Papua New Guinea losing "millions" from Japanese tourism market

THE Tourism Promotion Authority says Papua New Guinea is currently losing millions in tourism dollars from the Japanese market and all relevant government agencies must quickly work together to address the problem.

PNG TPA chief executive officer Peter Vincent said major tour operators across the country were experiencing large booking cancellations by Japanese tourists following a Level 2 Travel Alert issued by the Japanese government for the interest and safety of its citizens.

The Level 2 Travel Alert prevents group travels by Japanese tourists to PNG however individuals can travel here but “at their own risk”.

Vincent said the Level 2 Travel Alert was issued in August following major security breaches at the Jacksons Airport including the killing of a local businessman and the exchange of gunfire between a disgruntled resource landowner and police.

He said while these incidents may be localised in nature, however, given the existing negative image perception of PNG abroad, that in the overall scheme of things, they caused more damage than good for PNG’s standing overseas.  

He said many PNG tourism operators have expressed their concern to the TPA that they were losing business in the millions because of booking cancellations by Japanese agents and tourists.

“This has now become a government-to-government matter which needs to be addressed immediately to safeguard our growing tourism industry and particularly our local tourism operators,” he added.

Vincent said the Japanese Government was adamant that it would not relax the travel alerts unless it was convinced that the safety of its citizens was guaranteed particularly at Jacksons Airport which is the gateway to PNG.

Vincent said while TPA was already working with police and other relevant government agencies including Civil Aviation and Air Niugini to address the issue, the national government needed to be more proactive in its approach as such incidents can also impact on Air Niugini’s second weekly flight to Tokyo and the billion kina LNG project.

He said as a nation, our people also seriously needed to do away with their attitude problems which gave rise to such issues and they must take responsibility and ownership in the progress and development of this country.

 

Probe starts into air crash

Among 3 Aussies and Kiwi killed was Trans Air co-owner

By STEPHANIE ELIZAH

Villagers and curious onlookers, Australian air safety officials and CASA and Accident Investigation Commission investigators at the scene of the crash on Misima Island, Milne Bay, inspecting the remains of the Cessna  Citation yesterday. – Picture by SINEWATA ISHMAEL

AMONG those killed in the plane crash on Misima in Milne Bay was Les Wright, the co-owner of Trans Air, which ran the charter, The National reports.

Wright, 59, was from Queensland, Australia.

The others were identified as Chris Hart, 61, from Sydney, and Darren Moore, 44, from Leonora in Western Australia, who was a civil aviation flight operations inspector.

The name of the fourth victim, an employee of medivac company International SOS, a New Zealander, was not released.

The survivor, another New Zealander who is a permanent resident of Australia, arrived in Port Moresby yesterday afternoon on a chartered flight from Misima Island.

The unnamed 25-year-old co-pilot of the doomed Cessna Citation was immediately whisked onto another plane and flown to Australia for medical treatment for “heavy bruising”.

Trans Air (PNG), a charter and medivac operator, is linked to the now-defunct Australian airline Transair, which went into liquidation after a 2005 crash at Lockhart River in north Queensland, killing 15 people.

Investigations have begun into the crash, which occurred on Tuesday afternoon.

The bodies of the four are at the morgue at Misima Hospital and would be flown to Port Moresby today.

Around 4pm yesterday, a chartered Airlines PNG Twin Otter arrived in Port Moresby with the injured co-pilot, heavily sedated.

Local and international media were locked out of the Trans Air hangar at the airport by security guards.

Accident Investigation Commission (AIC) chief executive officer David Inau confirmed “that a Cessna Citation jet ran off the end of the runway on landing”.

Inau gave no further details, only stating that  “until all findings have been gathered and finalised, then a formal statement will be made”.

Civil Aviation Safety Authority and AIC investigators were accompanied by Australian officials to the crash site yesterday.

They would try and establish the cause

of the accident.

Australian leaders, including prime minister Julia Gillard and foreign affairs and trade minister Stephen Smith, yesterday expressed sorrow at the loss of their citizens’ lives.

“On behalf of the government, I offer my condolences to the families of the three Australians that will be grieving the loss of a loved one today,” Gillard told reporters in Australia yesterday.

“I also offer our condolences to the New Zealand family that has lost a loved one.

“And, I wish a speedy recovery and a return to good health to the New Zealand citizen, Australian resident who has been injured.”

Smith said the tragedy came just weeks after the first anniversary of the Kokoda plane crash in which nine Australians died.

“This will be a very sad reminder to nine Australian families,” Smith said.

“It follows on very closely from the first anniversary of the Kokoda air crash, so this will be painful not just for the families of the five involved but a painful reminder of the Kokoda air crash.”

Smith confirmed that the plane was chartered by Trans Air and one of those killed was employed by the company but he would not say whether it was its owner Wright.

However, an industry source told AAP: “Les Wright from Trans Air was on board and died.”

The foreign minister said he had spoken to the Australian acting high commissioner in PNG and was told “everything that Australian officials can do is being done both on the ground in Misima and Port Moresby”.

Smith said the Australian Transport Safety Bureau had offered assistance in any formal investigation into the cause of the crash.

“We regrettably have a lot of experience with plane crashes in PNG and we have in the past, and I expect on this occasion, will work closely and successfully with PNG officials,” he said.

Tribute to a 'supreme pro'

A MARITIME pilot who died in the Misima plane crash has been praised as a “supreme professional” and mentor, The National reports.

Father-of-three Chris Hart was a passenger on board a Trans Air plane which slid off the runway on Misima Island and burst into flames on Tuesday afternoon.

The 61-year-old Sydney man was on his way to guide a ship from Misima, about 500km southeast of Port Moresby, through the Great Barrier Reef.

Two other Australians – one believed to be Trans Air owner Les Wright and the other a worker for medivac company International SOS – and a New Zealander also died.

Don Mclay, from Australian Reef Pilots, told reporters in Australia Hart was a “supreme professional” and mentor for younger boat pilots.

The former British navy submariner worked for cruise ship firm P&O, where he met his wife Hilary.

After a secondment to the Maritime Services Board in Sydney, Hart joined Howard Smith and returned to sea in the firm’s merchant shipping division.

He became a coastal pilot with Australian Reef Pilots in 1997.

Mclay said Hart took great pride in his two daughters and son.

“While his duties meant he was frequently away from home, he made sure he always had quality time with them,” Mclay said.

“We have lost a respected friend and colleague.

“We will always remember Chris’ quirky sense of humour, his passion as a chef and his insatiable love for country and western music.”

 

Four Australians killed in air crash

By STEPHANIE ELIZAH and WALLACE KIALA

 

FOUR expatriates were killed in a plane crash yesterday afternoon on Misima Island in Milne Bay, The National reports.

The pilot is seriously injured and has been admitted into hospital.

Reports received yesterday said a chartered Trans-Air Ltd aircraft, with five Australians, including the pilot, en route from Port Moresby to Bwagaoia, crash-landed in nearby sago palm trees as it over-shot the runway.

Misima police chief Sgt Moses Hilibobo told The National bad weather might have caused the accident as it was raining heavily around 4pm when the crash occurred.

He said technical fault had not been ruled out as eye witnesses reported seeing flames coming out from the plane as it was attempting to land.

Hilibobo, who was among the first at the scene, including emergency health personnel from the Misima District Hospital, said the aircraft had its wheels and wings ripped off when it landed.

Hilibobo said: “The passengers were badly burnt when we arrived at the scene, because the main body of the plane caught fire immediately with the passengers still trapped inside.

“The dead were taken to the morgue while the pilot was immediately treated for burns and other injuries. He was conscious when we rescued him from the swamps.

“He might have been thrown off the plane when it crashed,” Hilibobo added.

Meanwhile, Southern region police commander Chief Supt Jerry Frank said in Port Moresby last night that according to the provincial police commander’s office in Alotau, a crash investigation team would be dispatched to Misima today.

Frank said the Australians were on their way to international waters off Misima to resume duties aboard ocean liners via tugboats.

Acting director of Civil Aviation Authority Safety Wilson Segati also confirmed news of the air crash but did not give details.

Works and Transport Minister Don Polye said he was briefed about the accident and was “very sad that lives have been lost in the crash”.

“It is very distressing news.

“I am told that it is a small Cessna jet owned by Trans-Air, and was on a charter run.

“An investigation is underway and I cannot comment further until we get more details,” Polye said.

Meanwhile, Australian Reef Pilots (ARP) told AAP one of their staff members died in yesterday’s crash.

The other Australians on board were not working with ARP.

Acting chief executive officer for PNG Ports Jerome Peniasi told AAP the Australians on the plane were working with ARP near Misima Island.

“We are aware of the accident but we still do not have much information as communication has been difficult,” he said.

ARP chief executive officer Craig Southerwood issued a short statement yesterday evening.

“ARP is shocked and saddened by the loss of one of our marine pilots in a chartered plane crash in PNG this afternoon,” he said. 

“Chairman Don McLay is visiting with the family of our deceased workmate and friend to offer them the company’s sympathy and any assistance at this terrible time.

“We are all shattered by this tragedy.”

ARP provides help for vessels navigating in difficult shipping lanes and provides emergency and temporary port pilots and marine consultancy.

According to ARP’s website, the company has been involved in marine pilotage through Queensland’s shipping channels for more than 100 years.

 

 

British High Commission continues support for anti-corruption body

From left are  Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce & Industry (POMCCI) vice president Ken Dunn, Treasury and Finance Minister Peter O’Neill and BACA coordinator Val Salama look as British High Commissioner David Dunn shakes the hands of POMCCI president Ron Seddon before passing on the cheque for K85,000.
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The British High Commission has continued its partnership with the anti-corruption body Business Against Corruption Alliance (BACA).
British High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea, David Dunn, said the UK government was pleased to be able to partner BACA for a second year and to help in its efforts to tackle corruption.
BACA, is run by business for business and provides its members with concrete advice, best practice and support to more than 100 like minded companies who have chosen to make a stand against corruption.
“Ensuring that the PNG investment climate is transparent, fair and an equal playing field for all is critical for the PNG’s future development,” he added.
BACA is an initiative of the Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce (POMCCI), the British High Commission and the PNG Chapter of Transparency International (TIPNG).
It was established in 2009 to provide anti-corruption awareness, education and support to its membership and their employees.
A recent independent study undertaken by BACA revealed that in the last 12 months 24% of its members have suffered losses between K10,000 to K50,000 from corrupt activities and that 100% favour a confidential whistle blowing service.
The British High Commission’s support for BACA is part of a global UK commitment to fight corruption and encourage fair trade. In support of this UK Prime Minister David Cameron recently announced primary legislation aimed at toughening up further anti bribery and corruption legislation.
The new UK Bribery Act will ensure that the UK stays at the forefront of the battle against corruption and will legally empower British authorities to insist that UK companies operate to the highest standards and that they are able to held accountable not only for their activities in the UK but abroad as well.
For more information on how you can join BACA and its activities please email baca@pomcci.org.png .

The glory days of radio in Papua New Guinea

By MALUM NALU

Like many other Papua New Guinean children of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s era, I grew up on a constant diet of radio and the voice of that great National Broadcasting commission icon Peter Trist.
Trist, for those who came in late, was the man behind those famous NBC drama and radio programmes of that bygone era.

The great Peter Trist

In those days, before video killed the radio star, Sunday night dramas were a must and every time one of those popular dramas came on, entire families would be huddled around their radio sets.
Many fine actors emerged on radio drama, some from staff of the NBC, others from auditions, including my good mate David ‘Buffalo’ Haro in Lae, Cecily Kekedo, Joseph N’Draliu, Pauline Beni Hau’ofa, Kilore Susuve, Alofa Vaki, Douglas Gabb, Memafu Kapera and – possessing one of the richest radio voices – the late Sevese Morea.
Trist was also the man behind the famous school broadcast programmes of that era, including the unforgettable Peter, Kinibo and Dagu, in which he played the villain Doriga.
The NBC cupboard, sadly, is now bare of those iconic radio programmes.
On Tuesday last fortnight, I had the long-overdue honour of meeting my childhood hero at the University of PNG campus, where he presented a paper at a two-day book workshop in which he discussed the influence of the inimitable Ulli Beier and his wife Georgina on PNG playwriting, poetry prose, performance and publications in the 1960s and 1970s.
Now aged 74, Trist first came to PNG in 1957 and left in 1984, and has not been back since.
As we sit down in the UPNG forum, his old stomping grounds which he first came to in 1966, memories of another day come rushing back.
I am also a product of UPNG, having first come here in 1986, but that was many years later after Trist had left.
“I first came to PNG in 1957,” he tells me.
“I worked with the Australian administration in those days as a clerk with Customs and Department of Native Affairs.
“In 1966, Dr John Gunther (then vice-chancellor of UPNG) invited me to come out and join the administration staff of the university.
“He said that he knew that I’d done a lot of theatre work in Moresby.
“I did the first integrated production with Papua New Guineans and Australian expatriates at the old arts theatre in town.
“It was a product of Gilbert and Sullivan, HMS Pinafore.
“That was controversial and some of the white members resigned in protest, arguing ‘where would the natives get dressed for the show’?
“I issued an ultimatum that unless the Papua New Guinean actors were welcomed, I would refuse to direct the show.
“The play went ahead and was a great success, with mixed audiences enjoying the show.
“Jon Bili Tokome and Cecily Kekedo were among the cast.”
It was then decided that Trist could go ahead and establish a Drama and Arts Society at UPNG.
In 1974, he joined the NBC, and thus began an unforgettable era in the history of PNG radio.
“The (NBC) chairman at that time, Sam Piniau, asked me to form the Drama and Features Department,” Trist remembers.
“I wanted Papua New Guinea material and actors and musicians.
“I arranged for the NBC to pay these artists for their contributions.
“Therefore, it was on a professional, rather than amateur basis.”
The NBC was persuaded to have a clear motivational “carrot” to promote people to send scripts with payments for any scripts used in broadcasting.
There was also payment for actors taking part in radio drama.
Trist remembers that on the day of their “open audition”, after a newspaper advertisement, a long line of hopeful, would-be actors, stretched from the NBC studios almost to Boroko.
Local playwrights such as Russell Soaba, Benjamin Umba, Pius Tikili, Roslyn Bobom, Norah Vagi Brash and the very-prolific John Kolia contributed.
A memorable drama serial based on actual historic events was Albert Toro’s The Sugarcane Days.
This told the story of Molen, who was kidnapped as a young man by the notorious ‘blackbirders’ and conscripted into virtual slavery on a Queensland sugar plantation.
Toro told the events from the perspective of Molen, as an old man, remembering the trials of his servitude as a ‘kanak’.
The great Bougainvillean actor, the late Jon Bili Tokome, played the role of Molen, with strength and sensitivity, while Roslyn Bobom was equally memorable as his mother.
“Cultural programmes were contributed by Ulli Beier at the institute of PNG Studies on topics such as music, folklore, art and customs,” Trist says.
“They were scripted and broadcast.”
Folklore in Melanesia, for example, was a six-part series examining themes in Melanesian myth on topics such as death, creation, the moon, the coming of the Europeans – presented by Beier and Karkah Kais – and was dramatised with acted sequences.
Scripts for this series, and for others, were produced by the institute.
Arts in the Third World, The World through Poetry, and Worship through Music were other successful NBC/IPNGS co-productions.
“I left Papua New Guinea in 1984 to return to Australia to care for my ageing parents,” Trist says.
“In Australia, I continued to direct and produce plays to encourage young people to express themselves through theatre.”
I ask Trist what are the highlights of his 27 years in PNG.
“Highlights would be the formation years at the University of PNG and to witness the very first graduation of qualified Papua New Guineans,” he says.
“It was John Gunther’s vision to get this place going.
“This is my first time back since leaving in 1984, so you can imagine the emotions running through me.”
Trist says that to rekindle those glory days of radio drama and programmes in PNG, there must be strong corporate support.
“It’s time for corporate support,” he says.
“You Papua New Guineans are among the most-creative people in the world.”

Some thoughts on recovering stolen money

BY PAUL OATES

 

ADDRESSING THE annual conference of the Institute of Internal Auditors in Port Moresby last Friday, PNG Ombudsman John Nero raised the prospect of recovering misappropriated funds.

Mr Nero said leadership tribunals should be empowered to order their restitution.

"As it is, a leader can steal millions of kina and is not be obligated to pay back even though found guilty by the tribunal," he told the conference.

"The public prosecutor, in consultation with the police, (needs to) invoke certain provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Act where a guilty verdict is recorded to commence recovery of stolen assets in-country or abroad.

Mr Nero went on to say there was a need for permanent leadership tribunals whose membership could comprise retired judges and magistrates, accountants, lawyers, engineers, business people and the clergy, so members could be drawn at short notice.

This would obviate the strain on judicial and magisterial services in terms of cost and stress on court programs.

He said the chief justice, in consultation with the chief magistrate, should appoint a leadership tribunal within 30 days of receiving a request from the public prosecutor.

Earlier this year the government of the Maldives Republic faced a similar problem of recovering misappropriated government funds that the former Maldives president (who himself had taken over from a kleptomaniac) had reportedly used for personal enrichment.

The previous president, Mr Gayoom, who had held power for 30 years, has now had his extravagant life style audited.

The audit report said in part: "An estimated $9.5 million was spent buying and delivering a luxury yacht from Germany for the president; $17 million was spent on renovations of the presidential palace and family houses. Mr Gayoom built a saltwater swimming pool, a badminton court and a gymnasium, and he bought 11 speed boats and at least 55 cars - including the country's only Mercedes-Benz."

The new Maldives government has asked the World Bank and the UN to help in recovering the funds, said to amount to $US 400 million.

In PNG's case, misappropriated funds recovered could be available for health, education, law and order or any one of a number of areas that desperately need assistance.

An effective audit of trust funds would be an excellent place to start. Bulolo MP Sam Basil recently highlighted the operations of government trust funds as an area needing to be audited and tightened up.

I wonder what might be revealed by an effective audit of government expenditure. Surely those charged with safeguarding PNG's public monies must urgently give thought to Mr Basil's and Mr Nero's suggestions. Who knows, perhaps the PNG Chief Justice, if he were to be sent a copy of this article, might consider these suggestions as a practical way forward? Just the thought that audits will definitely be initiated on Trust funds and those who have been guilty of misappropriation will have to repay the monies and be charged might stop or least slow down the currently reported haemorrhaging. Positive action must start somewhere.