AUSTRALIA IS A DIPLOMACY FAILURE IN PNG

By Erasmus Baraniak

We never asked for Australia's help with the elections. Australia is the one who rushed around and organized it for us. But instead of fixing the problems, Cranstein and his country staked the EC with so many experts from Cardno Davies and deliberately screwed up our Electoral Rolls and organisation. We have recently found the common rolls were never updated and all the problems pointed out to the EC many many times in writing were never fixed. Instead they pushed us to run toward the cliff of election failure deliberately. WHY? That is the question we must begin to ask and answer logically.

Now we have an Australian High Commissioner, a foreign diplomat to this country, having the temerity to run a weekly column about whats wrong with this country and how it could be better and what Australia is doing here.

This is in breach of every diplomatic code ethics and the rules of engagement as diplomats to another country. It is in breach of diplomatic protocol that we have an idiot of a diplomat in Waigani who is either so stupid, or has an agenda that is ulterior to the way civilized nations ought to relate to each other under the Warsaw Convention and other rules and conventions governing countries relating to each other.

For example, the Australian High Commissioner cannot just jump on a plane and fly to any part of this country to do whatever he wants to do. He has to do the right and proper thing by submitting his request thru proper channels to the Department of Foreign Affairs, its Secretary and its Minister, and get the executive government's approval first.

All diplomats in this country are required to do this, and indeed all other diplomats do comply with this rule of proper protocol, except the Australian High Commissioner.

All High Commissioners who want to see a Minister of government make their requests thru the Department of Foreign Affairs, all except the Australian High Commissioner, who rings up Digicel and gets their mobile phone numbers, and calls them directly and meets with them in Coffee-shops, or Hotels like the Airways. The Ministers meet him out of embarrassment. Some Ministers are so stupid, they don't even know the proper rules of engagement. Some don't even ask what the meeting is for and lower themselves by meeting with the High Commissioner, when they should ask the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs to meet him.
Australia has failed to engage with PNG the proper way set out under the proper rules of international engagement.

Further, the issuing of visas to PNG citizens is a matter of international engagement, also governed in large by the rules of polity, comity and reciprocation. Australia's cumbersome and draconian visa requirements of PNG citizens visiting Australia breaches the rules of international comity and reciprocation. It has to either change its rules to fall in line, or PNG must now step up and change its rules to grant Australia reciprocal treatment.

The issuing of number of diplomatic plates to Australian High Commission vehicles must also comply with the same rules, and this also apply to number of personnel enjoying diplomatic status working in its chancery. The numbers must be reciprocal. There is a serious anomaly in the way Australia has failed to comply with the proper rules of International Engagement.

All other countries with High Commissions and Embassies in PNG comply with these rules. Australia has been turning a blind eye and hoping that we would be so stupid to accept its short comings. Well we have lived with it for so long but this time we are asking Australia to account.

Australia currently has some half baked public servant out of Canberra standing at the Airport check in and Arrivals halls running around directing the Air Niugini staff and at Arrivals ordering around Customs and Immigration staff. This is a bloody disgrace! It is a breach of our sovereignty. Unless Australia is going to allow our Airline and customs and Immigration staff at its Airports supervising their respective staff, this conduct is a breach of our sovereignty and the proper rules of comity and reciprocity. These officers have been doing these jobs for the last 35 years, and we fail to see why we need Australians lurking around every corner.

This sends the wrong message to our other foreign visitors , that this country is a sphere controlled by Australia. This runs contrary to the sovereignty of this country and such practices must cease immediately.
Australia has not been practising proper diplomatic relations with PNG. It has breached every rule known in the rules books and for far too long it has been treating PNG as its own little feifdom, which it is not. This must stop now. Ian Kemish must learn some proper rules of diplomacy and practice it. He is a bloody disgrace to the whole civilized world. He must learn as a diplomat to shut up in this country. Just because Australia chooses to give aid to PNG is no license for him to open his mouth whenever he feels like, and go anywhere in this country that he pleases. And his condescending tok pisin and motu is so bloody condescending to the core. He may impress his colleagues in Canberra, but it does not bring him any closer to PNG as he may wish. We see clearly who he really is.

Enough is enough, Australia must comply with proper diplomatic rules of engagement accepted and practised by all countries everywhere. All Bi-lateral Agreements that exclude international Conventions are legally questionable. In fact those Bi-lateral Agreements are illegal under international law.

PNG must reign in the number of diplomats and the number of Diplomatic Plates to vehicles to comply with the Warsaw Convention. The issue of Diplomatic immunity is not being properly applied by Australia in this country by demanding immunity for lowly diplomatic staff and other Aid workers. Australia is abusing the proper rules and this must stop now. We are not a backwater fiefdom or banana republic of Australia, as much as Australia may like the world to believe this is the case.

Australia must cease breaching the rule of law in its international relations.