Transcript
Johnny Blades: The Speaker of parliament in Papua New Guinea has pushed for the investigation into the rampage to be dropped in the Melanesian spirit of forgiveness. Earlier, in the immediate days after the incident, the police minister went public saying no police would be arrested over the matter. I think there's some empathy for the disgruntled disciplinary officers due to the long struggles they've had with being paid and the way they are chronically under-resourced. many of them had come from remote outer provinces to the capital to help with the massive security operation for APEC, and it's not certain that they were going to get allowances or assistance in making their way home. They've been burnt before by this cash-strapped government, so their rampage (a day after world leaders had left) was in a sense a pre-emptive move to ensure they'd get paid.
Sharon Brett-Kelly: Does the call for the probe to be dropped have support within the police force or government?
JB: Not really. A number of government MPs have spoken out, saying there should be no leniency on disciplinary forces who break the law, especially those who make such an affront or attack on this state symbol, the parliament. The police commissioner appears to be adamant that the investigation will continue. But police investigating police can sometimes a flawed process in a country like PNG. So, what kind of accountability emerges is anyone's guess.
SBK: New Zealand gave NZ$15 million to PNG to help stage the APEC summit, much of it was earmarked for the area of security, so does that mean the money wasn't used properly?
JB: Not necessarily. The New Zealand aid to help PNG host APEC targeted areas including security assistance, resilience to cyber crime, and technical training for police. You may recall there was a massive, unprecedented security operation around that APEC summit - there was about 4,000 military personnel, about half of whom were foreign, they were backed by hundreds of PNG police and corrections officers. I guess that was all because everyone thought that Port Moresby would be a huge security risk for the world leaders. But there were no major incidents, the security side of the summit went smoothly. I'm not sure how much reach New Zealand's government has over n PNG to be able to check how well or how properly that money for security was used. Certainly, the New Zealand government was at pains to underline that it hadn't supported the PNG government's purchase of a fleet of Maseratis for the world leaders to be ferried around in. In the event, a number of leaders like Jacinda Ardern opted not to use the Maseratis while they were in PNG anyway. It was however a very controversial purchase, given PNG's struggles with keeping hospitals supplied with basic medicines and other public services, including in law and order.
SBK: Johnny, PNG continues to experience law and order crises, with the latest in sunny Alotau today. What's happening there?
JB: Yesterday the town went into lockdown when police houses were torched, a supermarket raided and an ATM stolen. Then this morning (Thursday) there was a big shootout - one provincial official was killed. A number of other people injured. There are unconfirmed reports that up to three others were killed as well in the confrontation. Alotau which has been one of the few touristy spots in PNG has experienced a dramatic lapse into lawlessness in recent months with armed holdups and shootouts involving police and a criminal gang linked to a notorious escaped prisoner. And alot of attacks on police. It's interesting to note that what seemed to have intensified the recent trouble was an incident in early November when a police vehicle ran over and killed a young mother and her child by the side of the road in the town. The policeman behind the wheel was part of a contingent that were in transit to Port Moresby for the APEC summit.
