On behalf of the Papua New Guinea Association of Australia, I'll be meeting with the Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Affairs, Duncan Kerr [left], and the PNG High Commissioner to Australia, Charles Lepani [below], next month. The meetings will discuss the Australia-PNG relationship and, in particular, how the Association and its 1700 members may best be able to assist this relationship at a civil level.
We will also discuss a number of PNGAA initiatives previously put to government - including the School of the Pacific ('new ASOPA') proposal, an exchange scheme between Australian and PNG public servants and a donation of The Blatchford Collection ('Documents on the Development of the PNG Educational System') to PNG. If there are other subjects that you believe should be discussed, you can let me know by email or by adding a comment below.
Meanwhile, David Epstein, Principal Adviser to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, has referred the Association's request for the government to fund the search for the Montevideo Maru to Joel Fitzgibbon, the Minister for Defence.
In other PNGAA news, following the resignation of Rebecca Hopper, Harriet Troy has been appointed to the national committee and has taken up the position of chair of the Fellowship & Caring Sub-Committee which, among other things, organises the Association six-monthly luncheons.
Pleased to read (ASOPA People) of your chat with Gough Whitlam and Bill Morrison. Nice piece. I also thought that your PNGAA membership idea was a good one. No doubt you are offering honorary membership to Whitlam, Morrison and Peacock?
Maybe you could extend honorary membership to the PNG High Commissioner to Australia and the Australian High Commissioner to PNG? Perhaps the Honorary membership for those two could go with the job, rather than the person. Thus, it would remain something which could continue to enable the PNGAA to have links with the Highcoms, no matter who was HC?
Posted by: Martin Hadlow | 22 July 2008 at 12:02 PM