PNG’s Opposition Leader Belden Namah … strife with his former political leader, Peter O’Neill. Image: Garamut/Jason South

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Daniel Drageset

Papua New Guinea’s Opposition Leader Belden Namah has reaffirmed the importance of an independent media in the Pacific’s largest nation.

At a news conference, Namah called on all media outlets to report issues of national interest without fear or favour, according to EMTV.

The background of Namah calling for more media freedom in the Melanesian country has to do with his longstanding battle with Prime Minister Peter O’Neill.

Prime Minister Peter O’Neill … conflict with the country’s tiny opposition. Photo: PNG govt

After the two fell out in the lead-up to the mid-year national election last year, they have been staunch enemies in PNG politics.

Before that, Namah acted as O’Neill’s deputy Prime Minister.

Last year’s election resulted in roughly 94 of PNG’s 111 MPs supporting O’Neill, whereas Namah now leads a 14-man opposition, according to Radio New Zealand International.

New tensions
The latest tensions between Namah and O’Neill broke out last Friday when Parliament refused Namah to ask questions about the more than 70 million kina (NZ$38.75 million) he claims government spent on a private law firm for services rendered to the government.

As Namah began speaking, a point of order was raised and the Speaker explained that a court order was restraining public debate on this issue.

Namah raised his voice and said: “There is no order barring me to ask questions on the floor of Parliament. Parliament is a supreme authority. We need to discuss and debate corruption on the highest level in this country.”

The opposition leader subsequently stormed angrily out of Parliament.

After having deliberated over the weekend, the Speaker allowed Namah to ask his questions in the Parliament session on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Peter O’Neill announced that the Australian Federal Police and Interpol officers had been asked to assist PNG authorities in investigating the millions spent on private law firms.

Government thanked
The turn of events prompted Namah to formally thank the Speaker and the Prime Minister at a news conference later the same day.

Namah, together with the rest of the Opposition, praised Speaker Theo Zurenuoc for proving Parliament’s independence and democracy.

They also thanked the Prime Minister for providing favourable responses to their questions.

Prime Minister O’Neill announced he had suspended the Secretary of Finance and his deputy over the matter, but denied having any involvement with the private law firm himself.

Namah’s happiness with the government is an exception though. Less than a month ago Prime Minister Peter O’Neill said he was suing one of the country’s free-to-air television stations, EMTV, and one of its journalists, Scott Waide, after it aired accusations Belden Namah had made about the government.

The Prime Minister also stated he would sue Namah for defamation and hold him criminally liable for what he had said.

Belden Namah quickly warned O’Neill of his actions. He said that in this case the Prime Minister should leave EMTV alone and let the media do its work without fear and favour.

Dictator action
He also stated that the Prime Minister’s threat to cancel EMTV’s licence is an act of a dictator.

It does not seem like Belden Namah fears a lawsuit. After O’Neill said that issues raised by the opposition were all lies, Namah gave the following statement to EMTV:

“Message to Peter O’Neill: I wanna challenge you. That if he’s a real man: Pick up the phone like I said on Friday! Call your lawyers! Sue me for defamation!”

The Opposition Leader has been very critical of the extended grace period from 18 to 30 months that the current government has introduced.

In the grace period there cannot be any votes of no-confidence. Another grace period kicks in during 12 months before an election, which means that over two-third of PNG’s five-year parliament term is now locked down for government.

While the government claims that the grace period is introduced because it needs time to produce political results, Namah alleges that the government is corrupt and that corporate interests are pushing the grace period.

Namah has gone on record and stated that the “PNG government has been bought off by corporate greed,” and that “corporate greed is controlling our government.”

The opposition has also stated that the Prime Minister is an internal security because he does not stand for ordinary Papua New Guineans, but for corporate giants.

Namah said to One Papua New Guinea that he was planning a court challenge to the new law.

Source: Pacific Media Watch 8300

Esso Highlands Limited, operator of the PNG LNG Project, has opened the door to greater infrastructure development in Papua New Guinea. Image: LNGWorldNews.com

Poor infrastructure, poverty and taxation laws present significant challenges to New Zealand investors in Papua New Guinea. But a trade mission is this week looking at positive new opportunities, reports Greg Asciutto.

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Greg Asciutto

New Zealand is poised to join Papua New Guinea’s development surge with a batch of new infrastructure projects, if a new trade delegation takes advantage of new opportunities.

A group of 30 New Zealand representatives with public and private-sector interests yesterday began a week-long mission to Papua New Guinea.

For the fifth time in the past two years, the NZ  Papua New Guinea Business Council has organised a mission that reflects the growing economic relationship between the Pacific nations.

This delegation – a joint venture between the NZPNG Business Council, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise – will largely focus on infrastructure development.

“The challenge that PNG has is that its infrastructure is poor,” says Michael Greenslade, Pacific Trade Commissioner for NZTE.

According to Greenslade, PNG is developing around its natural assets of gold, oil and natural gas, but the country’s lack of roads and electricity have slowed extraction processes.

Michael Greenslade, NZ’s Pacific Trade Commissioner … “poor infrastructure” in PNG. Image: NZGovt

“The opportunity for New Zealand companies is to not only assist in the exploitation of those three natural resources, but also to build the infrastructure that is necessary for that exploitation,” he says.

Last month, the Post-Courier reported that the PNG National Executive Council approved plans for six large road development projects around Port Moresby.

New Zealand-based Hawkins PNG Ltd was awarded a contract to develop one of the projects, the Kookaburra Flyover.

According to business development manager Seth Pardoe, Hawkins’ sole representative on the trade delegation, the project consists of designing and constructing a 2.2km, four-lane road with a 600m flyover.

“We have not undertaken any work previously in PNG, but have watched the region develop with interest for some time,” he says.

LNG project
The success of Exxon Mobil’s PNG Liquefied Natural Gas project is largely responsible for the growing interests of international developers looking to work in the country.

With an initial-phase investment of US$19 billion (NZ$23 billion) and an estimated total production of more than nine trillion cubic feet of gas, the project is stimulating growth in a range of economic sectors.

“The professional classes are growing in Port Moresby, the need for housing is growing in Port Moresby, the need for first-class hotels is growing, as is the need for better and more up-to-date supermarkets,” says Greenslade.

Impending royalties from Exxon Mobil in 2014 and concrete plans for two additional LNG projects have given the PNG government a significant amount of freedom to invest in such infrastructure, he says.

Additionally, PNG’s plan to host two major international events — the 2015 South Pacific Games and 2018 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit — provides New Zealand businesses with major opportunities to secure development contracts.

“You’ve got the opportunities around supply of water, the processing of waste water, and you’ve also got opportunities around the development of an energy grid,” he says.

Poverty challenges
Though economic relations between the nations are improving, significant hurdles remain for investors in the country of seven million people.

“Widespread law and order problems pose a threat to locals, constrain investment and inhibit the growth of the private sector,” says Barbara Williams, director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Pacific Development Division.

Pervasive poverty and an overall lack of education have created a number of social and health problems that will provide significant setbacks to development, she adds.

“PNG has the highest rate of HIV prevalence in the Pacific, which carries serious implications for society and could reverse development achievements made in recent years,” says Williams.

“Gender inequality and violence restrict the ability of women to participate in economic, social and political life and is a contributing factor to many development challenges in PNG.”

Currently, New Zealand sends roughly NZ$35 million annually to PNG as part of its NZAid programme.

While much of the funding is used to address these issues, Williams says future projects will focus on economic stimulation.

“We’re slowly shifting our focus from health toward commercial agricultural activity and geothermal energy,” she says.

Tax complications
Taxation laws for international trade also complicate investment for New Zealand companies in PNG.

According to the NZ Statistics Office, New Zealand exports to PNG totaled more than NZ$17 million in February 2013, the last period from which data is available.

Fiji, with a population nearly 10 times less than that of PNG, took in $28.5 million that month — French Polynesia received $14 million with a population of only 270,000.

These low export numbers to PNG from New Zealand, says Greenslade, reflect the lack of a working double taxation agreement between the nations.

“The Australians have such an agreement, and that means that the Australians have a significant advantage over New Zealand companies,” he says.

Many large New Zealand corporations have been set up in PNG as Australian companies to benefit from the arrangement, he said.

“We’ve offered the view that PNG is New Zealand’s biggest market currently in the Pacific, yet that’s not reflected by the specific trade statistics.”

A double taxation agreement between New Zealand and PNG has been signed by both governments, but is awaiting formal implementation in PNG.

High priced
Exports from PNG to New Zealand totaled only $800,000 in February and just over $14 million in 2012.

Frances Hartnell, project coordinator of True Pacific, says one of the biggest challenges facing PNG exporters is the high price of transporting goods across the Pacific.

“The whole of the Pacific has the same problem – it’s the cost of freight to market,” she says.

True Pacific, a project of the Pacific Cooperation Foundation, assists regional companies in the food, beverage and spa industries with quality management and product marketing in New Zealand.

“We’re trying to raise the perception that the Pacific isn’t only white sands and a place to go and stay at a resort,” Hartnell says.

“There are people in these countries that actually grow produce and provide value-added products.”

PNG companies Banz Kofi, Goroka Coffee Roasters and South Pacific Brewery Limited are among those working with True Pacific.

According to Hartnell, the interest for Pacific-grown goods exists in New Zealand, but the exportation presents significant complications to market success.

“We export quite a lot of products to the Pacific, but not so many come back the other way,” she adds.

Greg Asciutto is an exchange student from the University of Southern California on the Asia-Pacific Journalism course at AUT University.

New Zealand journalist Jon Stephenson and BBC television reporter Bilal Sarwary discuss Afghanistan last night. Image: Del Abcede/PMC

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Daniel Drageset of Pacific Media Watch

Afghan journalist Bilal Sarwary has hailed media freedom as one of the accomplishments in Afghanistan over the last decade.

The Kabul-based reporter working for the BBC expressed this view at a Pacific Media Centre seminar in AUT University last night.

In a Q&A session with New Zealand journalist Jon Stephenson, who has also done extensive reporting in Afghanistan, Sarwary noted the big steps Afghanistan has taken in media freedom.

But he also warned of the many risks journalists working in Afghanistan face.

“There’s definitely a lot of progresse made in that area. For example we have many FM radio stations, we have many television stations, but media freedom is open to abuse.

“The life of a journalist is fraught with danger. […] The threat is there: The kidnapping of local reporters, a lot of them have been killed, intimidation is there. And as I said, you know, the freedom of media is truly one of the achievements in the last ten years, but how do you protect that?” Sarwary asked in an interview with Pacific Media Watch.

Talk to people
Sarwary, 30, urged more journalists to simply sit down, drink tea and talk to people in Afghanistan.

The BBC reporter, who has also worked for Radio New Zealand, ABC Australia and ABC in the US, said journalists needed to be patient in Afghanistan:

“[I]n Afghanistan everything is almost done, or all the deals are done, over green tea. You have to have the patience to go, sit down, whether that’s a shopkeeper, bus driver, tribal elder or someone who’s lost a member of his family.

“Just sit down, and keep talking and keep drinking tea until you get the story, until you create that layer of confidence. And part of the problem is that a lot of the time that doesn’t happen. Even those in the Afghan media, they have their reports on certain topics, but the people are missing, although the report is about the people.”

Hopeful
The journalist acknowledged that Afghanistan faced an array of big problems, such as corruption, torture, terror and others. Nevertheless, Sarwary said that Afghanistan today had made progress in many fields compared to the Afghanistan of 10 years ago.

That makes him hopeful for a better future, also after the international forces leave the country at the end of 2014.

“[I]f you’re an Afghan, you’re of course hopeful. It’s in your blood. You really cannot hide that fact, but this is a country where we’ve had hope through some of its very darkest periods and we’ve come out of it. So if you’re an Afghan, hope is all you have, and you hold on to that hope.

“I believe there’s a great opportunity for Afghanistan on this very dangerous journey for peace that the country has begun the last ten years. But how the next government comes in, how we elect the new president, or how someone comes in to power will all contribute to that. But for me the hope is that the country will have some level of peace, hopefully you know.”

Daniel Drageset is contributing editor of Pacific Media Watch.

Listen to the full interview with Sarwary

Full transcript

Samoa’s Gatoloaifaana Amataga Alesana-Gidlow … seeks a NZ ban on fatty meat exports to the Pacific. Image: IISD

At last month’s Pacific parliamentary forum in Wellington, delegates from around the region called for New Zealand to stop exporting fatty meat to the Pacific. The fatty offcuts being exported have been partially blamed for the rise of non-communicable diseases in the Pacific. But Holly Ryan reports for Asia-Pacific Journalism on other concerns.

Pacific Scoop:
Backgrounder – By Holly Ryan

While non-communicable diseases in the Pacific have been on the rise over the last few decades and are partially blamed on the dumping of cheap, fatty food in the region, shortages of healthy locally grown foods are also a problem.

Fatty food supplies from New Zealand again faced controversy at last month’s Pacific Parliamentary and Politics Forum with calls for such exports to be banned.

“All we can do is keep reminding the government and ministries to not back off and to keep pushing for change,” says Cook Islands Democratic Party MP Selina Napa, who was among those at the forum.

She says change needs to come from within government when tackling these issues.

“In the Cook Islands, there is a very heavy reliance on imports from New Zealand, but little is being done to change this.”

While Napa would like to see greater reliance on locally grown food, she also does not take issue with New Zealand’s meat exports, saying it is up to the people themselves to choose what they consume.

“People have a choice. They can buy New Zealand imported meat or they can buy locally grown meat. We are all given a choice.”

Health problems
Non-communicable diseases – which include cardiovascular problems, diabetes and hypertension – have been diagnosed in as much as 40 percent of the total Pacific island nation population of over 10 million.

These also account for three quarters of deaths in the Pacific and 40 to 60 percent of health costs, according to a World Health Organisation (WHO) report in 2000.

These diseases are a byproduct of the main issue in the Pacific, which is a gradual transition in many countries from the traditional diet and way of life, to a Western diet based on fatty imported foods.

WHO nutritional and physical activity officer Dr Temo Waqanivalu, who previously worked for the Fiji Ministry of Health, believes the change has occurred simply as part of development.

However, it is also the ease of buying imported, but often much less nutritional and healthy, foods.

“There is a preference for these processed foods and part of this is the ease of preparation. We are trying to encourage people to grow their own food and rely less on imported food.”

NZ imports
New Zealand and Australia have traditionally been the largest exporters to the Pacific.

New Zealand has exported mostly dairy and meat products and in particular, meat offcuts.

According to Samoa’s Associate Minister of Women, Community and Social Development, Gatoloaifaana Amataga Alesana-Gidlow, these offcuts are not good enough to be sold in New Zealand and so are instead exported to the Pacific.

It is this fatty substandard meat, which is adding to health issues in the Pacific, says Gatoloaifaana, a former health minister.

At the Pacific parliamentary forum in Wellington April 18-22, Gatoloaifaana called for New Zealand to stop sending these fatty off cuts to the Pacific.

“Obesity is one of the main causes of crippling citizens. Fatty foods lead to this. We ask New Zealand to stop exporting your fatty products to your poor and less-developed Pacific friends.”

Unhealthy lifestyles
During the debate, several of the representatives spoke of their own experiences with imported foods contributing to unhealthy lifestyles in the Pacific.

Samoa’s Parliamentary Undersecretary for the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour, Tofa Sooalo Mene, spoke of an increasing Samoan reliance on imported foods.

“We are big importers. More than 80 percent of what we consume in Samoa is imported.”

In 2009, the former New Zealand Labour government rejected recommendations to ban the export of mutton flaps and other fatty meat due to free trade commitments.

Earlier, Fiji banned the sale of mutton flaps in 2000 and Tonga had been considering it.

Gatoloaifaana says this is still not enough to make a change and wants the New Zealand government to step up and ban these exports to the Pacific.

“What do we prioritise – health or wealth?” she asked the forum.

Reliance on imports
In a case study of the Pacific Islands in 2002, by Margaret B. Malua, a senior consultant for KVA Consultant Ltd, found that according to a 1999 census, Samoa was producing between 700 and 900 tonnes of beef each year.

On top of this, Samoa was importing between 900 and 1000 tonnes of beef and a further 8000 tonnes of other meat products, generally poorer quality off cuts.

It is estimated that these imports have increased by 0.5 to 1.5 percent each year.

According to Statistics New Zealand, in 2012, the export of meat and edible meat offal products from New Zealand to 13 countries in the Pacific had increased by more than $38,000. This represented an increase of 9.4 percent over the year.

The Pacific population has increased steadily over the last decade from 8 million in 2000 to 10 million in 2011 and is projected to reach 15 million by 2035, according to data provided to the Secretariat of the Pacific Community by its 22 members.

The Pacific Solution Exchange group (PSE) which is facilitated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and funded by AusAID was set up to discuss issues in the Pacific and draws on information and experience from a wide array of sources.

It found that natural disasters had a much larger effect long term on food consumption.

There is a tendency following a natural disaster where food crops are damaged, to rely on temporary food sources such as imported rice and canned food.

However, members of the PSE say that this “becomes a habit and before realising it, this is now a way of life”.

According to locals involved in the project, this continued reliance on imported food has meant a loss of traditional knowledge and farming practices, and has contributed to a less active lifestyle.

Local food production
Kamilo ‘Ali is the Pacific livelihoods programme officer for Oxfam New Zealand, and works with partners in Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu helping communities grow more of their own food and decrease reliance on imported food.

He believes one of the main factors is the availability and price of imported food.

“At the moment in Tonga, imported food is readily available and because there are not enough local veges and meat, people are instead buying fatty unhealthy food that is often quite cheap.”

In an attempt to combat the consumption of imported foods and try to increase reliance on traditional and local foods, several funds and organisations have been set up in the Pacific, including the PSE.

Organisations such as Oxfam, Carefund and Fair Trade have also been heavily involved in trying to increase locally sourced food consumption.

Several companies in New Zealand which rely on local food in the Pacific for exports have also contributed to increased farming in the Pacific.

Exports such as bananas and coconut products in particular have become popular in the West in recent years.

Heavily involved
All Good Organics is one company heavily involved in farming for export from the  Pacific.

Recently named one of the world’s most ethical companies by New York-based Ethisphere Institute, this company has been working in Samoa since 2008 in collaboration with the Women in Business Development group (a non-profit organisation that works with 250 small scale farmers in Samoa).

Chris Morrison, one of the founders of All Good Organics, says the company was keen to develop business with New Zealand’s neighbours and the Pacific.

“This is a great opportunity to get back to growing local food and growing for export rather than importing,” he says.

All Good Organics has worked in Samoa towards sourcing organic and fair trade bananas as well as coconut milk supplies from a group of coconut growers with fair trade certification.

Holly Ryan is a Postgraduate Diploma in Communication Studies (Journalism) student on the Asia-Pacific Journalism course at AUT University.

‘Hypocritical’ NZ told to stop fatty food exports to Pacific

West Papuan Benny Wenda and PNG student journalist Henry Yamo … “Pacific Scoop deserves praise for keeping an eye on Papua and other trouble spots in the Pacific.” Image: Del Abceded/PMC

“Journalism is in crisis in the Pacific region and this is reaching a new level of intensity,” says one editor. But independent Pacific Scoop challenges the status quo. Jane Jeffries reports for Asia-Pacific Journalism.

Pacific Scoop
Report – By Jane Jeffries

Pacific Scoop exposes New Zealand to Pacific issues and gives a fresh voice to people in the region on a wide range of topics including health, human rights, media and social justice, say journalists and media commentators.

This regional independent news website provides a strong platform for Pacific issues to be heard and debated. Mainstream media no longer report widely on Pacific issues so it plays a vital role, say the media analysts.

Pacific Scoop and its founding partner, Wellington-based Scoop Media Limited, last month announced a new $5000 internship to fund a postgraduate student journalist to report and edit for the service.

“Journalism is in crisis in the Pacific region and this is reaching a new level of intensity,” says Scoop Media general manager and editor, Alastair Thompson, who has been involved with the project since the website was launched in 2009.

It was a joint venture between AUT University’s Pacific Media Centre and the independent Scoop Media news portal.

This is believed to be the first media industry-journalism school partnership of its kind in New Zealand and the first internship winner has been named as Auckland-based Norwegian radio journalist Daniel Drageset.

‘Abysmal reportage’
“There is an abysmal reportage of Pacific issues in mainstream media in New Zealand,” says Dr David Robie, professor of journalism and communication studies at AUT University, who is editor and co-founder of Pacific Scoop.

“In the late 1970s into the 1980s, main media services put effort into the Pacific region. However, resources have declined.”

He said the PMC and founding co-editor Selwyn Manning recognised a niche non-profit market for postgraduate students on the new Asia-Pacific Journalism specialist course.

It also publishes work from independent journalists, academics and other students filing from around the region.

“Mainstream media in New Zealand and Australia don’t give enough thought to the Pacific,” says a former University of the South Pacific journalism head Shailendra Singh, currently completing his doctorate at a Brisbane university.

“They are often getting their leads and linking stories from Pacific Scoop. In essence, Pacific Scoop is helping the Pacific get wider coverage, critical to the region.”

Barbara Dreaver, Pacific correspondent for Television New Zealand (TVNZ), says while her station will cover breaking news in the Pacific region, there is little funding or time to cover many in-depth stories from such a large and diverse area.

In-depth analysis
“Pacific Scoop is very good at reporting opinion with in-depth analysis. It adds much more than the bare facts – it adds context and background,” she says.

West Papua Media Alerts editor Nick Chesterfield says Pacific Scoop is committed to looking at parts of the Pacific not traditionally reported on and covers stories with integrity, particularly in Melanesia.

He says other mainstream media services will only cover stories “that bleed”. Most media services are not interested in looking at the “real issues”, he believes.

Scoop Media was “working the Asia-Pacific beat” and were looking for someone to partner with a common interest in the region.

Thompson says journalists in the Pacific region are declining in numbers and skills, and media groups are seriously underfunded.

“If we don’t try to keep some of the journalists, their knowledge and skill, we will lose them.”

Complex needs
The Pacific region has very complex needs, with a strong interest from super powers like China and the US, and also France and Indonesia.

It is critical that these relationships are reported so the local and wider communities know what is going on, says Thompson.

The only consistent mainstream reporting on the Pacific from New Zealand is TVNZ Barbara Dreaver and Fairfax NZ’s Michael Field, a former correspondent of Agence France-Presse.

A recent report on the “Strengthening of National Media Association in the Pacific,” prepared for Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS), says there are fundamental issues to address.

Many of the Pacific nations do not report critical news stories because of political issues and lack of freedom of speech, the report says.

Lack of industry training and funding has also been highlighted as a reason many of the Pacific nations do not report important issues.

Strong connections
Pacific Scoop’s strong connections with AUT University’s PMC and the postgraduate journalism programme make it unique, says former Scoop co-editor Selwyn Manning, who is now chair of AUT’s School of Communication Studies industry advisory group.

“Pacific Scoop is a great depository for postgraduate Pacific student journalists to publish work on the Pacific region. The postgraduate work has a sound foundation, is robust, reliable and well edited from very creditable sources,” says Manning.

As well as students with an interest in Pasifika, academic staff, regional journalists, civil society advocates and analysts all post edited articles on Pacific Scoop.

Pacific Scoop is independent and has no agenda giving it licence under Creative Commons to report the facts, and provides a voice to those who are denied one.

“It is important some of the stories blocked by ‘censorship or local sensitivities’ get a chance to run and the regional audience have a wider choice of information,” says Dr Robie.

Kalafi Moala, publisher of Taimi ‘o Tonga, says, “Pacific issues need to be heard and debated honestly.

“Pacific Scoop needs to be independent in its coverage so that opposite points of views may be heard.

One-sided coverage
“Coverage about ‘Pasifika’ is often one-sided and lacks a balanced view of issues or alternative ways of looking and dealing with Pacific issues,” says Moala.

Associate professor Trevor Cullen, a longtime Pacific and international journalism academic, says he is impressed with Pacific Scoop because it is not slanted or biased and “you get the full story”.

It is a valuable asset and enables a true understand of what is happening in the Pacific, he says.

Another strength of Pacific Scoop is its role as a media watchdog for the region, holding powers to account and bringing issue of importance to light, especially through its Pacific Media Watch freedom project.

Singh says Pacific Scoop covers events that impact on people and issues that “we should be concerned about”.

“Look at what’s happened in West Papua. The territory suffers from media neglect. It is akin to a journalistic crime,” he says.

“If no one is watching and raising the alarm, the atrocities will only get worse.

Eye on Papua
“Pacific Scoop deserves praise for keeping an eye on Papua and other trouble spots in the Pacific,” he says.

Pacific Scoop is non-commercial and is not constrained by any advertising pressures ensuring contributors are not compromised.

“There is no obvious commercial rational for anyone to cover journalism in the Pacific region,” says Thompson. “Advertisers have no connection to the content.”

While this gives Pacific Scoop media freedom, a lack of resources and funds could potentially expose the website to a threat.

Thompson says, “As such, it serves as a very good example of the wider problem that journalism is facing.

“Projects such as Pacific Scoop effectively have almost nowhere to go to seek funding to enable even a subsistence level of support.

“There are no institutions in New Zealand which see funding of online ‘news’ projects as their primary responsibility, neither government, corporate or philanthropic.

“Guidelines for the NZ On Air digital content funding grants schemes specifically exclude news.”

Jane Jeffries is a Postgraduate Diploma in Communication Studies student journalist on the Asia-Pacific Journalism course at AUT University.

Peace negotiator Octovianus Mote … exiled from West Papua by the Indonesian government in 1999. Image: Jamie Small/PMC

A UN Commissioner says that over the last year her office has received 26 reports of alleged human rights violations in West Papua, many of which are linked to law enforcement officials. Jamie Small reports for Asia-Pacific Journalism.

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Jamie Small

A prominent West Papuan journalist and activist has visited New Zealand to gather support for West Papua’s inclusion in the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG)  while an Indonesian government crackdown was killing and arresting Papuan demonstrators.

A former Papua regional editor of Kompas newspaper, Octovianus Mote visited in his role as chair of the five elected “peace negotiator” representatives of West Papua.

He says his visit has raised support among a solidarity group in New Zealand, but he doesn’t think the government is supportive of the cause.
West Papua marked the 50th anniversary of Indonesian occupation last week on May 1.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay issued a statement condemning the actions of Indonesian police and military forces which reportedly killed at least two pro-independence protesters.

The authorities also arrested at least 20 on April 30 and May 1.

Navi says that over the last year her office has received 26 reports of alleged human rights violations in West Papua, many of which are linked to law enforcement officials.

Peaceful negotiations
“I think that peaceful negotiations are possible, but on the other hand, Indonesian troops continue to act against civilians in West Papua,” says Mote.

He says West Papuans have asked permission to exercise peaceful freedom of expression and gathering, but the [Indonesian] government would not allow it.

Previously a Netherlands colony, control of West Papua was handed over to Indonesian dictator Sukarno by a UN authority in 1963 in disputed circumstances. This was part of a broader, militarised struggle by Sukarno to force Western colonial rule out of the area.

In 2001, the region was granted a special autonomy by the Indonesian government. But Mote says the special autonomy status has failed.

The predominantly Melanesian people of West Papua do not identify – ethnically or culturally – with their Javanese colonisers.

Mote says Indonesia is making a concerted effort to fully colonialise West Papua. There is a constant influx of Asian Indonesians to the region, accompanied by oppression and killing of the indigenous people of West Papuan.

Of the 3.5 million people living in West Papua, Mote says currently only 48 percent are West Papuans. He believes that in 10 years’ time, this number could be as low as 20 percent.

‘Genocide process’
“This is a crime against humanity. This is a genocide process,” he says.

On top of this, Indonesia is supporting widespread environmental destruction in West Papua.

The island of Western New Guinea is covered in dense rainforest and Mote says it is a “lung of the world”.

In the southern regency of Merauke, a multi-million dollar joint government and corporate project called the Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate (MIFEE) is being initiated.

According to Mote, MIFEE could cut down four million hectares of rainforest, and bring in up to six million Indonesian people.

Mote says in the regency of Merauke, only 30 percent of MPs are West Papuan. And even if the local government opposes the project, the central government in Jakarta would go ahead regardless.

“There is nothing we can do,” he says.

Political divisions
The Indonesian government is increasingly building infrastructure at the cost of the environment. One reason for this is the manipulation of local political divisions.

In 1999, there were nine regencies in West Papua. Now there are 31. The Indonesian government has plans to divide the two provinces of West Papua into seven.

The creation of each new province or regency requires the construction of infrastructure. This means cutting down forest and bringing in Indonesian public servants, military and workers. Mote says this is a driving factor in the “extinction” of West Papuans.

“In 10 years, the number of West Papuans [in West Papua] will be 20 percent. This is not a political statement, it is fact.”

Each regency is allowed to build its own military district, and Mote says that two or three regencies together will command “a couple of battalions of Indonesian troops”.

The government has appointed Bambang Darmono to accelerate development in West Papua.

Military roads
Darmono is an ex-military major, and was notoriously in command of Indonesian occupying forces in the northern Indonesian autonomous region of Aceh from 2002 to 2005 when waging war against the GAM rebels.

He is calling publicly for all new roadway constructions in West Papua to be completed by the military, creating a reason to bring in more troops.

Mote says standard practice in Indonesia is for a captain to be in charge of provincial troops.

“But to control just three and a half million people, we have a couple of generals and an amazing amount of military in West Papua.”

Former Green Party MP Keith Locke says New Zealand should be supportive of all Pacific people, and it should back West Papua’s entry into the MSG, and hopefully its inclusion in the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).

“If New Zealand doesn’t support its neighbours consistently, it undermines its own reputation for human rights,” he says.

Mote says that once the West Papuan population is suppressed, Papua New Guinea will be the next target for Indonesia.

Colonisation of Papua New Guinea would force refugees into Australia, New Zealand and other surrounding nations.

Environmental destruction
Also, environmental destruction in West Papua could be affecting global warming, which is a big issue for island nations such as Nauru.

Mote says West Papua is willing to do whatever it takes to get international support in negotiations.

He says the nation is willing to give land and sovereignty to people from Nauru displaced by global warming, and can offer an island for American and allied military bases.

Hone Harawira, leader of the Mana Party, says there is a “cultural and actual genocide” happening in West Papua.

“I am involved [in the West Papua issue] for no other reason than that I see indigenous people being injured by someone else,” he says.

Harawira says the issues facing West Papuan people are similar to Māori issues around the Treaty of Waitangi.

“But the difference there is that Indonesia is a highly militaristic nation.”

He says Indonesia needs to be challenged wherever they are, especially places that are not really Indonesia, like West Papua.

Harawira says that New Zealand needs to “support a call for West Papua to be raised to a clarity status with the PIF so UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon can take up their cause”.

Community policing
Green Party MP Catherine Delahunty says: “The New Zealand government never wants to annoy Indonesia, and that’s why we’re doing really inappropriate things involving community policing [in West Papua].”

She says that during the visit of West Papuan activist Benny Wenda earlier in the year, parliament’s speaker David Carter would not allow a forum on West Papua because he had received information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) that it was a politically sensitive topic.

Mote says the United States were given early mining rights in West Papua by the Indonesian government. Even today, the US is getting gold and copper from West Papua, and the United Kingdom is getting oil.

Mote also says Indonesia is using the war on terror as a tool to gain support to crack down on peaceful movements in West Papua. The International Crisis Group (ICG) has drawn comparisons between West Papuan student activists and Islamic extremists.

A common fundraising exercise was recently condemned as “terrorising civilians”.

He says this is empowering the Indonesian government to crack down on West Papuan freedom of expression with international support.

Mote adds: “Indonesia is putting through legislation to enact terrorism law in West Papua.”

Jamie Small is a Postgraduate Diploma in Communication Studies student journalist on the Asia-Pacific Journalism course at AUT University.

Rev Uesifili Unasa … current legal definition of a Samoan is “incomplete”. Image: Public.Issues.Methodist.Blog

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Lei Shi

The Samoan government is proposing a new law that may change the current definition of national identity as a “Samoan”.

Iuni Sapolu, a Samoan-born lawyer based in South Auckland, says all Samoans should be informed about the proposed changes to what it means to be a Samoan.

“There is a distinction between a Samoan and a Samoan citizen. In this proposed draft, a Samoan equals a Samoan citizen plus Samoan blood.

“One can become a Samoan citizen, but without Samoan blood, one cannot become a Samoan. Only by virtue of being a Samoan, can one have customary rights to land. If you are only a Samoan citizen, you cannot claim ownership of customary land.”

The chair of the Pacific Peoples Advisory Panel, Rev Uesifili Unasa, says the current legal definition of a Samoan is incomplete, because Samoan citizens’ rights are denied in terms of voting.

“Samoan identity does not equal Samoan citizenship. Citizenship for Samoan people does not entitle them to a vote. Voting is an important process in a democratic society, and that is a human rights issue.”

According to a Statistics New Zealand 2001 census, Samoans are the single largest Pacific ethnic group living in New Zealand, comprising 115,000 or 50 percent of New Zealand’s Pacific population.

Court declaration
Mary-Rose Russell, a senior lecturer at AUT University law school, says the proposed legislation currently does not repeal the Samoan Status Act 1963 in defining who a Samoan is, and there are “wide kinds of ways to become a Samoan under their existing legislation”.

“To be a Samoan, you have to be a citizen; and you have to have Samoan blood. But you can also be declared by a court to be a Samoan.”

Russell says the meaning of “Samoan blood” is wide. “In some First World nations, blood can be specified to a percentage. And in this case, we have not seen it.”

“At this stage it is unclear what impact the legislation will bring to Samoans.”

Sapolu says Samoan culture and customary land are at risk if the proposed legislations are passed.

“The basic concept of Samoan culture, it’s the extended family owns the customary land.

“Aiga makes decisions for themselves; not the Samoan government. Culture and customs are the fabric of Samoans, and Samoans have not been consulted.”

Customary land
Customary land in Samoa is owned by aiga– a Samoan term meaning “extended family”.

About 80 percent of land in Samoa is customary land, and under the current Samoan Constitution, customary land cannot be sold.

Sapolu is calling for submissions to the Samoan Attorney-General by Monday.

According to a published 2008 study by Ruiping Ye, from Victoria University of Wellington, the Samoan government has long been seeking ways to change the land registration system in Samoa to free up customary land.

Rev Unasa says the denial of voting rights for citizens is a legal issue in Samoa because it is the government that makes decisions that impact on customary rights and the life of its citizens.

“All Samoan citizens should be given the rights to vote. The definition of citizenship needs to be more inclusive of what their rights are.”

Russell says if Samoans are concerned by this proposed legislation, the best way is to lobby and inform their elected representatives in the Samoan Parliament.

“They can lobby or make submissions according to how the Samoan democratic process works, but it’s a different matter if the dissatisfaction is about how the system works.”

Lei Shi  is a Graduate Diploma in Pacific Journalism student journalist at AUT University.

West Papuan journalist and peace negotiator Octovianus Mote and Pax Christi’s Kevin McBride at AUT’s WPFD address. Image: Del Abcede/PMC

More than 600 journalists have been killed globally in the last decade — 121 died last year alone. They had one thing in common. They were killed for doing their jobs. Greg Asciutto reports for Asia-Pacific Journalism.

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By Greg Asciutto

Across the Pacific, advocates of media freedom hosted many World Press Freedom Day celebrations this year.

Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and the Solomon Islands were among the countries to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the UNESCO event on May 3, which focuses upon securing freedom of expression in all forms of media.

According to UNESCO, more than 600 journalists have been killed globally in the last decade — 121 died last year alone.

“All these journalists had one thing in common,” says Tim McBride, deputy chair of New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO communications sub-commission.

“They were all exercising what many in our society appear to take for granted: the fundamental right to freedom of expression.

“These journalists were murdered for simply doing their jobs.”

Digital media
Professor Mark Pearson of Griffith University delivered the keynote address at New Zealand’s inaugural WPFD celebration, which was hosted by Auckland University of Technology’s Pacific Media Centre.

Dr Pearson highlighted press repression in Fiji, Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore, but emphasised that the issue stretches far beyond the Asia-Pacific region.

Sedition, defamation and anti-terror laws arm governments across the globe with ammunition to intimidate media in this era of technological advancement, he said.

“My observation has been that governments are quick to enact laws to control emerging social and technological situations, but are loathe to wind them back when they prove unjust or the reasons for their existence have long gone,” Dr Pearson said.

Traditional media, he argued, are not just fighting government regulation and censorship.

Social media, citizen journalists and bloggers are stealing both readership and advertising dollars from established outlets.

According to Dr Pearson, as Australian, New Zealand and North American media organisations struggle to fund coverage of Asia-Pacific affairs, the quality of foreign correspondence in the region is declining.

“This means the policies of governments in Pacific Island nations are exposed to less international scrutiny and that breaking news is more likely to be covered ‘on the cheap’ by so-called ‘parachute journalists’ who fly in and out to report in a superficial way,” he said.

Celebrating in PNG
In Papua New Guinea, WPFD event organisers at Divine Word University welcomed citizens from underreported communities to share their stories and concerns with the public.

“Although we say that we have a free media in PNG, these people are left out of the information cycle,” said Br Michael McManus, head of communication arts at DWU.

Keynote speaker Aipapu Marai, a member of the Saussi community from the province of Madang, discussed how he and his family have resisted selling their homeland to the oil palm industry for 15 years.

Representatives from Live and Learn, an NGO specialising in community development, spoke about their work promoting the rights of children throughout the country.

“We were happy to give them a small opportunity to engage with the media,” said McManus.

“Hopefully they experienced the media as a voice for everyone, not just for our elites.”

In the Solomon Islands, the Pacific Freedom Forum hosted a workshop on establishing a regional Pacific Media Ombudsman for adjudicating on issues, particularly in countries that have no media self-regulatory bodies.

In Fiji, more than 250 students, media professionals and school children attended the University of the South Pacific’s two-day UNESCO World Press Freedom Day celebrations.

The programme of presentations, panels, debates and discussions tracked across a range of issues and challenges facing the media as it strives to main its freedom to report the news.

Press freedom ratings
Coinciding with WPFD celebrations, independent watchdog organisation Freedom House released its annual report on press freedom last week.

The legal, political and economic environments of 197 countries and territories were used to rate each nation’s media operations as free (0-30), partly free (31-60) or not free (61-100).

New Zealand and Palau received the highest ratings (16) in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Marshall Islands (17), Federated States of Micronesia (21), Australia (21), PNG (28), the Solomon Islands (28), Samoa (29) and Tonga (29) were among other regional nations ranked with a “free” status.

East Timor (35), the Philippines (43), Indonesia (49) and Fiji (56) were some of the Asia-Pacific nations designated “partly free,” while Malaysia (64), Singapore (67) and Brunei (75) were labeled “not free.”

Few Pacific Island nations saw drastic changes from their 2012 to 2013 ratings.

Notably, Fiji (56) advanced only two positions and still sits on the border of “partly free” and “not free.”

Since the Media Industry Development Decree was imposed by the Bainimarama regime in June 2010, Fiji journalists and media organisations have been subject to strict censorship and repression.

West Papua repression
Despite regular reports of violence against journalists and information suppression in the two provinces of West Papua, Indonesia retained its 2012 Freedom House rating of 49.

According to Octo Mote, former Papua bureau chief of Kompas, the nation’s largest daily newspaper, the Indonesian government prohibits coverage of the West Papuan independence movement in any state publication.

“You can talk [about] anything at all in Indonesian media about Indonesia except West Papua,” he said.

Foreign journalists are seldom allowed to enter the province, and all journalists operating in West Papua are forced to work under a heavy military presence.

“This is daily life,” Mote said.

“Being a journalist, [the] military follows you everywhere.”

As recently as May 7, Indonesian police have arrested Papuan media personalities for broadcasting content deemed offensive to the government.

Pacific Media Watch reported on Tuesday that Papuan radio journalist Abert Dimas Anggoro was taken into custody for “financial allegations” he made on Penyiar Radio FM.

Journalists critical of Indonesia’s handling of West Papua risk more than incarceration, however.

“When they identify a journalist as dangerous, they will come to threaten them,” Mote said of the nation’s intelligence and military agencies.

“You continue reporting, they’ll kill you — it’s common.”

Greg Asciutto is an exchange student from the University of Southern California on the Asia-Pacific Journalism course at AUT University.

Freedom House is currently releasing in-depth reports explaining each nation’s media freedom rating on its website.

Flooding on Viti Levu, Fiji. Climate change was a major theme of the conference. Image: Fiji Times

Pacific Scoop:
Report – By the Pacific Media Centre news desk

Student journalists Michael Sergel and Finian Scott on the Asia-Pacific Journalism course have filed a series of special reports on the Pacific Parliamentary and Politics Forum in Wellington for Pacific Scoop.

Read their reports.
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Pacific Scoop:
Report – The Pacific Media Centre news desk

AUT University student journalist Michael Sergel talks to Australian academic, journalist and author Professor Mark Pearson of Griffith University, Australia, about truth-telling, culture, constitutions and media regulation.

Dr Pearson, author of The Journalist’s Guide to Media Law, delivered the inaugural UNESCO World Press Freedom Lecture at Auckland last night.

The event was organised by the Pacific Media Centre in AUT’s School of Communication Studies.

Media academic warns over digital surveillance

Full text of Professor Mark Pearson’s WPFD speech