PNG politics: 2013 will be another tough year

by Tess Newton Cain in The Intepreter

Tess Newton Cain is a Research Associate at the Development Policy Centre.

Last year saw Peter O'Neill negotiate numerous hurdles and pitfalls to take (or retain, depending on your reading of the constitutional crisis in the preceding seven months) power as prime minister of Papua New Guinea.
He put together a coalition government comprising around 90 of 111 MPs, giving him a solid majority and creating a degree of accord in the Haus Tambaran unseen for a very long time. His erstwhile lieutenant, Belden Namah, retreated to the opposition benches and even confirmed his willingness to support a constitutional amendment to extend the grace period in which votes of no confidence in the government cannot be lodged from 18 to 30 months.

O'Neill's election victory was welcomed in Canberra, as evidenced by his visit there at the invitation of Prime Minister Gillard and by the inaugural visit to PNG by Foreign Minister Carr. During his time in the country, Senator Carr repeatedly expressed the warm feelings of the Australian Government towards the O'Neill Government and O'Neill personally. The bonhomie looked to be reciprocated, with Carr's previous sins apparently all forgiven.
But with the turning of the year, it appears the honeymoon period is over and it's business as usual in PNG politics. In the last couple of weeks, a number of challenges to the O'Neill Government have arisen that undermine what appeared to be a well constructed and fortified position in the political landscape.
First, we saw the return of Belden Namah to centre stage. With no apparent trace of irony, the Leader of the Opposition declared that he would 'ensure that the values of our nation's constitution are upheld' by challenging the legality of the processing centre which recently reopened on Manus Island. Although the Prime Minister has not commented on the proceedings, he is no doubt unimpressed, as is Charlie Benjamin, the governor of the province, who appears to have overcome any concerns of this type he may have had previously. The National Court has yet to set a date to hear the case.
Hard on the heels of this announcement came Namah's assertion that he was withdrawing opposition support for the extension of the grace period as a reflection of his concerns that the country was becoming a 'banana republic'.
Given the size of the Government's majority and the fact that those who signed up to the Alotau accords in August of 2012 so far remain loyal to O'Neill, it is quite likely that, while Namah can make things uncomfortable in the media and possibly on the floor of the House, he is not really in a position to do the Prime Minister any substantive political harm at this stage. Don Polye has confirmed that his party, the second-largest coalition partner, will support the extension of the grace period.
Having said that, some cracks are beginning to show in the Government's alliances. Earlier this month there was an announcement that the People's Party, led by Peter Ipatas (governor of Enga province) would merge with the People's National Congress, led by O'Neill, giving the PM a total of 40 MPs under his direct control. However, the Registrar of Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates, Dr Alphonse Gelu, has refused to accept this arrangement, citing non-compliance with section 52 of the Organic Law on Political Parties and Candidates, which requires that such a merger be agreed by an absolute majority of the members of each party and 75% of members who are MPs.
In the midst of all this, O'Neill found himself, along with at least two of his ministers and numerous senior officials, struggling to avoid becoming embroiled in the ongoing and increasingly bizarre Phocea affair. Namah has lost no time in making political capital out of it.
It is generally accepted that the Manus Island facility (which O'Neill has said he would like to see become permanent) is the glue of the Australia-PNG relationship, but there are likely to be other reasons why Canberra is keen to have Peter O'Neill leading government in PNG. O'Neill's generally favourable approach to Australia, particularly as compared with that of Namah or his predecessor Sir Michael Somare, is well known, although the recent furore over the travel ban imposed on Ross Garnaut appears to belie this somewhat.
Furthermore, there are a couple of issues on the horizon on which Australia will hope to have PNG's support. One is in counterbalancing Fiji within the Melanesian Spearhead Group – the collective response to the recent events surrounding the reform of Fiji's constitution is yet to be made known.
In addition, if the issue of independence for West Papua arises, Australia will be keen to see O'Neill maintain his position of seeking to work with Indonesia in resolving border issues and acting as a restraint on more radical suggestions. Decolonisation is already on the table this year in relation to French Polynesia, and 2014 marks the end of both the period covered by the Noumea Accord and the ten-year transitional period in Bougainville, so it is conceivable that the momentum could provide fuel for the ever smoldering fire of West Papuan independence, something Australia is keen to avoid.

An affair to remember

By MARK BAKER

Bendigo Advertiser

 

THEY buried him on Australia Day on a windswept hillside in north-eastern Tasmania, far from the land he fell in love with, that he helped transform and that came to adopt him as one of its own.

But Barry Holloway brought Papua New Guinea home with him to the little timber church with the peeling paint and rusting tin roof at Kimberley, near Sheffield. It was there in his children, in the readings in the pidgin and in the haunting strains of Rock of Ages sung in Motu, the language of the coast.

Holloway with the Queen in 1974.

Holloway with the Queen in 1974

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Holloway with a UN Trusteeship Mission in 1956.

The journey had begun here, in the house across the valley where his mother was born and where she gave birth to him in 1934, and in the nearby school where a boy dreamed of a life of adventure far away.
That journey was to take 60 years and it would traverse the modern history of PNG - from colonial trust territory, to self-government and independence and beyond.
It began with a teenage cadet patrol officer trekking through the remote and untamed territory of New Guinea and ended with a distinguished political career, a knighthood and the deep affection of a generation of Papua New Guineans.
At each step, Barry Holloway made a special mark. He was, probably more than any other Australian, instrumental in the making of modern PNG, and his death closes a circle on Australia's engagement with PNG's coming of age.

Barry Holloway with Indonesian foreign minister Adam Malik and PNG chief minister Michael Somare

He was one of the first expatriates to advocate independence for the Australian trust territory in the 1960s. He helped found Pangu, the country's first political party, and ran the numbers that saw a brash young journalist named Michael Somare become its first leader. He chaired the committee that drafted the constitution and, at independence in 1975, he was one of the first white men to take citizenship of the new nation, happily surrendering his Australian passport.
He became speaker of the first parliament after independence, then a senior minister in several governments. He was a reformer, a champion of the ordinary man and a campaigner against corruption, the issue that many believe drove him to an early death.
After finishing secondary school, Holloway moved to Melbourne and was working as a labourer when he saw a newspaper advertisement seeking young men with ''initiative, imagination and courage'' to work as patrol officers in the UN-mandated Territory of Papua and New Guinea.
Between 1949 and 1974, more than 2000 Australians aged between 18 and 24 were recruited as patrol officers, or kiaps - pidgin for captain, from the German kapitan - and sent to bring the rule of white law to the often lawless outer reaches of the territories.
After six weeks' basic training, Holloway arrived in Port Moresby in April 1953, a lanky 18-year-old with a shock of curly red hair who was ready for adventure. After an initial posting with an experienced kiap on Bougainville island he was sent alone to a district in Madang province. Suddenly he was at once police chief, magistrate, medical chief, census officer and director of engineering for roads and airstrips.
On one of his first patrols into an uncontrolled area he had to defuse a clash between two warring tribes with the help of only a handful of native policemen.
''After three weeks, the whole crowd of about 600 to 700 would be massing around,'' he told the ABC in 2009. ''We demonstrated the power of the .303 by lining up about five shields, making a dum-dum out of a bullet, and showing how it would come out with a great gap on the other side. Because to these people these [rifles] were just sticks, and had no meaning until we demonstrated their power.'' That was the end of the tribal fight.
Holloway moved to the Eastern Highlands in 1958 and won election to the territory's first House of Assembly in 1964. He had a natural campaign advantage with his unruly red hair. Many of the tribes believed the gods had red hair.
He also had a unconventional but effective campaigning style. He would arrive at each village with a simple message: ''On election day just go the polling station and chant, 'Ollo-way, Ollo-way, Ollo-way'.'' And they did, in their thousands.
In Port Moresby, Holloway quickly befriended the first indigenous MPs and openly championed the case for independence in a parliament dominated by the colonial administration and conservative white planters.
In 1976 he and Tony Voutas, another kiap turned MP, helped found Pangu along with a clutch of others who would become legendary figures in the emerging nation - Albert Maori Kiki, John Guise, Ebia Olewale and Michael Somare.
In the struggle to choose a party leader, Holloway was instrumental in securing the numbers for Somare to beat Guise, who later became governor-general. As Somare noted in a tribute sent to the Holloway family last week: ''I acknowledge his immense contribution and great support for my early political aspirations … He was among a handful of non-indigenous people who supported the principle that Papua New Guineans should be able to determine their own future.''
Somare went on to become chief minister when Australia granted self-government in late 1973 and the first prime minister at independence two years later. After serving as speaker of the first parliament, Holloway held a series of ministerial appointments, serving as finance minister under Somare and Julius Chan, who led the country's second government.
His love affair with PNG was both physical and spiritual. Nine of his 12 children were born to Papua New Guinean mothers. Friends say the unofficial count is 16.
His first wife Elizabeth, whom he met and married in Tasmania while on leave from PNG, moved back to Australia to raise their twin sons and daughter. The boys returned in 1975 to spend independence year at school in PNG.
Son Daniel recalls: ''He took Damien and me up to Goroka on one occasion. When we got there, one day he drove to his office and asked us to wait outside on the footpath. A little while later he came back with a skinny little boy and said to us, 'Meet Joe. He's your brother.' I think it was as much of a surprise to Joe as it was for us.''
Many other children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren were to follow. ''None of us quite knew when he was going to stop,'' Daniel says. ''It was a bit of a running joke. Each time another child was born, we told him, 'You can stop now'.''
Holloway married Ikini Yaboyang, a feisty young journalist, in 1974. He is survived by his last wife, Dr Fua Uyassi (Lady Holloway). Says Daniel: ''He cared very much for all his children … and despite his marriages unfortunately not working out, he also cared for his wives to the end.''
His large and unconventional family was just one of the ways in which his life matched that of many traditional ''big men'' in PNG society. His homes in Port Moresby and Kainantu were open houses to friends and colleagues, his vehicles were freely available and what money he had was shared with those in need. ''If he only had a dollar in his pocket and someone asked him for some money he would give it to them,'' Daniel says.
A lifetime of such generosity and a series of business ventures, including starting his own micro-finance scheme for villagers, left him with little at the end of his life.
''He was flat broke,'' said Ernie Lohberger, a fellow Tasmanian and long-time PNG resident. ''In the end he was living on a friend's boat because he couldn't afford the rents they charge in Port Moresby these days.''
Unlike many Australians who stayed after independence - and many more of the Papua New Guineans who succeeded them in positions of power - Holloway did not set out to enrich himself. He was appalled by those who did and, ultimately, it probably hastened his death.
Disturbed by a trend that now ranks PNG among the worst on Transparency International's global corruption index, Holloway decided to make a political comeback in last year's elections, standing for governor of Eastern Highlands Province.
Two weeks before campaigning was due to begin in the midyear poll, he suffered a stroke that temporarily blinded him, according to a close friend. He refused to go to hospital because his opponents had argued that, at 78, he was too old for politics and he feared they would use the news to wreck his campaign.
Despite the pleas of family and friends, he threw himself into the campaign, travelling by road and air and often on foot to visit as many of the scattered and remote villages in the province as he could. In the end, he lost, but only by a few hundred votes.
''He got more than 100,000 votes. It was testament to the strength of his following and his standing in the Eastern Highlands,'' Peter Donigi, a long-time friend and PNG's former ambassador to the United Nations told the mourners in Kimberley.
Supporters wanted Holloway to call for a recount, which they believed would see the result overturned, but he refused. Instead, he was one of the first to send a message of congratulation to the new provincial governor.
Some say he never recovered from the exhausting campaign, his health issues compounded by prostate cancer.
''Barry never saw himself as merely a catalyst for change,'' says Tony Voutas, who left PNG on the eve of independence. ''For him, it was his country. He was one of the few in those colonial days who looked at Papua New Guineans as equal human beings. The planters called them bush kanakas and some right-wingers regarded them as a different evolutionary stream.
''But Barry was one of those people who did not see race. And the Papua New Guineans regarded him as one of them. And once you are accepted into their society it is as if you were born into their society.''
After his death at a Brisbane hospital on January 16, the leaders of Kainantu wanted him brought back to be buried there, but Barry Holloway's last wish was to be laid to rest beside his mother and father in the church yard at Kimberley.

As men wept and women wailed on Saturday afternoon, a daughter stepped forward and sprinkled a sachet of his favourite Goroka coffee into the red clay of the grave. For a moment the aroma of the New Guinea highlands mingled with the scents of the Tasmanian bush.

''They will never see anything like this in Kimberley again,'' said Geoff Pedley, an old schoolmate.
They won't. We won't.

Mark Baker is editor-at-large. He is a former PNG correspondent for Fairfax.

Questions asked on PNG ferry disaster anniversary

By ABC Papua New Guinea correspondent, Liam Fox

On the first anniversary of Papua New Guinea's worst maritime disaster, families of the victims say they are still looking for answers.
At least 140 people died when the Rabaul Queen passenger ferry sank in rough seas off the country's north coast on February 2, 2012.
Despite the scale of the tragedy and a damning inquiry, police are yet to start a criminal investigation.
The final death toll from the disaster is not known, with the commission of inquiry finding that between 140 and 160 people died.
Authorities are yet to issue death certificates to families of the victims.
Tommy Yep, who has been campaigning on behalf of victims and whose son Theodore survived the disaster, says many people just want to move on.
"There were people on the ship that were public servants, there were teachers, they have other professions," Mr Yep said.
"According to the law you need to produce a death certificate so that they can sort out your entitlements and whatever else."
The commission of inquiry found the ferry was unseaworthy, unsafe and should not have been sailing in the rough conditions.

Audio: Liam Fox reports on the anniversary of the disaster (ABC News)

Its report said the Rabaul Queen was carrying at least 80 more passengers than it was permitted to and the crew was neither competent nor qualified.
Acting Police Commissioner, Simon Kauba, says detectives are yet to start collecting evidence due to a shortage of funds.
Mr Kauba says money has now been allocated and an investigation should start in mid-February.
The National Maritime Safety Authority was labelled as "incompetent" and "ineffective" in the commission's report.
National Maritime Safety Authority CEO, Chris Rupen, declined requests for an interview and is yet to respond to emailed questions regarding what, if any of the inquiry's recommendations have been implemented.

Prime Minister: Border trade vital

Source: The National, Friday, February 1, 2013

 

By MALUM NALU

PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill says there are good opportunities along the border areas to develop relations between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, particularly at Wutung, West Sepik
He told reporters yesterday he had met recently with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Bali where several issues relating to cross-border relations were discussed.
“They (Indonesia) have offered to send facilities across the border to help us,” O’Neill said.
“They are concerned that our infrastructure is not up to standard.
“They are willing to help us build a road all the way to the nearest possible town, and possibly beyond, and also to try and get electricity from Jayapura across to power the Wutung district and also the nearest towns like Vanimo.
“That’s the sort of development we are encouraging.
“We will be working closely with the Indonesia government on this.
“The Indonesian government has indicated that they want to get into economic partnership with us along the border areas.
“These are things that we are discussing, and we are getting our officials to go to Jakarta in coming months, to finalise some of these agreements that the president and myself have discussed and highlighted.
“There are good opportunities along the border areas.”

Governor stands firm on buai ban

Source: The National, Friday, February 1, 2013 

 

NATIONAL Capital District Governor Powes Parkop says he will not bow to buai (betel nuts) sellers and chewers even though it may cost him his political career.
“Somebody’s got to do it (ban selling and chewing of betel nuts) and I have to do it,” he told The National yesterday.
“There’s a political price to pay and I’m going to pay the price.
“I’m going to pay the price but the health and welfare of our city are more important.”
Parkop said he had to take these drastic actions because both sellers and chewers, which included some very well-educated people, had no sense of responsibility.
“I’ve already had enough of all the excuses that people give: custom, sustain livelihood and so on.
“These are just excuses that people give to abuse betel nuts, spit everywhere, and take no responsibility.
“I’m fed up, the majority of our residents are fed up, most of our citizens are fed up of it.
“The sooner we do it, the better, but we are going through a process.
“The NCDC board will decide on the ban.
“My objective is not to stop people selling and chewing, I just want them to abide by the city regulations.
“The city regulation is very simple: ‘do not sell and do not chew in public place’.
“I am forced to go to this extreme because we tell them not to sell here, not to chew here, not to spit here, but they would not listen.
“So if they value their livelihood and want to continue to earn a living from betel nuts, the simple thing is to abide by the regulations that we have put in place.”
Parkop is disappointed that many of those who chew betel nuts and spit are well-educated people.
“Many of these people are highly educated, some of them have two to three degrees, save kilim ol (they are very intelligent), but they do stupid things,” he said.
“It’s not just stupid but it’s unhygienic, ugly and it’s not healthy.”
He said the city now had 5,000 reported TB cases.
 “Just on the health side, we have in the city now 5,000 cases of TB and it’s growing.
“This is a disease that was almost eradicated during the colonial times.”

Prime Minister cold on Ok Tedi issue

Source: The National, Friday, February 1, 2013

By MALUM NALU

PRIME Minister Peter O’Neill says he will not be pushed by either BHP or PNG Sustainable Development Program (PNGSDP) into extending the mine life for Ok Tedi mine in Western.
He told reporters after addressing a Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce and Industry breakfast yesterday that there would be no mine life extension to 2025 until he was convinced that the mine was working for the benefit of people of Western and Papua New Guinea.
The state, ironically, wholly “owns” Ok Tedi Mining Ltd (OTML) through PNGSDP (63.4%) and the State of PNG (36.6%).
O’Neill, who last November banned Ok Tedi Mining Ltd (OTML) chairman Professor Ross Garnaut from entering PNG after comments made in The Austra­lian newspaper, said there was no need to speed up mine life extension.
Earlier this month, OTML managing director and chief executive officer Nigel Parker, told The National that Western villagers numbering more than 100,000 from 156 villages had unanimously agreed that the company continue operations until 2025, pending government approval.
“This is my favourite subject -- Ok Tedi and PNG Sustainable -- so I’m glad you asked that question,” O’Neill said.
“We will do the right thing for the people of Western and the country.
“That is our priority.
“We are not going to advance anybody else’s priority.
“Priority is people of Western, government of Western and the people of Papua New Guinea.
“I think that any mine life extension must satisfy these criteria.”
O’Neill, who has accused BHP of running the PNGSDP by remote control from Melbourne and questioning whether PNG had benefited from the project, remained steadfast in his views.
“Whose interests are they (BHP and PNGSDP) protecting?” he said.
“Who is it (mine life extension) really going to benefit, whether it is really going to benefit the landowners, the (Fly River) provincial government, and everyone else who are stakeholders in this project?
“The people who are wanting the extension, particularly BHP through PNG Sustainable, has to clearly indicate to the government that mine life extension will make a real change in our country.
“So far, I am not convinced.
“I can tell you that there is no certainty in whether the mine life extension will take place or not.
“I have to be convinced, not only me but the entire parliament has to be convinced, that 10 years ago we made the right decision for the country (in accepting OTML from BHP and giving indemnity).
“Unfortunately, I don’t believe that.
“We have given (BHP) protection from the environmental damage that caused misery for our people and cost huge damage to our people.
“This is not the sort of development I want to encourage in our country.
“I want to assure the people of Western that their interest will be paramount and the country’s interest will be paramount when we go forward on this.
“I am not in a hurry (on mine life extension).
“We can wait; the resources are not going to run away.
“We’re quite happy to wait.”
 

Fake farmers

Source: The National, Friday, February 1, 2013

By MALUM NALU

BOGUS farmers swindled up to K300 million from the National Agriculture Development Plan fund from 2009 to 2011, Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has revealed.
And he has directed the Task Force Sweep team to identify these so-called “paper farmers of Waigani” and bring them to justice.
They had been reportedly working in collusion with some officers in the Department of National Planning and Monitoring, some of whom have already been arrested.
“I think it’s well over K300 million. It was budgeted for and spent on so-called farmer assistance,” he said.
“The matter is now being investigated by Task Force Sweep. I’m sure that you know as a result of that, some arrests have been made in national planning, which managed the programme.
“Of course, I can’t pre-empt the investigation and what’s going to be the outcome of the investigations, but we are encouraging Task Force Sweep to carry that out in a timely and orderly manner as we all expect,” the prime minister said.
“We are hoping to get to the bottom of some of these thefts that took place in this very important programme.”
As a result of the “paper farmers” scandal, the NADP was done away with in 2011, with the K100 million annual allocations being diverted to the National Development Bank from last year.
“This year, as in last year when we took over, we decided to shift the focus,” O’Neill said.
“Rather than giving money to paper farmers, we decided to put it through the agriculture bank (NDB), so that Papua New Guineans can have an opportunity with genuine proposals.”
O’Neill is also determined to see a clean-up of the Agriculture and Livestock department following a reported overspending of K40 million last year. It is believed to have culminated in the suspension of acting secretary Dr Vele Ila’ava last week.
The NADP fund - K100 million each year - was meant for the genuine hardworking farmers who needed assistance. But the funds were intercepted by the “paper farmers” with no proper accountability and much of it going to dubious projects and individuals, he said.
O’Neill was chief guest at a Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce and Industry breakfast at the Royal Papua Yacht Club yesterday.
O’Neill said he was also “very disappointed” at the way the DAL was being managed.
“I have told two ministers - minister for public service (Sir Puka Temu) and minister for agriculture (Tommy Tomscoll) - to sit down and get on top of this issue about budget overruns, which has been costing DAL close to K40 million.
“We can’t afford to allow departmental heads and their staff to run around spending money that has not been approved by parliament.
“We are saying to both ministers to get on top of this, get the management right, and get the culprits who overspent to account for what they have done.”