Joining the Real World
Retailers in ENB are more than a little annoyed with their town management over new trading hours. Clearly the Town Manager did not consult businesses of the local Chamber of Commerce before making her unilateral decision. That is really not good enough. Public servants work for us and the least they can do is consult and hear alternative opinions. Retail and Supermarkets have to close at 5pm . Why? Hardware, spare parts and tyre repair to shut at 4.30 pm. Why? Doesn’t make sense and it is where the town authority gets its money. Of course, public servants can make such arbitrary decisions because they finish at 4.06 and have plenty of time to shop. In most modern cities around the world shops decide on their hours of operation. Some are open 24 hours. Why not ENB? King Kakaruk Chicken shop in POM operates 24/7 though admittedly they are right opposite Boroko Police Station. Guess not too many chickens getting stolen? Need for proper consultation in ENB?
Get Back to Base
We thought the Ombudsman made it clear last year to Members that they should get back to base in their electorates. How many Districts complied? Not many we suspect. In one District administration has been based in Moresby for nearly two years now. Now we find the entire administration of anther from the same province is ensconced in a hotel in the provincial capital, rather than the district town with accommodation, meals, allowances, and the ubiquitous car hire has run up bills in excess of K1m! Is that legitimate use of DSIP funds, Mr Prime Minister. The OC needs to address this flagrant ignorance of their orders.
Read Your PALM?
PALM being the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme. There has been some debate in Oz about how much is actually sent back to home countries as remittances. As usual the pollies have got it wrong. The author of the original report believes workers spend approximately 60% of wages in Australia and send around 40% back. This equates to around $500 a week. That is a large sum of money. For many Pacific countries, like Samoa, that is a significant boost to the economy. Reports suggest PNG lags behind the rest of the Pacific. More effort needs to be spent to up our numbers. At least money earned that way goes directly into people’s pockets.
Volcano of Corruption
A tale of two cities, this time Moresby and Washington. Sure the PM has no plans to host a UFC fight for his birthday on the lawn at Parliament House. But, despite a legal protest, that is exactly what the Orange Menace did on the weekend. The legal challenge mentioned a “volcano of corruption” which could have parallels with events here held on public properties. Nothing wrong with that per se but if the organiser and his associates profit from the event that is a different story. Trump has shares in KO LLC which is the parent company of UFC. They sold VIP packages for $1-1.5m and gave the broadcasting rights to Paramount, known to be friendly to the President. The whole thing had a fishy odour to it. Is the same happening here? In 2023 the Ombudsman clearly thought so and wrote a letter to a senior politician questioning exactly this sort of profiteering by his associates-funnily enough it died a death during a subsequent VONC ! Using public venues for events like our 50th Anniversary and giving the promotional work to companies with which you are associated, without public tender of EOI, needs to be investigated. Time for the OC to climb into the volcano?
Anonymous Male
Anonymous Male is the title of a book by an erstwhile Aussie spy who operated in the Pacific realm, mainly East Timor, and ran a successful security business funded by the Australians to protect them. By all accounts it was a lucrative gig which is not surprising when you consider the Australians will spend almost $5bn on “security” in the 2026-2027 Budget, almost as much as the Overseas Aid kitty. Apart from revelations about the Australian bugging of the embassy in Dili during the Sunrise Gas Field negotiations it is mainly a jaunt through the bordellos of Dili and booze fuelled Hash runs. Hardly James Bond stuff as it was copious amounts of beer flowing , not shaken martinis. But look at the figures in the Budget. Australia is still the US’s sheriff in the region and is keeping a weather eye on just about everything.
“Bread and Circuses”
The phrase comes from the Roman poet Juvenal, written around 100 A.D. The people “shed their sense of responsibility long ago, the mob reveals its anxiety for two things only, bread and circuses.” Will that be the story for NGE2027? Except in PNG it will be beer and lamb flaps.