EDITED BY KEITH JACKSON

The full complement of the one teacher Kundiawa Primary A School in 1964 - Keith with members of the Johnston, Bond, Heagney, Male, Doolan, Finch and other families [thanks to Dr Rob Johnston, far right]

A famous (not) game of Scrabble
| Keith Jackson AM

Journalists Judy Tudor and Jack McCarthy cycled - in the sense of visiting, not pedalling - through Kundiawa a couple of times in the early 1960s when I was there running my little school.

Judy knew of my affinity for words because she would plunder articles for Pacific Islands Monthly (always attributed I hasten to add) from the fortnightly Kundiawa News published by Murray Bladwell and me, the only mint set of which is these days to be found in the National Library of Australia.

MATHIAS KIN & KEITH JACKSON

Peter Tsiamalili Jr is a smart guy, but the police minister needs to avoid sweeping government decisions that throw out the babies with the bathwater.  

MATHIAS REPORTS....

Mathias Kin and Ingrid Jackson on the road to Gembogl many moons ago

KUNDIAWA – I know that people in Australia have been watching closely the recent political developments in Papua New Guinea. In recent years, there have been numerous threats by the government to ban Facebook and other social media sites.

Then yesterday, when our Facebook accounts appeared on our phones and tablets, they gave this message, "Please check your internet connection and try again.”  Since then, Facebook accounts across the country have not been working.

VANN R NEWKIRK II
| Staff Writer, The Atlantic Daily | Extract

Ku Klux Klan members parade down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the Treasury in Washington DC, 8 August 1925 (with acknowledgement to Bettmann/Getty)

 For a couple of years now, as the USA showed increasing signs of going off the rails, I’ve subscribed to a number of American publications, including The Atlantic. The brief extract that follows is taken from the beginning of a much longer article, They Always Followed the Flag, in the most recent issue of the magazine. We should never underestimate racism as a compelling factor in US affairs. In the present day, it seems to be a fear of demography pushing aside white hegemony that's underpinning events.  I hope you may be able to link to the extract here - KJ

WASHINGTON DC - A century ago, in 1925, the Ku Klux Klan came to Washington, D.C. The Klansmen had arrived in early August: the Kleagles and Dragons and Exalted Cyclopes, regalia folded and packed, families in tow.

MARIAN FAA & THECKLA GUNGA
| Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Link to the complete article here

PORT MORESBY - A confidential Papua New Guinea cabinet document containing outlines of 70 development projects has been leaked to the ABC.

The ideas include developing a space agency, acquiring a luxury island in partnership with a Congolese rapper, exploring the potential for a world-class Formula 1 track, creating a Silicon Valley style hub for entrepreneurs, developing post-quantum cryptography and setting up a spy agency with training from Israel.

BAKA BARAKOVE BINA

‘Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanise. While stories can break the dignity of a people, they can also repair that broken dignity” –  famed Nigerian writer Ngozi Adichie

LAE – I’m currently out of Port Moresby and, opening my laptop with Hot Spot at 10.00 pm, was pleasantly surprised to see all three of my present books on the First Nations Writers Festival website. Thank you FNWF.

This means that all three books in my Farmer Brings on a Wife trilogy are now in circulation and available for you to buy!

EDITED BY KEITH JACKSON

The  United States Coast Guard Cutter Hazard arrives in Port Moresby at the invitation of the PNG government in August 2023 (US Coast Guard Forces Pacific)

Matupit islanders rile Trumpy bigly
| Thanks to Rod Pearce and Rob Parer

RABAUL - The US Coast Guard has been in town with quite a large vessel. Half a dozen of the crew decided to climb the Matupit volcano, as you do.

Unfortunately they got the ‘Hands Up!’ by local rascals who stole everything the matelots had on them – backpacks, bugs, plugs, cell phones and ‘Make Matupit Great Again’ caps.

KEITH JACKSON
| With great assistance from AI Claude

Australian Indigenous smoking ceremony (City of Mandurah)

NOOSA - There is a document circulating on social media and by email that purports to be from the controversial Indigenous Australian political figure Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, who is Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians and, most recently, also Shadow Minister for Government Efficiency (terminology with thanks to Elon Musk).

The document contains a number of assertions claiming that a number of well-known Aboriginal cultural practices are modern inventions and not of traditional origin. In this article, with AI Claude's help, we contest the truthfulness of each claim.

BAKA B BINA

“A Farmer Brings On a Wife is perfectly structured for a television series. Imagine a village in PNG, a son needs a wife and the whole village is involved. PNG’s 860 languages means 860 customs and in PNG this is just one of 860 ways to be wed. Multiple characters, well defined, and familiar. A fast paced and episodic read with lots of relevant side stories: laugh out loud, be a little shocked at the racy moments, cry a little, and ultimately….. well, buy the trilogy. It will be available online soon. The book award judges still speak of it. Every corner filled with ancient wisdom and culture. It is a readers ‘find’. Cannot be put down. Congratulations Bina Baka. A triumph!” - First Nation Writers Festival

MICHAEL KABUNI
| Academia Nomad

PORT MORESBY - I’m working on a paper looking at possible explanations of how Papua New Guinea has survived as a democracy despite lacking strong democratic principles.

I am reminded of the introduction in Ron May’s book on the first 25 years of PNG’s independence, State and Society in Papua New Guinea: The First Twenty-Five Years.

HERVEY FORSYTHE

Keith Jackson at 80, January 2025

RICHMOND VA, USA – For those just tuning in: PNG Attitude is a blog covering Papua New Guinea affairs. It was founded and is run by Keith Jackson AM, a notable Australian journalist with deep ties to PNG.

This blog serves as a hub for news, opinion pieces and cultural discussions about PNG, featuring contributions from both PNG citizens and international writers, mostly Australians, with an interest in PNG.

DDA WATCH
| A branch of the Act Now! civic advocacy group

PORT MORESBY – The new corruption perceptions index (CPI) figures, released on 11 February by Transparency International, highlight Papua New Guinea’s failure to deal with widespread corruption.

PNG is classified as having a ‘high perceived risk of corruption’ which has shown ‘no meaningful progress’ in anti-corruption efforts. It is the worst ranked country in the Pacific Islands region and ranks 127th out of 180 countries globally.

KEITH JACKSON
| With thanks to Oceanic Arts Society

NOOSA – In late March, Scene Theatre in Sydney will present Worlds Alive, public readings of plays never seen before in Australia including one by Papua New Guinean playwright, the late Nora Vagi Brash.

Event organisers secured permission from the Vagi family to include in the event Which Way, Big Man?, a comedy about PNG’s transition to independence, and The Amazing Adventures of Omai.