Rudd talks up trade with PNG

Source: AAP

 

Minister Kevin Rudd has invited Papua New Guinea to tell him what Australia needs to do to improve business relations between the two countries.

Mr Rudd was in PNG on Sunday and Monday for trade, law and order, and immigration talks with his counterpart, Peter O'Neill.

Trade between Australia and PNG, it's closest neighbour, is approximately $7 billion a year. (AAP)

The prime minister has talked up the credentials of his new trade minister as he pushes to improve business ties with Papua New Guinea.

At a breakfast at Port Moresby's Grand Papua Hotel on Monday, Mr Rudd told business leaders newly appointed Trade Minister Richard Marles was a "Pacific man" who knew the region.
"Richard has a passion for PNG," he said.
"The reason for this gathering is to make sure that we're doing all we can to make sure the trade and investment relationship with PNG is reaching its full potential.
"I want you all to know what priority I attach to that in (Mr Marles') work."
Mr Marles was parliamentary secretary for Pacific Island affairs before Mr Rudd's aborted tilt for the prime ministership in March.
He was made trade minister when Mr Rudd regained the prime ministership last month.
Trade between Australia and PNG, it's closest neighbour, is approximately $7 billion a year.
Mr Rudd held talks with Mr O'Neill before attending a lunch at PNG's Parliament House before departing for Australia.

Soldiers attack students in Port Moresby

ninemsn

A dental student has been seriously injured when a group of more than 30 soldiers armed with bush knives, iron bars and firearms attacked students at the Port Moresby General Hospital.

Papua New Guinea police have condemned the attack, which happened at about 1pm local time, and say it is a likely retaliation for an earlier incident.
The incident happened just hours before Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd flew into Port Moresby to hold discussions on PNG's widespread law- and-order problems with his counterpart Peter O'Neill.
"This is totally uncalled for and unacceptable behaviour by members of a disciplined organisation," Acting Police Commissioner Simon Kauba said in a statement on Sunday.
He said he had contacted PNG Defence Force officials, and that Military Police and National Capital District police are now investigating the incident.
"I condemn this action in the strongest possible terms and will ensure that it is thoroughly investigated and those responsible will face the full force of the law," Mr Kauba said.
Driving a Toyota flattop, the soldiers broke down the gates of the hospital and began their assault. At least six gun shots were fired during the attack.
The soldiers allege they were attacked by the students during a dispute over the use of an ATM at the hospital on Friday night.
Police were called on Saturday to talk down the soldiers and students after they converged on the hospital grounds.
"We advised the soldiers to lay a formal complaint so that the attackers can be identified and arrested," Mr Kauba said.
Mr Kauba said it was unfortunate when soldiers attack the very people they have sworn to protect and defend.
Mr Rudd touched down in PNG at about 5pm with immigration minister Tony Burke and trade minister Richard Marles, before heading to dinner with Mr O'Neill and Australia's High Commissioner Deborah Stokes.
He is expected to hold talks with PNG government officials on Monday. On the agenda for talks is law an order.
Foreign minister Rimbink Pato told reporters he wanted to discuss a broader role for the Australian Federal Police.
Last month four Chinese nationals were stabbed to death not far from the central business district in Port Moresby. In early June a rogue group of police officers slashed the Achilles tendons of 70 men in a revenge attack over an earlier fight. Mr Rudd told reporters in Cairns on Sunday law and order in PNG concerned him .
"I am going to be talking to (Mr O'Neill) about what we can do to enhance our cooperation there." Australia has already agreed to enhance police training, while Mr O'Neill has entered talks with Queensland for an exchange of 150 police. Bond University criminologist Terry Goldsworthy this week poured cold water on the Queensland plan.
"They have the massive policing task of G20, they've just gotten rid of 25 per cent of the state's most senior officers in the restructure and they're sending officers to PNG," he told Queensland's Courier Mail on Saturday. "I think it's going to be a real challenge.

Australian PM arrives in PNG for talks

By Eoin Blackwell, AAP Papua New Guinea Correspondent

PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd has arrived in Papua New Guinea for talks on trade, how to tackle crime in the Pacific Island nation and the controversial Australian-run detention centre on Manus Island.

Mr Rudd touched down at Port Moresby's Jackson's international airport shortly after 5pm and was greeted by deputy prime minister Leo Dion and Foreign Minister Rimbink Pato, as well as the now familiar troupe of traditional PNG dancers.
"It's wonderful to be back here in PNG," he said, noting it was his second official trip as prime minister to Australia's closest neighbour.
"I look forward to my discussions with Prime Minister O'Neill.
"I come here as a friend, a long standing friend, someone who believes in PNG's future."
High on the agenda on Sunday evening and Monday is PNG's endemic law and order problems.
"That concerns me," Mr Rudd told reporters in Cairns on Sunday before he headed to PNG.

"I am going to be talking to him about what we can do to enhance our cooperation there."
Last month four Chinese nationals were stabbed to death not far from the central business district in Port Moresby.
"One issue that can arise for discussion is what level of support Australia can give for deployment of police," Mr Pato told journalists in Port Moresby in Sunday.
"We're looking to see what aid the Australian Federal Police can give."
The Australian-run Manus Island refugee processing centre is also expected to be on the agenda.
PNG's Supreme Court last week dismissed a constitutional challenge against the centre, and the UNHCR has heavily criticised the conditions at the site.
'Manus Mess' was the front page headline of PNG's only Sunday paper, the Sunday Chronicle.
In a late addition to the trip, Mr Rudd brought Immigration Minister Tony Burke and Trade Minister Richard Marles with him to PNG.
Mr Burke said he will discuss asylum seekers and the progress of construction of a permanent facility on Manus Island.
"This trip will allow me to get an update on the progress of developing the centre on Manus Island in advance of making a personal visit to Manus Island in a few weeks time," he said in a statement.
Acknowledging the UNHCR report, Mr Pato said he expects the facility to be discussed.
"We have a system that can address those issues and those are not issues that cannot be overcome," Mr Pato said.
Immediately after arriving Mr Rudd headed straight to government house to meet Governor-General Sir Michael Ogio.
On Sunday night he is expected to dine with Mr O'Neill and Australia's High Commissioner Deborah Stokes, before a series of talks with PNG government officials on Monday.

In Port Moresby today

With less than two years to go before the XV Pacific Games in Port Moresby begin on July 14, 2015, the national capital of Papua New Guinea has a mammoth task on its hands.

Papua New Guinea is also bidding to host the APEC Leaders’ Summit in 2018, the biggest-ever event the country will get to host, which will bring together some of the most-powerful world leaders.

Infrastructure costing millions of kina has to be built, manpower has to be built, and the city has to be beautified to be presentable to the thousands of visitors who will be in Port Moresby at that time.

The amount of trash and plastic in the main Port Moresby city drain, behind Erima leading into the Jackson Airport and which eventually runs into the rivers and sea, is unbelievable! I took a stroll from Erima to the airport today and the place was chock-a-block.

One of the most-despicable habits in Port Moresby, despite its obvious economic benefits to many people, is general littering and spitting of buai, the Tok Pisin word for betelnut.

Singboard to Jackson Airport has been spattered, which shows the lack of respect and care by people.

Port Moresby and Papua New Guinea seem to be turning a blind eye to the problem as they are being painted red all over.

The Australian Prime Minister arrives today and, needless to say, one would have expected Jackson Airport to be spic-and-span. But look at this drain (right) which runs through the airport.

 

People spit buai and litter as they see fit with no respect whatsoever for rules and laws.

Filthy Gordon Market today.

Gordon Market today.

Buai pekpek (betelnut shit) outside JMart Erima today in a city that will host the 2015 Pacific Games and maybe APEC 2018.

PNG extradition treaty forces political activists to flee

ABC

Danny Kogoya, the commander of the Free Papua Movement's militant wing, is currently on the run, fearing re-arrest by the PNG government. PNG correspondent Liam Cochrane meets him at a camp on the PNG border, but finds his interview doesn't quite go to plan.

Liam Cochrane

Source: Correspondents Report | Duration: 7min 42sec

Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, foreign-affairs, papua-new-guinea

Transcript

SIMON SANTOW: Last week, the ABC's stand-in PNG (Papua New Guinea) correspondent Liam Cochrane made a trip to the far north-west of Papua New Guinea to meet a rebel commander of the Free Papua Movement.
Indonesia keeps foreign media out of the disputed provinces of Papua and West Papua, so the best way to get first hand information is either to sneak in illegally or to try and meet activists as they take refuge across the border.
Liam took the legal option, and here is his report.
LIAM COCHRANE: The four-wheel-drive had been bouncing along a logging road for about an hour when my contact, the go-between to the West Papua rebel commander, turned to me in the back seat and said: "Leon" - which is close enough - "Leon, I need to ask you one question."
I thought, 'Ah, this is the point where he sounds me out about my politics and what I think of the West Papuan movement.'
I readied myself for a diplomatic, neutral answer.
"Leon", he said, "Where can I buy guns?"
I had to laugh and explain I really wasn't the right person to help him procure weapons. I explained I was an independent journalist and my value to him was in getting the story in international media.
That story had two main elements - meet Danny Kogoya, a commander of the Free Papua Movement's militant wing, and visit a base near the border where I'd been told 200 armed men were taking refuge.
The news angle was an extradition treaty recently signed by Papua New Guinea and Indonesia that PNG's opposition argued could be used to send back activists and fighters like Danny Kogoya.
Two weeks ago I'd never heard of Danny Kogoya, but an article in the local paper told of his arrest last September, during which he was shot in the leg. He was jailed, released and then, he says, threatened with re-arrest. So he fled across the border.
The one thing missing from the story was the fact that Danny Kogoya's shot-up leg had been amputated below the knee - to be exact, the story said he was "nursing a deep cut and a fractured leg", which I guess is technically correct.
Mr Kogoya was extremely happy to see a foreign journalist. He didn't speak English and I didn't speak Indonesian, but he hugged for a long time when we first met.
And later he kept shaking my hand and smiling broadly as we sat in the back seat.
In the tray of the vehicle were six young men, unarmed but acting as out security as we made our way to the border. At most stops, Danny and I had to stay inside the car behind the tinted windows to avoid attracting attention.
At one roadside market however, I was allowed out and the go-between sliced open a coconut - a welcome drink in the hot sun.
Most of the men bought bunches of betel nut, the mild stimulant that stains teeth dark red and they chewed and spat the red liquid out for the rest of the journey.
(Engine noise)
When we finally got to Camp Victoria, a few kilometres inside Papua New Guinea's border with Indonesia, the place was empty and the grass was knee high.
It was only then explained to me that the 200 fighters said to be under Danny's command had been sent out on long patrols across Indonesia's Papua province. They were said to be fanning out to help with the annual July 1 ceremonies that mark the anniversary of a declaration of independence that has not become a reality on the ground.
On this day, July 1, it's common for activists to raise the Morning Star flag, the symbol of the West Papuan independence movement that is banned in Indonesia. In the past, flag-raising ceremonies have attracted brutal retribution from Indonesian authorities.
But at Camp Victoria there was no flag, no guns, and no fighters.
This was quite a let-down.
For years, people have questioned just how strong the Free Papua Movement's military wing really is and this trip was supposed to be a chance to meet rebel fighters without breaking the law and sneaking across the border.
But I still had Danny Kogoya, the one-legged commander, and so I got busy setting up for an interview.
(Danny Kogoya speaking in foreign language)
DANNY KOGOYA(translated): I want Jacob Prai and those in Swedish...
LIAM COCHRANE: It was hard going.
Many of my questions were probing the level of support for Danny's cause and trying to get a sense of whether there was any change in strategy, considering the lack of tangible results in previous decades.
It was perhaps not the kind of advocacy journalism Danny was used.
Many of Danny's answers were variations of, "I want independence for West Papua", or things like "we need to come together and join hands for the freedom of West Papua".
And I had a growing feeling that my translator, a supporter of the West Papua movement, was embellishing Danny's answers and giving me what he thought I wanted to hear.
Towards the end of the interview, one of his translations went for about four times as long as Danny's response and involved a grisly accusation of cannibalism that didn't seem to have much to do with the question I'd asked.
Light was fading and we wrapped it up, heading to a local village for a communal meal of rice and instant noodles before heading to bed with promises of a military ceremony at 6am sharp.
Throughout the night, the village drunkards had a party in full swing, and music blared until dawn. Nobody told them to be quiet; nobody wanted to be on the wrong side of a drunk man's bush knife.
By morning, the overgrown Camp Victoria had been given a makeover thanks to three commandeered machetes and there was a flag pole in the centre of the clearing flying the Morning Star flag.
Perhaps not surprisingly for this part of the world, the 6am show of arms was a little ambitious. The main problem seemed to be convincing people to display their hidden guns in front of the camera, because carrying weapons in public is illegal in PNG.
After five hours of delays, the ceremony started.
(People talking)
The bush camp filled with more than a hundred people and around 30 men, women and children lined up dressed in a colourful assortment of ceremonial dresses.
There were grass skirts and white face paint on some of the women; some men had headdresses fashioned from bright green leaves and several had long necklaces made of shells and bone.
Six men had homemade rifles.
(Commander issuing parade orders)
Someone suggested the men fire off a round for the benefit of the cameras, but it turned out nobody had any bullets.
I whispered to the go-between, "How are you going to fight the Indonesians without any bullets?"
He just smiled but another man who spoke some English volunteered to get in front to the camera and explain their lack of ammo was exactly why the world should pitch in and send them military equipment.
Time was well and truly up. I was running late for my security check-in with the ABC to confirm all was well.
In fact, none of the security issues that I'd envisaged had been a problem. The only slight moment of concern was when the security guys in the tray of the car started arguing on the trip back. It had something to do with who had chipped in money to buy beer and who was chosen to sit in the back seat, inside the car, once we dropped Danny Kogoya off at his safe house.
(Engine noise)
The trip ended well and the story was on TV and radio a few days later.
SIMON SANTOW: Liam Cochrane reporting there.

Concern at deployment of 150 Australian police officers to PNG

G20 stretches police manpower and leaves rest of state undermanned and at mercy of criminals

By Greg Stolz 

The Courier-Mail  

July 13, 2013 

THE G20 summit in Brisbane next year could stretch Queensland's thin blue line to breaking point and leave other parts of the state at the mercy of criminals, an ex-top cop turned criminologist has warned.

Terry Goldsworthy, a former long-serving Queensland Police Service detective inspector who is now associate professor in criminology at Bond University, said the QPS would struggle to cope with the combination of the G20, a major restructure and the deployment of 150 officers to Papua New Guinea.

Terry Goldsworthy warns the QPS may not have enough manpower to handle the G20 summit.

He said "smart criminals" would plan to take advantage of reduced police numbers outside Brisbane.
Dr Goldsworthy said thousands of police would be needed for the world leaders summit and he was worried the QPS had "too much going on" with the restructure and PNG deployment.
"I think it's going to be a real challenge,'' he said.
"They have the massive policing task of G20, they've just gotten rid of 25 per cent of the state's most senior officers in the restructure and they're sending officers to PNG.
"I just worry that there's too much going on at once. Police can't afford to muck up the G20 because the eyes of the world will be on us.''
Dr Goldsworthy, who finished his 28-year QPS career last year as an inspector with the Ethical Standards Command, said G20 would put "huge demands" on police.
He questioned the wisdom of making 100 of the state's 400 commissioned officers redundant at a time when experience would be needed to manage the G20.
"With the purge of the senior ranks, you've got more junior officers making higher-level decisions,'' he said.
Dr Goldsworthy said large numbers of police would be seconded to Brisbane to help protect world leaders.
He said only a handful of detectives were left on the Gold Coast during the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting at Coolum in 2002.
"You've got to ask if police are prepared and resourced for the G20 and, if they are, what will the effect be on local crime?'' he said.
"With so many police in Brisbane, the smart criminals will already be thinking of opportunities elsewhere in the state.''
A Queensland Police Union spokesman said the G20 would be a "massive" policing and security exercise but did not believe it would unduly stretch resources, as Australian Federal Police and armed forces would also be involved.
He said officers were more concerned with issues such as whether foreign bodyguards would be allowed to carry weapons.
The spokesman said the 150 officers being sent to PNG represented a "fraction" of police numbers and the "rules of engagement" for their deployment was the main worry.
Dr Louise Porter, a senior research fellow at the Centre of Excellent in Policing and Security, said the G20 would be "labour intensive" but believed police were equipped to handle it.
She said the restructure would streamline the QPS and increase frontline police.

Read more: http://www.couriermail.com.au/national-news/queensland/g20-stretches-police-manpower-and-leaves-rest-of-state-undermanned-and-at-mercy-of-criminals/story-fnii5v6w-1226678437159#ixzz2Yv6h7nHU

Seven PNG fishermen still missing in Torres Strait

By Naomi Lim 

The Courier-Mail  

July 13, 2013 10:24AM

HOPES are fading for seven fishermen missing in the Torres Strait for five days.

Thursday Island Water Police were called to join the air and sea search on Friday morning but the rescue effort was called off last night.
Four aircraft and one vessel combed waters south of Papua New Guinea but failed to find the fishermen, who are believed to have left Daru Island on Sunday, July 7.

Seven fishermen are missing after their boat capsized en route to Warrior Reef. Source: Supplied

Police said the boat and its 10 crew members intended to go fishing off Warrior Reef, 20 nautical miles west of Yorke Island.
"Sometime on Sunday or Monday the vessel overturned, throwing all on-board into the water," police said in a statement.
"Three of the men were subsequently picked up by a passing fishing boat on Monday and conveyed to Daru Island."
The boat washed up on the PNG mainland on July 10.
The search has been suspended while further investigations are conducted with Papua New Guinea authorities.