Papua New Guinea's Kumul flag flutters over Independence Hill, where a number of former prime ministers are buried. Parliament House is in the middle distance. Sir Michael Somare knew whence he came and chose his home town, Wewak, as his final resting place

ALLAN BIRD MP
| Governor, East Sepik Province

Before his death Sir Michael Somare had stated his desire that his final resting place be at Kreer Heights in East Sepik rather than at Independence Hill next to Parliament House in Port Moresby, where other former prime ministers are buried. Lady Veronica Somare and his family have since confirmed Sir Michael's wish - KJ

WEWAK - Judging from social media discussions, the people of Papua New Guinea are now aware that it was our dear Papa’s wish that he be laid to rest on Kreer Heights where he has prepared a place for himself and Mama Veronica.

How do we best honour this great man who gave more than 60 years of life in our service?

Dr Harry Beran interviewing residents of Egum Islet,  Milne Bay,  2017 (Luke Wong)

ANTHONY MEYER

Dr Harry Beran was born in Vienna in 1935 and migrated to Australia in 1957. He obtained his PhD from the University of Sydney in 1974 and taught philosophy at the University of Wollongong until his retirement in 1998. Harry was a frequent visitor to Papua New Guinea and wrote numerous publications on its art. In particular he was a scholar, author and collector specialising in the Massim culture of Milne Bay Province - KJ

PARIS, FRANCE – We have lost a treasure, a library, a friend.

Early one morning in Cambridge, England, Harry Beran left us to go study the ancestors on that little island just beyond the horizon where we cannot see him anymore.

Little do the spirits there know what awaits them.

Betty outside the university library

HAZEL KUTKUE
| Sipikriva Girl | Edited

BRAUN, MOROBE – I recently got to talk to Papua New Guinean writer and educator Betty Gabriel Wakia about her experiences living in China.

Betty, 33, from Papua New Guinea’s Hela Province, was born at Ramu in Madang Province and grew up living between her village and Port Moresby.

Brian Cooper - the man who wanted PNG independence

PETER KRANZ
| Edited

MORRISET – The man in the photograph is Brian Leonard Cooper; convicted in Papua New Guinea and jailed in Australia for sedition.

His crime? Advocating independence for the then Territory of Papua and New Guinea.

His fate? Suicide.

Sunset over the mighty Sepik

DUNCAN GABI

GOROKA - The mighty Sepik River has existed since the dawn of time, twisting and turning, forming a wide belt of active meanders and fish-populated great lakes.

This great river, its banks adorned with lianas, sago palms, and pandanus, deposits vast amounts of fresh water into the ocean.

JACKSON YALO KIAKARI

GEREHU, PORT MORESBY - One never really thinks that someone like Grand Chief Sir Michael Tom Somare will eventually have to leave us at the end of his journey.

How can someone who is very much Papua New Guinea leave us?

BERNARD CORDEN

‘Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past’ - George Orwell

BRISBANE – ‘Boys from the Blackstuff’ was a acclaimed British television drama series written by the Liverpool, UK, playwright Alan Bleasdale.

It was initially screened during the Autumn of 1982 following a period of fomenting civil unrest that culminated in the notorious inner city riots within Liverpool’s Toxteth district.

MICHAEL DOM

English translation follows

O Sana, bai mi tok wanem, Bikman
Anutu tasol save gut long yu
Kamap bilo yu na taim bilo go daun
Em iet i makim pinis laip bilong yu

Papa blo mi iet luksave long yu
Tasol mi bikhet olsem ol wel pik
Na kros pait long laik bilong Anutu
Mi sot long pasin blong yu na wokmak

YANAMLYN BIAGE
| Academic Nomad

Sana,
the sun did not rise as it used to
it knew it won’t shine on you
the heavens above mourned heavily
its tears rushing down streams
sweeping away all in its way
the clouds are low today
as if they want to get a glimpse of you
laying in your bed
to make sure it truly is true
that you are no more

SCOTT WAIDE
| My Land, My Country

LAE - Sir Michael Somare was a man of many titles. He was father, grandfather and chief.

As a tribal leader, he was Sana the peacemaker. His influence and his reputation extended beyond Papua New Guinea’s border to the Pacific and other parts of the region.

Michael Somare talks to Cr Chris Gryllis of Orange and me at the PNG high commission in Canberra, 2009 (Ingrid Jackson)

KEITH JACKSON

NOOSA – The great nation of Papua New Guinea is in shock and in mourning following the death just after midnight yesterday of its founding father, Sir Michael Somare, long known as The Chief.

Somare was 84, a considerable age in PNG, but his mark on the nation he brought to creation seemed so indelible that he, like it, might last forever.

Michael Somare and Gough Whitlam on Independence Day,  1975 (Whitlam Institute)

RONALD J MAY
| DevPolicy Blog

CANBERRA – With the death of Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare – the man who led Papua New Guinea to independence in 1975 and became Papua New Guinea’s longest-serving member of parliament – the Pacific has lost one of its most prominent and respected leaders.

Somare was born in 1936 in Rabaul, where his father was serving as a policeman in the colonial administration, but returned to his father’s home province of East Sepik at an early age.

KELA KAPKORA SIL BOLKIN

PORT MORESBY – While Papua New Guinea has a couple of matrilineal societies, the majority of our many cultures are patrilineal, meaning the heirs to the land are male.

If a woman gives birth to sons, she is respected by her husband’s family, although this does not mean she is always safe.

EDDIE TANAGO
| Act Now!

PORT MORESBY - A new doodle-style video has been launched that explains how Papua New Guinea’s reliance on large-scale mining and export logging has failed to improve the lives of most people.

Over the last 50 years, the quality of health, education and infrastructure have declined and it also explains why PNG now ranks below its Pacific neighbours on most development indicators.

Phil Fitzpatrick - "It’s not axiomatic or necessary to seek validation for anything you’ve written through publication"

PHILIP FITZPATRICK

TUMBY BAY - People are motivated to write for all sorts of reasons. At the crudest, to make money.

Some write in the hope of influencing readers to adopt or consider their ideas and opinions. Others because they see a need to record important events.

Of the many reasons, a favourite author of mine, Barbara Kingsolver, summed it up when she said: “Writers will go to stupefying lengths to get the infernal roar of words out of their skulls and onto paper”.

Photo: Natalie Whiting, ABC News

NATALIE WHITING
| Australian Broadcasting Corporation | Extracts

PORT MORESBY - An internal Papua New Guinean ministerial briefing obtained by the ABC shows that unnamed government ministers are trying to exempt some passengers from quarantine, which they don't have the authority to do.

It says international passengers arriving at Jackson's Airport in Port Moresby are "frequently showing letters issued by government ministers claiming to authorise the passengers to be exempted from quarantine.

One of five container loads of materials for schools and health centres in remote areas of Western Province - more is on the way but much more is needed

GOVERNOR TABOI AWI YOTO

DARU - The shipping containers shown here are all loaded and ready for shipment to some of the most remote communities in Western Province.

They include materials for the Banisato village community health post.

The Baniso tribe is small, and comprises just one village of less than 200 people in the foothills of Mt Bosavi.

KEITH JACKSON

PORT MORESBY – A discussion paper just released by the Papua New Guinea National Research Institute proposes that PNG create more jobs by discouraging imports of consumables, or goods for immediate consumption, and expanding exports.

Consumables are goods used by individuals and businesses that need to be replaced regularly because they are used up or wear out.

"Through much of 2020, PM Marape communicated often and well about the progress of, and responses to, Covid-19 in PNG. Then he went quiet" - Peter Dwyer

PETER D DWYER PhD

MELBOURNE - In October last year a team of Papua New Guinea university scientists asserted that they had developed a package of already known drugs that would cure Covid-19.

There were no publications, there had been no tests but they had convinced prime minister James Marape that they were on to a good thing.

Marape recommended through the National Executive Council that their newly registered company, Niugini Biomed Ltd, be awarded K10.2 million.

Sir Arnold Amet - former chief justice and then attorney-general seeks to revive his political career at 68

KEITH JACKSON

NOOSA - The Allegiance Party, established by Papua New Guinean justice minister Bryan Kramer MP, has endorsed Sir Arnold Amet as its candidate in the forthcoming by-election for Moresby North West.

The by-election was triggered by the death of former prime minister Sir Mekere Morauta last December.

Bee Duresi - brilliant scholar, great communicator, wonderful representative of PNG and, above all, a fantastic mum and family member

BEE DURESI
| Duresi's Odyssey

AUCKLAND - Time flies ae? I just realised I got on a plane around this time three years ago to come to New Zealand and start a journey of a lifetime.

It was a bittersweet trip – my marriage had just ended, I had been accepted to do a PhD at the University of Auckland, I had successfully secured a NZ scholarship for the entire PhD program, and I was leaving my beloved child behind.

Opposition leader Belden Namah says Covid may be killing scores of Papua New Guineans, “but that has yet to be proven”

KEITH JACKSON

PORT MORESBY – Papua New Guinea’s opposition leader Belden Namah has called upon the Marape government to halt the use of any Covid-19 vaccines until a comprehensive report has been tabled in parliament.

Namah said Marape has a duty to present a report on the effects of Covid, the government's measures to protect the population, an accounting of funds allocated, and an update on the PNG-originated vaccine to which the prime minister granted K 10.2 million.

The PNG Forest Authority has failed in its mandate to ensure the sustainable management of PNG’s forests and is pushing back against government reforms 

EDDIE TANAGO
| Act Now!

PORT MORESBY – The increase in duty on round log exports introduced in Papua New Guinea’s 2020 budget is already having a positive effect.

Analysis by community advocacy group Act Now! shows that the higher export duty has increased government revenue and driven down log exports in line with government policy.

"“It is the people’s court and let them come by the hundreds if they have the right to come” - the late Justice Mari Kapi

BAL KAMA

CANBERRA - The national court of Papua New Guinea made a landmark court decision on the last Saturday of January when it ordered the Madang Provincial Government, the District Development Authority, and the Urban Local-level Government to fix the roads in Madang town.

The orders prescribed the specific financial contributions and administrative responsibilities of each level of government, including the national government, and also applied to the Madang members of parliament.

A section of the new Western Pacific University in the Southern Highlands

NEWS DESK
| PNG Bulletin

PORT MORESBY – Papua New Guinea prime minister James Marape will be in Ialibu, Southern Highlands Province on Monday 1 March to open the new Western Pacific University.

Mr Marape is expected to be accompanied by government ministers and opposition members.

KELA KAPKORA SIL BOLKIN

Introductory glossary: (1) Hard working men = those who claim to lead the MPs campaign; (2) Village folk yet to eat = those who may receive cash from the MP; (3) Men who are eating = those who do receive cash from the MP

PORT MORESBY - I occasionally travel to my tribal land for feasts and holidays to mingle with our village folk and talk to all and sundry.

After the 2017 general election I went home and the self-proclaimed hard working men bragged about their daring roles during that election that enabled our tribesman to win, which he did.

JAMES MARAPE MP

Papua New Guinea’s prime minister James Marape recently visited Kainantu and, upon his arrival, walked along a prepared pathway of bilums, the woven string bags that are utilitarian, symbolic of the strength of women and culturally very meaningful. The prime minister’s action generated significant public rebuke, which he sought to address in this response - KJ

BRYAN KRAMER MP

MADANG - On 4 January 2021, Justice David Cannings initiated national court proceedings in Madang to address the dilapidated condition of Madang town roads.

The Court commenced proceedings as an inquiry to determine the answer to four key questions:

Leanne Jorari - "I am a firm advocate of Indigenous people creating their own narratives"

NEWS DESK
| Judith Neilson Institute

SYDNEY - Leanne Jorari is a Papua New Guinean media and communications specialist, producer and writer, based in Port Moresby.

A former journalist and producer at PNG’s national broadcaster, EMTV, she is now a freelance writer for The Guardian‘s Pacific Project, which is supported by the Institute.

Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson - "Respect is taught and driven home in every aspect of our lives"

LAGIPOIVA CHERELLE JACKSON
| Medium

SAMOA - When the editor of the Lowy Institute’s, The Interpreter, called leaders of the Pacific Islands ‘toddlers’ and referred to the stance by Micronesian Leaders as ‘tantrums’, it could have easily been yet another condescending article by an Australian journalist who thought he knew better than all of us put together.

But this time, it was different.

Sir Arnold Amet - The people have a right to be heard and their views to be considered

SCOTT WAIDE
| My Land, My Country

LAE – Papua New Guinea’s former chief justice Sir Arnold Amet and leaders from the north coast villages of Madang have written to the Justice Department and the Mineral Resources Authority urging them to allow further consultation in relation to the proposed sand mining project.

Sir Arnold has echoed sentiments by people in the Sumgilbar local level government area that their views against sand mining have not been adequately heard.

Alfred Kembu (left) with Mano landowners and police

DAVID KASEI WAPAR

MADANG - The Tapo police and quarantine checkpoint in Madang Province has been relocated to Mano, 12 twelve kilometers away, with the construction of a new bridge to replace the well-known crossing.

The checkpoint is an important facility which assists the National Agriculture Quarantine Inspection Authority, the Kokonas Indastri Koporesen (KIK), police and other organisations to monitor disease and pest control and illicit activities.

Deng Xiaoping rejected orthodox communist ideology in favour of ‘socialism with Chinese characteristics' - but the West misread what this meant

CHRIS OVERLAND

ADELAIDE - As one of PNG Attitude’s more vociferous critics of the Chinese government (as distinct from its citizens generally) I would like to take up some readers’ comments about how China has risen so far and so fast.

In doing so, I reject any inference that criticisms of Chinese government policies and action reflect an inherent Sinophobia.

KEITH JACKSON

NOOSA - Chris Overland has maintained a consistent (and compelling) correspondence on the matter of China. Others have enjoined.

I believe a continuing discussion on China is necessary in PNG Attitude because of the growing importance of China as an influence – and potentially a threat - in our south-west Pacific region.

Independence leader Benny Wenda - "In West Papua, the whole essence of our humanity is being reduced to nothing”

STUART REES
| John Menadue’s Pearls and Irritations

SYDNEY - Not far from Australian shores, a colonial-type genocide prompts silence.

Commercial and military interests plus preoccupation with a global virus ensure that colonisation continues, and human rights are ignored. Who cares?

Martyn Namorong - "Foreign governments should refrain from interfering in PNG’s democratic processes. We know some countries have a tendency to do that”

AARON SMITH
| The Guardian

CAIRNS - Australia has dramatically overreacted to speculative announcements of possible Chinese-funded development on the Papua New Guinea island of Daru, a former adviser to the PNG government has said.

“I think the Chinese just wanted to ruffle a few feathers on the Australian side,” Martyn Awayang Namorong said of the leaked letter describing plans to build a $39 billion city on Daru, and last November’s memorandum of understanding signing to establish a “comprehensive multifunctional fishery industrial park” on the island.

Lazarus Towa with Michael Kabuni

MICHAEL KABUNI
| Academia Nomad | Edited

WAIGANI - Until a couple of weeks ago, I had spoken to Lazarus Towa just once. We’d met briefly, greeted and passed by.

That’s what you do when you meet your Facebook friend, right?

But I’d been hoping to speak to this guy. To ask him questions.

BEE DURESI
| Duresi's Odyssey

AUCKLAND - When Covid-19 was declared a pandemic about a year ago, pharmaceutical companies all over the world set out to find a vaccine to protect us from it.

You have no doubt read about the different companies making announcements of their products and their efficacy.

Clothes hanging over a muddy beach at Daru island, just four kilometers from the Australian border

CHRIS OVERLAND

ADELAIDE - I think Michael Kabuni's analysis is basically correct. Australia's policy in relation to Papua New Guinea has indeed been deficient and reactive in some respects.

While I agree that the proposed Daru fisheries deal should bring economic benefits to PNG and the Western Province, I wonder how significant the benefits will be in the long term.

JOHN GREENSHIELDS

ADELAIDE – Why are Australian taxpayers funding Papua New Guinea’s 111 parliamentarians with $2.9M (K8 million) each for District Services Improvement Fund, and other discretionary funds, with little accountability and proper procurement process?

When Charles Abel was Treasurer from 2017-19, he tried to wind back these funds in the budget, but was over-ruled by prime minister Peter O’Neill.

Women of Madang Province

DAVID KASEI WAPAR

MADANG – A women’s group from Ward 6 in the Ambenob area have become the first women group to formally seek answers from the district’s ward development office.

It took hard work and commitment for the group to prepare a formal document requesting assistance from the Madang District Development Authority.

Daru, capital of impoverished Western Province, is the planned site of a major Chinese fishery. It will generate many jobs. But Australia opposes the idea

MICHAEL KABUNI
| Asia & the Pacific Policy Society

WAIGANI - Last November, Chinese company Fujian Zhonghong Fishery Limited signed a memorandum of understanding with the Papua New Guinea government to set up a K700 million multi-functional fisheries industrial park in Daru, Western Province.

Unfortunately, debate in Australia surrounding this proposal has not extended beyond Australia’s security concerns as to what this project means for Western Province people.

Maureen Penjueli - Australia and New Zealand's absence at the recent crucial Pacific Islands Forum meeting challenges their commitment to the region

MAUREEN PENJUELI
| Pacific Islands News Association

SUVA - The decision by Micronesian leaders to withdraw from the region’s premier political body, the Pacific Islands Forum, is a move of tectonic scale whose impact will reverberate across the region.

The withdrawal comes on the back of a bruising leadership contest for Secretary-General of the Forum.

AARON SMITH
| Griffith Asia Insights

CAIRNS - “We are happy to share what we have in the Torres Strait, but we will not give – not a teaspoon of water, not a grain of sand.”

This was the war cry of Torres Strait Islander Getano Lui Snr in 1976, one of the leading political agitators that pressured the Australian government to form the Torres Strait Treaty.

James Marape - only thing known for sure is that the political numbers game will continue

HENRY IVARATURE
| Asia & the Pacific Policy Society

CANBERRA - Papua New Guinea politics is not a game for the faint-hearted.

On 14 December 2020, parliamentary speaker Job Pomat hijacked proceedings and forced an adjournment to 16 December so that the court could determine the status of an opposition member of parliament.

MICHAEL DOM

Tok Pisin translation of Mountain Forest by Jimmy Awagl, whose original English poem follows

Bikpela bus emi tutak tumas
I silip antap long nus bilong maunten
Klaut i pasim het bilong em
Na i ron namel insait long bus
Antap long lip na han bilong diwai

Lait bilong san emi pundaun ikam
Na i traim long sutim pinga igo insait
Long simuk iron antap long bik bus
Em nau ikirapim paialait olsem gol
Na kainkain kalakala i mekim ai long pas

Lowy Institute building in Sydney

HERVEY FORSYTHE

CANBERRA - An Australian government supported think tank has been accused of racism and infantilising Pacific islanders following commentary on the departure of five Micronesian nations from the Pacific Islands Forum.

The Sydney-based Lowy Institute has faced a barrage of criticism over views expressed by the managing editor of its online The Interpreter magazine, Daniel Flitton, who compared a major regional dispute to a “toddler’s tantrum” and said Pacific island nations have “some growing up to do”.

Paul Boga and fellow army pilots pose in front of a PNGDF Nomad

PAUL BOGA
| My Land, My Country

LAE - Marching into the PNGDF Air Transport Squadron in Lae as a young military pilot was beginning of an exciting flying career and lasting camaraderie with other airmen.

With no experience but full of energy, we were assigned to B Flight with Nomad aircraft.

Bousimae, the Binandere chief

SCOTT WAIDE
| My Land, My Country

LAE - Papua New Guinea is a collection of nations, each with its own rich history.

Much of that history has been lost and much needs to be told.

The stories need to be told not in the context of the 200 years of colonialism, but from the perspective of our elders and based on 60,000 years of unwritten precolonial history.

Port Moresby town centre, 1960s

CHRIS OVERLAND

ADELAIDE - Rebecca Kuku's article, Growing Up in 60s Port Moresby, describes Port Moresby as I too remember it.

Although colonial Moresby had its problems, it was generally a pleasant and mostly peaceful place to live at that time.