PNGBLOGS

 BY SCOTT WAIDE It was election year in 2002 when campaign efforts were at their peak. I arrived at a school in the Tekin Valley in remote Oksapin in the Sandaun province after a 6 hour trek though the jungle. The rain had just ended when I began an interview with a local teacher. He was one of the few government representatives in this very isolated part of Papua New Guinea. The only government aid post in his village had closed down a few years ago. The orderly left for the provincial capital of Vanimo and never returned. I wanted to know about infant and maternal mortality rates. At the time the teacher was the only person available who could give me a fair analysis of the situation. Having come from Port Moresby where one relies on easily accessible and “reliable” statistics, I got straight into asking a series of questions trying to establish the number of mothers and children who had died in the last 12 months. “We really don’t know.” He said. “We only k

 BY SCOTT WAIDE It was election year in 2002 when campaign efforts were at their peak. I arrived at a school in the Tekin Valley in remote Oksapin in the Sandaun province after a 6 hour trek though the jungle. The rain had just ended when I began an interview with a local teacher. He was one of the few government representatives in this very isolated part of Papua New Guinea. The only government aid post in his village had closed down a few years ago. The orderly left for the provincial capital of Vanimo and never returned. I wanted to know about infant and maternal mortality rates. At the time the teacher was the only person available who could give me a fair analysis of the situation. Having come from Port Moresby where one relies on easily accessible and “reliable” statistics, I got straight into asking a series of questions trying to establish the number of mothers and children who had died in the last 12 months. “We really don’t know.” He said. “We

WORK on the new Papua New Guinea High (PNG) Commission office at Town Ground has reportedly been halted for the past seven months because of lack of funds. The $30 million dollar construction was supposed to complete its first phase this month but workers claimed lack of funds has forced them to discontinue work. When contacted several times yesterday the PNG High Commission Third Secretary Mary Karo said that they have been informed by the acting High Commissioner Mrs Joyce Bundu not to discuss any matters relating to the incomplete construction. “We have been advised by our acting commissioner not to discuss matters relating to construction of our new office. Therefore, we will not be commenting on this matter”, Mrs Karo from the PNG High Commission said. However, the Solomon Star visited the construction site yesterday and spoke to two disgruntled workers. The two workers who wanted to remain anonymous said it has been seven (7) months now since they were laid off from work.

WORK on the new Papua New Guinea High (PNG) Commission office at Town Ground has reportedly been halted for the past seven months because of lack of funds. The $30 million dollar construction was supposed to complete its first phase this month but workers claimed lack of funds has forced them to discontinue work. When contacted several times yesterday the PNG High Commission Third Secretary Mary Karo said that they have been informed by the acting High Commissioner Mrs Joyce Bundu not to discuss any matters relating to the incomplete construction. “We have been advised by our acting commissioner not to discuss matters relating to construction of our new office. Therefore, we will not be commenting on this matter”, Mrs Karo from the PNG High Commission said. However, the Solomon Star visited the construction site yesterday and spoke to two disgruntled workers. The two workers who wanted to remain anonymous said it has been seven (7) months now since they were laid off

SMH Australian Federal Police officers concealed evidence and submitted false documents in the prosecution of an Australian pilot on child sex charges, resulting in his wrongful conviction, the man's lawyers claim. Fred Martens, who spent 940 days in a Queensland prison after being convicted of the rape of a 14-year-old Papua New Guinea girl in Port Moresby, is suing the federal government for $45 million. The 61-year-old was the first to be charged under sex-tourism laws which target Australians who commit sex crimes in Pacific island nations. However, Queensland's Court of Appeal last year quashed the conviction after Mr Marten's family obtained flight records which proved he was not in Port Moresby on the dates the girl alleged the offence occurred. In a statement of claim lodged in the Queensland Supreme Court in Cairns on Monday, Mr Marten's legal team allege a team of officers from the AFP's Transnational Crime Unit based in Port Moresby "maliciously pro

SMH Australian Federal Police officers concealed evidence and submitted false documents in the prosecution of an Australian pilot on child sex charges, resulting in his wrongful conviction, the man's lawyers claim. Fred Martens, who spent 940 days in a Queensland prison after being convicted of the rape of a 14-year-old Papua New Guinea girl in Port Moresby, is suing the federal government for $45 million. The 61-year-old was the first to be charged under sex-tourism laws which target Australians who commit sex crimes in Pacific island nations. However, Queensland's Court of Appeal last year quashed the conviction after Mr Marten's family obtained flight records which proved he was not in Port Moresby on the dates the girl alleged the offence occurred. In a statement of claim lodged in the Queensland Supreme Court in Cairns on Monday, Mr Marten's legal team allege a team of officers from the AFP's Transnational Crime Unit based in Port Moresby "malicious

OP/ED   Is Somare leading PNG to a Totalitarian State? On the 24 November, the Speaker of Parliament, Jeffery Nape wrote to Bart Philemon, the Deputy Opposition leader and MP for Lae. The subject of the letter was the notice of the No-confidence motion in the Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare. “The Private Business Committee met today and considered the notice of Motion of No-Confidence submitted. Following its deliberations, the Committee decided that the notice of Motion of No-Confidence was not in order,” the letter stated. Mr Nape went on to explain that even though the procedural requirements under the Standing Orders and Constitution were met, the subsequent withdrawal of four supporting members to the Motion means the requirements under Section 145 (1) (b) of the Constitution were not met. The MPs that withdrew their support were Charles Abel, Powes Parkop, Paru Aihi and Fr John Garia. Mr Philemon gave the notice on the Motion of No-Confidence to the PM on 20 July 2010, in acco