BY KEITH JACKSON

THERE HAVE BEEN SOME interesting developments in our Take the Truth to Australia project that will see Martyn Namorong visit Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane to meet with the media and with Australians interested in PNG affairs.

Overnight (Brazil time) I heard from Damian Hickey, who was at the Australian High Commission in Port Moresby when the inaugural Crocodile Prize awards were held and who recently joined the office of parliamentary secretary Richard Marles as his PNG adviser.

I’ve congratulated Damian on his appointment and taken the opportunity to reinforce my proposal to Mr Marles that the Australian government fund an extended visit by Martyn beyond the conference at Deakin University.

The plan is to involve Martyn in forums with people interested in PNG affairs and in media engagements as part of a broader process of assisting raise awareness of PNG issues in Australia.

I’ve also received a letter from Dr Jonathan Ritchie from the Alfred Deakin Research Institute which is hosting the conference at which Martyn will speak.

It clarified a number of matters relating to the funding of Papua New Guinean participants and also invites me to speak.

You can read here the full texts of PNG-born Jon Ritchie’s letter and my reply.

In brief, no substantive news yet but we are in communication.