PNG opposition challenges constitution changes

By Eoin Blackwell, AAP Papua New Guinea Correspondent 

PAPUA New Guinea's opposition will launch court action to stop a constitutional amendment it says will remove parliament's ability to keep government accountable.

Prime Minister Peter O'Neill on the weekend announced his government will push a series of amendments to the constitution which will force motions of no confidence to be made public three months before the vote.

The government is also seeking to mandate the amount of parliamentary sitting days in a move the opposition says will limit sitting days from 63 to 40.

"This is not only dictatorial but a dangerous abuse and violation of our national constitution," Opposition Public Enterprises spokesman Tobias Kulang said in a statement.

"All members have taken an oath to uphold and protect the constitution and we call on intellectual MPs and former prime ministers to lead the way in defending the spirit and intentions of the constitution." Mr Kulang said the wording of the amendment to alter the sitting days means MPs will theoretically sit for the first forty days of a year and not meet again.

He said the opposition will launch legal action to stop the ammendments being debated in parliament.

Mr O'Neill leads a coalition of more than 95 MPs in PNG's 111 seat, single House of Parliament.

Three of those MPs are former prime ministers - Sir Michael Somare, Sir Julius Chan and Paias Wingti.

Mr O'Neill said on the weekend the amendments are aimed at stopping others from abusing parliamentary process.

Under the changes, a vote of no confidence will also require a third of parliament to back it instead of the currently required 10th of parliament.

"The amendment allows the vote of no confidence process to occur in an open and transparent manner," Mr O'Neill said.

 "It allows more time for Parliament and the public to assess and debate whether the notice has merit. It ensures wider consultation." The Prime Minister says the amendments will also make clearer the number of days Parliament must sit every year, and will remove ambiguities he says were used to congest sittings and prolong adjournments.

"By clearly defining the sitting days in a year, the government can plan its legislative programs for Parliament in an orderly manner," he said.

"A clearer sitting timetable improves administration and helps to reduce costs." Shortly after winning the 2012 election, Mr O'Neill convinced his parliamentary backers to pass a 30 month ban on votes of no confidence during a government's five year term.

That amendment followed almost a year of political instability sparked in mid 2011 by the removal of Sir Michael Somare as Prime Minister by Mr O'Neill and his supporters.

Jewish WWII hero who 'killed 600 Japanese' in PNG dies

Commanders thought anti-Semitism kept him from Medal of Honor 

Did the American government refuse to honor a World War II veteran who was regarded as a war hero by the British Empire, because he was Jewish?
The question apparently still lingered in David Rubitsky’s mind when he died, penniless, June 28 at a nursing home in East Moline, Ill., the local Quad-City Times reported.
Rubitsky’s commanders claim he single-handedly killed 500 to 600 Japanese soldiers while guarding a military outpost in Papua New Guinea during the Battle of Buna in December 1942.

According to Rubitsky’s account, he defended the bunker with a 30-cal. machine gun, a .45-cal. pistol, a rifle and grenades.
In a WND column in 2001, WND CEO and Editor Joseph Farah told Rubitsky’s story when the veteran was still lobbying for a Medal of Honor:

Rubitsky spent a total of 21 hours in the bunker — including nine under heavy siege. The Japanese army attacked from three different directions — the north, south and west. His bunker had slits on all sides, making it possible for him to respond to an attack from any direction. He switched from gun to gun and threw grenades at the enemy, while the Japanese alternately charged his position and shelled it with light artillery.

When the fighting was over, Rubitsky was bleeding from the mouth, nose and elsewhere and suffering from multiple concussions from the shelling. But the Japanese were a lot worse off.

Rubitsky was invited in 2001 to Buckingham Palace to receive a decree, signed by the queen, naming him an honorary Member of the British Empire after the government of Papua New Guinea commissioned a historian who concluded Rubitsky was telling the truth.
Rubitsky’s company commander, Capt. Joseph M. Stehling, recommended Rubitsky for the Medal of Honor after surveying the battle site. The recommendation reached battalion commander Lt. Col. Herbert A. Smith, who passed it on to Col. John W. Mott, the division’s chief of staff.
According to Smith, Mott said, “You mean a Jew for the Congressional Medal of Honor?”
Mott then laughed and walked away, Smith said.
Farah noted in his column that Rubitsky considered his Medal of Honor effort to be a matter of principle.
“What really matters is why I didn’t get the medal,” he said. “I’m doing it for the principle and the truth, not the medal and not the money. It’s for every man, whether black, green, or purple. If he wears the uniform, he should get what’s coming to him. He shouldn’t have to fight for it.”
In 1986, when Rubitsky’s former commanders discovered he had not been awarded the medal, they got several lawmakers and the Anti-Defamation League to take up the cause.
After an investigation, however, the U.S. Army announced in 1989 there was insufficient evidence to support Rubitsky’s claim.
Nevertheless, Rubitsky’s son, Dennis, said his father told him, “If you ever went to New Guinea and said you’re a Rubitsky, they’d treat you like a king.”
Dennis Rubitsky said a movie was going to be made about his father, with Kirk Douglas playing him and Douglas’ son playing him as a younger man, but Kirk Douglas became ill and the project was halted.
“Steven Spielberg wanted to buy the rights to the movie, but that didn’t happen. At this point, I don’t know whether that movie ever will be made,” he told the Quad-City Times.
“The only thing he was disappointed about was not getting the Medal of Honor from his own country.

Rudd set for Indonesia talks

By Madeleine Coorey (AFP)

SYDNEY — Australia's new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd heads to Indonesia this week for his first foreign trip since retaking the leadership, but one in which the thorny domestic issue of asylum-seekers is set to figure prominently.
Would-be refugees risking their lives journeying to Australia by boat, often from transit hubs in Indonesia, are a key issue for the upcoming election.
Australia has tried to stem the flow with punitive policies banishing asylum-seekers to the remote Pacific Islands of Nauru and Papua New Guinea, but thousands have arrived by boat since and scores more have died trying.
Rudd has already drawn Indonesia into the domestic debate, pouring scorn on his election rival opposition leader Tony Abbott and his plan to "turn back" the boats, saying this risked a diplomatic incident with Jakarta.
"I really wonder if he is trying to risk conflict with Indonesia... there have been some pretty rough times in the relationship, I never want to see that again," Rudd told reporters in Canberra.
The jetsetting former foreign minister and ex-diplomat will take the prickly issue abroad this week, hoping to emphasise his leadership credentials after three years in exile which ended last month with his dramatic toppling of Julia Gillard.
Rudd won a 57-45 leadership ballot of Labor lawmakers fearing crushing defeat at the polls in September, where the politically-sensitive issue of asylum-seekers is expected to loom large.
Zareh Ghazarian, who lectures in politics at Melbourne's Monash University, said Rudd would be looking to consolidate Australia's relationship with Indonesia in the two-day visit beginning Thursday.
But he said the trip could also be used by Rudd to "advance his domestic political objectives" ahead of the yet-to-be announced election date.
Ghazarian told AFP Rudd wanted "to be seen to be a Prime Minister who is in control of Australia's foreign affairs and is comfortable dealing with our foreign neighbours and is addressing important issues".
"And the most important one of them all, at this point of time in terms of domestic politics, is asylum seekers and boat arrivals," he added.
With some 13,105 boat people arriving in Australia since January 1 -- the largest group of them from Iran with 4,361 arrivals -- Ghazarian said the approach highlights Rudd's new pragmatism.
"Asylum-seeker policy is something that has been shown in the polls to really be hurting Labor in a number of important swinging seats, especially in western Sydney," he said.
"So if he is able to somehow ameliorate those voters' concerns by being seen to be a bit more tough on border security, then it is not going to do any harm to Labor's prospects."
Given the record influx of arrivals, the government has reportedly asked new Immigration Minister Tony Burke to consider other options, including stricter assessments and how to repatriate those deemed to be economic migrants.
The conservative opposition has labelled Rudd's comments on conflict with Indonesia reckless, but Abbott said this week the Prime Minister had "finally woken up to the fact that the vast majority of these people are not fair dinkum refugees".
"They're economic migrants pure and simple," Abbott said.
"Now I can understand why people from horrible countries would want to come to Australia. I can understand that. But they've got to come in the front door not the back door."
Professor Vedi Hadiz, Professor of Asian Societies and Politics at Murdoch University in Perth, said Rudd distancing himself from Abbott's policy of turning back the boats was welcome.
"And I think that just by distancing himself from Abbott, Rudd would make quite a lot of political mileage," he said.
Hadiz said Indonesia would be receptive of the idea of a clamp down on people-smuggling given it strains Indonesia's border controls.
But he added any attempt to deal with people-smuggling effectively would have to be a regional effort.
"It's not really even what Australia does or what Indonesia does, it has to be Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Iraq and of course that's a huge effort," he said

Inaugural Kainantu show in October

By MALUM NALU

 Eastern Highlands Agricultural Society, after relinquishing the popular Goroka Show, will host the Farmers Agricultural Fair which will coincide with the inaugural Kainantu Show in October.

Society president, Wilson Thompson Orlegge, made the announcement yesterday.

Wilson Thompson Orlegge

“The Kainantu Show will feature the Kangal singsing, agricultural and commercial displays by National Agriculture Research Institute, Coffee Industry Corporation, Eastern Highlands Cultural Centre, PNG Power, and Fresh Produce Development Agency,” he said.

“An interesting feature of the Kainantu Show will be the National String Band Festival, which will attract participants from all over the country.

“Some renowned string bands that have shown interest are Paramana Strangers, Sunam Sinal, City Hikers, Gilgilwang, Hornetts of Asisi, bamboo bands from Madang and Bougainville.

“The National String Band Festival is a lead up to the 2014 Melanesian Festival of Arts.”

Eastern Highlands Agricultural Society farewells Goroka Show

By MALUM NALU

  

The legal entity which ran the famous Goroka Show for the last four years will now longer be involved in its management.

This follows the appointment of business woman, Kearyn Hargreaves, as the new head of the Goroka Show Society by Eastern Highlands Governor Julie Soso last Friday.

Secretary of Eastern Highlands Agricultural Society, Thomas Solepa Arganisafa and president, Wilson Thompson Orlegge, yesterday (Tuesday) paid tribute to the outgoing chairman of the Goroka Show, Gideon Samuel, for his tireless efforts in making sure it was staged annually from 2009 to 2012 despite the lack of financial support from Eastern Highlands provincial government.

A colourful singsing group during the 2010 Goroka Show at the National Sports Institute.-Picture courtesy of GOROKA SHOW COMMITTEE

They also commended the Goroka Chamber of Commerce and Industry for keeping the show alive when it took management from 2004 to 2008.

They said it was the efforts of the chamber that brought back the confidence of the private sector.

 “The chamber is accredited for developing and funding the Goroka Show website www.gorokashow.com , which is a popular website that provides updated information,” Thompson said.

The society also paid tribute to traditional sponsors such as SP Brewery, Coca -Amatil (PNG) and many others who had contributed significantly over the years to sustain the staging of the oldest show in the Country.

“These include Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, National Gaming Control Board, Bank South Pacific, Ramu Agri Industries, Lae Biscuit Company, Nowek, New Guinea Fruit Company, and Coffee Industry Corporation,” Thompson said.

The society also paid tribute to patron and Minister for Lands and Physical Planning, Benny Allen, for his support over the years when provincial government failed to come on board.

They called on Governor Julie Soso to increase the funding to K300, 000, from the K220, 000 she pledged last Friday, because the cost of hosting the three-day event has escalated to over K500, 000.

“As per circular 1/2005 by Minister for Arts, Culture and Tourism, we have called for nominations from stakeholder organisations for membership of the Goroka Show organising committee,” Thompson said.

“As soon as that is finalised we will hand over assets and liabilities for the Eastern Highlands provincial government to take it on from there.

“However, the name Goroka Show, logo, bank accounts, showground and facilities remain the property of Highlands Farmers and Settlers Association (HFSA) and Eastern Highlands Agricultural Society.”

ANL and Agility launch new PNG joint venture

Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea: Major shipping company ANL Singapore Ltd and Agility, a leading global logistics provider, launched a new joint venture in PNG on July 1, 2013.

This joint venture company, named ANL Agencies PNG Ltd., will primarily handle ANL’s shipping agency business throughout PNG.

Previously the ANL agency functions had been handled by Pacific Shipping Agency (PSA), which was 100% owned and operated by Agility.

ANL - part of the major shipping company CMA CGM -has been operating vessels to PNG since

2001.

ANL operates dedicated PNG shipping services to and from Asia and Australia with services

connecting to and from any part of the world.

 Agility has been operating in PNG since 1989 providing ship agency services, freight forwarding and project logistics services.

The current locations of PSA offices in Port Moresby, Lae, Madang and a Rabaul sub-agent will be the locations of the new joint venture.

Employees who currently work for PSA will transfer to the joint venture company.

ANL Agencies PNG Ltd will be headed by Greg Von Litzheim as General Manager.

Von Litzheim has vast shipping and agency expertise, and as the current head of PSA, his current involvement with ANL will ensure a smooth transition.

In a joint statement by John Lines, ANL Chief Executive Officer, and Mick Turnbull, Agility Chief Executive Officer, Australasia, both parties welcomed the opportunity for two major shipping and logistics companies to work together in a joint venture in the important PNG market.

“The establishment of ANL Agencies PNG Ltd will allow both companies to take advantage of

significant synergies for both companies and our respective clients, said Mr Lines.

“The joint venture will enable both companies continued growth in the PNG market and importantly offer a premium service to our customers.”

Mr Turnbull added, “Agility and ANL have had long and successful business relationships in many locations.

“The opportunity to work together in a partnership with ANL in PNG demonstrates our

commitment to the region.

“This joint venture further strengthens Agility’s position as the major provider of logistics and project services in PNG.”

New Zealand in 133-run victory over PNG in U-19 cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff 

July 2, 2013

New Zealand Under-19 259 for 9 (McClure 78, Hodgson 71, Morea 4-44) beat Papua New Guinea Under-19 126 (Hodgson 3-17, Carter 2-9) by 133 runs Scorecard

Ken McClure and Alec Hodgson starred in New Zealand's victory over Papua New Guinea in Darwin. Electing to field, Papua New Guinea made early inroads as New Zealand stuttered to 59 for 5, with Kabua Morea doing most of the damage, picking three of the top six batsmen. McClure and Hodgson consolidated to put on a 139-run partnership to steer New Zealand to a competitive 259 for 9. Morea picked up Hodgson for 71 to finish with 4 for 44.

Papua New Guinea got off to a poor start, losing opener Raho Sam for a duck in the first over. A 45-run partnership for the second wicket between Kiplin Doriga and Dogodo Bau offered some stability, but New Zealand made regular strikes through the middle overs. With only two batsmen going past 20, Papua New Guinea were unable to build significant partnerships. Hodgson also picked up 3 for 17 in his six overs and Kurtley Watson and Leo Carter picked up two wickets each as Papua New Guinea were ultimately routed for 126 in the 38th over.