Australia wont admit supporting corupt regim in PNG
SBS report two nights ago plus some of the comments from various commentators has had me thinking about why Australia has continued to remain quiet in the face of all these massive corrupt and fraudulent dealings in a country that it continuously gives the largest chunk of its aid monies to? There are many factors at play here but I think that to fully understand how and why, one needs to go back to early 2012; on the eve of the Somare/O’Neil political impasse that set us on the road to where we are now. It has, coupled with all the window dressing developments in POM and other parts of PNG, made me ponder another factor in addition to the above.
The second thing has to do with the nature and definition of a “con-man”. I would venture that all these developments (which I termed window dressing developments) are the handiwork of a con-man. A con-man, by definition, takes you into their confidence or vice versa and does things which makes you believe in him until one day you realise that what you thought they were doing for your benefit was the other way around – it was for his benefit. You were just a means to an end. After which he conveniently dumps you like so much garbage and forgets you. I believe there a couple of people who helped form this government but are now out have woken up to this. They were taken in and “conned”. Similarly, we the people of PNG are being conned by “over inflated” projects which are delivered with shoddy workmanship and questionable materials. Highly publicised services to the people which in fact serves to enrich some people while the people get practically nothing. Cases in point are the “free health care” and “free education” schemes. A lot of hot air, much publicity and chest beating while real health service delivery is dwindling and education quality has dropped so much, I wonder how the universities can actually enrol new intakes (which n itself questions the quality and standards of the universities). So PNG, we have been conned and duped! Yes, and big time.
Now why I said go back to 2012 is because people must remember that for a nation that says it is run on respect for the rule of law, Australia has actually shown that it can throw that into the toilet when it suits their purposes. After the Supreme Court of PNG ruled that Gr. Chief Sir Michael T Somare was the legitimate and lawful Prime Minister of PNG, the O’Neil faction rebelled against that decision and did all kinds of things – some comical as per the famous photo of them crashing the gates to Government House.
The thing here is that the Australian Government formally recognised the O’Neil Government as the legitimate government of PNG – despite our Supreme Court ruling otherwise. How did that come about? What deals and concessions were made to allow that to happen? Why did Australia openly chose to disregard the lawful ruling of a Supreme Court of a foreign country? How were the decisions of the Supreme Court unlawful that Australia chose to disregard it? Soon thereafter, we saw the Manus Island deal come to fruition. We all remember that Somare was vehemently against this. Unfortunately for PNG, once they got stuck into it, the Aussies found they couldn’t get out of it for a whole host of reasons.
I would like Messrs. Sam Basil and Belden Namah to come out and say what the deals were that caused Australia to formally recognise their then government, going against the ruling of our Supreme Court. Mr. Basil has taken the first step and made certain allusions to this. As a respected national leader, he should go all the way and put out the dirty laundry for all to see.
One thing has led to another and despite mounting evidence, suspicion and conjecture that something is not quite right in PNG and that almost all its aid money is ending up back in Australia as stolen or laundered money, Australia continue to man the bowels and pump more money into this bottomless pit called PNG. Why should it complain when it is giving with the right hand and taking back through the left hand? Australia is not losing is it?
So however it gets it, by hook or by crook, it still gets it. If in the process a few million PNGeans suffer from inadequate health care and education, well we’re not Australians are we so why should they care. We are sovereign nation and our internal affairs are not their business. Yet they chose when it suited them, to make our domestic legal business their business by recognising an illegal government in the interests. A blatant case of double standards.
Does anybody think that Australia will ever admit to their mistake and the subsequent suffering they have cause the majority of our people by their actions? Not in our lifetimes in my opinion.
So it is definitely not in Australia’s interests either to take action on corrupt and stolen money entering Australia because by doing so they will have to shake the very foundations on which their Asylum Seeker Policy is built – the deterrence factor of Manus Island.
