Attitude.

Furthermore, the use of the Speaker of parliament in a tactical political way has effectively created a rubber stamp for the Somare cartel when any debate proves contentious.

So to crime. If PNG leaders ignore the law, why should their people not do likewise?

The long awaited Commission of Inquiry into Financial matters produced an 800-page report, so far effectively ignored.

Crime is like a rotten apple in a barrel. Unless detected and excised early, it spreads its toxin, eventually turning the whole barrel rotten.

In PNG, lawlessness has become a national disease. There are daily news reports of serious breaches of law and order, yet the government does little about it.

The government has lost control of large areas of the country, but is in denial or does not appear to be concerned.

It has been observed that crime is 95% opportunity and 5% intent. Urban drift, lack of employment, poverty and a sense of hopelessness all combine to promote the conditions for crime and violence.

Without effective control, those who see the opportunity for easy money will take a chance.

The Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary has just been given a pay rise but this seems more to guarantee police loyalty than to combat crime.

The PNG government is implicated in many shady deals; the opposition can do nothing; the institutions enforcing probity are weak; the people are denied accountability and effective law and order; and the police force is under-manned and outgunned.

The answer to David Ketepa's question is another: 'Why should we expect crime in PNG to be decreasing?'

And if Edmund Burke was alive today and living in PNG he would surely be asking, ‘Where are all the good men?’

An inquiry, a misunderstanding and a good read

The House of Representatives standing committee on petitions met on Wednesday and two of the petitions under scrutiny concerned the sinking of the Montevideo Maru and the burial places of missing troops who fought in PNG in World War II.

You’d probably be of the view that parliamentary proceedings are, by and large, not likely to be put on your preferred reading list. But the committee exchange, which you can download, below took an interesting turn or two – and I think makes compelling reading.

The parliamentarians in attendance were chair Julia Irwin, Dick Adams, Russell Broadbent, Darren Chester and Maria Vamvakinou.

Appearing before them as Defence Department witnesses were Group Captain Henrik Ehlers, Director of Air Force Coordination, Brian Manns, Manager Unrecovered War Casualties and Brigadier David Mulhall, Chief of Staff, Army Headquarters.

In the course of his evidence, Brig Mulhall said that he believed the Army may have found a copy of the missing Katakana roll, believed to be the most reliable record of the prisoners who may have been on the Montevideo Maru when it was sunk.

If this was so, it would be a momentous discovery. The roll was brought back from Japan soon after World War II – and went missing. It has never been located.

“Right now we are in the process of trying to verify the authenticity of that document,” said Brig Mulhall. “That is being worked on actively and we hope to be able to give some advice in due course.”

Unfortunately, the brigadier was mistaken. While the hunt for the roll has gathered pace in recent times – and researchers believe they may be getting closer to it – it has still not been found.

But there was much more to the inquiry than this misunderstanding.

For example, here’s Brian Manns talking of searching for missing troops in PNG:

“Locations rely almost invariably on local PNG citizens finding them. In fact, I am going to Port Moresby this week to bury three Australians that have been identified through our program.

“Invariably it is local individuals. In most of the smaller rural communities in [PNG] they have a subsistence style of living, and they move and establish new gardens.

“Once one garden peters out, they move and establish another garden and it is not unusual for them to find remains. One of the sets of remains that we have been working with in this last PNG group of cases was actually found by somebody digging a well.

“So a lot of the remains that are found nowadays, particularly of soldiers, are there because the original battlefield burial sites for whatever reason were obliterated.”

You can read the Hansard transcript here.

Poor little rich kid PNG set for LNG take off

The $16 billion ExxonMobil liquefied natural gas project in PNG is likely to be approved on Tuesday, following the first sale of gas from the project.

Chinese company Sinopec has inked a contract with ExxonMobil to take 2 million tonnes a year from the project as China trebles its use of gas to about ten percent of energy consumption by 2020.

The PNG project is a joint venture between ExxonMobil (41.5%), Oil Search (34%), Santos (17.7%) and other investors.

It will be the largest private investment in PNG, contributing more than $30 billion to the nation's economy over the life of the project.

''It is very pleasing to have signed the first of four anticipated sales and purchase agreements,'' said Oil Search managing director, Peter Botten. ''This agreement signals the commencement of a long-term relationship.''

Development licences seem likely to be granted this weekend. ''If that happens then it is good to go and Tuesday will be a great day,'' a source told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Source: ‘$16b Papuan LNG project ready to go’ by Mathew Murphy, Sydney Morning Herald, 5 December 2009

K60 million disappears from Oro restoration fund

This is the kind of story that dismays Australians who are working hard to do positive things for PNG.

Over K60 million allocated by the PNG government for relief and restoration efforts after Cyclone Guba devastated Oro Province in 2007 has “gone missing”.

Provincial authorities briefed Public Service Minister Peter O’Neill of the situation but were not able to say where the money had gone.

Provincial administrator Owen Awaita said K11 million was allocated for restoration work during the state of emergency after the 2007 disaster, and another K50 million was ‘parked’ at the Treasury Department in Port Moresby.

All the money disappeared.

Mr Awaita said a commitment of K600,000 made to Girua landowners was not honored, and this is now causing problems for authorities who are being denied use of customary land for a supply route.

In a swift expression of ministerial authority and acumen, Mr O’Neill said he would raise the matter when he returned to Port Moresby, asserted that restoration was not his responsibility and asked provincial authorities to fix the problem.

Australian private aid groups like the Oro Community Development Program, must feel like they have been kicked in the guts.

Source: K60m ‘gone’ by Isaac Nicholas, National Times. Spotter: John Fowke

AusAID under the pump in wake of audit report

The Lowy Institute's Jenny Hayward-Jones has said Australia should focus on the Asia-Pacific region if it is to deliver aid more effectively.

Ms Hayward-Jones was responding to the 180-page Australian National Audit Office report that reflected adversely on AusAID’s management of Australia’s aid program.

She said Australian aid to Africa and Latin America is a poor use of taxpayers' money as the Rudd government attempts to secure a seat on the UN Security Council.

She said Australia should focus aid on places like PNG "where we have a real interest, where we have long relationships and expertise".

The report also criticised AusAID's high staff turnover which Ms Hayward-Jones said “will only be solved by building real interest in the Pacific or Asia and by encouraging people to build their career in the Pacific or Asia".

Spokesman for the Aidwatch organisation, Gary Lee, said the important aid issue was quality not quantity.

"AusAID say they are increasing their aid commitment but who is that money reaching?" he asked.

"What is the actual impact of that money on the ground and who is having a say over how the aid money is being distributed?"

AusAID's transparency & accountability problems

BY ILYA GRIDNEFF OF AAP

Australia's international aid agency, AusAID, is afflicted with problems of transparency, accountability and a lack of communication capacity, an audit has found.

High staff turnover within the agency is another concern that may have even hindered responses to Papua New Guinea's HIV/AIDS epidemic, an Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) report stated.

AusAID represents 83% of Australia's annual aid budget, spending $3.2 billion a year on programs in the Pacific, Asia, Latin America and Africa, with PNG and Indonesia the largest recipients.

The ANAO gave AusAID a tick of approval for handling the growth of its aid program "in a way that supports delivery of effective aid".

But the 180-page report, just tabled in federal parliament found "AusAID faces considerable management challenges amidst ongoing program growth".

While promoting greater transparency and accountability through good governance programs in countries like PNG, AusAID itself struggles with the concepts.

"AusAID's approach to classifying costs is not in line with conventional practice and reduces the transparency of aid program expenditure, and the agency's accountability for costs that it controls," the report stated.

Another hurdle was communication, with the report saying AusAID had "not yet achieved effective internal collaboration".

"For two of the main posts, only 6% of Australian public servant staff in Honiara, and only 8% in Port Moresby, agreed communication between different areas of AusAID was effective."

Dissatisfaction was due to a "lack of understanding between Canberra and posts and insufficient or ineffective communication from the executive and other senior management".

Countries and agencies working with AusAID "consistently" listed high levels of staff turnover as a "dominant concern" in what "has been a long-term problem that has worked against program effectiveness".

AusAID's 2005 evaluation of the PNG National HIV/AIDS Support Project found that "rapid turnover of AusAID personnel responsible for the activity may have hindered timely responses to problems".

"High staff turnover has compromised the quality of AusAID's program management" and "hinders knowledge accumulation, the development of productive working relationships and the standard of program management".

Australia's aid program has increased by 42% since 2004-05 and is likely to double in size by 2016 with a projected $8 billion spent a year.

But not all this taxpayer money is going entirely offshore.

About 46% of AusAID budgets go to "technical assistance", twice the average of other OECD countries, the report stated.

Technical assistance covers administration costs and salaries for experts, advisers or consultants to deliver "capacity building" in a range of sectors.

Australia has "a tendency to rely too much" on technical assistance while not offering local staff greater responsibilities, the report stated.

In April Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said "... too much (aid) money has been consumed by consultants and not enough money was actually delivered to essential assistance in teaching, in infrastructure, in health services on the ground, in the villages (of PNG)".

AAP revealed in May that junior consultants in PNG on one AusAID funded program earned $240,000 tax free while some senior consultants earned more than Rudd's base salary ($335,000) on $360,000 year tax free.

Sister Clare, highlands missionary, dies at 86

Sister Clare Gilchrist (1923-2009), who has just died in Sydney, arrived in PNG in 1965 to set up a bush hospital at Pumakos near Mount Hagen.

She was one of the 178 Sisters of Mercy who served in PNG for the 50 years between 1956 and 2006, mainly in education and health.

Sister Clare entered the novitiate of the Sisters of Mercy in North Sydney in 1940 and completed general nursing training at the Mater Hospital at Crows Nest, later undertaking midwifery and Tresillian courses.

She remained at the Mater, assisting at births and helping mothers to care for their babies, before being sent to Pumakos.

She arrived at the mission, where a one-ward pitpit and kunai building had been prepared, and got to work.

The Mater had sent the necessary supplies and medical equipment, but there was no humidicrib. So Sister Clare set up a kerosene-powered primus to boil kettles of water for steam, which was fed into the baby's plastic-covered cot to relieve respiratory problems.

As time went on, Sister Clare became adept at fixing broken machinery, washing machines, watches, even cars.

More people heard of the medical service, demand increased and a bigger and a more permanent hospital was built by volunteers from Sydney.

Sister Clare served for many years as health secretary for the Wabag diocese and was a member of the diocesan pastoral planning committee.

She returned to Australia in 1997 and worked at the Mater as a pastoral care worker, retiring in 2005.

She is survived by her sister, Kathleen, also a Sister of Mercy.

Source: ‘Nun, nurse and Jill-of-all-trades’, by Margaret Barry RSM, Sydney Morning Herald, 2 December 2009

Forests: liklik win moni igo long baim wanem?

BY PAUL OATES

PNG's forests are just not trees. They are a resource that has been standing for a long time.

Many generations have depended on that forest for their livelihood and survival. Many future generations will also depend on that forest.

When the trees are removed the result is landslides, mudslides, exhausted soil, timber shortages, wildlife extermination and polluted water.

If a forest is cut down, it will never regrow unless regeneration is funded and policed.

Even with limited and selective felling, harvesting forest trees must be planned and executed carefully otherwise the forest is changed and new trees unable to grow.

Take a look at other countries that have cut down their trees. Scrub and grassland, and eventually desert, take over.

Take a good look at what happens when a timber company comes to town.

The payment for cut timber is usually a small fraction of what it is worth when it reaches the market. What is received by the villagers is a small amount of money and the ongoing benefits are dubious.

Much of the money ends up being used to buy consumables and material goods, often sold by the very people who cut the trees.

Foreign timber companies need to cut trees in another country because they have ruined their own forests. They aren't renewing their own forests or they wouldn't come to PNG.

The trees are owned by generations of people, both before and after today. If a forest is removed, how will future generations construct their houses, protect their wildlife and maintain a healthy environment?

Some politicians in the PNG government are reportedly involved in the timber industry themselves, whether directly or indirectly. That is a conflict of interest.

There are also allegations that foreign timber companies are operating outside PNG law with the blessing of the government.

Sapos oli laik katim diwai bilo ol, em bai bihain ol liklik win moni igo long baim wanem samting a? Aiting bai bihain emi baim bikpla hevi tasol. [If our trees are felled, what will the profits yield? I think they'll yield only problems]

Is this hypocrisy or are we being having a loan of

BY PAUL OATES

Sir Michael Somare to Lowy Institute, Sydney, 7 November 2008:

In Papua New Guinea, our 'old ways' have allowed our 834 tribes to survive for over 50,000 years in a very challenging natural environment. But, these ancient traditions have struggled to keep pace within an increasingly complex future.

Without true valuation for our vast environmental assets, we have struggled with schools that cannot afford the best teachers and health centers with only basic medicines.

Yet our rural communities still remember how to live sustainably, a skill many others have forgotten in the rush to get ahead. Therefore, whether we consider energy or tropical forests, the future is increasingly clear: together, we must reconstruct our value frameworks!

New environmental service markets must support tropical countries striving toward sustainable development by generating 'environmental capital' from ecosystem services that humanity has so far been exploiting for free.

From this vision, we must forge new hope!

However, bold leadership is required on both sides of the economic divide to transform the way we value our environment.

By saving the forests, indeed, maybe humanity will relearn how to save ourselves!

______________________

 

Bold words, but who said them? And what has he done to save his country's forests?

The logic of the argument is: Because you did not value our forests, we haven't been able to afford education and health services for our people.

Clearly the answer to the rest of the developed world is: Feel guilty and send more money.

We need more money so we can provide essential services while at the same time we cut down forests and continue to make me rich.

We need more money to buy flash aircraft to tour the world and take me to my health checks in Singapore.

My people are a resource that can and will be used as an asset hostage.

They will continue to be used to extract more overseas aid money so we can keep me and my friends in the manner to which we have become accustomed.

What a cop out!

Some rather agreeable personal news this day

I’ve been invited by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Queensland, Prof Paul Greenfield, to accept the role of Adjunct Professor of Journalism & Communication at the university.

The word Adjunct in this context means I’ll be contributing to various academic and other activities of the School of Journalism & Communication as an external and part-time (and unpaid) member of the faculty.

This will be done with occasional visits to the campus but is not designed to unnecessarily complicate the rest of my life.

PNG Attitude and my many other activities will continue to flourish.

The assignment involves working with Head of School, Prof Michael Bromley, and his colleagues to advise on course content, deliver a few lectures each year and assist to extend the work of the school in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.

I'm looking forward to adding this new role to my existing commitments. It’ll be a good fit.

Photo: Brushing up blackboard technique in training for the new role. Chalkies please note that I'm a real stylist.

Gridneff wins second global journalism award

On Friday, AAP’ s PNG correspondent, Ilya Gridneff, pictured here in full bilas, will receive his second international award for journalism in as many months.

He has won the bronze award in the new Prince Albert Foundation/UNCA global prize for news coverage of climate change.

The United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA) was founded in 1948 when the UN began to meet regularly in New York.

Its over 200 members come from more than 50 countries and the purpose of the awards is to recognise and encourage excellence in reporting on the UN’s worldwide activities.

The award will be presented by UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon, however Mr Gridneff is not be able to be in New York for the ceremony.

The awards were open to journalists anywhere in the world for their work in print, Internet, radio or TV.

Last month Mr Gridneff won the 2009 Asia-Pacific award for environmental journalism.

Independent riots inquiry is sunk by government

The parliamentary committee investigating the May anti-Asian riots throughout PNG is in turmoil following the government’s sacking of its chairman, Jamie Maxtone-Graham, and the resignation of three members – including a vice-minister - in sympathy.

Mr Maxtone-Graham has revealed he was sacked just before his committee exposed the involvement of some politicians in questionable activities with certain people of Asian origin.

He warned of a “time bomb’’ that would explode unless the government immediately took positive action to defuse increasing anti-Asian sentiments.

It wasn’t the first time the PNG government had put the dampener on a parliamentary inquiry whose activities it found discomfiting.

Transparency International reported last week on the dismal fate of the Commission of Inquiry on the Department of Finance [see PNG Attitude here]

Vice Minister for the Public Service, Anthony Nene MP, said committee members had tried to carry out their task without funding and without government cooperation but the decision to remove Mr Maxtone-Graham was a big setback for the country.

Mr Nene said his decision to resign was final because “I have seen a lot of stinky things happening and I cannot continue”.

Meanwhile, parliament has taken delivery of 109 plasma television sets (“as big as a dining table and worth more than K20,000 each”, said one observer) that will be installed in the offices of MPs.

Official: AusAID management, strategy problems

The Australian National Audit Office’s [ANAO] performance audit of AusAID, tabled in parliament last week, provides less than a ringing endorsement of the aid agency’s performance.

Indeed, it questions its ability to deliver the Rudd government's pledge to double the aid budget by 2016.

The report, entitled AusAID's Management of the Expanding Australian Aid Program, says that the Australian government provided $3.8 billion in overseas aid this yer, an increase of 42% in four years. AusAID is responsible for 83% of this program.

The audit considered critical aspects of AusAID’s management; how aid investments are selected; monitoring and evaluation and other matters.

Audit fieldwork was undertaken in Australia and three recipient countries, including PNG.

While ANAO concluded that in recent years AusAID had managed the program “in a way that supports the delivery of effective aid”, it said that the agency “faces considerable management challenges”.

There is a shortfall of expertise in some areas and many programs are operating without an agreed strategy

ANAO made recommendations aimed at improving management of the aid program, which give some greater insights into AusAID’s performance:

Improvement of human resources management to mitigate problems of high staff turnover.

The better management of locally-engaged staff.

Develop aid strategies for each recipient country to make aid delivery “more focused and predictable”.

Develop a policy on using recipient country systems to manage projects, thereby strengthening them, rather than imposing its own systems.

Greater transparency in budgeting and reporting.

Source: The Auditor-General’s Audit Report No.15, Performance Audit: AusAID's Management of the Expanding Australian Aid Program, Parliament of Australia, November 2009. Read the full report here

Genia stars as Wallabies cream Wales in Cardiff

 The Australian rugby union team ended its Spring tour of the British Isles in spectacular fashion with a convincing 33-12 win against Wales at Millenium Stadium in Cardiff.

And once again the Wallabies PNG-born halfback Will Genia was in great form, producing what critics described as “a mighty all-round performance”.

In a dominant display of open rugby, the Australians ran in four unanswered tries against the 2008 Six Nation champions to silence the crowd of 75,000.

Matt Giteau was voted man of the match with Genia and Australia’s inspirational captain Rocky Elson also worthy of the award.

After the game Genia said the win against Wales was more satisfying than the defeat of world champions South Africa in Brisbane in September.

“To come home so strongly, score four tries and play for the full 80 minutes makes for a great dressing room,” he said.

The 21-year-old Genia has received another honour in his rookie year of international rugby.  He is one of six Australians selected to play for the Barbarians against the New Zealand All Blacks at Twickenham on Saturday. 

It's political: The truth about corruption in PNG

Transparency International’s recent report on global corruption ranks PNG 151st of 180 countries: its corruption rating continuing to worsen.

Overall, corruption in PNG is characterised as more political than bureaucratic in nature. That said, bureaucratic corruption is a significant concern to the private sector.

Corruption profoundly affects business operations, yet businesses are reluctant to speak out because of fear of losing state contracts, or simply being shut down.

Although businesses are not likely to pay small bribes on a daily basis, they may assume large costs at the time of entering a market or expanding their operations, and may make side payments to bureaucrats to secure public contracts.

There is reason for concern about the potential for corruption in public-private partnerships. In May 2008 an interim report by the Commission of Inquiry on the Department of Finance revealed that over $US100 million in public funds intended for such projects had disappeared between January 2000 and July 2006.

It is believed the missing funds were paid to businesses and consultants holding bogus government contracts. But the final report is still pending.

The on-again off-again inquiry was initiated in 2006, but its mandate and funding lapsed in May 2007 and were not renewed due to questions regarding the integrity of its members.

It was reconstituted and relaunched by the prime minister in December 2007 and functioned to April 2008, when it lapsed again because of lack of funding and political will to pursue the inquiry.

While the inquiry was taking place, however, civil servants as well as prominent businesspeople spoke publicly about bureaucrats and politicians extracting payments from business after a contract with the state has been awarded but before it was paid out.

Media reports suggest that parts of the private sector are complicit in an elaborate network within the bureaucracy by which a percentage of some cheques produced by the Finance Department is taken out before payment is made to the contractor.

Forestry in PNG has reached a critical juncture. Current levels of logging are said to be unsustainable and the legality of many current concessions is in doubt.

There are also human rights abuses of the local communities and local labour.

A review of 14 logging operations from 2001 to 2006 was highly critical of these operations, except for the Japanese company that runs the Open Bay timber project.

In the first admission of its kind, the country’s forest minister Belden Namah told parliament in 2008 that logging companies routinely flouted the law with the help of corrupt officials.

He found that most of his departmental officers responsible for monitoring forestry operations had ignored the law and that many were in the pockets of logging companies. The minister suspended two forestry licences and announced that no permits are to be issued for log exports after 2010.

More recently the Post-Courier linked unnamed PNG politicians to $US45 million in a Singapore bank account, allegedly money earned through secret logging deals.

The logging industry wields influence in PNG through political donations, public sponsorship, lobbying and media ownership. In other instances, companies simply ‘buy’ rights to log from corrupt government officials.

Source: Global Corruption Report 2009, Transparency International, Cambridge, November 2009

 

Baby Kevin latest: linked to his namesake for life

BY MARK BINNS

I was recently back up in the highlands of PNG and spent some time in Lufa with little Kevinrudd and his family.

Kevinrudd is a delightful little boy, cheerful and easy and not at all afraid of white skin (most children his age are).

The novelty and interest has waned a little, but nobody in the area is in any doubt where his name came from. He remains a relatively famous child in the community, though he himself is oblivious to it all.

His family hold and value the mementoes of the famous association, the presents from the prime minister’s staff, copies of Reconciliation News and his portrait, but for all that he is just another young life full of promise and much loved by those around him.

It is in the adult community that the ‘namesaking’ is still having a lingering and confusing effect. The prime minister didn’t ask to have the child named after him and probably had no way to refuse it.

In highland PNG, though, this ‘namesaking’ has strings attached and culturally it links the two people for life.

A bank account had been opened to hold any money coming L’le Kev’s way to perhaps provide his education with a kick start, but I expect the whole thing to wind down to becoming an interesting and slightly unbelievable story to be told around the fire in the future.

Source: Reconciliation News, the newsletter of Reconciliation Australia, November 2009, www.reconciliation.org.au

There are none so blind as those who will not see

BY PAUL OATES

Two toddlers axed to death [The National]

An infant and a three-year-old girl were among four travellers axed to death at a roadblock in Ipanda village in Enga province. Wabag police commander Snr Insp Albert Beli said several women passengers were raped while some women and children were still missing.

He said the clansmen had been unhappy about a decision of a mediation handed down by the peace and good order committee. Insp Beli said the quick response of police prevented many more deaths and the roadblock was cleared but no one was arrested.

.....

I can't believe that quote ... "but no one was arrested".

The news item shows how much law and order has lapsed in PNG today.

In the days of the kiap, no stone would be left unturned until the perpetrators of these crimes were brought to justice.

The PNG government has effectively lost control of the country.

PNG has actually descended into chaos and the Australian prime minister does nothing.

The PNG government (if one can still call it a government) is unlikely to request military assistance in what is clearly becoming a civil war.

The obvious extrapolation is full scale civil war in PNG where the real losers will once again be the people.

It's been a long time in coming and could have been avoided at any time over the last 30 plus years.

By omission and commission, both PNG and Australia have allowed this situation to develop.

Port Moresby villagers fight for their land rights

Landholders from the villages of Boera, Rearea, and Porebada near Port Moresby are taking resources company Esso and the PNG government to court to hand back land they say has been acquired illegally.

The villagers accuse the government of stealing their land and giving it to a foreign company.

Fifty-four villagers representing 40 clans met with lawyers and agreed to enjoin court proceedings started in September by two local companies and Boera villagers Igo Namona and Oala Moi.

They claim that land titles were obtained illegally by the government and given to Esso for an LNG processing facility.

“There has never been any doubt that [this] has always been customary land,” the villagers claim.

“One portion comprises our fishing grounds. It is very large and comprises more than 900 hectares. The company does not need all that area. They only need an easement for their pipeline and for the construction of a pier. Why give them such a big portion of our fishing grounds?

“The effect of this lease is to make our fishermen travel long distances out to sea beyond this area to get fish. We cannot stand on the shore and cast our lines anymore. We cannot look for crabs, oysters, eels and other fish on the seashore. In fact we will be excluded entirely from entering this land.”

They say they have had previous “bad experience” with land in Port Moresby.

“There are instances where the government has leased the land from customary landowners and, when the leases expire, the government issues another lease for another 99 years without giving the land and improvements back to the descendants of the original landowners.

“This lease terminates all the rights of our future generations. We do not like this and we are seeking advice from our lawyers.”

They accused deputy prime minister Sir Puka Temu of “lying to this nation” because he had said the ‘national government is determined to allow all customary landowners in PNG to develop their land and earn a benefit from it’.

“This man cannot be trusted any more. His words mean nothing to us. We want to see action to fulfill his promise.

“We are here to tell our lawyers to fight for us to get our land back.”

'Bonfire' threat to PNG's Asian-owned businesses

There’s a nasty piece of propaganda circulating in PNG that may be a hoax or a malicious case of wishful thinking. But it contains a serious underlying threat and has authorities worried.

It’s purports to be from a group or person under the pseudonym ‘PNG Grassroots’ and is directed to “all Asian cottage business owners in PNG”.

The missive instructs Asian businesses to cease trading by a deadline of 31 December 2009, falsely claiming that this is “in line with the PNG parliamentary bipartisan committee findings”.

The committee, inquiring into the anti-Asian riots of May has in fact not reported and moreover has just had its chairman Jamie Maxtone-Graham sacked in what seem like dubious circumstances.

The letter also claims the support of an unlikely collection of “all national NGOs, international NGOs, prominent Papua New Guineans, the Melanesian Spearhead Group of Nations, other Pacific Island nations and above all, the full support of all ordinary grassroots of PNG.

It calls upon “all Asian-owned cottage business like takka [tucker] shops” to close by the end of the year.

“This is not a petition to the national government or the Asians [defined as ‘Chinese, Malaysian, Philippines, Indians’]. It's a simple instruction. No more excuses, no more false promises.

“The findings of the parliamentary bipartisan clearly spelt out the facts of the findings. Now the government is sitting on the fence, disputing the facts presented by the committee itself set to uncover the truth behind the people's fury.”

It says that if the businesses do not close, people will take to the streets again.

“The government is too sympathetic and has failed the people of PNG. Everyone seems to be apologising for what has happened and none of the so called leaders seem to understand how the inflow of illegal Asians are stealing business opportunities and jobs from helpless PNGans. It's costing the country simple store-keeper jobs and denying the privilege of simple PNGans owning these businesses.

“One just simply needs to walk down the street corner stores at Gerehu, Erima, Kundiawa Town, Kiunga, Lae Market stores, Rabaul Town, Alotau, Madang, you name the rest! In every one of these locations, you will see a takka box store being managed by three to for odd looking Asians who cant even speak proper pidgin, let alone English! What the hell is happening with the laws of this country?”

The letter also alleges corruption on a grand scale by the PNG government, illegal migration organised by “Asian investment giants”, illegal gambling, prostitution and an Asian mafia.

“They have already started importing Asian woman to work as prostitutes. Our own mothers and sisters are being lured into these filthy illegal business[es].”

The letter ends with an ominous threat. “We will celebrate 2010 New Year's Eve with bonfires of all Asian-owned takka shops in flames all around the country. That will be the solution. Forget the government. If they can't do it, we will do it ourselves! No need to buy candlesticks on New Years Eve.”

Download a full copy of the open letter here.

New lease of life for those old area studies

BY PHILIP FITZPATRICK

Area studies were the bane of every kiap’s life. Standing orders stated they would "be updated every year and rewritten every three years".

I have memories of sitting in villages counting chickens and pigs, trying to figure out the local kinship system, and casting bones to determine local attitudes to "programs for increasing the cash earnings of the area once people realise an increase involves change and hard work.”

In the nether regions of the Western District, the latter hardly seemed to matter.

Well, area studies were resurrected under the monicker of "social mapping" with the passage of the Oil and Gas Act in 1998.

Under the Act, social mapping is required to help government decide which customary land owners should be consulted in negotiations regarding the distribution of royalties and benefits from oil and gas projects.

The underlying principle of the Act recognises the value of traditional life and culture and seeks to include these in the economic and social development of communities: a principle loosely referred to as 'the PNG way'.

Social mapping seeks to define those cultural and historic factors that have shaped the relationship between the people and their land.

It involves the systematic collection and analysis of a range of objective data relating to the physical, demographic and social landscape.

While it primarily assists the distribution of benefits from oil and gas projects, it has important secondary functions including informing and guiding project proponents about how to deal with customary landowners and in helping mitigate the social impact of projects.

Faced with this requirement, the old kiaps who work in mining and petroleum exploration have fallen back on the format of the old-style area studies. It's only when a project gets serious that heavyweight anthropologists are brought into play.

I'm doing some social mapping at the moment based on the region between Lake Murray and Daru. The old area studies are priceless background, but hard to come by. A visit to the archives in Port Moresby is hit-and-miss and depends on who is behind the counter. Otherwise, it's a trip to Canberra.

If any reader has kept copies of their patrol reports that include area studies and census figures, my advice is to hang on to them.

In the meantime, if you have area studies for Lake Murray-Daru, I'd be eternally grateful to get a copy. All that hard work and two-fingered typing may not have been in vain.

If you have any of those old reports, you can contact Phil Fitzpatrick here

Rimbunan Hijau: missing the point of the riots

I don’t know whether readers are aware of my day job (what you’re reading is my early morning job) as chairman of a long-established Australian public relations company.

When I’m not playing at being retired, I turn up for work most days to advise clients on how they ought to deal with what, in many cases, are tough issues affecting their reputation.

The advice my company offers is based not on spin but on seeking to get clients to identify and address the substantive issues they face.

In this context, if I was advising Malaysian conglomerate Rimbunan Hijau, I’d be telling it to abandon its current line of argument and adopt a more intelligent approach to the problems besieging PNG.

RH, as it’s called, came to PNG in 1989 to cut down trees but has since diversified into timber mills, mass media (it owns The National), property development, retailing and IT. It employs 5,000 people, including 500 expatriates, and is a big PNG firm by any measure.

Senior RH executives just appeared before the PNG parliamentary committee inquiring into May’s anti-Asian riots, where they strongly denied allegations of human smuggling, drug running, arms trafficking and more.

The officials - executive director Nathaniel Ho, general manager Ang Cheng Chooi and corporate policy manager Axel Wilhelm - said they believe “international non-governmental organisations” are trying to sabotage RH operations in PNG.

Mr Wilhelm said in 2003 an unnamed NGO [we think he’s referring to Greenpeace] started a global campaign against forestry, with RH as its major target.

In the ensuing years, a range of allegations has been made about RH. At the inquiry, the company noted a number of perceptions it believes some people harbour about it:

that its logging ships carry illegal immigrants (“I firmly deny that aliens are brought in tin containers to logging camps and disappear into the bush,” said Mr Wilhelm)

that it’s involved in drug trafficking and arms smuggling

that it imports for retail sale low quality counterfeit products

Mr Wilhelm said RH was not surprised at the riots. Why? Because, he said, there had been incitement by the Masalai website, international NGOs and the media.

He also provided the parliamentary committee with what was termed “an investigative report compiled by an independent group”, which sounded like snooping to me.

I’m not sure RH didn’t end its appearance at the inquiry worse off than before its executives walked through the committee room door.

My advice to RH is as clear as it is free. The May riots were embedded in ordinary Papua New Guineans' feelings of disempowerment and dispossession.

As a leading PNG company, RH would exercise its social responsibility conscientiously and better protect its commercial interests by addressing that root cause.

Further reading: Download the Greenpeace brochure on Rimbunan Hijau, The Untouchables, here.

Resonances of war linger in PNG cargo cults

BY PAUL OATES

Professor Jared Diamond spent a good deal of time in PNG, where he first came to study local birdlife.

On one trip he was asked by well known cult leader Yali, why it was that the west had so much material wealth and PNG did not.

That question formed the basis of Diamond’s second book in the trilogy The Third Chimpanzee, Guns, Germs and Steel, and Collapse.

Yali’s question had a recent resonance with me as I conducted some research into a family matter.

My wife always knew that her father was involved in PNG during the World War II but had no idea of what he did. We realised why records were hard to find as we searched through some recently declassified documents about a wartime Australian intelligence unit.

The unit was established to assemble information about the enemy, distribute written material and, in New Guinea, convince the local people that the Allies were going to win.

This was very important given that local cooperation was vital in helping the war effort and protecting and hiding the Coastwatchers.

With PNG’s low literacy levels, two main activities were implemented. The first involved bringing groups of New Guineans to Australia and showing them the industry and might of a developed country.

I recently learned that Yali was brought to Australia on one of these tours.

The second activity involved the unit patrolling through New Guinea villages with generators, films and recordings of how the Japanese were being defeated and showing the power the Allies had at their disposal.

It turned out that the unit visited the same villages I patrolled through over 20 years later. The main difference appeared to be that all I had was a Tilley lamp.

I reflected on the disparity between the wartime effort based on necessity and our post war effort. When the chips were down, no expense was spared to educate PNG people.

When the war was won, however, suddenly interest and effort ceased. Is it any wonder that PNG people affected by the war could never again be the same?

Clearly people like Yali tried to find a way to establish that world he had glimpsed. The cargo cults that ensued continue to this day.

With the benefit of hindsight, it would have been better to maintain Australia’s efforts in PNG at a reasonable level instead of starving the post war Administration of funds.

It’s hard to blame Yali or any number of other cultists who have emerged over time.

No new ASOPA, but AusAID cops a Senate spray

The foreign affairs references committee of the Australian Senate has just issued a report, a year in gestation, on economic challenges facing PNG and the Pacific.

Prof Clive Moore of Queensland University and I made a joint submission to this inquiry more than 12 months ago calling for the re-establishment of a 21st century ASOPA – a Pacific regional training institute to address the needs of Australians preparing to work in the region as well as the vocational needs of people from PNG and the Pacific states.

We said such an institute would “better meet regional needs and overcome observed deficiencies in the delivery of development aid.”

We also submitted that it would, amongst other functions, “orientate Australians … intending to work in the Pacific to cultural nuances and to techniques of navigating through the complex situations in which they will operate.”

We backed up these propositions by saying that “though a large amount of money is being spent annually by Australia, there seems to be a large degree of waste and no clear evidence of a permanent transfer of skills to Pacific peoples, such as would create economic sustainability and national self-reliance.”

Well, the committee chose to ignore the ‘regional institute’ suggestion but made a number of findings consistent with our general thesis.

Importantly, it conceded that aid “does not always reach the intended beneficiaries or those most in need of assistance”  and said that aid “could be aligned more closely with the needs and priorities of the recipient country”.

“Evidence suggested that there was a serious disconnection between the courses offered by training institutions … and the requirements of local [enterprise]”.

The Senate reported spoke of “a lack of policy coherence and robustness” in the monitoring and evaluation of Australian aid programs, all issues that have been raised frequently in PNG Attitude.

In a recommendation so wide it represents a stern condemnation of AusAID’s approach to date, the report proposed that “the Australian government direct AusAID to formulate a strategic single policy framework to guide its governance program in the Pacific region.”

It took a Senate committee to tell AusAID that.

The Senate also told AusAID that it should link its on-the-ground programs with higher level objectives.

In other words, the Senate says AusAID has been working without a strategy.

No wonder so much of Australia’s aid expenditure is wasted.

And as for a new ASOPA to better orientate Australians to the development task, well it will sort of be there – through something called the Asia-Pacific Civil-Military Centre.

For mine, I don’t see a joint civil-military operation working. The cultures, goals and operating procedures are too disparate. But that’s what the Senate says it wants, so we’ll see.

Source: ‘Economic challenges facing Papua New Guinea and the island states of the southwest Pacific’, Volume I, Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee, November 2009

Morauta says PM not serious about corruption

Corruption is the hottest topic in PNG and demands swift and decisive action by the government, says opposition Leader Sir Mekere Morauta.

Sir Mekere said Sir Michael Somare had finally “come to his senses’’ by admitting corruption was rampant in his government, but had failed to act.

“Everyone is fed up with the evil and destructive effect of corruption [which is] destroying the fabric of the system on which PNG is built,” Sir Mekere said.

“The Prime Minister cannot blame the public servants because, as the number one lawmaker, he must lead by example instead of buck-passing and blaming civil servants for his incompetence and lack of action.”

He asked what Sir Michael was doing to protect the institutions he had helped create 40 years ago from being chipped and chiselled away by corruption.

Sir Mekere said the people needed the Prime Minister to urgently lead a nationwide fight against the real causes of corruption.

He added it was a waste of time and money to treat symptoms when the deep-rooted causes that allowed corruption to continue were flourishing.

K2.2m disappears from development account

The PNG parliament has been told that K2.2 million disappeared from the District Support and Improvement Program for the Tewai-Siassi open electorate between May and September this year.

And local MP, Vincent Michaels, has blamed “a Waigani criminal syndicate”.

According to Mr Michaels the syndicate involves Waigani bureaucrats and Bank South Pacific staff who cashed several cheques that were dishonoured at the district level but restored at the bank’s Port Moresby headquarters.

Deputy Prime Minister, Sir Puka Temu, said the matter was completely serious and corrupt in nature and would be thoroughly investigated.

Sir Puka agreed the case involved fraud and said it was typical of what had been happening in the public service.

He describing it as “daylight robbery” and said the culprits should be put behind bars.

Peter Figgis MC: an extraordinary man departs

Coastwatcher Peter Figgis died on Friday night. PNG Attitude will publish an obituary soon. Meanwhile, here’s part of his story as told by Ken Wright…

On December 1943, the US Navy had requested that Australian Naval Intelligence establish a Coastwatching outpost in New Britain to cover the southwest seaway from Rabaul.

Lt Cdr Eric Feldt asked former patrol officer Sub Lt Malcolm Wright to look at the possibilities of the operation. Wright spent time in Port Moresby evaluating plans and locations and was joined by Peter Figgis, an Intelligence Officer in the 2/22 Battalion AIF, and Les Williams who was a corporal in the Armoured Division of the AIF.

The three men decided that Cape Orford was the most advantageous place to set up a Coastwatching post but native help carrying supplies and information on enemy movement was vital. Wright went to see Sergeant Simogan of the New Guinea Native Constabulary who was a great friend of Wright’s during his days as a patrol officer. He eagerly agreed to join the group.

Figgis, Williams, Wright and the four natives boarded the USN submarine Greenling just after dawn on 21 February 1943 and departed from Brisbane for their journey northward to Cape Orford. On 1 March, the men went ashore at Baien Bay just before dawn and established contact with the villagers. No enemy forces were in the area and the villagers were prepared to help. Two tons of supplies from the submarine, enough to last six months, were landed. They established a camp in the mountains about three miles from the shoreline where they could see miles out to sea as well as inland with the added advantage of running water near to the campsite.

When not on duty watching sea and sky for enemy movement, the Coastwatchers read, played cards, treated various native ailments and learned a great deal about the natives and their customs. Most importantly, they were able to spread their influence even to the point where they had valuable contacts within the Japanese fortress of Rabaul.

Peter Figgis was responsible for communications and intelligence. Les Williams was camp commandant and medical officer and Malcolm Wright was overall leader and responsible for liaison with the natives. It was a very successful team.

From the time of their arrival in New Britain, 70 Japanese submarines, numerous barges and aircraft had been observed and reported to GHQ via Moresby. It was frustrating to the Coastwatchers that GHQ never told them of any action that was taken on their reports. One event that did brighten the situation took place in mid July. About 7am one day, a small 300 ton Japanese freighter entered Baien Bay and a signal was immediately sent. Two hours later three USAF Mitchell B-25 bombers appeared and sank the freighter. The Coastwatchers’ prestige went up amongst the natives as it was everyone’s first visual victory.

On 25 March 1944, PT boats brought in new teams and extracted Peter Figgis and seven Allied airmen. Figgis had been in New Britain just over a year. He was later awarded the Military Cross.

You can download the full Ken Wright feature on the exploits of Malcolm Wright, ‘Coastwatchers: No More Smelling Flowers’, here

Global survey: PNG keeps getting more corrupt

Transparency International’s annual corruption perceptions index shows PNG steadily slipping down the league table of venality.

The index, a measurement of perceived levels of public sector corruption in 180 countries, has PNG dropping three places to 154 this year.

The most honest country in the world is New Zealand. Australia is ranked eighth, which begs the question of why we’re not doing more to deal with corruption in a country to which we give hundreds of millions of dollars.

In an index on a scale from 0 to 10, PNG scored 2.1. The vast majority of the 180 countries scored below five and countries placed in the same group as PNG were Cote d’Ivore, Paraguay and Yemen.

Other Pacific states performed much better than PNG and managed to improve their ranking: Kiribati and Solomon Islands to 111th, Tonga 99th and Vanuatu 95th.

Meanwhile Transparency International in PNG has raised concerns about the government’ allocation of K2 million to each district when a proper evaluation of the district service improvement program has not been finalized

TI is also concerned about K20 million allocated for the newly-created provincial services investment program, where each governor will get K1 million.

 “While our politicians claim they need direct access to funds because of the inefficiencies within the public service, I urge caution and issue a warning here,” said TI chairman Peter Aitsi [right].

“We are beginning to see corruption in the form of outright theft and misuse of these funds, so why put more money into the program?”

Mr Aitsi said if PNG was to have long-term change, the highest priorities of government should be to completely overhaul and reform the public service, including the police.

“We stand the real and dangerous risk of becoming another failed resource-rich economy where our elected leaders end up siphoning off the nation’s wealth,” he said.

Ex AusAID chief is appointed our man in Ireland

BY DONALD HOOK

Five months after he left his job as director-general of AusAID, Bruce Davis AM has been appointed Australia’s ambassador to Ireland. He will take up the diplomatic posting in Dublin next month.

Davis, 56, joined the Australian Development Assistance Agency (ADAB) – the forerunner to AusAID - 34 years ago.  He was born and educated in Queensland, gaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and political science from the University of Queensland.

In June this year, Davis became a Member of the Order of Australia for services to international relations through leadership of AusAID for 10 years, and the development and reform of Australia’s overseas aid programs.

He retired in early July at a time when there was specific criticism of AusAID including allegations that it serviced Australian commercial interests through its procurement policies, and had misused aid to support foreign policy initiatives such as the so-called Pacific Solution for processing asylum seekers.

AusAID also was being criticised from the right wing, particularly by Helen Hughes, of the Centre for Independent Studies, who’d argued that “aid has failed PNG and the Pacific” – a criticism of the broad policy of AusAID. 

A senior DFAT officer, Peter Baxter, has been acting Director General of AusAID since Davis retired.

Arms, drugs & people penetrate a porous border

BY PHILIP FITZPATRICK

Several years ago I was dangling a line in the Kikori River at Kaiam in the Gulf Province hoping to snare a barramundi.

Kaiam is where the oil pipeline from Hides and Kutubu crosses the river. The road beside the pipeline also joins the road through Kopi to Kikori. There was a ferry at Kaiam and the fishing was good in the deep water beside it.

I noticed a little procession coming down the road and congregating on the other side of the river near the ferry. There were half a dozen highlanders carrying cheap trade store backpacks. They were evenly spaced about twenty metres apart, with a couple of blokes front and rear toting M16s.

One of the armed men went to have a yarn with the ferry operator and this culminated in the exchange of a roll of kina. The company didn’t allow people to use the ferry but there seemed to be no problem about the backpacks.

On the other side a couple of locals loaded the packs into the back of a Hilux and headed towards Kikori.

The pipeline down from the mountains pretty much follows one of traditional trading routes to the coast. In the old days tigaso (tree oil), black palm bows, pigs and cassowaries went one way and pearl shell and fine black axe blades came up from Torres Strait.

The highlanders who came over in a canoe afterwards to see if we had any jobs said the stuff in the backpacks was run to Daru by local police and then down to Australia. Guns, flak jackets, Kevlah helmets and other necessities of highlands’ life came back the other way.

I salted away this piece of information and didn't think much more about it until recently, when I noticed a few obscure reports in the press about Papua New Guineans overloading health services in the Torres Strait and otherwise causing mischief. There are 13 villages in the Western Province whose citizens are allowed there for traditional purposes under the Torres Strait Treaty.

There is unfettered illegal immigration to this part of PNG. Just about every big village or town in the Western and Gulf Provinces has a resident ethnic Chinese trade store. A lot come in through West Papua.

They are nice enough people but communication is a bit of a problem until they get a handle on Tok Pisin. A lot of them talk about eventually moving to Australia when they've made enough money to join relatives. Apparently they go down in boats from the PNG villages. It seems well organised.

This is all rumour, of course; there doesn't seem to be any hard evidence. But it did make me wonder whether Indonesian people smugglers are involved.

They are probably in the thick of it; the boats that head for Ashmore Reef might just be useful diversions. I wonder how many terrorist training camps there are out in the swamps of the Fly River?

Greater recognition for Montevideo Maru

BY JOHN HUXLEY, SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

Relatives of more than 1000 Australian troops and civilians who lost their lives in the sinking of the Montevideo Maru in 1942 have had a breakthrough in their campaign for greater understanding of the tragedy.

The Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Alan Griffin, told the Herald yesterday: ''I think we all agree now that the detail and the significance of the event have not received appropriate recognition in the past.''

He said the Government would investigate the possibility of declaring the site of the sinking, off the Philippines, an official war grave, and assist family and friends in raising funds for a memorial in Canberra.

His statement followed a meeting with a delegation from the Montevideo Maru Memorial Committee led by its chairman, Keith Jackson, and Kim Beazley, ambassador designate to the US, whose uncle died on the ship.

Mr Jackson welcomed the Government's support, but said provision of a memorial - probably in the grounds of the Australian War Memorial - would cost between $500,000 and $1 million.

''It will require public fund-raising on a massive scale, which the Government will support.''

Mr Jackson said the meeting had been productive and had achieved breakthroughs in several other areas.

The War Memorial will include a permanent Montevideo Maru display in its revamped World War II galleries. The Government will renew the search for Japanese papers bearing the names of those who died on the ship.

''It will also be represented on and support the formation of a working party to ensure the story of the invasion of Rabaul and the sinking of the ship becomes a more recognised part of Australian history.''

The Montevideo Maru, which was being used by the Japanese to move civilians and prisoners of war, was sunk by mistake by the submarine USS Sturgeon. It remains the worst maritime disaster in Australia's history.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald, 20 November 2009

Two related stories in The Catholic Weekly:
Unravelling the riddle of the Montevideo Maru, by Alan Gill
Ex-POW Sister: call on Diggers' deaths, by Brian Davies

PNG offers to re-open Manus for asylum seekers

BY ILYA GRIDNEFF, AAP

In a shock announcement, PNG officials say they are prepared to reopen the Manus Island detention centre to help solve Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's asylum seeker problem.

Foreign Minister Sam Abal told AAP the government is open to the idea of offering the facility, which Australia used for offshore detention of asylum seekers under the Howard government's ‘Pacific Solution’.

"If there is a request from Australia, our government will consider it," he said.

The Manus Island detention centre was closed in 2004. It is now used by the PNG Defence Force.

"The facility is still there, we've done this before," Manus Island Governor Michael Sapau told AAP. "We are here, we would like to re-open and see the program continue."

Comment on the proposal is being sought from the Australian government.

Kiaps: Senate moves to flex medal criteria

BY ILYA GRIDNEFF, AAP

The Australian Senate wants changes made to the eligibility criteria of a special accolade so it can be awarded to Australians who served as police officers in PNG.

The National Medal recognises long and diligent service by members of recognised organisations who help the community during times of crisis.

But it can only be awarded to people who served after the medal was established in 1975.

The Senate successfully moved a motion today to alter the criteria so officers who served in the Royal Papua and New Guinea Constabulary between 1949 and 1974 can be honoured.

Footnote: This means that kiaps are now eligible for the National Medal provided they meet a number of other criteria related to the award - KJ

2010 marks 100th anniversary of Westpac in PNG

Nadine Cattell, Westpac’s project manager for Pacific Banking, says that 2010 marks the centenary of the bank’s engagement with PNG.

And, as part of the 100th anniversary, Westpac is seeking to get in touch with the many people who worked for the Bank of NSW and Westpac in the PNG context.

“I've pulled together the history,” says Nadine, “but would like to bring it to life by including stories and photographs from those that worked there.”

Nadine would like people to get in touch with her with information about when they worked for Westpac PNG, their role and their location.

She’d like you to note the most memorable changes and most delightful events that you remember, and also any events you'd prefer to forget!

Contact Nadine on 02 8254 2599 or email her at ncattell@westpac.com.au

Kiaps paid high tribute in Australian parliament

The Australian parliament has highly commended the work of kiaps in pre-independence PNG.

Scott Morrison MP moved a private member’s motion on Monday calling upon parliament to recognise the service of Australians employed as kiaps between 1949 and 1974 and to acknowledge the hazardous and difficult conditions that were experienced.

A number of ex-kiaps and their families were present in the chamber to hear the speeches.

“The kiaps were an extraordinary group of young Australians who performed a remarkable service for the people of PNG,” Mr Morrison said.

“They were some of our nation’s finest. Their adventurous spirit was matched only by their commitment to the wellbeing of the people of PNG. Their story remains largely untold. More Australians need to know the story. It is deserving of recognition and much greater awareness.”

Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, Hon Duncan Kerr MP, said the government should look at some way of appropriately recognising kiaps’ service.

He said he knew there was some discussion among kiaps as to whether the mechanism proposed in the motion is the appropriate one, because of its considerable emphasis on kiaps’ policing role.

He said: “I note that in the recent PNG affairs newsletter that is produced by Keith Jackson, who has a long history of involvement, there is a discussion between Phil Fitzpatrick and Paul Oates about whether the particular mechanism that is proposed in this motion is appropriate — the reservation being the overemphasis, perhaps, on the policing function.

“Kiaps were far more than police,” Mr Kerr said. “Whilst it is true that they were all sworn officers, equally they represented the civil authority in the widest range of possible services. They were, in many ways, the face of government in the districts for which they had responsibility.

Mr Kerr commended the mover of this motion for bringing the issue to parliament and said “it may be that a new model needs to evolve to properly recognise the range and depth of that service.”

Luke Hartsuyker MP said that kiaps were multi-skilled field officers who often filled over a dozen roles. “The kiaps lived a dangerous existence,” he said. “There was an ever-present threat of attack from hostile tribes and locals, and many kiaps were murdered on patrol.

"The harsh conditions on the frontier also proved to be very dangerous, with accidents and illness claiming the lives of kiaps. The list of kiaps killed in boating and aircraft accidents is extensive and I think it is fitting that these men and their surviving comrades should be officially honoured by the Australian government.”

Jill Hall MP said it was very appropriate to give recognition to the role the kiaps played in PNG. “I would like to put on the record that this has been a long campaign—it has gone over six or so years—and that you are getting towards the end of the road.

“I truly believe that there is going to be some form of recognition in the very near future,” she said.

“PNG is very different to Australia. We have remote areas in Australia, but our remoteness is different. The issues we have around keeping peace and harmony within the community are very different. The role played by kiaps was of vital importance.

"You kept those communities together. You kept those tribes together. You kept villages and districts functioning.

“I know the government is working to see that formal recognition is given for the vital role that you played from the Australian perspective and from PNG’s perspective.”

Record PNG budget is highly dependent on LNG

The PNG government has delivered a K7.5 billion revenue budget for 2010, 13% higher than the 2009 budget.

But it remains highly dependent upon assumptions that construction will start on the giant liquefied natural gas project.

The final decision on the project is scheduled for Tuesday 8 December. If it falls through, PNG’s economic forecast will be 5.5% instead of 8.5%.

PNG is finding it hard to achieve economic growth without soaring inflation, expected to rise from 7.4% this year to 9.5% in 2010, putting greater pressure on rural people who have little opportunity to increase their incomes.

Higher growth is expected in non-mining industries, especially communication and construction and to a lesser extent in agriculture, forestry and fisheries. The petroleum sector is forecast to decline by 19%.

Treasurer Patrick Pruaitch said the stronger economy will enable the government to ramp up development spending, including the establishment facilities to raise the capabilities of Papua New Guineans and the improvement of crucial infrastructure to enhance economic growth.

The major item of development spending will be K220 million for national and rural roads but another K700 million will be spent on new training colleges and education facilities, agriculture development and other infrastructure – including K66 million for the 2010 census.

The district services program will allocate K2 million to each of the 89 districts and the 20 provincial governors will each receive K1 million under a new services improvement program.

Recurrent expenditure including salaries constitutes K4.1 billion, or more than half the budget appropriation for 2010.

Mr Pruaitch said the government was committed to supporting the growth and development of the private sector, citing the example of communications where PNG had benefited greatly from the competition between bemobile and Digicel.

Support for MvM memorial but challenges ahead

The meeting between Kim Beazley and I and Veterans’ Affairs Minister Alan Griffin yesterday afternoon was positive and constructive but significant challenges still lie ahead of the Montevideo Maru Memorial Committee.

Mr Griffin understands the issue of the relatives’ need for closure and supports greater recognition of the 1942 tragedy in which more than 1,000 Australian troops and civilians died.

He said the federal government is keen to assist the work of the committee and will start an immediate investigation on how the site of the sinking in the South China Sea can be declared an official war grave.

The government supports the erection of a memorial at the Australian War Memorial but insists that private as well as public funding is required.

Therein lies a big rub, as a memorial of the type envisaged is likely to cost between $500,000 and one million dollars. The implication is that the committee will have to now turn its attention to fund-raising on a massive scale, which the government will support.

There were other breakthroughs in the meeting, which was attended by Maj Gen Paul Stevens, director of the Office of Australian War Graves, and a number of other officials.

The War Memorial will include a permanent Montevideo Maru display in its revamped World War II galleries.

The government will work with the committee in a search for the missing Japanese roll that lists the names of all the prisoners on board the Montevideo Maru when it sank.

And the government will be represented on and support the formation of a working party to ensure the story of the invasion of Rabaul and the sinking of the Montevideo Maru becomes a more recognised part of Australian history.

Overall, a productive meeting. The government has set us a challenge and has indicated it  is prepared to contribute in a range of useful ways, including by making some funding provisions.

The government at both political and bureaucratic levels is very much engaged.

And, very importantly, both Alan Griffin and Kim Beazley, have pledged their support in the challenge ahead.

Beazley & I meet Vets Minister in Canberra today

Kim Beazley and I will meet Veterans’ Affairs Minister Alan Griffin in Canberra this afternoon to discuss whether the federal government is prepared to take steps for greater recognition of the tragedy of the fall of Rabaul and the subsequent sinking of the Montevideo Maru.

We will be discussing a submission which asks the government to agree to three main proposals:

(1) To construct a memorial, inscribed with the names of the dead, in Canberra to commemorate the sacrifice of those who died defending Rabaul and the islands.

(2) To initiate action to have the site of the sinking of the Montevideo Maru declared an official war grave.

(3) To appoint an official group including Friends of Montevideo Maru to develop strategies to ensure that the fall of Rabaul and the sinking of the Montevideo Maru remain an enduring part of Australia’s history.

The Ministerial discussion will be Mr Beazley’s last official act on behalf of the Montevideo Maru Memorial Committee before he takes up his role as Australia’s Ambassador to the United States in February.

After receiving the submission, Mr Griffin said he looked forward to meeting with Kim Beazley and me to discuss it.

Readers may recall Mr Griffin’s landmark speech in parliament last June which - while largely unreported in the media - paid tribute to the men who died on the Montevideo Maru and to their families, and asked Australians to remember the tragedy.

It was one of the most significant speeches to be made in parliament on this matter and indicated Mr Griffin’s understanding of the issues, something that has rarely been the case with previous ministers.

I hope this bodes well for the future of the submission.

Read the submission to the federal government here.

Is the Somare government running scared?

It seems extraordinary, given what the Somare government claims to be its unassailable grip on power, but it seems to be running scared of the opposition.

In two different but related actions in the last two days, the government has shown a sense of heightened nervousness.

First it threatened to disband a bipartisan parliamentary committee investigating anti-Asian riots, using as a phony excuse that the committee “has lost its credibility” and the dubious rationale that “it has become a tool to sabotage economic relations between the Philippines and PNG.”

The bipartisan panel, chaired by MP Jamie Maxtone-Graham, was seeking to establish what triggered the May protests and looting of shops owned and operated by Chinese, not Filipinos, in the highlands, Lae and Port Moresby.

It was starved of funds and official support and a so-called “government caucus” last week deemed that Mr Maxtone-Graham was no longer fit to chair the panel.

And, in defiance of parliament's express wish, the government has said it will now create its own panel to hold an inquiry - without the presence of the media.

Meanwhile fears of a no-confidence vote have led to the sudden cancellation of a crucial meeting in Bougainville by deputy prime minister Sir Puka Temu and other senior ministers.

It has been reported that a possible opposition move during the current budget session of parliament had compelled the leaders to remain in Port Moresby.

Battle of the Bismarck Sea: a Ken Wright feature

While the fighting was taking place along the Kokoda Trail, on 25 August 1942 a Japanese naval convoy landed 2,700 troops supported by several tanks at Milne Bay.

Facing them were 8,824 Australian and American troops. This was the first time Australian militia, AIF and Americans fought together and after 11 days of heavy fighting, they had beaten a common enemy.

On 5 September, Japanese ships evacuated what remained of their troops. They had suffered their first defeat losing 311 personnel with 700 missing. The victory bolstered the confidence of the Allies who were beginning to think the Japanese were invincible.

Then, on 2 November, the Australian flag was hoisted above the Kokoda plateau but three more months of bloody fighting lay ahead before the Australians, joined at last by American troops, pushed on towards Buna and Gona.

The Japanese soldiers received their last reinforcements and supplies at Buna and knew this was their last stand. Surrender or evacuation was out of the question; they were to either be victorious or die.

Japanese High Command began planning a resupply Lae by a large convoy of ships. Allied intelligence became aware through intercepted and translated radio messages.

The convoy left Rabaul at night under strict radio silence and an umbrella of bad weather.

The Allies had been practising for an aerial attack but Australian Air Commodore WH ‘Bull’ Garing convinced the Americans of the need for a massive, coordinated air attack using large numbers of aircraft, striking the convoy from different altitudes and directions with precise timing.

So the Battle of the Bismarck Sea was conceived.

Download Ken Wright's graphic and detailed account of an event that proved crucial to the defence of Australia in ‘We sent the Japs to hell: the battle of the Bismarck Sea’’.

Register now for the E-Course reunion

Visit Fragments of Attitude at left for further details on the E-Course reunion - celebrating 50 years - to be held in the Gold Coast on 8 May 2010

The Kokoda air crash – once in a lifetime?

BY BRUCE COPELAND

This has not been a good year for trekking. We read in the media that the numbers of trekkers has dropped 27%.

This year, five people have died on the track itself and there has been a once in a lifetime air crash at Kokoda.

That air crash. Thirteen killed, including nine Australians. We’re waiting for the investigation report to come out of the system. The two engines have been sent to Canada. That should hold things up very nicely.

But there was a massive weakness in the system of control that day. It was probably always there, but circumstances came together to make it lethal.

There was a heavy rainfall the two days before the crash. The Boroko streets were flooded. Water lapped at the door of my internet café. The low pressure system extended across the Owen Stanley Range down to Milne Bay and south to Queensland.

With the rain came winds and low cloud. Yet small aircraft still flew to Kokoda. I almost died in similar circumstances in the Tari Gap. Women were kissing family members good-bye. No one kissed me.

I would have felt terrified being a passenger on that flight and my fear would have started ten minutes before the crash. Every time I’ve flown out of Kokoda, the aircraft took off towards the town, winding its way over the mountains.

I’ve never flown out up the Eora Creek gorge, thank God. There is a flight path down the gorge 1000 feet above the ridge lines, but climbing over the gorge is a different matter.

The engines race, lifting the aircraft as it climbs between two ridge lines. Once into the gorge, there’s no turning back, particularly in fog, rain or cloud. The story of air crashes in this country - once committed, no turning back.

Eora Creek gorge is a wind tunnel through to the top of the Kokoda Gap. Each day, there is fog all the way up to Lake Myola. In bad weather, there is an eddying current through the gorge.

Probably the pilot should have aborted and escaped another way, even to Popondetta.

But there are commercial pressures. A group of trekkers cannot stay at a Port Moresby hotel for an extra day or two waiting for the weather to clear. There is pressure to move to the track. And more guests to move in.

The decision to take off was made by a young pilot. She was flying into a crash from the moment she took off.

The weather pattern on the day of the crash may only occur once in a trekking season. The weather on this day was visible on TV reports in Australia. But not in PNG.

Source: an edited extract from a soon to be published book by Bruce Copeland

After all the praise, just how good is Will Genia

BY DONALD HOOK

How good is Will Genia?

This is the question dominating discussion among Rugby followers around the world.

It comes after Genia’s meteoric rise through Australian Rugby this year, and his man of the match performance for the Wallabies in their 18-9 win against England in his debut appearance at Twickenam.

The international media has really taken to the pint-sized 21-year-old scrum half who was born in Port Moresby, and is being hailed as Australia’s long-term solution for halfback.

The president of an English rugby club in Cumbria told PNG Attitude that stories about Genia began appearing in the British media soon after the Wallaby squad was chosen.

“Media coverage increased in the week leading into the game against England. At first, we thought it was a publicity stunt. But after his performance, there’s no doubt about it, you’ve got a good one,” he said.

Rugby writers for the major British national newspapers have been lavish in their praise of Genia.

Former England five-eighth Stuart Barnes wrote in The Sunday Times that Genia is destined for greatness. “He is developing at such a rate that come the 2011 World Cup he is going to be one of the outstanding pivots in the world game.”

In the same newspaper, chief rugby writer Stephen Jones said the ghost of the great George Gregan had finally been laid to rest. “Genia is a diamond, splendidly sharp and with many facets to his game.”

Former England second rower Paul Ackford in The Sunday Telegraph described Genia as “the new George Gregan. Quick and decisive. A real find for the Wallabies.”

In the same newspaper, Mark Reason compared Genia to former Wallabies skipper and halfback Nick Farr Jones. He wrote: “Playing halfback at rugby is all about understanding time and relative dimension in space. Genia seems to have a pretty shrewd grasp of physics.”

Australian coach Robbie Deans says Genia is very calm for a young man. He lauded him for his courage, poise and vision “He’s offering us a lot in terms of being the hinge between the front and back.”

But Deans has warned Genia that the battle has only just begun, and that he must adapt and diversify his skill set if he is to become a top-class halfback. “It is vital he does not relax or convince himself that what worked against England would always work.”

And how does the guitar playing Sanchez William Genia – to give him his full name – react to all the publicity?

“You’ve got to be excited,” he says, “and look forward to the challenge because it’s an opportunity you never want to take for granted, playing for your country.”

Time for action: Australia has spoilt PNG rotten

BY REGINALD RENAGI

A popular PNG Attitude blogger recently raised some pertinent questions about corruption in PNG.

It embarrasses many Papua New Guineans to explain why the average politician in seems undeterred by public opinion. Unlike some democracies, where politicians caught in misconduct cases resign or are made to step aside step, not so in PNG.

In such cases, an implicated MP usually issues a public denial, accuses the media of misrepresentation, and accuses local papers of spreading false stories to discredit his reputation.

The MPs involved do not feel disgraced or compelled to temporarily step down from office to await investigations (if any). Despite public outrage, politicians unashamedly hold on to their jobs with the prime minister failing to take tough action to ensure parliamentarians do the ‘right thing’. Over the years, successive prime ministers have all failed in this regard.

The citizenry today do not even bother about writing letters of complaint. It is a complete waste of time. Except for a handful, most pollies are big disappointments to their electorates. The so-called ‘big men’ simply ignore the complainant as a trouble-maker.

As for the PNG Ombudsman Commission, it may soon be made powerless if the government has its way. The Commission started off well. After the 2007 elections, the new Chief Ombudsman discontinued master’s studies at a prestigious Australian university to take up his political appointment.

He publicly reminded the pollies and senior bureaucrats that the Commission would do its job without fear or favour and keep public officeholders on their toes.

In recent times this earlier passion has waned somewhat as a familiar trend repeats itself. As with most state institutions, the Commission has limited resources with much to do to clear a huge backlog of outstanding cases. With little capacity, the Commission has become impotent.

On the whole, the Commission has done a sterling job, but it must do more to put away some bad politicians behind bars. To do this, it will need the help of the Attorney-General’s office and law enforcement agencies.

If that is not bad enough, the government now plans to pass a bill to further regulate the watchdog. This shows the government has something to fear. If this bill is passed in parliament then PNG will experience more gross political abuses of power.

The end state will be the Ombudsman Commission becoming a mere paper tiger with no powers to stop crooks occupying public office.

PNG needs committed department secretaries, board chairmen, civil society leaders and the general public to blankly tell MPs to behave.

Moreover, the country needs strong whistleblower legislation to protect those intrepid individuals brave enough to expose graft and corruption.  Without this, PNG will continue to suffer in future as people fear retribution from a corrupt and weak governance system.

It will take plenty of guts by good, honest people in all walks of life. These people must declare that enough is enough and collectively work towards improving and strengthening good governance in PNG's national affairs.

The change strategy must start from the Governor-General but the buck stops with the PM.

Australia too can play an important role in reforming PNG politics. Australia needs to also get tough with PNG. Australia is to be blamed to some degree as, over the years, it has spoilt PNG rotten with too much aid money and no accountability.

It is time for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to diplomatically tell PNG political leaders to be more accountable for the billions spent in development aid. This is a good time for Australia to pave the way for a new political order in the Pacific.

Australia cannot rest on past laurels but be absolutely honest with the Somare government. It is time to systematically reduce AUSAid funding so PNG is forced to plan better and start living within its own means without being over-dependent on Australia.

This is one foreign policy strategy to ensure the PNG government works towards improving the quality of life of all Papua New Guineans and not just enrich a few political elites who are bleeding the country dry.

In recent times, AUSAid has become a quasi-PNG government, freeing politicians to promote pork-barreling of local projects using resources in a mostly unplanned and unbudgeted way.

There has been much lip-service paid over the years the aid program as an effective development tool, but the outcome has always been unsatisfactory. Today, PNG desperately needs more trade with Australia, not more aid.

Overall, though, the whole political mess needs to be cleaned up by the Somare government. The Prime Minister must not shirk his leadership responsibility. It is not impossible for him to clean up his act now before he exits the political scene as he has the numbers in parliament to ensure his government is highly responsive to meet the people’s needs.

John Bowden: a teacher of Sir Paulias Matane

Former Keravat high school headmaster John Bowden died on Tuesday 27 October.

His daughter Judy gave the Eulogy to more than 100 people who attended the service.

PNG Governor-General Sir Paulias Matane said John was his second Australian teacher in the early 1950s at the then Keravat High School.

“He was a really good teacher from whom I learned so much, not only academically but also about proper attitudes towards others and life,” Sir Paulias said. “We truly miss him.”

Barbara Short, who attended the funeral, said it was “a happy occasion” attended by people from John's many interests.

“He was so proud to be able to contribute to Tuum Est [the history of Keravat school] which he read from cover-to-cover,” Barbara said. “Keravat was a place that was very precious to him.”

John Bowden arrived at Keravat in 1954. He married another expatriate teacher and stayed in PNG for 12 years, eleven at Keravat and one at Tusbab in Madang. He was headmaster of Keravat from 1960-65.

How we broke bush and opened up the Chimbu

“My mother was horrified when I was seven years old and told her my plans to become a nurse in the mountainous jungles of our northern neighbour,” says Margaret Schellenberger.

“But the day I stepped off that plane in New Guinea and felt the humid jungle air around me, I knew I was home.

“I was sent to Chimbu, to Kundiawa, from 1960 to 1966. It was really primitive. I got off the plane and there was this great sea of naked bodies and it was what I expected, as if I’d already dreamt it all.

“I opened up lots of areas so I was often the first white woman they saw. There was still some cannibalism when I went to Chimbu. They were using bows and arrows and they wore feathers and not much else.

“We had a hospital with a special ward for women to breastfeed pigs. Pigs were worth more than children.

“There were other cultural differences. They would thank you by rubbing hands up and down your legs. Living in native villages never fazed me. It was just life.

“When I first moved into the nurses’ quarters, the walls were literally made of paper and our hot water system was a metal drum with a fire underneath it, but I loved every moment of it.

“When people came to the hospital, we would give them three boards to sit on and planks of wood to form their beds. Friends would sleep under them if they needed to.

“They used to bring their own wood pillows and all their heads would hang out towards the corridor so you would sweep through their feathers as you walked by, especially beautiful bird of paradise feathers.”

Her husband Frank lived in PNG from 1950-66.

“I loved being able to get out into the jungle and explore by myself with a group of native boys. I was adventuring, going to places most people had never been before.

“It was great as a young bloke being able to buy weapons over the counter but it was a very dangerous place. Once in Port Moresby, I saw a drunk guy shoot up all the bottles on the shelf behind the bar.”

“We both came across witchdoctors. A medicine man would put on his dukduk, a long timber thing, on his head, and a funny grass skirt, and he’d prescribe that, if a child swallowed a piece of wood, it would cure tummy pains.

“The witchdoctor used to make this yellowish powder, which pregnant women would take. He’d tell them to climb a tree and jump off a branch three times but it would work without doing that last part.

“In 1957, the United Nations stepped in and ordered a certain level of education and health be achieved in a specific time. But you can’t take someone out of primitive life with no background and turn them in one generation into educated people to our standards.

“When I was with the department of land, mines and surveys, we had a native we trained to be a surveyor. He went home to his island for three months and he forgot everything he had learned in five years. He immediately went back to the primitive way of life.”

“At this age, you all start writing your life history and to me the New Guinea years are the most interesting part of my history,” Margaret says. “We want the kids to understand who we are and why we are the way we are. I loved being out in the jungle.”

Margaret and Frank are now writing a book about their lives in New Guinea, imaginatively entitled New Guinea Adventure. It seems likely to be catalogued in the Fiction section of your local bookshop.

Photo: PNG pioneers Frank and Margaret Schellenberger

Spotter: John Fowke (“Words fail me,” says John, “demeaning, mindless expat memoir”). From the weighty pages of those fine journals of record, the Sunshine Coast Daily and the Whitsunday Times

Who will really benefit from the PNG LNG project

BY PAUL OATES

While the land based signing agreements for the LNG project in the country are underway, those living closer to the project sites do not know if they will benefit. [After] the Kutubu oil fields and Hides gas projects … many people living closer to the projects believe they would be left out again – PNG Post-Courier

It's the same the whole world over / It's the poor what gets the blame / It's the rich what gets the pleasure / Ain't it all a bloomin' shame – ‘She was poor but she was honest’, pre-WWI English music hall song

The old song parodies life as seen by the poor of the day, highlighting class structure and the impression that ‘the rich get richer and the poor get poorer'.

PNG is on the threshold of another mining and resources boom with the announcement of a huge liquefied natural gas (LNG) project estimated to be worth billions of dollars.

Returns from gold and nickel mining are also set to provide a further huge boost to national income. But where is all this money heading for and will the majority of people benefit?

Past performances indicate that returns from resources development rarely last unless there is long-term planning and careful management of this national treasure well before the money starts to flow.

Current disputes over land and resources have already caused one civil war in Bougainville. The difficulty of establishing ownership in PNG is exacerbated by a traditional land tenure system not geared to resource development.

This system has difficulty is establishing who are the rightful owners of land and often leads to conflict.

Whenever there is an opportunity to gain without pain, many people want a piece of the action.

The government will expect that the lion’s share will be available to PNG as a whole. Past experience indicates, however, that the funds will be frittered away on unproductive public servants and government sycophants.

News reports have made much of the launch of the resources boom but very little about how the funds will be distributed in the general good.

The people of PNG deserve to know how they and future generations will benefit from this new wealth.