MICHAEL KABUNI
| Academia Nomad

PORT MORESBY - After 20 years of operation, Heli Solutions has shut down. The local company couldn’t survive fuel shortages and a lack of foreign currency.
But there was a deeper problem. Poor decisions by politicians—especially by the prime minister.
Continue reading "Government of the non-taxpayers" »
MICHAEL KABUNI
| Academia Nomad
Sir Peter Ipatas (PNG Business News)
PORT MORESBY - A seventh attempt to mount a challenge against prime minister James Marape got underway yesterday in Papua New Guinea’s parliament.
Acting Speaker Koni Iguan informed parliament that he had received a motion for another vote of no confidence against Marape when parliament met for its November 2024 sitting.
Continue reading "Ipatas challenges Marape as prime minister" »
BERNARD CORDEN
Traffic lights, road signs & billboards clutter drivers' vision at this busy Brisbane road junction
This is the full text of a letter from Bernard Corden which has just made its way to the desk of the Honourable Bart Mellish MP, Queensland Minister for Transport and Main Roads, and Minister for Digital Services. I feel sure the Minister will never before have received a letter composed with Bernard’s awe-inspiring literary flourish and precise application of the English language - KJ
BRISBANE - The Queensland Government is currently promoting its Road Safety Week, which it officially launches on Monday 26 August 2024.
The state-wide campaign includes numerous warnings displayed on electronic signs installed over Brisbane’s busy inner-city bypass and implore motorists to keep their eyes on the road and hands on the steering wheel.
Continue reading "Rattling a stick inside a swill bucket" »
PAUL OATES
CLEVELAND - It appears in the minds of a few detractors that the recognition of those who died in the service of Australia and Papua New Guinea has yet again been conflated with accusations of desire for personal aggrandisement.
The issues of recognition and aggrandisement or glory could not be clearer in my mind and they have always been separate.
At an event at the National Archives some years ago, we paid tribute to those many dedicated people who went before us and who continued to work to help Papua New Guinea progress into the modern world.
Continue reading "Honour not glory is memorial’s aim" »
CAROLYN BLACKLOCK
| East Asia Forum
Carolyn Blacklock (Ipsum Pacific)
BRISBANE - Political and economic pressures are rising in Papua New Guinea, with escalating social tensions suggesting a need for focused regional support.
Critics argue that given ongoing civil unrest, political instability with Rainbo Paita’s challenge to prime minister James Marape and substantial economic challenges such as a stagnating minimum wage and increasing poverty, financial aid and strategies should be directed towards supporting the PNG populace rather than bolstering the political elite.
Continue reading "PNG's welfare does not rest on elites" »
KEITH JACKSON
The Kiaps' Award - Police Overseas Service Medal
NOOSA – I am told that the sometimes bitter division between a small group of former kiaps and the great majority of their ageing comrades continues.
I had thought it all over until recently, when it was brought to my notice that some of this seriously ageing and rapidly extinguishing band of brothers want further public memorialisation for themselves in the form of a public monument paid for and constructed by the government.
Continue reading "The trials & tribulations of the kiapry" »
ROB BARCLAY
ADELAIDE – Former policeman, long-term MP Peter Dutton has finally awoken from his torpor and started to make some welcome statements.
Unfortunately, he has a tendency to cherry-pick only those subjects he is interested in.
Continue reading "Note to the redoubtable Mr Dutton" »
ALEX MITCHELL
| Come the Revolution
Alex Mitchell
TWEED HEADS - Former Labor Party prime minister Paul Keating is Australia’s foremost public intellectual.
Love him or loathe him, when he speaks on the ABC, the national broadcaster, people stop eating or talking, and listen.
Keating commands such public attention: he doesn’t ask for it, we give it to him with the same respect we gave prime minister John Curtin when he declared war on Nazi Germany.
Continue reading "Keating lashes Albo over America grovel" »
KEITH JACKSON
Keith in the big person's chair at the exclusive Park Hyatt Dubai. Right arm bandaged to restrict bleeding from capillary breaches. Walking stick in hand to restrict falling over. Sitting in chair also restricts falling over. "Chairs are of key importance in not falling over," Keith said in a rare public statement. (Photo taken by Ingrid Jackson with Keith's full knowledge )
DUBAI - I'm now in the United Arab Emirates which, the way things are going, could one day own Australia. Life is very comfortable here. Who needs democracy when you've got plenty of parking, plenty of retail, plenty of billionaires, plenty of air links to everywhere and don't care about the end of the world?
Rome, Spain, Barcelona, Casablanca, Malaga, Gibraltar, Valencia. Three weeks on a small ocean liner traversing hither and thither on the Mediterranean. Plenty of time for the tropical breezes I recall from my youth to magically spring up and work wonders on my back and my soul. Being with a splendid wife assists.
Continue reading "On crisis: Idle thoughts from abroad" »
PAUL KEATING
| Pearls & Irritations

Below Keith Jackson's preamble; overleaf Paul Keating's analysis ....
PREAMBLE - In Anthony (Albo) Albanese, Australia has one of its most timid, dare I say frightened, prime ministers ever to hold the office. It has been clear since the beginning of his term two years ago that his main objective was to not cause any ripples while he secured a further term. Not the Albo I knew 30 or more years ago. A loud-mouthed agent provocateur against the conservative enemy. Provided, of course, he had the protection of more stout-hearted politicians like former prisoner of war Tom Uren (whose protégé he was from a young age) and prime ministers Bob Hawke and Paul Keating (neither of whom ever thought of him as anything other than a lightweight). Eventually, Albo discovered he’d been around long enough to be considered for greater rewards: leader of the house, then leader of the opposition and now prime minister. A lesson in surviving long enough to become whatever you wish. In this piece, Paul Keating shines light on how the meek Albo and his hapless deputy Marles has turned Australia’s back on Asia and thrown in our lot more comprehensively than ever with the USA and, hard to believe this, with the UK, once of the British Empire - KJ
Continue reading "Australia: Desperate for security from Asia" »
MICHAEL KABUNI
| Academia Nomad
PORT MORESBY - Reports of criminals being paid K300,000 for the release of hostages is troubling, but not a surprise. In Papua New Guinea, we pay for everything.
Our politicians bribe electoral officials to win elections. Prime ministerial candidates pay other politicians to join various camps to form government. When prime ministers underperform, they pay other politicians to keep them in power.
Continue reading "PNG: How a transactional society works" »
ROB BARCLAY
| A Patrol Officer’s view of modern Australian society
MELBOURNE - In the 1960s and 70s, I found that we Australians were warmly welcomed even in such far-away places as Sri Lanka, Thailand and Mexico. This was because everybody has heard about our Colombo Plan that educated huge numbers of South East Asian people in Australia at our expense.
“We love you white men, you have invented such wonderful things as the airplane, the radio, TV, the refrigerator, the car – even put men on the moon,” people would say. “You have improved our lives with new cash crops and better agriculture, and given us hope. We want to be just like you.”
Continue reading "Where is our beloved Australia headed?" »
ALLAN BIRD
| Academia Nomad | Edited
We must spend our money wisely (Generated with AI ∙ 8 May 2024)
WEWAK - Papua New Guinea prime minister James Marape’s response to concerns raised by ordinary people about the rising cost of living leaves much to be desired.
The biggest contributor to inflation and the depreciation of the kina over the last five years is the spending behaviour of the national government.
Continue reading "PNG must start living within its means" »
MEDIA STATEMENT
| Thanks to Academia Nomad
Belden Namah chastises James Marape for being too weak on Biden cannibal comments (One Papua New Guinea)
PORT MORESBY - The chairman of Papua New Guinea’s parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, Belden Namah MP, has condemned utterances by United States president Joe Biden describing a situation in World War II when his uncle was ‘shot down and eaten by cannibals in New Guinea’.
“There is no such country called New Guinea in the Pacific,” Namah said. “But if President Biden was referring to Papua New Guinea, his utterances were unfounded, unacceptable and utterly disrespectful.
Continue reading "Belden Namah calls for apology from Biden" »
CHRIS OVERLAND
Map based on Penguin Atlas of Ancient History, Atlas of Past Times, DK Atlas of World History and also a Roman Empire expansion map at the University of Texas (Wikipedia)
ADELAIDE - While trying hard to be an objective historian, I find it hard to disagree that we are at some sort of hinge point in human history.
These seem to come along from time to time, always driven by the cumulative impact of many past decisions.
Continue reading "'Magical thinking' threatens humanity" »
ALLAN BIRD
| Governor, East Sepik Province
The gold refinery of our dreams (Generated with AI, 22 March 2024, 7.49 am)
WEWAK - The Marape government’s proposed legislation to establish a gold refinery in Papua New Guinea seems to be another cargo cult endeavour that will bring little or no value for money for our country.
The proponents have zero experience in refineries or gold bullion and they don't understand the refinery business or business in general.
Continue reading "Gold refinery proposal doesn’t add up" »
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….
_________
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.
Continue reading "Introducing the flammable politics of Noosa" »
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.
Continue reading "Is Marape headed for a no confidence vote?" »
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.
Continue reading "January riots: Is the political class listening?" »
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.
Continue reading "The January riots in Papua New Guinea" »
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.
Continue reading "Tragedy: Responsible people go missing" »
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.
Continue reading "It’s not the socials, gavman, it’s you" »
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.
Continue reading "A lost, desperate & leaderless people" »
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.
Continue reading "Incredible fragility of a corrupted State" »
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.
Continue reading "System glitches. Or human intervention?" »
MICHAEL KABUNI
| Academia Nomad
The people will gain much power in Papua New Guinea when they vote for politicians because of merit not how much money they give away (Generated with Bing AI, 30 December 2023) AI, 30 December 2023
PORT MORESBY – We can’t blame the Papua New Guinea government for everything. Here are some other culprits.
If you look at the reforms, good or bad, in PNG, you can generally pin them on multilateral institutions, either the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank.
Continue reading "Politicians are not to blame for every stuff-up" »
CHRIS OVERLAND & KEITH JACKSON
NOOSA – We live at a time when It is difficult to find any outstanding political leadership in most of the world’s democracies. The professionalisation of politics, and associated political inbreeding, has reached its apogee. Winning and retaining power is now the main point of politics. Reform is a subsidiary issue. The will and capability to change and address difficult issues like global warming have been compromised.
Continue reading "Uncomprehending elites put us in danger" »
CHINESE NAVY IN PNG TO PLAY GAMES
PNG Facts reports on the four-day visit by the Chinese naval vessel ship Qi Jiguang to Papua New Guinea. The stay, which ends today, seems aimed at reinforcing relationships with the politicians and military of PNG. “The officers and soldiers of both countries will participate in visits, exchange programs and games,” said China’s ambassador to PNG, Zeng Fanhua.
Continue reading "Recent Notes 29: China in the Pacific" »
PHILIP FITZPATRICK
TUMBY BAY - Back in the 1980s I decided to add a major in Government to my 1970s double degree in Literature. One of the subjects concerned the impact of technology on paid employment. At the time there was a wide body of literature on the subject. The consensus was that new technologies would do away with the more arduous and soul destroying aspects of work and increase workers’ leisure time.
Continue reading "Tech could enrich us all, but...." »
KEITH JACKSON
NOOSA - Here in Noosa, just like the rest of Australia, we’re in the middle of referendum politics, where the vitriol has reached boiling point and exceeds even the hyper-toxicity that prevails around local government elections here in Australia’s premier seaside resort apart from Tumby Bay.
Continue reading "Is this really the Australia you want" »
PHILIP FITZPATRICK
TUMBY BAY - Many of the disasters that are currently pummelling the world with increasing intensity, from floods to heatwaves, are directly attributable to climate change.
Unexpected consequences from these events, like the deaths of thousands of emperor penguin chicks by drowning in Antarctica and starving polar bears in the Arctic Circle, are catching the world by surprise.
Continue reading "Psychopaths dooming us to catastrophe" »
MICHAEL KABUNI
Academia Nomad
PORT MORESBY – In June, the Constitutional Law Reform Commission completed a nationwide consultation gauging views on whether the prime minister should be elected directly by the people as in a presidential system. The directive to do this came from the national government.
Why the need to change the current system? Because the government thinks that the unicameral parliamentary system is “not working”? The obvious question therefore: ‘Is the current parliamentary system not working for PNG because it’s a bad system, or because PNG is not using the parliamentary system as it is supposed to be used?’
Continue reading "Who's really to blame for PNG mess" »
EDDIE T PAINE
It's the 48th anniversary of Papua New Guinea’s independence on Saturday and Eddie’s Kikibakik, a folk tale in the Binandere language of Oro Province, discusses the problems besieging the nation and how they might be best addressed - KJ

PORT MORESBY - We sit down in the forever blacked-out Port Moresby night and hear our neighbours playing the famous Saugas song, Sindaun Bagarap, which echoes around on this windy night. And we hear the buai (betel nut) buyers complaining about hikes in prices. And we think about Papua New Guinea turning 48 in a few days’ time.
The question I ask my small brother, Braigi, is how have we progressed so far in the last 48 years as a nation?
Continue reading "48 years on we need to do a lot better" »
TONY DEGEN

The plantation homestead before and its demolition by villagers angry at the PNG government's land use practices
MADANG – I’m an investor in the Papua New Guinean agricultural and livestock industry and purchased a state agricultural lease on the north coast near Madang.
By August last year, I had paid all the required fees and charges like stamp duty and assured myself that the title was clear.
Continue reading "The very risky business of investing in PNG" »
ANONYMOUS *
Microsoft Bing Image Creator
PORT MORESBY – As an officer of the Department of Foreign Affairs in the Papua New Guinea government, I have to write anonymously to secure my safety.
I am writing to reveal interference by the United States in PNG’s internal affairs which is undermining the bilateral relationship between Australia and PNG.
Continue reading "US gazumps Australia for control of region" »
COMPILED BY LOCH BLATCHFORD
Evelyn and JK Murray in Port Moresby, 1951
Introduction by Keith Jackson
NOOSA - Within the space of a couple of weeks early this year, Loch Blatchford and I experienced coincidental but catastrophic computer failures.
Mine cost PNG Attitude the bulk of its images and links but fortunately retained most of the textual content. Loch’s resulted in him losing most of The Blatchford Collection, his valuable, impeccably assembled historical compilation of the development of Papua New Guinea’s education system after World War II.
Continue reading "The making of PNG: JK Murray v Bureaucracy" »
ALEX MITCHELL
| Come the Revolution
Author, journalist and acclaimed political observer, Alex Mitchell (Scott Powick)
Prologue by Keith Jackson
NOOSA - Was the recent on-field cricket incident involving England fast bowler Ollie Robinson, just a display of extraordinarily bad manners or the product of barely disguised racism?
Alex Mitchell certainly brought to life my own thoughts about the matter in constructing a fine narrative that builds a case for the latter.
I'd believe our Papua New Guinean readers would have something to say about this.
Continue reading "England cricketer's ugly outburst a racist slur" »
MICHAEL TAM
Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii (1840-2017) was against the Reciprocity Treaty, believing it heralded an American takeover of her kingdom. She was correct
PARI - What kind of danger does a nation face when the United States wants to establish a military base on its sovereign territory? Let me first review the history of how the Hawaiian kingdom died.
Some 3,200 kilometers away from the US mainland, Hawaii’s central Pacific location has long been of strategic military importance.
Continue reading "PNG is our country. We must not give it away" »
MICHAEL TAM
PARI - From the time the US-PNG Defence Cooperation Agreement was signed last week, there have been indications that prime minister Marape is behaving more autocratically.
I have the feeling that PNG democracy is heading down the death highway under Marape's rule.
When the news was reported that Biden was going to visited PNG, Marape appealed to Papua New Guineans and the media to be cautious in making comments about the visit.
Continue reading "Is Marape more autocratic since the US deal" »
MICHAEL TAM
"Papua New Guinea needs brave men and women with clever minds and loud voices to rise
against the few who are corrupting our government and sucking our people’s money"
PARI - Shamefully, the US-PNG Defence Cooperation Agreement was signed by PNG defence minister Win Bakri Daki and US secretary of state Anthony Blinken at APEC Haus on 22 May.
This was despite nationwide protests urging prime minister PM Marape to both sack former foreign minister Justin Tkatchenko and not sign the security pact.
The Marape government never respects the people of PNG.
Continue reading "We're your hope, we're not primitive animals" »
KEITH JACKSON
Screen shot from ChatGPT - frill-free, fast and functional. But can be error prone and demands attention to detail
NOOSA – A couple of months ago, as a consumer and producer of information, I decided I must try to understand something about artificial intelligence and ChatGPT.
By ‘understand’ I meant to find out ChatGPT’s application to journalism and creative writing (it has many other capabilities) and to determine its grasp of human behaviour.
The latter is imperative because if it can’t distinguish between good and bad, truth and lie or fact and opinion it’s use is problematic in the absence of ethical human intervention.
Continue reading "The good & bad of ChatGPT: An assessment" »
BONIFACE KAIYO & KEITH JACKSON

PORT MORESBY – On 1 May 1963, the United Nations transferred the administration of West New Guinea to the Republic of Indonesia. The capital Hollandia was immediately renamed Kota Baru.
West Papuan nationalism and desire for self-determination that had consolidated in the wake of the long deadlock between Indonesia and the Netherlands after Indonesia declared its independence at the end of World War II had not borne fruit.
Continue reading "Connecting the dots on West Papua, Part 3" »
Are they here to help, or to control?
MICHAEL TAM
PARI - There’s one word that best describes the United States-Papua New Guinea Defence Cooperation Agreement signed in Port Moresby on 22 May by our defence minister Win Bakri Daki and US secretary of state Anthony Blinken.
And that word is ‘shameful’.
It came into being at APEC Haus amidst the rare sight of nationwide protests urging prime minister James Marape not to sign the security pact.
Continue reading "The shame of becoming a US military base" »

'We Must Put The People First'
DANNY ANDREW
KANDEP - In recent mass media news reports in Papua New Guinea, concerns have been raised by senior officials in various government agencies that governance systems are failing.
This is serious enough in itself but especially bad for PNG as a developing nation seeking to achieve its developmental goals as enshrined in Vision 2050.
Continue reading "PNG must put the people first, not last" »
PHILIP FITZPATRICK
TUMBY BAY - Australia, like many other developed nations, claims it has no responsibility for CO² emissions from the coal, iron ore and gas it exports.
If Australia accepted that responsibility it would blow its emission reduction targets sky high and fail every test of being a responsible and ethical nation.
Continue reading "We have been betrayed by the global elite" »
PHILIP FITZPATRICK

TUMBY BAY - Towards the end of this year, Australians will be asked to vote in a referendum to change the Australian Constitution.
They will be asked whether it should be changed to establish a permanent, independent advisory body, known as The Voice, to advise federal parliament and the government on matters relating to the Australia’s Indigenous population.
Continue reading "Australia needs to take a hard look at itself" »
From the song ‘Me and Bobby McGee’, written by Kris Kristofferson in 1969 and most famously sung by Janis Joplin, who recorded it shortly before her death from a drug overdose in 1970
CHRISTOPHER OVERLAND
ADELAIDE - In the distant past, there arose priestly castes, or classes, whose members purported to have special insight and understanding about the world; an understanding that hugely surpassed that of ordinary folk.written by
Through certain rituals and the possession of uncommon skills - such as the ability to read and write, or through mastery of astronomy or great talent for mathematics - they secured influence, authority and power.
Continue reading "Play with dynamite, expect an explosion" »
A plan is hatched (not in the public interest)
KEITH JACKSON
NOOSA - Despite its rich and extensive natural resource base, which should make the task of national development, Papua New Guinea has been steadily dragged down over the last 30 years by a toxic blend of volatile politics and entrenched corruption.
A complex political situation intensified by corruption, cronyism and fluctuating strategic alliances have significantly hindered economic progress and contributed to societal challenges.
Continue reading "Bad, sad, quite mad & rapidly getting worse" »
'Kramer Out' says the Post-Courier. 'Not so fast' says the corruption-fighting minister dismissed by a Leadership Tribunal
BRYAN KRAMER
| Facebook
Thanks to Phil Fitzpatrick whose scouring of social media revealed what he termed Bryan Kramer's “defiant response” to judge Lawrence Kangwia and senior magistrates Edward Komia and Josephine Nidue, sitting as the Leadership Tribunal which last week dismissed Kramer as a minister and parliamentarian - KJ
PORT MORESBY - Late Wednesday afternoon of 24 May 2023, a copy of a notice giving effect to my dismissal from office as the member of Madang Open was circulated on social media.
It was purportedly issued by the Governor General’s Office [and], given the errors on the face of the document, many raised the question whether it was genuine or fake.
Continue reading "My dismissal is far from the end of the matter" »
PHILIP FITZPATRICK
TUMBY BAY - Australia has changed considerably since the sleepy 1950s and a major influence can be put down to immigration.
Left to our own devices we’d probably still be dozing in the warm sunshine of national complacency.
Complacency about climate change and its effects is beginning to look more and more like a scourge, even a killer. And yes, we're bloody complacent
Continue reading "Complacency feels good, but it might kill you" »