PNGBLOGS

BY JOHN FOWKE I HAVE JUST READ Patrick Lindsay’s  plea for help for Papua New Guinea’s police following the senseless  murder of young  Rex John during a robbery at Laloki on Port Moresby’s outskirts .A relaunch of the ill-fated police ECP [enhanced cooperation program] was advocated. Whilst it has long been obvious that PNG’s police need urgent help, in 2009 I penned a piece demonstrating that sending Australians whose experience and training is entirely Australian, to be mentors to PNG policemen, is not a valuable exercise. Indeed not a valid one at all except where technology and legal procedure are concerned. The article may bear repeating, now that many in positions of influence in Canberra and Port Moresby are regular readers of this blog. In 2009 I wrote as follows: “A new group of Australian Federal Police officers may move to PNG next year to act as advisers to the RP&NGC. At the same time a comment was made to the effect that these men and women may end up sidelined due t

BY JOHN FOWKE I HAVE JUST READ Patrick Lindsay’s  plea for help for Papua New Guinea’s police following the senseless  murder of young  Rex John during a robbery at Laloki on Port Moresby’s outskirts .A relaunch of the ill-fated police ECP [enhanced cooperation program] was advocated. Whilst it has long been obvious that PNG’s police need urgent help, in 2009 I penned a piece demonstrating that sending Australians whose experience and training is entirely Australian, to be mentors to PNG policemen, is not a valuable exercise. Indeed not a valid one at all except where technology and legal procedure are concerned. The article may bear repeating, now that many in positions of influence in Canberra and Port Moresby are regular readers of this blog. In 2009 I wrote as follows: “A new group of Australian Federal Police officers may move to PNG next year to act as advisers to the RP&NGC. At the same time a comment was made to the effect that these men and women may end up sideli

One of Papua New Guinea's most senior policemen has warned his officers against taking political bribes ahead of the country's June 23 elections. With just six days to go until the start of the 2012 poll, Assistant Police Commissioner Francis Tokura has told his troops not to be swayed by money being splashed around by candidates. "Electoral officers and members of the security force, do not accept bribes. Let me repeat, do not accept bribes," Mr Tokura told about 500 officers as they prepared to depart for the Southern Highlands on Saturday. "This is our country... PNG is our country and this is our election, so let us be responsible. "Polling candidates, let us set the foundation for a better tomorrow by refusing to threaten or bribe your voters." The police will spend 24 days based in and around the highland town of Mt Hagen and will provide security during PNG's two week voting period. Including the PNG Defence Force and police, there are 8000 s

One of Papua New Guinea's most senior policemen has warned his officers against taking political bribes ahead of the country's June 23 elections. With just six days to go until the start of the 2012 poll, Assistant Police Commissioner Francis Tokura has told his troops not to be swayed by money being splashed around by candidates. "Electoral officers and members of the security force, do not accept bribes. Let me repeat, do not accept bribes," Mr Tokura told about 500 officers as they prepared to depart for the Southern Highlands on Saturday. "This is our country... PNG is our country and this is our election, so let us be responsible. "Polling candidates, let us set the foundation for a better tomorrow by refusing to threaten or bribe your voters." The police will spend 24 days based in and around the highland town of Mt Hagen and will provide security during PNG's two week voting period. Including the PNG Defence Force and police, there are 8000

With only a couple of days remaining before the nation goes to the polls, the campaign fever is gaining momentum for all political parties. Prime Minister and People’s National Congress Party leader Peter O’Neill has been a staunch campaigner for his PNC candidates since writs were issued. Last week and early this week, he was in the National Capital District, Madang, Morobe, Western, Gulf and West New Britain provinces to support his candidates as they attempted to sell their party policies to the voters. While campaigning, Mr O’Neill has also been educating the people about the need to vote wisely as this election is very important and will determine where Papua New Guinea will be heading in the next 40 years. During the 10 months that he has been in government, Mr O’Neill has visited many remote areas throughout the country - more than any other leader in such a short span of time – and he has seen and heard the cried of the people for basic services to be delivered to them. That is

With only a couple of days remaining before the nation goes to the polls, the campaign fever is gaining momentum for all political parties. Prime Minister and People’s National Congress Party leader Peter O’Neill has been a staunch campaigner for his PNC candidates since writs were issued. Last week and early this week, he was in the National Capital District, Madang, Morobe, Western, Gulf and West New Britain provinces to support his candidates as they attempted to sell their party policies to the voters. While campaigning, Mr O’Neill has also been educating the people about the need to vote wisely as this election is very important and will determine where Papua New Guinea will be heading in the next 40 years. During the 10 months that he has been in government, Mr O’Neill has visited many remote areas throughout the country - more than any other leader in such a short span of time – and he has seen and heard the cried of the people for basic services to be delivered to the

CANDIDATES in resource-rich electorates around the country are having a field day. They will do everything in their power. They are telling potential voters to ensure resource owners have a greater say and get a greater share of the benefits of resource developments. They are painting the resource developers as selfish multi-nationals hell-bent on exploitation and profits with hardly a care for the welfare of ordinary Papua New Guineans and, particularly, resource owners. This is, of course, a cowardly gambit since most resource companies have no recourse. They have no right of reply and would never raise a voice in protest anyway or they would be accused of participating in politics. These kinds of talk make us recall the 1987 elections on the island of Bougainville. Then regional MP John Momis ran a hard anti-Bougainville Copper Ltd campaign, calling the company the “BCL pig” that needed slaughtering. There was a mass slaughter later that year and of more than just the BCL

CANDIDATES in resource-rich electorates around the country are having a field day. They will do everything in their power. They are telling potential voters to ensure resource owners have a greater say and get a greater share of the benefits of resource developments. They are painting the resource developers as selfish multi-nationals hell-bent on exploitation and profits with hardly a care for the welfare of ordinary Papua New Guineans and, particularly, resource owners. This is, of course, a cowardly gambit since most resource companies have no recourse. They have no right of reply and would never raise a voice in protest anyway or they would be accused of participating in politics. These kinds of talk make us recall the 1987 elections on the island of Bougainville. Then regional MP John Momis ran a hard anti-Bougainville Copper Ltd campaign, calling the company the “BCL pig” that needed slaughtering. There was a mass slaughter later that year and of more than just

JAMES COGAN The Australian reported in its weekend edition that military strategists drew up detailed plans for the invasion of the island-states of Fiji and Papua New Guinea (PNG) as part of the Labor government’s 2009 Defence White Paper. The plans were part of a “top-secret Force Structure Review and analytic documents supporting it—which were prepared in conjunction with the white paper—and were presented to the National Security Committee of cabinet for consideration.” The Australian had previously revealed that the 2009 White Paper also contained a “secret chapter” dealing with how the Australian military would assist American forces impose a naval blockade on Chinese trade in the event of a US-Sino war and assessed the prospect of retaliatory Chinese missile strikes on Australian territory. (See: “New book confirms US-Australia plans for war on China”) The military preparations for the small Pacific Island countries of PNG and Fiji stem from their economic and strategic importan