$300 million pillaged in PNG graft
Rowan Callick - The Australian A CABAL of top public servants and lawyers have hijacked Papua New Guinea’s government chequebook, plundering more than $300 million through sham compensation claims. The rorts include Finance Secretary Gabriel Yer initiating a spurious claim of $700,000 for himself and 225 people from his home village. He delivered the money to a dozen of them whom he had flown to Port Moresby, in a case containing 50-kina notes. A devastating judicial report detailing the conspiracy, commissioned and tabled in parliament by Prime Minister Michael Somare last month, shows the collapse of PNG’s control over its finances. This is despite the Australian government spending more than $160m in the past decade on programs to "strengthen governance" in PNG, through highly paid Australian advisers. When Sir Michael finally managed to table the report after three years and numerous legal battles, lawyer Paul Paraka and former solicitor-general Zacchary Gelu