Keith Jackson & Friends: PNG ATTITUDE

PNG Council of Churches condemns asylum seekers detention

BRUCE MULLAN | Uniting Church in Queensland

FATHER Denny Guka, the president of the PNG Council of Churches has said they cannot be silent on the issue of the Manus Island detention centre.

“We are a compassionate people motivated by Christian faith, who are deeply concerned about those who need protection and security,” he said.

“But to allow asylum seekers against their will into our country, and imprisoning people who have not broken our laws appears to us a new form of human trafficking.

Social media commentators fear crackdown by PNG government

KEITH JACKSON

WRITER and commentator Martyn Namorong says he fears the Papua New Guinea government is moving to exert control over the social media and crack down on critics like himself.

Mr Namorong told his Twitter followers early yesterday morning that “due to defamation cases being taken against several online I have officially shut down my blog as of 12 am tonight”.

It was the blog, Namorong Report, that first projected Namorong as one of PNG’s most popular and respected political and social commentators.

Tensions rise in the ethnic melting pot that is Jiwaka Province

BOMAI WITNE

An entry in The Crocodile Prize
Cleland Family Award for Heritage Writing

ALMOST all the Papua New Guinean ways of passed on to us from our forefathers have been struggling to adjust to the institutions and business practices, such as plantations, introduced by the Western world.

This struggle persists in many forms. The western way of life and introduced institutions developed with the somewhat reluctant permission of our ancestors and have been endorsed through legislation by successive governments.

The introduction of plantations of all kinds throughout PNG, to take up my example, have had an enormous impact on our people’s lives.

PNG Attitude’s most commented & liked pieces in March

KEITH JACKSON

EACH month at about this time, I take a look at readers’ responses to the previous month’s articles, stories, essays and poems to get a fix on what made you respond with a comment or tick that little like box at the end of each piece.

Well there’s little doubt that March was Albert Schram’s month. After more than a year in exile the Unitech vice-chancellor was allowed back in to PNG and to his job. It was an epic tale of endurance by both Schram and his loyal students and staff back home in Lae. Who will write the book?

PNG writers recognised as Crocodile Prize stake soars to K35,000

KEITH JACKSON

NEVER have writers in Papua New Guinea had the opportunity to be recognised for such a wide range of creative work as in 2014.

With the addition of the Buk bilong Pikinini Writing for Children Award to the six other awards, after some halting steps in 2013 the Crocodile Prize has re-emerged as a powerful supporter of writers in PNG.

The latest award for writing that is of special appeal for children up to the age of 12 is making a bold statement that the Crocodile Prize is now embracing a younger generation of readers and that the Buk bilong Pikinini organisation is extending its reach from readers to writers.

Marking the 50th anniversary of a sometimes scurrilous newsletter

KEITH JACKSON

FIFTY years ago today, on the bar of the Chimbu Club, appeared a single sheet of paper under the rough-hewn masthead, Kundiawa News.

The newsletter had been typed on the back of a kiaps’ census form – and it was a joke perpetrated by me, at the time a 19-year old schoolteacher.

The main story, under the headline ‘Kundiawa Scandal Rocks New Guinea’, related how this small isolated township had become notorious worldwide because of some outrage which the item never made clear.

Over succeeding months, however, the Kundiawa News developed beyond a put-on to emerge as a fortnightly 16-page newsletter recording the events, tribulations and issues of the Chimbu (now Simbu) region of the PNG Highlands.

Under the stewardship of Murray Bladwell and me, it published 50 issues over a period of two years before we were both assigned to other places and other duties.

Now, half a century later, the Kundiawa News is a museum piece but it remains a detailed and often intimate record of the expatriate lifestyle during that period of Australia’s administration of what we called “the Territory”.

The originals of its 50 issues (its circulation peaked at more than 200 copies with a couple of specials printing about 500) are now with the National Library in Canberra, offering researchers a glimpse into the mindset and attitudes of Australian colonisers in the mid-20^th Century.

Over the next two years, PNG Attitude will bring you regular insights from the old Kundiawa News and take an occasional look at Highlands’ life and times 50 years ago.

Nokondi banished: Eastern Highlands traditional icon ousted

DON TAPIO

GOVERNOR Julie Soso and the Eastern Highlands provincial government have passed a motion to replace the traditional Nokondi icon with PNG’s national symbol, the Kumul (bird of paradise) – in this case called the Lahani after the provincial rugby league team.

The PNG government had also launched its own warfare against traditional icons in the national parliament labelling some carvings as ‘evil’ in a cleansing exercise instigated by the Speaker late last year.

Interestingly the O’Neill government’s situation since the cleansing exercises has not fared well. Many amongst the general public and learned citizens claim the government’s performance has been the worst in PNG history.

Whoever pushed this agenda on Governor Soso is surely not from the Eastern Highlands. It’s some immigrant blaming Nokondi for lack of progress, lack of confidence, underperformance by provincial public servants and even the missing millions from provincial coffers.

Buk bilong Pikinini sponsors K5,000 writing for children award

KEITH JACKSON

THERE’S a new award for writers in The Crocodile Prize national literary contest – this time for writing that is of special appeal for children.

The Buk bilong Pikinini Writing for Children Award carries a prize of K5,000 and entries close on 30 June.

The winner of the inaugural prize will be announced on PNG Independence Day in September, along with the other Crocodile Prize awards.

Writing can take the form of stories or poetry and entries should be limited to no more than about 1,000 words long. Illustrations to accompany the stories or poetry will be most welcome.

Disaster capitalism: Build a better PNG or profit from misery?

MARTYN NAMORONG | Namorong Report

WHILST in Bougainville a couple of years back I loved the cool evenings when I used to go for a swim in the Buka Passage.

This provided comfort from the hot humid days. I also remember travelling down to Tinputz from Kokopau. The trip along the dusty limestone road was punctuated by white crosses that reminded everyone of the end of conflict.

I have since had a fondness for Bougainville as it seemed so shocking to me that such beautiful people living in Paradise would be subject to the horrors of war.

My view has always been a sense that the PNG government had betrayed its own people. The Bouginvilleans themselves took Rio Tinto to the courts in the United States however the courts rejected their case.

Ill-conceived plan: Manus refugees an impending social tragedy

FR GIORGIO LICINI | Catholic Reporter PNG

THE Manus refugees all come from very troubled countries like Iraq, Afghanistan and Sudan and 90% of them are genuine political refugees.

The governments of Papua New Guinea and Australia will try to prove otherwise and take them back their countries of origin. But the world will call it murder.

Under the present circumstances and agreements, , Papua New Guinea will have to resettle about 1,000 of the refugees currently in Manus.

But many of these men (there are only men at Manus) will have to be joined by their spouses and children now detained in other refugee centres in the Pacific or waiting to reunite with them from their countries of origin. Who can deny children the right to grow up with their parents?

Development: are you willing to rise?

SERENA SUMANOP

This piece is a combination of excerpts taken from various speeches of mine over the last two years.

I COME from a beautiful and ancient land. For thousands of years before the arrival of western civilisation my people have lived in harmony with the land, environment and each other.

There were strong social structures that held the community and people together. A river, a mountain, dense forests or plains of grassland isolated these tribes.

This caused hundreds of unique communities to evolve, each with their own rich customs, traditions and languages. It is against this setting that we had the first generation of nation builders emerge.

A good footprint it is – but can Solomons emulate it?

SOLOMON STAR

A FORMER prime minister once said that Solomon Islands almost always follow in the footsteps of its near neighbour, Papua New Guinea in just about everything.

“The moment PNG pulls its feet out, we plant ours in,” he once told his PNG counterpart. Whether that is a good thing or not is debatable.

Something good has begun to unfold in that nation’s capital, Port Moresby. One hopes that we plant our feet firmly in PNG’s footprint in terms of their judicial system.

Writers’ seminar will encourage development of children’s books

KEITH JACKSON

THE Buk bilong Pikinini organisation will run a three-day program in Port Moresby next month to promote and support writing and the illustration of children’s books and stories in Papua New Guinea.

And writers who contribute to PNG Attitude and The Crocodile Prize are invited to attend.

“Children all over the world grow up learning from local stories and tales, which have been told for generations,” said organiser Anne-Sophie Hermann.

“Buk bilong Pikinini would like to ensure that such stories are available on our library shelves for all children to enjoy.”

The program includes information on writing opportunities with Buk bilong Pikinini and discussions with literary figures Alison Lester, Andrew Kelly, Drusilla Modjeska, Hilary McPhee, Russell Soaba, Russell Jackson and Steven Winduo.

Sessions will be held on understanding audiences, developing ideas, illustrating children’s books, learning through story and publishing.

If you are interested in attending this seminar, send an email to [email protected] or phone Elizabeth Omeri at + 675 7752 6000 or Anne-Sophie Hermann on + 61 2 6120 1801.

After Dr Schram’s return, Unitech students go back to class

RADIO NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL

STUDENTS at Lae's University of Technology went back to classes yedsterday after a five week boycott over last year's removal of Dr Albert Schram as vice-chancellor.

Dr Schram was deported after a clash with some members of the university council but he obtained a new employment visa last week and immediately returned to Lae.

Liaison officer with the Students Representative Council, Stanley Kombra Tepoka, said they are delighted to have Dr Schram back on campus.

Mr Tepoka said students feel vindicated by the government's promise to make public the report of Judge Mark Sevua's investigation into the allegations of mismanagement and corruption that students have been complaining about.

"It's already been tabled and its already been presented to the Chancellor; now it is going to be published and the recommendations implemented,” he said.

Mr Tepoka said the two 15-week semesters will become 13-week terms to accommodate the lost weeks.

Solomon Islands move from one disaster to another

FR AMBROSE PEREIRA

HEAVY rain and floods have left more than 20 dead and tens of thousands homeless in Guadacanal.

The Solomon Islands government declared a state of emergency after the Matanikau River burst its banks, sweeping away, people, houses and bringing down bridges.

The floodwaters have receded, but the country is yet to come to terms with the full extent of the damage. While rain lashes the country, major damage is seen in the Chinatown area of Honiara and in north-eastern Guadalcanal.

Like it'll last forever

JEFFREY MANE FEBI

An entry in The Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry

This valley
Seemingly endless
So full of life
Its own strife
Surrounds me
Beautiful as ever
Like it'll last forever
When I look at you
I know ‘twas a lie
Now I can't fly
I don't want to
But like the valley
And its alley
It'll remain beautiful
As long as I perceive it

The world drastically changes while we slumber in ignorance

GARY JUFFA

ABOUT a fortnight ago, the learned people of the International Panel on Climate Change, a committee set up by the United Nations to review the effects of global warming, informed us that global warming is now not just a notion.

It’s real and some of its effects are irreversible.

Substantial studies by scientists worldwide have proved this beyond reasonable doubt. It is sobering information to say the least.

Not everyone took this report seriously, especially the very rich who more or less control the global economy.

Unfazed, they rubbished the report and sanctioned an “independent” study using their own “eminent” and “learned” experts who will dismiss the scientific data as being a sinister plot by the United Nations to regulate global trade or somesuch.

The cunning Simbu human Lumbricus terrestris: a new culture

KELA KAPKORA SIL BOLKIN

An entry in The Crocodile Prize
PNG Chamber of Mines & Petroleum
Award for Essays & Journalism

I RECENTLY chanced on a Facebook group named Simbu Intending Candidates and am trying to comprehend the logic for such a creation.

Firstly, there is already the Simbu discussion group which discusses socio-economic, political and sectoral issues. Three-fifths of their discussions are on obsolete politics but it gives wannabe politicians an opportunity to demonstrate their political acumen.

The discussion group also exposes members to the dekrome arkanga, which is Simbu slang for the Lumbricus terrestris earthworm. These earthworms are lazy confidence men who feed on wannabe pollies. They are people who do not plough their own land for sustenance but feed on others toil.

PNG’s corruption busters show some real teeth

GRANT WALTON | DevPolicy Blog

THE Papua New Guinea Ombudsman Commission has been rather quiet of late, leaving many in PNG to wonder if the old lion has been sleeping. But over the past fortnight the Commission has been on the attack.

Last week, recently appointed Chief Commissioner Rigo Lua, and Ombudsman Phoebe Sangetari, announced that they had issued a directive to freeze progress on a K3 billion government loan from Swiss financial services company, UBS.

The government will to use the loan to purchase a 10.01% share in Oil Search – a partner in the country’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) Project.

Wait and Wait

ISHMAEL PALIPAL

An entry in The Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry

Like I waited for the sun to raise
Baby, I waited for you to rise
Every new day new things emerges
Just as the clouds forms new images
I wait and wait for you to rise

Every time I stand by your side
with my right hand on my side
Watching how and when you’ll stand up
As standing waiting for the sun-up
On my beautiful Bougainville seaside

Exploring the unexplored

AXEL RICE

An entry in The Crocodile Prize
Steamships Award for Short Stories

DRING. The school bell made its 2013 debut, signalling the start of the year’s first period. Its reverberating knell caused the sea of grey pupils to scurry off into the surrounding brick structures like a swarm of startled ants.

I stood in the midst of the scramble, with no clearly defined path ahead of me, with no preinstalled knowledge as to what I was supposed to be doing. Unable to attach myself to any one familiar person that passed me, I found my boat anchored on this strange Island. Where was I?

It was hard to believe that just a week ago, I was basking in all the tropical sunlight Lae had to offer, scaling the backyard trees and braving the notorious ‘green’ lizards that guarded them.

To my Father

DOMINICA ARE

An entry in The Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry

You are a Great Protector
Very strong headed but softhearted
So hardworking and committed
So loving and caring
My knight in shining armor

Through the rugged terrain and storms
You were alone; you were on your own
To guide your flocks, your very own
Life tossed so many things at you
But you managed to carry your cross

My aging Dad

DAVID WAPAR

An entry in The Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry

The change of color in your hair moves me dad
Wavy folds of skin appear on your forehead
I suddenly realized how regretful aging could be
Though at least for now it doesn’t mean so much to me

Dad your figure was once that of a Greek God;
Strong arms almost as solid as rods,
A pair of firm feet that walk the stony shores,
And a bold shoulder where once I used to rest on

Students end era of ‘localisation for sake of localisation’

OFFICE OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSIDER
PNG Blogs

THOSE of us old enough to remember the late 1970s and well into the 80s will remember the strong spirit of nationalism and “can do” spirit that captured our newly independent PNG.

An overwhelming sense of optimism grabbed the minds of our nation’s first university graduates and propelled them into a variety of jobs formerly occupied by Australians. No goal seemed out of reach. Nothing but bright skies beckoned us to march into our future with confidence.

Here’s why you need to be an innovative person

MARTYN NAMORONG

An entry in The Crocodile Prize
PNG Chamber of Mines & Petroleum
Award for Essays & Journalism

THE nation has evolved to a point where its populace are either predators or scavengers heavily dependent on sucking out the last economic juices out of its natural resources.

Papua New Guineans have throughout recent history been either mere spectators or passive participants in the process of development.  This rather sad indictment on the people is manifests in the debates and discussions about the realities of today.

That is not to say we aren’t good technicians. In the 38 years we have had political control of this land, we have achieved more than what the British and Germans achieved in the 40 or so years they controlled the Protectorates of Papua and New Guinea.

About-turn as PNG agrees to resettle asylum seekers

SARAH WHYTE | The Age (Melbourne)

PAPUA New Guinea will now resettle all asylum seekers who are found to be refugees and the Australian Federal Police will assist the investigation into the death of asylum seeker Reza Barati if requested.

The announcement comes only weeks after PNG prime minister Peter O'Neill made it plain that PNG would only resettle "some" of those whose refugee claims are recognised, insisting other countries in the region should "carry the same burden as we do".

Now all asylum seekers who are found to be refugees will be resettled in PNG, with the first group of refugees moving into temporary accommodation as early as June, Australian immigration minister Scott Morrison said.

Schram is back in town: Hero’s welcome for exiled Unitech boss

SALLY POKITON | PNG Edge

THERE was jubilation at Nadzab airport yesterday afternoon as exiled Unitech vice-chancellor Dr Albert Schram arrived to a big welcome by Unitech students.

Students travelled in truckloads from their campus to the Nadzab airport to welcome Dr Schram with what they described as ‘PNG Style’ welcome as they carried him through the crowd.

Members of the Students Representative Council were in Port Moresby this week to receive the vice chancellor who flew in from Cairns and they returned with him to Lae.

Schram restoration shows that democracy flows from below

FR GIORGIO LICINI | Catholic Reporter PNG

NOW the struggle by students to get vice-chancellor Dr Albert Schram back at Unitech has succeeded, we know a few things:

1.       Democracy works from below and not from above. Don’t expect well fed and firmly established leaders to guaranty your rights and freedom. You still have to earn them. It may seem unfair. But this is the way things work in history.

2.       Thanks to God’s gift of intelligence and a few Americans in Silicon Valley, the fight for freedom and rights now has new and powerful tools called social media. Some yesterday-men resented Unitech students and Dr Schram use of social media in this battle. They just share the same view of a number of authoritarian leaders and unelected governments all over the world.

A face without eyes

GEORGE KUIAS

An entry in The Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry

It bothers me a little since his eyes I can't see
The bloke wearing dark sun-glasses who is looking at me
The windows of his soul from the world he disguise
There are few things more strange than a face without eyes
He stands there unsmiling just looking my way
I try to be friendly to him, say good day
My greetings meet with silence, he does not reply
His right to his silence, non can deny
Though the evening is overcast without sunlight
To wear dark dark glasses is surely his right
But what bothers me is not his refusal to smile or to me say good day
But the windows to his soul in dark shades hidden away,
I cannot say whether he is soulful or wise
Since I can see is his face without eyes.

Bringing a university leadership program to the community

JANE PUMAI AWI

LAST week during the mid-term break at the University of Goroka, students Imelda Divina and Arie Uwata and I spent a week at the St Arnold Jassen Human Resource Development Centre at Migende in the Simbu Province.

There we conducted a leadership workshop sponsored by the Simbu Provincial Government through the office of Governor Noah Kool and his deputy, James Kendiyagl.

The workshop brought together 22 ward councilors and five young leaders from upper and lower Koronigle LLG (Kerowagi) to receive leadership training.

It was conducted by Fr. Joseph Sakite, the founder of the Centre and me. Two senior administrators at the University of Goroka, Dr Kapa Malpo Kelep and Dr Gairo Onagi, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Goroka, also participated through a five minute talk recorded on DVD and screened to the ward councillors.

Voice over PNG – a tribute to my mother, Jane Belfield

LOUISE TIGCHELAAR

WHEN Jane Belfield (1932-2013, pictured) arrived in Australia on a migrant ship in 1954 at the age of 19 she was living her dream of travel and adventure.

That she was pregnant with her first child and travelling alone, with her husband obliged to follow later on a Merchant Navy ship, she took in her stride – as she did with the many hurdles in her life.

She was to travel extensively over the course of that life; living almost half of it in Papua New Guinea, forging an enviable career, and acquiring countless friends and admirers along the way.

Newly married, she’d given up a cherished position as an editorial assistant in London to travel across to the other side of the world and live on a sheep farm in Western Victoria. But writing was always her first love, and she fulfilled a lifelong ambition when she graduated in journalism in the late 1960s.

Abonas Alotau – a place to refresh the mind & the spirit

GARY JUFFA

I HAVE almost given up writing about anything. There is nothing left to inspire me. Or even agitate me.

It is that terrible space writers find themselves in when they are completely loath to write about anything. I am sure many have been here. I have. Several times.

I want to write. It itches within me like it’s dying to be scratched. But I open a word document and I start. And give up after several lines.

I just gave up writing about corruption several minutes before I started writing this. Before that I had started on a piece about transnational crime. And before that about the state of our environment and the recent findings that prove that global warming is real and will lead to more adverse natural happenings around the world.

How to become a poet

MICHAEL DOM

If your heart is glass,
You must shatter it,
Then run the slivers into your hands and
Feet; a leisurely feat –
Piece by piece.

If your eyes are dim
You must gouge them out,
With a sharpened pencil, in your best hand,
Neat; deliberately neat –
Each and each.

A letter to Unitech students from a committed vice-chancellor

ALBERT SCHRAM

IT IS the fourth week of the boycott, and we are all tired, and we still don't know whether I will be allowed to come back on campus.

I understand your feelings. Trust me that my wife and I are sick and tired of waiting for the government to do the right thing.

You will also appreciate that with an aggressive opponent like Mr Saulep, we must not expose ourselves to court orders, which would force me to leave the country again after a few weeks, or be banned from entering it for a period of up to five years. We would be back where we started.

Remember we have been through this before with 2 Ministers and the Chancellor Sir Nagora waiting outside the Jackson's Airport on 9 March 2013, and me being manhandled on a plane for the second time, because of a supposed "travel ban" which I never was allowed to see.

Oil Search share acquisition a strategic investment for PNG

FRANCIS S NII

An entry in The Crocodile Prize
PNG Chamber of Mines & Petroleum
Award for Essays & Journalism

 

THE Papua New Guinea government’s 10.01 % share acquisition in Oil Search with A$1.2 billion UBS loan is a vital investment for the people of PNG. 

For ages we have been complaining about multinational companies reaping our natural resources and giving us scraps … so rich yet so poor has been our cry for donkey’s years.

The gas and oil business is booming. Apart from Exxon Mobil's LNG Project, in which the PNG government holds a 17% stake, InterOil's Elk and Antelope gas fields - described as the country's largest gas deposits - are about to be developed. And there could be more gas and oil elsewhere.

So how can we get equity for our citizens and maximise our gains?

A day in Port Moresby

DAVID WAPAR

An entry in The Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry

Sweaty necks and straining eyes
Exhaust fumes and dusty streets
Mountains and savannah, but the buildings rise
Welcome to my city Port Moresby

Unsightly betelnut spittle everywhere
Greet a wantok with a mouthful of our favorite fruit
Cigarettes and gossip at 12, as those are what we share
Change for my K10 note and I’m back under the roof

Terror Australis: The truth about Reza Barati must be told

BEN ELTHAM | New Matilda

WHEN will we know the truth about the death of Reza Berati (pictured)? The Iranian asylum seeker was killed while under Australia’s care following an attack on asylum seekers at Australia’s offshore detention centre at Manus Island, in Papua New Guinea, on 17 February.

We still don’t know exactly what happened. No-one has been charged. Several investigations are ongoing, but these too have been dogged by controversy. So many questions remain.

For instance, why is G4S, the global security firm responsible for the Manus Island detention centre at the time of the violence, reportedly refusing to cooperate with the Papua New Guinea police investigation?

Road to Completion

TRACEY TERRY

An entry in The Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry

Completion is not an easy road
Darkness of Failure
Glory of Light
Sense of Regret
Questions. What if, maybe, why……
Thankfulness of arriving

Oh My Solomon Islands

LEONARD FONG ROKA

An entry in The Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry

THE Anglo-German Declaration of 1886 and the Anglo-German Convention of 1899 were the two cruel deeds that sliced the Solomon Islands into British Solomon Islands and Bougainville, which was dumped into German New Guinea. It is our obligation to educate ourselves about the harsh past we endured.

Oh my Solomon island of Bougainville
Oh my Solomon island of Choiseul
Oh my Solomon island of New Georgia
Oh my Solomon island of Santa Isabel
Oh my Solomon island of Guadalcanal
Oh my Solomon island of Malaita
Of my Solomon island of San Cristobel

Peter O’Neill’s exploits are posing a threat to PNG’s democracy

FRANCIS S NII

An entry in The Crocodile Prize
PNG Chamber of Mines & Petroleum
Award for Essays & Journalism

THE WAY Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has been using his position and powers to manipulate legislation, circumvent legitimate processes and mistreat opponents so he can accomplish his goals is akin to tyranny and poses a threat to PNG’s democracy.

Mid last year, Peter O’Neill unilaterally dragged PNG into shouldering Australia’s asylum seekers’ problem when he signed a deal with then Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd without the input of Cabinet or Parliament and against the outcry of the people of PNG.

New film: POM General's maternity ward was like Dante's Inferno

AUSTRALIA NETWORK NEWS

TWO girls from Papua New Guinea and Cambodia feature in an award-winning Australian director's critically acclaimed film about the lives of girls around the world.

Rebecca Barry had wanted to make a film about the unique challenges faced by girls around the world, but it wasn't until she had faced the 2009 Pacific tsunami while in Samoa that she started working on the idea.

"It really kind of kicked me into action that I had to really focus on the important stuff and make a film about girls and why is it like this and celebrate their potential through making a film," she says.

Ms Barry's film follows the lives of six girls. Each has a different story to tell and two of the most powerful stories are from Cambodia and Papua New Guinea.

Ms Barry says she was drawn to PNG as it is Australia's closest neighbour. "It's a very close plane ride and you arrive and it's this other world", she says.

Ode to a Mellow Glass of Chardonnay

MICHAEL DOM

An entry in The Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry

Marvellous Mellow Glass of Chardonnay

What was my life before you came my way?

My parched throat and tongue, my taste buds were rife,

My heart, my mouth, with the raw taste of life!

I would sweat by my brawn, or by my brows,

Through the days and nights, for a wife and house;

But, with a Mellow Glass of Chardonnay,

My troubles and strife’s seem to wash away!

My heart, my mouth, would taste the sprite of life

If you were woman, I’d make you my wife!

Don't crush the Manus inquiry, says leading Australian newspaper

EDITORIAL | The Age

A HIGHLY unusual and welcome feature of Papua New Guinea's justice system is that any judge, on their own initiative, can commence legal action if they suspect a person or institution has breached or will breach human rights.

PNG's National Court even has a division devoted to managing human rights cases. It is led by Justice David Cannings, the resident judge in the province of Madang.

That Justice Cannings saw fit to initiate an inquiry this year into the human rights environment at the Manus Island detention centre is an indictment of Australia's deplorable policy of dumping asylum seekers in Papua New Guinea.

Is high handed regional diplomacy really in Australia’s interest?

DONALD K ANTON | East Asia Forum

IN recent times reports in the popular press recount too often international actions taken by Australia that appear decidedly undiplomatic — at least undiplomatic in the sense that they belie an effective management of international relations.

These actions have been perceived as provocative (or worse) by a number of neighbours in the region.

Instead of skilfully managing regional relations, Australia has found itself defending against legal action surrounding disturbing espionage claims and demands for the return of property by Timor-Leste in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).

Seeking nominees for lifetime achievement in PNG literature

KEITH JACKSON

READERS of PNG Attitude are being asked to nominate writers of substance for the Ok Tedi Mining Award Lifetime Achievement in PNG Literature, a section of The Crocodile Prize national literary contest.

The only previous winner of this K5,000 award was Russell Soaba, whose prose and poetry first graced PNG around the years of Independence.

So far three nominations have been made for the Award: Dr Steven Winduo, Sir Paulias Matane and Dr Bernard Minol.

Task Force Sweep chairman says Tiensten’s sentencing is a victory

EM TV

CHAIRMAN of Taskforce Sweep, Sam Koim, says Paul Tiensten’s sentencing on Friday was a victory for Papua New Guinea.

Tiensten (pictured) was sentenced to nine years hard labour for misappropriating a $4 million grant to controversial businessman Eremas Wartoto.

This was the first investigation conducted by the Sweep team after it was established in August 2011.

Land of the Black

ISHMAEL PALIPAL

An entry in The Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry

The sun rises up on this land
yet the land is still dark
with the beautiful black colour
but you will be sweating in this land
though you will be walking between dark
among the dark black skin color

I been out to other places
but never found  one like mind
where your eyes is always dark
this is really beautiful in these places
because you walk like “never mine”
for we are as everyone “dark”

The Rose Garden

MICHAEL DOM

An entry in The Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry

    They say there is a rose garden that blooms inside us now and again.

I remember how your breath was so sweet I wanted to swallow it

Whole – gobbling up your gasping wind – to drown my screaming

Caving in Papua New Guinea: between fantasy and reality

PHIL BENCE

THE WORD ‘expedition’ is often squandered and overused (or rather misused) for just about anything.

For us, it means exploring truly uncharted wilderness, meeting local populations and total immersion into a challenging natural environment where humans are simply not meant to travel.

The Papua New Guinean people know little to nothing about the gigantic caverns within their mountains and the current generation had never ventured as far or as high into the range. They were taken aback by our perceived recklessness and the colossal effort we undertook searching for caves, building trails, setting up camps, and pushing ever deeper into the earth.

Resolution! Albert Schram back to work as soon as tomorrow

SALLY POKITON | PNG Edge

STUDENT leaders at the PNG University of Technology have expressed relief and excitement over the announcement of the new Unitech Council headed by Sir Nagora Bogan as well as the approved work visa for vice chancellor Dr Albert Schram.

SRC president Eddie Nagual said that at a university council meeting on Friday “the entire council members resorted to Sir Nagora as chancellor.”

A decision to re-validate the contract of Albert Schram was later announced.