MICHAEL KABUNI
| Academia Nomad

PORT MORESBY - I’ve had readers asking me to write about the steps involved in removing a prime minister in a vote of no confidence.

Instead of writing a new article, I’m reposting a blog I wrote for Australian National University’s DevPolicy Blog in 2020. It details steps involved in removing an incumbent prime minister.

KEITH JACKSON

Projection is a psychological phenomenon where feelings directed towards the self are displaced outwards towards others

NOOSA - As the Campaign for Noosa takes on the uneasy rhythm of all early political campaigns, my thoughts drift back to my first inklings that this seemingly laid-back seaside resort had Politics. So I dug out a five year old piece I wrote on Noosa Politics and blew off the dust before adding some contemporaneous notes.  Reader alert, at 2,000 words it’s quite a long read….

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This morning at a ridiculously early hour (OK, it was seven o’clock), I was interviewed by Tess Connery for the 2SER-FM Sydney breakfast show, a meal that now passes me by.  Tess had called upon me to reminisce about the first day of 2SER, which had begun broadcasting on 1 October 1979.

KEITH JACKSON

NOOSA – Many of my PNG Attitude friends, especially those who have met my wife, Ingrid, will be interested to learn of the next step she has decided to take in her association with Noosa.

In 2016, Ingrid was elected as a Councillor – the only woman amongst the seven members, a fact which turned out to be of some importance.

MICHAEL KABUNI
| Academia Nomad

Parliament: where no confidence votes take place
(Fantasy illustration generated by Bing AI, 27 January 2024)

PORT MORESBY – Papua New Guinea's long-serving senior minister Kerenga Kua yesterday announced his resignation from the Marape Coalition.

Since then people have been asking me whether this means there will be a vote of no confidence in prime minister James Marape.

ANDREW ANTON MAKO
| DevPolicy Blog

Economist Andrew Anton Mako delivering the 11th Henry Kila Memorial Address in Port Moresby last year (Roan Paul Business Council of PNG)

PORT MORESBY- This year started terribly for Papua New Guinea as civil riots rocked the nation.

What started as a protest by law enforcement officers (police, defence force and corrections staff) on 10 January over high deductions from their first pay of the year quickly escalated to looting and destruction of shops in Port Moresby as people took advantage of the security vacuum in the city.

RONALD MAY
| John Menadue’s Pearls & Irritations

A photo of a younger Ron May (amidst his filing system!) Ron, an Australian academic with an over 50-year association and an unparallelled knowledge of  Papua New Guinea (Australian National University)

PORT MORESBY - On 10 January, Port Moresby was rocked by riots, looting and arson on an unprecedented scale.

Rioting also occurred in Lae and several other towns. More than 20 people died and there has been extensive damage to property.

MICHAEL KABUNI
| Academia Nomad

Family Ponders an Unclear Future (Generated with AI by Bing,  22 January 2024)

PORT MORESBY - The only shop in Gerehu to have survived the 10 January looting and burning was burned down yesterday (Sunday). The suspects were apprehended: four children and one adult.

If you've been concerned about unemployment and its impact on Papua New Guinea, or the rise in criminal activities, lawlessness and inflation, you now have something more serious to worry about.

KEITH JACKSON

The bond of friendship [Generated with AI by Bing]

NOOSA – I once served a short and turbulent period as president of the Papua New Guinea Association of Australia.

One of the matters I attended to was a change in the Association's Constitution to mandate it to become even closer to PNG and its people.

MICHAEL KABUNI
| Academia Nomad

The tax bill [Bing AI]

PORT MORESBY - A few years ago, the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States faced some difficult challenges. 

They were more problematic than the situation in Port Moresby on Wednesday 10 January.

PAEOPE OVASURU

Sad Wednesday [Bing Image Inspiration Feed]

PORT MORESBY - Last Wednesday the tenth of January started off like any other day in Port Moresby.

As the sun rose, workers made their way from home and street vendors put their goods on display.

At Gordons market, the mothers from Brown River accompanied truckloads of fresh garden produce. Outside, the usual crowd of loiterers went about their business, whatever that was.

Phil Fitzpatrick ... the PNG tinder box has stepped up another notch

PHILIP FITZPATRICK

TUMBY BAY - This latest violence in Port Moresby and Lae illustrates the incredible fragility of law and order in Papua New Guinea.

That a police strike could induce widespread and opportunistic looting in the country’s two lar gest cities is truly frightening, not just for people in PNG but for the whole region.

MELFORD IPATA
| via Linked In & Academia Nomad

PORT MORESBY - So, imagine you're using a fancy computer system, like the Alesco Payroll System the Papua New Guinea government uses.

Some people might think there's this magic thing called a ‘glitch in the system’ that can automatically undo changes made by people. Well, as a computer programmer, let me clear that up.

MICHAEL KABUNI

Don’t believe this front page story from The National. What prime minister James Marape fears is Man. His fear of Man is evident through various actions:

1 - The Speaker, a Pangu Pati member, convened a parliament meeting in 2020 after a legal adjournment to prepare for a no-confidence vote chaired by the deputy speaker.

2 - In the same year, Marape’s government had unlawfully convened and passed legislation to avoid a no-confidence vote while the opposition, with majority support, had been lured to far away Vanimo.

KELA KAPKORA SIL BOLKIN

PORT MORESBY - As a child growing up in the mountains of Simbu, mourning and burial rites were special occasions regardless of the status of the dead person.

After the funeral, the widow of the dead man and her children could live normal lives and continue to use the land and assets of the deceased.

JOHN W KURI

John Kuri, holds 'Porugl - The Atrocity of Kerwanba', the second work of his Porugl trilogy and now a First Nations award winner

PORT MORESBY - A lot of things happened to keep me busy in 2023. One of them was the completion of my second book in the Porugl trilogy.

Phil Fitzpatrick gave a great review of the first book, Porugl - Son of the Underworld, which is on Amazon.

Michael Kabuni

KEITH JACKSON

NOOSA – Academic and writer Michael Kabuni says 2023 was a good year for his always interesting blog, Academia Nomad, from which PNG Attitude occasionally plunders an especially insightful piece.

Michael’s now taken advantage of year’s end to review which of his posts were particularly enjoyed by readers. His yardstick was how many times readers shared a post with others, a good metric – after all you don’t usually share a piece if it’s absolute rubbish.