AsiaPacificReport.nz

Indonesian President Joko Widodo, popularly known as “Jokowi”, will be putting his government on the wrong side of history if he proceeds with a fresh round of executions, says Amnesty International.

Amnesty International received credible reports that at least 14 people could be executed this week, who consist of four Indonesian and 10 foreign nationals, including a Pakistani, an Indian, a Zimbabwean, a Senegalese, a South African, and five Nigerians.

“President Widodo’s era was supposed to represent a new start for human rights in Indonesia. Sadly, he could preside over the highest number of executions in the country’s democratic era at a time when most of the world has turned its back on this cruel practice,” said Josef Benedict, Amnesty International’s deputy director for South-East Asia and the Pacific.

Amnesty International has learned that at least a dozen death row prisoners could be executed as soon as this weekend, many of them for drug offences.

The organisation is also concerned that some of the prisoners who could face the firing squad were convicted in manifestly unfair trials and have not submitted clemency request to the President.

There is no evidence to support President Widodo’s position. The death penalty does not deter crime. Carrying out executions will not rid Indonesia of drugs. It is never the solution, and it will damage Indonesia’s standing in the world.

AsiaPacificReport.nz

Special Correspondent in Jakarta

The Indonesian government’s response in the wake of a spate of rape and murder of young women and children this year has been widely welcomed by the public in general, but concerns remain about the existence of a “rape culture” in which many victims are ignored.

The government response is seen as reactive, providing penalties for crimes against women and children, but doing nothing to reduce the incidence of such crimes or providing more guarantees of safety for the most vulnerable groups in society.

After declaring sexual offences against children an “extraordinary crime” on May 10, President Joko Widodo on May 25 signed a government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) stipulating tougher sanctions which include, as a maximum, the death penalty for perpetrators of sexual assault against children.

The Perppu also introduced the potential for chemical castration and computer chip implantation for convicted child assailants.

“We need extraordinary efforts to address such extraordinary crimes which can threaten and endanger the life and the development of our children,” the president said.

The House of Representatives was scheduled to meet on July 27 to discuss ratification of the Perppu.

The new punishments mostly won praise in the country, where there is strong backing for the death penalty. Activists, however, are unhappy, stating the punishments were a knee-jerk reaction and do not provide solutions to address the real problems.

And while the new regulations raised the bar for offenses involving children, they did little to protect women from sexual violence.

Yuyun’s trauma
The reaction from the government followed a public outcry over the grisly gang rape and murder of a 14-year-old school girl, Yuyun, by 14 youths and men in Rejang Lebong regency, Bengkulu. The dead body of the girl was discovered naked and tied up in a ravine on April 4, two days after her family filed a missing persons report.

Her case received little media attention for weeks and might have become just another case that went unnoticed before feminists began a social media campaign seeking justice, as part of their wider campaign to end violence against women and children in Indonesia.

Other cases immediately caught the public eye, including the gang rape of a 19-year-old student in Manado, North Sulawesi, allegedly involving local police officers, and the death of a two-year-old boy in Bogor, West Java after being sexually abused by his neighbor.

The number of cases that have been reported since the Yuyun case attracted national attention suggests that the media has only now decided that such cases are worth the effort of reporting. There are fears that in the past many cases were simply brushed under the carpet by both the police and the media.

A widespread problem
A UN report released in September 2013 showed that almost a quarter of men in parts of Asia admitted to having committed at least one rape.

Ten thousand men from Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka took part in the survey. Rape was particularly common within relationships, according to the study.

One in 10 men admitted raping a woman who was not their partner.

In Indonesia, 31.9 percent of respondents admitted forcing a woman to have sex. Nearly three-quarters of those who committed rape said they did so for reasons of “sexual entitlement”.

The second most common motivation reported was rape as a form of entertainment, while some used rape as a form of punishment or because the man was angry. Surprisingly, the least common motivation was alcohol.

Indonesia’s National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) recorded over 320,000 cases of violence against women in 2015, with around 11,000 cases were categorized as domestic violence while 1657 cases were sexual violence.

The total number of cases of violence in 2015 represented a significant increase from 293,220 cases in the previous year – and these are only incidents reported to authorities or the commission.

Dominant culture
Experts say women in Indonesia are often resigned to the dominant cultural perspective on gender violence. Many victims choose not to report cases because of family pressure, and sometimes because communities put the blame on them.

Meanwhile, police often have to release perpetrators of domestic sexual violence at the request of their wives and partners.

Law enforcers also apply an outdated definition of rape requiring evidence such as blood and semen. This and the fact that women are often accused of having invited sexual assault underlines the reality that Indonesia, along with so many other countries in Asia, remains a place where gender equality remains a distant dream.

In its annual report for 2015, Komnas Perempuan reported increasing occurrence of sexual assaults, which dominate cases of violence against women, in recent years. It is widely believed the figure is only the tip of an iceberg as most sexual crimes are unreported due to trauma or limited access to justice.

While the situation can be quickly blamed on weak legal enforcement, little has been done to end the rape culture in the society. In a largely patriarchal nation, women are often taught that they need to avoid getting raped but young men are not told that rape represents a serious crime.

Women are still perceived as property in most parts of the country. A “moral defect”, even when it’s a result of violent behavior, will cause the girl to lose her value and create a disgrace to the family.

Meanwhile, male sexual violence is normal and mostly seen as a reflection of power and masculinity. In the case of sexist jokes and verbal offence, women are told to be grateful for being targeted for such behavior because it is a sign that they are good-looking.

A friendly gesture on the part of a woman can be easily mistaken as a sign of promiscuity.

Compromised safety
The widespread “rape culture” clearly has compromised the safety of women, including in public spaces. A bias toward male sexual domination combined with poor infrastructure and security provide opportunities for sexual offenders to commit such crimes.

Indonesia was ranked the third worst place among G20 countries for women to live, according to a survey released in 2013. Indonesia was ranked behind India and Saudi Arabia, which face similar challenges with problems such as child marriage, sex trafficking, violence and the exploitation of women.

Rape can happen virtually anywhere. Reports of sexual harassment of women who commute to and from work on public transportation occur virtually every other day.

At least three cases of rape and one of rape and murder in public minivans were reported in Greater Jakarta in the period 2011-2014. In November 2015, a young woman was raped and robbed while crossing a pedestrian bridge at Lebak Bulus, near the upscale Pondok Indah area in South Jakarta.

To the public’s outrage, police and then-Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo responded to a case in 2014 by advising women against traveling alone and wearing “revealing clothing” to avoid instigating men’s sexual desire and being raped.

Hera Diani, one of the founders of feminist web-based magazine Magdalene, says that despite the public concern over the Yuyun case, it did not go far enough.

“We might be better than India but we did not see the same level of public outrage that the Indian public expressed after the rape and murder of a medical student in the wake of Yuyun’s case, indicating that something is wrong,” she said.

“A female globetrotter even said that women’s safety level in Jakarta is even more worrying than in Mexico because there, the crimes are concentrated in certain areas. In Jakarta, the violence is widespread, it can happen everywhere.”

Brutal gang rape
Diani was referring to the brutal gang rape of a young Indian woman on a bus in New Delhi in late 2012. The victim was returning home from a movie and had boarded a bus with a male friend on the night of December 16, 2012 when four men, including the bus driver, beat them up and gang-raped her.

The victims were then thrown out of the bus and left to die.

The rape triggered a nationwide protest in the country, known to have an endemic sexual violence problem. A week after the incident, Indian lawmakers passed stricter laws on sexual violence, including a minimum 20-year prison sentence for rape and the death penalty for extreme cases.

Indian lawmakers also expanded the definition of rape to include penetration by objects or any body part. Sexual abuse in all its forms including sexual harassment, stalking and voyeurism was also made illegal. Moreover, fast-track courts were established to speed up trials in sexual assault cases which earlier took years to conclude.

Government response
Women’s rights activists agree that sexual assault and rape are more about domination than a mere sexual impulse. A study on the cause of rape in Asia-Pacific by the UN Development Fund for Women (Unifem) in 2013 found that 73 percent of 13,000 sexual offenders surveyed said sexual entitlement, the belief that men have a right to sex with women regardless of consent, was the main motivation for rape.

The remainder said they committed rape for entertainment, while alcohol, often assumed to be a common trigger for violence, was the least common response. Men who had themselves been victimised – abused, raped or otherwise sexually coerced – were more likely to commit rape than those who were not, the study also found.

The Indonesian government’s refusal to acknowledge the rape culture is reflected in the narrow definition of sexual assault in the Criminal Code (KUHP). The regulation centers on physical abuse and says less about psychological and economic violence.

It left marital rape unaddressed until the ratification of the Domestic Violence Law in 2004.

Despite the narrow definition, the government actually has no shortage of laws criminalising sexual offenders. Apart from the KUHP, it has ratified international conventions on protection of women and children as well as on the handling of human trafficking crimes and the prevention of child marriage, for example.

Approach of law enforcers
Indonesia’s rape culture is demonstrated in problematic law enforcement, which perpetuates the view that the crime occurs because the victim invited it. Gender-biased police officers often make impolite remarks to victims and judges ask irrelevant questions during trials.

Lenient sentences are only one element that sustains the violence and discrimination against women, seen as the second gender.

A victim of sexual assault committed by four officers of the TransJakarta bus services in January 2014 was questioned by the judge about the length of her pants on the day of the incident. She was not offered any legal assistance and was obliged to pay for a medical examination.

The offenders were jailed for only 18 months.

A report in The Jakarta Post in August 2014 made it clear that women aren’t safe in even everyday environments. In a commentary on the Transjakarta case, the country’s patriarchal society was identified as the root of the problem, hindering victims of sexual assaults from obtaining justice.

Members of the legal system often lacked sensitivity, it quoted activists as stating.

Founder of the rape-survivor support group Lentera Indonesia, Wulan Danoekoesoemo, said many rape victims chose not to report their cases to the police because the law itself did not side with the victim.

“Some victims feel hopeless because it’s difficult to process a sexual-assault case. Even if the cases are processed, the sentences for the offenders are too short,” she said.

Deep trauma
Meanwhile the victim suffered deep trauma.

Blaming the woman for “inviting” an assault is not uncommon. Activist Kartika Jahja said in The Jakarta Post report that it is not unusual for judges and defendants’ lawyers to question a victim’s clothes and ethnicity.

Women’s Legal Aid Foundation (LBH APIK) executive Uli Pangaribuan agreed that such stigmatizing was why many rape victims chose to keep quiet.

“The reason why many rape victims in this country choose not to report to the police is because they’re ashamed and they’re afraid that society will put the blame on them,” Pangaribuan said, according to the Post.

People tended to normalise rape if the victim was wearing a mini-skirt or a tight blouse.

Who’s to blame?
Meanwhile, some were inquiring why Yuyun, the 14-year-old rape victim in Bangkulu, was wandering near a desolate plantation by herself, prompting the opinion that she herself might have triggered the crime.

Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Yohana Yembise entered the blame game by criticising the girl’s parents for working and not being available for their children.

The comment from the minister demonstrates that the patriarchal view that women’s place is in the home is shared by many women, despite the reality that women often have to work to help the family survive economically. It also assumes that women do not have a right to a career.

It is obvious that more needs to be done to change the perspective and approach that sides more with the accused during legal proceedings. Heavier sanctions such as chemical castration in the new Perppu will not necessarily be effective in preventing more violence.

Diani of Magdalene said she was cooperating with Komnas Perempuan to capitalise on the current momentum to raise public awareness on the danger of rape culture and improve protection for women and children.

Activists, she said, have pushed the House of Representatives to include the deliberation of the anti-sexual violence bill into its priority program for this year but the process of deliberation is yet to start.

“We are looking for better access to legal and psychological assistance for victims of sexual abuse as well as building law enforcement forces with improved gender awareness,” Diani said.

The tougher sanctions introduced in the new Perppu must not be the end of efforts to stopping violence against women and children, Diani said.

Integrated solutions
There’s no single approach to ending the violence. Measures in the legal process must be supported by a concerted effort to build public awareness to reverse the discriminative mindset, which must include improvement of welfare and national education systems.

“Inclusion of sexual education that introduces the correct concepts on good sexual and reproductive health into school curriculums is necessary to complete the push for stronger law enforcement,” said Diani.

She admitted, however, that advocating for proper sexual education for students would most likely face rejection from certain members of the public, who have grown more religiously conservative and xenophobic despite Indonesia being hailed as one of the most open, democratic societies in the world.

“The public most likely would highlight that advocating sexual education means promoting free sex, which they say is against Islamic teaching and so-called Asian values,” Diani said.

The media, she added, must also play a role in the reform process by adhering to the code of ethics of journalism instead of publishing sensational headlines when reporting cases of sexual assault.

In reporting recent cases of sexual violence, a lot of local newsrooms have projected a clear picture of gender bias in reporting, with the publication of gory details and uncensored pictures of the victims.

Lack of women police
A shortage of women police officers is a part of the problem of the failure of police to properly investigate sexual assaults. The police themselves adopt patriarchal values by applying a “virginity test” for new recruits.

A storm over the practice emerged in 2014, when Nisha Varia, associate women’s rights director at Human Rights Watch, stated that the practice was discriminatory and harmed and humiliated women.

While police insist that the practice is no longer used, sources within the force cited by HRW and other rights organisations insist that it is continuing.

HRW said in November 2014 that the National Police planned an immediate 50 percent increase in the number of policewomen, to 21,000. With a force of about 400,000 police officers, the additional hiring would increase the percentage of women on the force from 3 percent to 5 percent.

It is not clear that the hiring campaign was successful, but even at 5 percent women officers would be spread very thinly through the force. Many police stations would not have female officers, further deterring women from reporting crimes.

A May 2015 report in Time magazine on the virginity test issue quoted the head of the national police legal division, Inspector-General Moechgiyarto, as supporting the tests because they maintained the police force’s moral standards.

“If she (a candidate) turns out to be a prostitute, how could we accept her for the job?” he said.

Unhealthy atmosphere
This approach clearly creates an unhealthy atmosphere for female police recruits, and in general creates difficulty for the victims of sexual assault to have their cases dealt with effectively.

In an article in Australian website The Conversation, Irawati Harsono, a lecturer in criminology at the Police Studies College, said she was appalled when she was told that all women police had been removed from the border with East Timor following the referendum and rebellion against Indonesian rule in 1999.

“The presence of female police officers is crucial in ensuring women and children refugees are protected and that their needs are met. In refugee camps, women and children usually lose out in the fighting over resources such as water and blankets.

“They are also vulnerable to sexual abuse. The decision to withdraw female officers says a lot about how the police organisation regards female officers,” she stated. And generally, she added, “policewomen are considered mere auxiliaries to policemen.”

Calling for empowerment of women police, Harsono stated that while there had been improvement in legislation to protect women and children, this had made very little difference.

“The way a country regards female police officers is crucial in its efforts to protect women against violence in the general population,” she said.

“Since 2007, each police district has established a special women and children protection unit. The attorney general has a focal point for women’s issues. The Supreme Court also has a working group. But despite such legal and structural progress, if the culture within the police corps still discriminates against women, effective protection for women’s rights will fall short.”

Economic impacts
The economic cost, in addition to the physical, psychological and health impacts, is often forgotten in the case of sexual violence. Advancing gender equality and eliminating the endemic violence are therefore becoming more important as Widodo’s government vows to build a sustainable economy and achieve 7 percent growth by the end of its tenure in 2019.

The World Bank in November 2015 estimated that aside from psychological repercussions, gender-based violence has been shown to have dire economic consequences, costing an estimated 3.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) due to lost productivity. The percentage is more than double what most governments spend on education.

“The negative stigmas attached to survivors of sexual violence might make them lose their jobs,” Diani said, agreeing that productivity losses due to sexual abuse might be larger and extended to the next generation as impoverished victims might raise vulnerable families and kids.

In the National Mid-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) for 2015-2019, the government pledges to enhance protection of women and children. It aims to improve prevention of violence through the launching of the National Children Protection Movement, awareness campaigns and the implementation of restorative justice for child convicts.

The measures also include efforts to improve services for victims of violence, which seek better handling of reports, health and social rehabilitation and reintegration, as well as stronger law enforcement with provision of legal assistance.

The RPJMN also outlines plans to upgrade the capacity of agencies working on women and children’s protection through a better legal system, inter-agency coordination and the establishment of an information system related to the crime.

The plan of action, included in the five-year economic development roadmap, signals that the government is aware of the importance of promoting women and children’s protection. The move indicates that the state is heading in the right direction in providing protection for all its citizens, but evidence remains scant that any of these policies have been implemented.

The government needs to encourage society to move toward a culture of preventing the perpetration of rape through a persuasive campaign at all levels, rather than relying on prevention through knee-jerk responses. While the government’s Perrpu looks tough, there is no indication at this stage that it will make women any safer.

AsiaPacificReport.nz

Pacific Media Centre chair Dr Camille Nakhid has praised the latest edition of Pacific Journalism Review with a launch coinciding with the Fourth World Journalism Education Congress (WJEC) in Auckland.

She said it was a popular journal globally as well as in the Asia-Pacific region, and noted the presence of many international contributors to the latest edition at the launch.

“This journal has progressed through the persistence of Professor David Robie, Dr Philip Cass and Professor Wendy Bacon with support of the wonderful production efforts of Del Abcede and proof reading of Susan O’Rourke,” said Dr Nakhid, who is an associate professor in AUT’s School of Social Science and Public Policy at Auckland University of Technology.

She said this latest issue of the journal, the only one regularly publishing New Zealand journalism research, was timely as it coincided with the WJEC conference and an Australian and Pacific Preconference.

There had been much attention on alleged corruption in New Zealand under the current government, particularly in reference to the Panama Papers, and ongoing corruption in the Pacific and wider Oceania region.

“This issue of the journal covers articles by those journalists and media researchers who have brought these issues to light,” she said.

“The articles also discuss the lives of journalists and their risks and dangers, our damage to the environment and many other issues.

“We need young journalists to live to become old journalists and so we very much welcome this journal and the launch of this current issue theme titled ‘Endangered Journalists’.”

AsiaPacificReport.nz

A media advocacy group in the Pacific region said the ban of foreign media during the recent election in Nauru was not mentioned by any observers.

The Pacific Freedom Forum (PFF) released a media statement this week which highlighted their concern over observer statements that said the election in Nauru was free and fair, despite the fact that foreign media was banned from attending.

‘Foreign media were stopped from having free access to Nauru,’ said PFF Chair Titi Gabi.

Higher priority

The statement said election observers need to give “much higher priority on the importance of free and fair access to news media”.

It also said observers from the Pacific Islands Forum “made only a single passing mention of local media in their interim report”.

Commonwealth observers made “fuller” comments on news media, a fact welcomed by PFF.

“But those comments appear to show a major gap in observers’ understanding of the role of the Fourth Estate, especially around election times,” the release noted.

The statement said the leader of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s election observer mission to Nauru, Anote Tong, “claimed” access to news media is less important in small countries, because candidates can hold meetings and meet voters face-to-face.

PFF Co-Chair, Monica Miller, said Tong underestimates the importance of news media.

“Voters may be too fearful for their jobs, education or business to ask politicians any hard questions,” Miller said.

AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Nurul Fitri Ramadhani in Jakarta

As the House of Representatives screens 27 candidates for leadership positions at the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI), it remains to be seen whether the new commissioners will uphold pluralism and give recognition to minority groups.

Of the 15 commissioner candidates undergoing screening by House Commission I overseeing information and communication affairs, most of them voiced opposition to programmes involving lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) characters being aired on TV.

Many of the candidates argue that anything besides heterosexuality is against the country’s values and norms. Among the candidates are news producer of private TV station Trans7 Arif Adi Kuswardono, Indonesian Television Academy (ATVI) mass communication lecturer Agus Sudibyo, Banten KPI chairman Ade Bujaerimi, West Sumatra KPI chairman Afrianto Korga and journalist Mayong Suryo Laksono.

Ade believed that LGBT content in TV programs could destroy the morals of youth because of the lifestyle portrayed.

“Television must be free of LGBT. We should ban all programmes containing LGBT content,” he said.

Arif said programmes, except the news, that exposed LGBT characteristics, such as boys cross-dressing or adopting feminine characteristics, and promoted or starred members of the LGBT community should not be aired.

“If they want to show their LGBT-ness, please do it, but not for screening on TV,” Arif said. “We respect pluralism, but TV should not accommodate such things. I’m sorry that not all things [related to pluralism] are acceptable.”

Discriminatory rules
Since hostility toward LGBT people emerged, the KPI has become one of the institutions to introduce discriminatory rules against them.

The agency previously issued a statement that discouraged broadcasters from airing programmes that promoted activities of the LGBT community. It claimed that the move was aimed at protecting children and teenagers from exposure to a “deviant” lifestyle.

It stated that the broadcasters code of conduct (P3) and broadcasting programme standards (SPS) regulations mentioned the banning of programmes that encouraged children and teenagers to adopt indecent behavior.

Commission I member Djoko Udjianto from the Democratic Party slammed the candidates, claiming that most of them seemed to provide no room for the LGBT community yet provided no solution on how to maintain a balance.

“I see that all of you talk much about LGBT and gender orientation on television, but no one has any way out. And if we talk about the country’s characteristics, what characteristics?” Djoko said.

Of the 27 candidates undergoing screening on July 18 and 19, Commission I will choose nine as the next KPI commissioners who will lead the agency from 2016 to 2019. The 27 are among 47 people proposed by the ministry and who were interviewed by the commission’s selection committee last month.

As the nine selected candidates will still be in charge during the next presidential election, speculation is rife that they could be used as political tools by certain parties in election campaigns.

During the hearing, of the 10 factions at the House, only the Hanura Party raised a question about political intervention through media ownership. The Golkar Party, whose advisory council chairman Aburizal Bakrie runs television stations TVOne and ANTV, and the NasDem Party, chaired by media mogul Surya Paloh, remained silent on the issue.

AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Stephen Diisango in Honiara

The current trip to Taiwan by a 16-member government delegation in the Solomon Islands is costing tax-payers more than $1.6million.

This was revealed in a report obtained by the Solomon Star this week from sources close to the Ministry of Finance.

It came after the huge number of officials and the likely cost involved in the trip raised concerns.

The report showed the total cost covered imprest, per-diems and airfares for the delegation, which travelled to Australia, en route to Taiwan last week.

The delegation left on Thursday for Brisbane where the Prime Minister attended the Solomon Islands Australia Business forum as a guest speaker on Friday.

The delegation finally left Brisbane on Saturday evening and is now in Taipei.

Budget breakdown

According to the breakdown of the report it showed the airfare for nine members of the delegation which included the Prime Minister, his wife, government ministers, Deputy Chair of Government Caucus and Backbencer are being met by the Republic of China (Taiwan).

While the airfares for the remaining seven government officials which included political appointees, secretaries and close protection officers are being met by tax-payers at a cost of $106,889,20.

The report further showed all members of the delegation are being paid per-diems by the government based to their position and rates, which cost taxpayers $459,967,97.

The delegation will spend about two weeks abroad.

The report also showed imprest being allocated for the trip totalling $1,050,312,00.

All other related costs such as accommodation are not included, the source revealed.

“As such the total cost incurred is $1,617,179.17,” the source said.

Struggling nation

The Parliamentary Opposition Group last week had criticised the trip claiming Solomon Islands have been known to sending huge delegations on such trips with the public having to foot the bills for such expensive trips.

“It is time that the Government should act responsibly to ensure that there is value for money in these sorts of trips. As a struggling nation, we must learn to live within our means and one way of showing this is to be realistic with our actions.

“Let us avoid the business as usual mentality but to ensure that we do the right things for our country,” it said.

Members of the Prime Minister’s delegation includes his wife, Madam Emmy Sogavare, Minister for Infrastructure Development Jimmy Lusibaea, Minister for Police, National Security and Correctional Services Stanley Sofu, Minister for Rural Development Jimson Tanangada, Minister for Lands, Housing and Survey Moses Garu, Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Duddley Kopu, Deputy Chair of Government Caucus Namson Tran, Backbencer Dickson Mua, Secretary to the Prime Minister Joseph Waleanisia, Private Secretary to the Prime Minister Ronald Fugui, Executive Personal Secretary to the Prime Minister Suzie Wale, Press Secretary to the Prime Minister Deli Oso, Foreign Affairs Protocol Officer Philip Moses and Close-Protection Police officers Wilson Maetala and Tome Faisi.

The delegation returns next Friday, 5th August 2016.

AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Royson Willie in Port Vila

Prime Minister Charlot Salwai, as shareholder of the national carrier, has instructed Air Vanuatu not to terminate any ni-Vanuatu pilot employed by the airline.

The intervention by the head of government was made after it was brought to the prime minister’s attention that there were plans to terminate ni-Vanuatu pilots by the end of this month.

In a letter dated July 12, 2016, the prime minister instructed the board of directors chairman, John Lum.

The prime minister said he was informed that the management of the company was planning to take the action this month.

But Salwai noted that the employment contracts for the ni-Vanuatu pilots would end on July 31, 2018.

He said he was aware that steps were already taken “to bring more foreign pilots” into the country.

“In fact , one foreign pilot is already in Port Vila and he is waiting for his police clearance requested by Immigration in order to commence his employment.

‘No longer tolerated’
“I want to inform you that my government will no longer tolerate this action to continue to happen: no termination of ni-Vanuatu pilots of Air Vanuatu will be allowed,” he said in his instruction to the board chairman.

The prime minister as shareholder instructed the board to stop entertaining such policies but rather consider the national interest.

Salwai asked the board to review the airline’s current policy requiring that all ni-Vanuatu pilots must have an Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL).

He said that the local pilots for Air Vanuatu’s domestic services were qualified to fly with a commercial pilot Licence (CPL) according to International Civil Aviation Organisation rules.

Salwai said the company’s policy should see the company finance the total cost of all its ni-Vanuatu pilots in achieving an ATPL.

“Air Vanuatu Operations Ltd is a national company and the investments made to develop its human resource shall be considered as investments for the development of this Nation,” the prime minister added.

The Daily Post contacted Air Vanuatu and the Prime Minister’s Office for further comments on the issue but none was made before going to press.

25 pilots
However, earlier this year in March the airline told the Daily Post that Air Vanuatu employed 25 pilots, of whom 14 were Vanuatu nationals and 11 were expatriates.

At that time the airline revealed that there was a recent review of salaries for new or junior pilots requiring further training in order to complete their ATPLs.

“Air Vanuatu is meeting the financial obligations of this training, which would otherwise require the pilots to fund themselves,” the airline said.

“We see this as a way of encouraging more ni-Vanuatu to apply for roles in aviation.

“This training takes between two and three years after which they can build on their flight hours and experience to become eligible for command positions, thus attracting a higher salary.”

Royson Willie is editor of the Vanuatu Daily Post.

AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Peter Solo Kinjap

Papua New Guinean Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s media adviser, Christopher Hawkins, has denied media reports that K3 million was paid to each government member at the “Alotau camp” a week before Friday’s no-confidence vote.

Hawkins said a total of K111 million (NZ$450,000) was supposed to be paid and each MP would receive K1 million each but did not mention the additional K2 million, totalling up to K3 million (NZ$1.36 million} in payments for each district.

Hawkins said the money was not paid to the MPs but to their districts.

It was reported earlier by the public broadcaster NBC News in Port Moresby that documents were signed by Treasury Department for Finance Department to release a payment of K111 million.

Soon after the release of this report, a whistleblower from Treasury Department who wants to remain anonymous, confirming that an additional K2 million was ordered for release following the earlier K1 million for each MP.

The funds were for district development but the timing of the payment was aesthetically wrong due to the no-confidence vote about to be taken. This payment has been denounced by critics as  “bribery”.

AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Margareth S. Aritonang, Haeril Halim, Arya Dipa and Suherdjoko in Jakarta/Bandung/Semarang

While people indulge in the joy of chasing Pokemon monsters, authorities in Indonesia have restricted the hunt amid concerns over national security.

The Indonesian Military (TNI) headquarters in Jakarta has banned its members from playing the wildly popular augmented-reality game while on duty, arguing that the use of GPS on smartphones enables the viewing of restricted military facilities.

The TNI became cautious after it found out that the app provider could intentionally spread Pokemon monsters around restricted areas to encourage hunters to enter the areas.

Once players got in with GPS and a camera on their cell phones, they could record activities in restricted areas and post them online, where people — including possibly foreign intelligence — could steal confidential data, the TNI claimed.

“The official telegram [on the ban] will soon be issued as a preemptive measure. It is better to take preventative action,” TNI spokesman Major-General Tatang Sulaiman said, adding that the decision was made after receiving input from assistant intelligence personnel to the TNI commander.

However, TNI members are still allowed to play when they are off duty and far away from military facilities, installations and bases.

“[The game provider] doesn’t recognise restricted areas. They just put Pokemon monsters [wherever it wants]. The policy is just to protect our bases, which house many important installations,” Tatang added.

‘Real’ Pokemon hunter
Pokemon Go, which sets players on a real-world hunt for elusive digital monsters they can catch via their phones, offers the experience of being a real Pokemon hunter.

While it has yet to be officially launched in Indonesia, the fever has hit the country, as many people have downloaded the game through backdoor channels.

“The game directs hunters to locations. It is fine if they are directed to restaurants or public places, but what about if they are directed to Navy bases? Will they try to find ways to enter such restricted sites?” Navy spokesman First Admiral Edi Sucipto told the Post.

Separately, Cirebon Military Command (Kodim) in West Java arrested a French national identified as Romain Pierre for entering its office without permission in his pursuit of a Pokemon late on Monday at 11 p.m.

Pierre was jogging in the neighborhood before his cell phone detected a number of Pokemon inside the Kodim. He crossed the security guard post and resisted arrest. He was later released after his business entourage, in town for a conference, picked him up at a nearby police station.

“From his testimony, he said that he was playing Pokemon Go while jogging in the area,” West Java Police spokesman Yusri Yunis said.

Meanwhile, the Central Java Police have also banned their members from playing Pokemon Go to avoid distractions while on duty.

Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu agrees with the TNI policy, saying that the game could be used by foreign intelligence to collect data on the TNI.

Margareth S. Aritonang, Haeril Halim, Arya Dipa and Suherdjoko are journalists for The Jakarta Post.

AsiaPacificReport.nz

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In this “PNG Diehard” citizen video last month, Papua New Guinea police are seen and heard open-firing at students from the University of PNG who were conducting a very controlled and peaceful march on June 8 calling on Prime Minister Peter O’Neill to resign pending an investigation into corruption allegations.

OPINION: By David Robie

Surprising that a conference involving some of the brightest minds in journalism education from around the world should be ignored by New Zealand’s local media.

Some 220 people from 43 countries were at the Fourth World Journalism Education Congress (WJEC) conference in Auckland.

The range of diversity alone at the Auckland University of Technology hosted event was appealing, but it was the heady mix of ideas and contributions that offered an inspiring backdrop.

Topics included strategies for teaching journalism for mobile platforms – the latest techniques; “de-westernising” journalism education in an era of new media genres; transmedia storytelling; teaching hospitals; twittering, facebooking and snapchat — digital media under the periscope; new views on distance learning, and 21st century ethical issues in journalism are just a representative sample of what was on offer.

Keynote speakers included Divina Frau-Meigs (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle) with a riveting account on how “powerful journalism” makes “prime ministers jump”, the Center of Public Integrity’s Peter Bale (a New Zealander) on the need to defend press freedom, and Tongan newspaper publisher and broadcaster who turned “inclusivity” on its head with an inspiring “include us” appeal from the Pacific,”where we live in the biggest continent on planet Earth”.

But for me, the most moving message of all came not from those who spoke about “reporting dangerously” (such as Simon Cottle) or the very future of journalism, but from a young quietly spoken Papua New Guinean woman who has “lived” through a freedom of speech and the press struggle while facing live bullets.

Emily Matasororo, leader of the Journalism Strand at the University of Papua New Guinea, was on campus that fateful day last month (June 8) when heavily armed PNG police in camouflage fatigues opened fire with tear gas and live rounds on the peaceful students. She was actually in the crowd fired on.

Emily’s testimony
Matasororo gave her testimony at a WJEC16 panel on journalism education in the Pacific chaired by me, with the presence of the panel members being sponsored by the NZ Institute of Pacific Research.

Explaining how the two months of student unrest began across Papua New Guinea’s six universities – but mostly centred on UPNG in the capital of Port Moresby, and the University of Technology in the second city Lae – she said it was an irony that protests were triggered on World Press Freedom Day (May 3).

“The Journalism Strand was preparing to celebrate freedom of the press that day. However, this did not eventuate because the academic space was taken up by a student forum.

“This was the beginning of an eight-week stand-off by the students who demanded that the Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill, step down from office and face police over allegations of fraud. However, the prime minister said: ‘I will not step down.’”

Matasororo said O’Neill had challenged the issue of an arrest warrant against him, saying this case was now before the courts. Under the Papua New Guinea Constitution, O’Neill could be removed by a no-confidence vote, or on criminal charges. But the former option was shut down this week when O’Neill survived a no-confidence vote by 85 to 21 votes.

Among other issues that spurred the students into organising class boycotts and protests was the O’Neill government’s actions in dismantling the police fraud squad [National Fraud and Anti-Corruption directorate] – the very office that would investigate the prime minister. But, as Matasororo pointed out, the squad was later reinstated.

Another O’Neill move was adjourning Parliament until November to stave off the possibility of the no-confidence vote. (A Supreme Court ruling forced the reconvening of Parliament and the vote).

Violating the Constitution
Students became convinced that Prime Minister O’Neill was acting in violation of the Constitution and they saw themselves as defending the rule of law on behalf of all Papua New Guineans.

Earlier in the protests, students at UPNG had set on fire 800 copies of the two national dailies being sold at the Waigani campus front gates in frustration over what they perceived to be the news media taking sides and promoting the O’Neill government’s agenda.

“The burning was an indication that they disliked the papers’ coverage of events leading up the [first] protest. Why should the Student Representative Council go as far as preferring certain media outlets over others?” Matasororo asked the forum which was syndicated globally on livestream.

“The Post-Courier, The National and television station EM TV were banned covering student activities on campus. The UPNG is a public and government-run institution and is a public space open to everyone, including the media. If students reacted that way, it brought up issues of credibility and integrity of the freedom of the press in Papua New Guinea.

“Which brings to light the question of ethics.”

Matasororo quoted from a Loop PNG report bylined Carmella Gware, who talked to a student leader in spite of the ban on local media:

“We saw the newspapers and saw that the reports were very shallow and biased.

“They were not actual reports of what we students are portraying at the university. That’s why, to show our frustration, we went out to the bus stop and burnt those papers.

“What we displayed in the morning shows that we have no trust in the media,” the student leader stated (sic) said.

— Carmella Gware – Loop PNG

Investigation needed
“While I acknowledge and appreciate the tireless efforts of the media’s coverage of the student protests,’ said Matasororo, “for me this is a very strong statement that needs to be investigated.

“This needs to be done by all stakeholders concerned to promote fair and just reporting and the essence of good ethics and good journalism.

“The stakeholders must include, but not be limited to he following: the publisher and managements of the papers, the Media Council of PNG, Transparency International, Ombudsman Commission and the journalism educators of the UPNG and the Catholic-run Divine Word University.

“For the publishers, credibility is questioned; for the Media Council it is a threat against the profession; and for the educators – where are we going wrong in teaching ethics, are we giving enough prominence that it deserves?

“These are questions that need to be answered, in order to promote a robust and conducive environment in which journalists should operate in.”

On June 8, said Matasororo, the protests – until then peaceful – “took an ugly turn”. Several students were wounded, some news reports saying as many as 30. But there were no deaths.

“Social media was running hot with images and comments uploaded in real time. Some of what was coming from social media was emotional reporting.

“Information was distorted with some news stations reporting casualties.

“An Australian-based media outlet reported four deaths and isolated reports on radio, television and social media that day created a new level of fear, confusion and anxiety among residents.

“For me that day, I saw how powerful the media was, and when it is not applied correctly, it can be tragic.”

This article is republished with permission from David Robie’s blog Café Pacific.

The full panel discussion on Pacific journalism education at WJEC12.

AsiaPacificReport.nz

A controversial roads project has angered local communities leading into this month’s Federal election in Australia while the companies behind it have dumped truckloads of cash on both major parties. When faced with difficult questions about his position on the project, the would-be Labor leader turned the focus back onto me, writes Wendy Bacon in Sydney for New Matilda.

If you live in or visit the seats of Grayndler and Sydney, you can’t help but be aware of the issue of the WestConnex toll road that is beginning to carve up neighbourhoods with massive dusty constructions sites and the forced acquisition of hundreds of homes and parks.

The $16.8 billion project is meant to be about solving traffic congestion – a claim disputed by expert traffic planners, the City of Sydney, and 16,000 community groups and individuals who sent submissions to the NSW Department of Planning. More than 99 percent of these submissions objected to the whole project. The NSW government approved it anyway.

This presents a political problem for local Federal MPs Anthony Albanese and Tanya Plibersek. Labor – including leader Bill Shorten and Shadow Minister for Infrastructure Albanese – supports WestConnex.

The convincing wins of Greens candidates in Newtown and Balmain at last year’s NSW state election was partly attributed to a rejection by voters of Labor’s support for Westconnex.

This was a perfect time for Labor to engage in a post election rethink of its policy. There is plenty of expert evidence on which it could rely to argue that WestConnex is a waste of public funds and will not solve traffic congestion. It will saddle Western Sydney with tolls for generations.

Instead, Labor has kept supporting the project, which is why it remains a burning issue across Sydney’s inner west.

In this campaign, Albanese and Plibersek and their teams began by trying to convince voters, including by direct phone calls, that WestConnex is only a state issue. However, anyone who looks at the WestConnex website will see that it involves a partnership between the NSW and Australian governments. $3.5 billion in Federal funds have already been allocated to the project.

COf this, a $2 billion loan and at least $300 million in grant money is still to be paid over. Community groups WestConnex Action Group, No WestConnex, and the City of Sydney are campaigning for the federal funds and construction to be stopped, at least until a federal audit of the project is over.

Albanese told a packed Balmain Town Hall in May that he would not attempt to block the funds although he would not support additional funding. He failed to answer a question on what evidence Labor’s support for WestConnex is based on, and left the meeting for another appointment before it had ended.

WestConnex and the Federal election
I’ve been researching the WestConnex story, including Federal parliamentary debates on the issue, for more than 18 months. So when I read the pamphlet that Albanese distributed across the entire Grayndler electorate before the July 2 Federal election, I was surprised to see this:

Many locals have also raised their concerns over WestConnex with me. I share these concerns which is why I have raised the issue of WestConnex specifically in relation to problems of financing, planning, lack of community consultation and the impact of the WestConnex project within the community, more than 30 times in Parliament.

Judge for yourself, but I understood that to mean Albanese shared concerns of the electorate about WestConnex and that he had raised these concerns on behalf of his community in Parliament more than 30 times.

A review of the 16000 submissions reveals that key community concerns include; traffic congestion, granting construction contracts to companies before an Environmental Impact Statement was completed (which, by the way, was eventually done by AECOM, a company with record of misleading traffic studies), pollution, loss of parks and biodiversity, dislocation of communities, loss of housing and heritage buildings, underpayment of those whose homes have been acquired, poor community consultation and secrecy.

Although I don’t agree with some Labor policies, I expected that the basic content of its leaflets would be factually accurate but this statement did not ring true.

I began with a search of Hansard. It revealed 23 occasions on which Albanese had made a speech mentioning “WestConnex” and one occasion when he raised the issue in a Committee. I asked two people familiar with the tricky Hansard search engine to do the same search and they confirmed my results.

So I decided to write to Albanese.

I wrote:

As a journalist, I have covered WestConnex extensively since December 2014. I was somewhat surprised by your statement, so I did a search of Hansard. I’ve identified 23 occasions on which you have mentioned Westconnex in Parliament and one occasion in a Committee hearing in 2015.

I have not been able to identify any other occasions when you have specifically raised concerns about ‘community consultation’ and very few references to what could be described as ‘impact of the WestConnex project within the community.’

I intend [to]publish an article about your statement. I wish to make sure that my search of Hansard has thrown up correct results. If you have information or research suggesting that my search is wrong, I would appreciate it if you or your staff could send me a list of more than 30 occasions on which you raised your concerns about WestConnex by 9 am on Monday.

On Sunday, I attended a rally of hundreds of residents protesting against WestConnex and calling for a halt to the funding. Albanese made a brief appearance to talk to people one on one and walk a dog. He declined an invitation to speak at the rally.

Later on Sunday, I received this reply from Albanese.

Dear Wendy,

It is remarkable that you would claim to be acting as a journalist rather than a campaigner for a political party, but I guess how you reconcile that with the journalists’ code of ethics is a matter for you.

I have raised the issue of Westconnex as a member of the House of Representatives on at least 33 occasions. Further, as a member of the Joint House Committee on Public Accounts and Audit, I have raised the issue many times at public and private hearings. As you may know this Committee provides Parliamentary scrutiny of the Australian National Audit Office and the ANAO has announced an audit into Westconnex. I note the Greens political party have not sought to participate in that Committee.

I do not anticipate these facts will alter the partisan nature of your contribution.

I will return to the question of ethics.

The language in Albanese’s reply was noticeably different from that in the pamphlet. The words “raised….  in parliament” were missing.

By then I had identified seven questions that Albanese had asked in Parliament mentioning ‘Westconnex’ so that brought my tally to 30.

For example, a year after the Abbott government was elected in September 2014, Albanese asked the Minister for Infrastructure Warren Truss why there were no bulldozers and cranes for big projects as the Coalition had promised in opposition. Truss assured him that work on WestConnex would begin soon. Another question just asked for a list of infrastructure.

On other occasions in 2014 he asked whether residents would be consulted or given information about WestConnex. He was told, as you would expect, that this would occur. I can’t find anywhere where he pursued widespread concern about the flawed consultation process or secrecy surrounding WestConnex.

In fact, after analysing all his interventions I concluded that if his claim was intended to communicate that he had raised community concerns on more than 30 occasions, it is false.

In September 2014, Parliament debated changes to Infrastructure Australia. In this context Albanese complained several times about traffic congestion that would be caused by the project in St Peters, Newtown and Haberfield near the WestConnex route. This was in the context that  Labor “were of the view that there is a real argument to extend the M4 to city. It is absurd that it is some considerable distance from the city and then people after being on the M4 hit a traffic jam.” He referred to contributing “$25 million to the WestConnex project to make sure that it got up to speed” when he was the Minister for Infrastructure. In October 2014, he told Parliament that the “M4 has to take people to the city  – that policy was right then and right today.”

Building WestConnex to the CBD is Labor’s policy. It is a concept that has almost no community or planner support. Labor has never explained where the giant portals would be along the route and where the tunnel would emerge in the CBD. Albanese also said WestConnex New M5 should go to Port Botany, an idea which has more support. But he never explained what route it would take to get there or what suburbs and scarce open space and endangered species would be affected.

On October 30, 2014, he complained that the Abbott government had granted a $2 billion concessional loan that had been paid to the NSW government before a cost benefit analysis. This is the first sign of a big ‘misunderstanding’ by Albanese that the loan had already been transferred to NSW. He continued to complain in parliament that it had been ‘made available’. In fact, no agreement was signed until last year and not a cent has been transferred.

New Matilda confirmed this with the Department of Infrastructure on April 26 and the Minister for Roads Paul Fletcher confirmed it again on June 2.  Last year, when concerned residents raised it at a Labor party forum in Arncliffe, Albanese told them it had been ‘prepaid.’ This was before the loan agreement had even been signed.

I do not know if Albanese genuinely misunderstood or if he was merely looking for a way to criticise the process of the project without actually opposing it. But only when confronted with the evidence at the recent Balmain Town Hall meeting did he accept that the money has not been paid. He then said that if he wins Grayndler again, he would not attempt to stop the $2 billion loan being passed to the NSW government. Greens candidates Jim Casey promised to do “everything in his power” to stop it.

This year, more details were released about WestConnex Stage 3. It became clear that a third part of the Grayndler electorate in Rozelle and Balmain would be badly affected. Albanese accepted an invitation to a community meeting. Just before parliament was adjourned on May 4, 2016, he made a short speech expressing his concern. But his focus was on ‘uncertainty’ in the community, not the strong opposition to the project and its impacts.

On three occasions, Albanese has mentioned Vince Crow a constituent who got two letters on the same day, one stating that his house would be resumed and another that it wouldn’t. He has never spoken about the hundreds of people who have lost their homes in St Peters or Haberfield or the destruction of heritage homes. He has never mentioned the pollution that will threaten the health of residents and children, not just in inner Sydney but in south west Sydney as well. He hasn’t mentioned the contracts being let before the EIS was completed or the farcical community consultation, concerns that have been expressed thousands of times in submissions. He has not referred to independent reports providing evidence that tollways such as WestConnex will not solve Sydney’s traffic congestion.

If less informed voters have got the impression from his leaflet that he has supported his community on WestConnex or communicated its impacts to the broader public, they would be wrong. It is true to say that on several occasions he has expressed concerns about uncertainty, planning processes, and traffic congestion.

Journalism, politics and ethics
It is the job of journalists to hold politicians accountable for their statements.

Albanese raises the issue of my integrity. I know from experience he is thin-skinned so I was not surprised by his response.

As I have explained on my own website, I am an activist and a journalist. If you ever read the Daily Telegraph, you’ll know that many journalists are activists for particular political causes, but those who work in the mainstream media don’t usually disclose it. I do where relevant – see the bottom of this story. I apply the ethics of my union, the Media Arts and Entertainment Alliance.

I am also a long term supporter but not a member of the Greens. My reasons include their anti-corruption stance, donations reform in NSW, support for those experiencing miscarriage of justice, support of public education, resistance to the privatisation of TAFE services at a time when Labor was supporting privatisation, opposition to coal mining, coal seam gas, and to fossil fuel subsidies.

I support their strong feminist program including decriminalisation of abortion, support for equal rights in every sphere including equal marriage. Unlike Labor and the Liberals, they opposed the Federal Intervention in the NT, which I also strongly opposed. Last but not least, I would not consider voting for any party that condones what I regard as concentration camps on Nauru and Manus and our inhumane refugee policies.

I have campaigned for both Jim Casey for Grayndler and Sylive Ellsmore for Sydney and endorsed Senator Lee Rhiannon in tomorrow’s election.

But that’s not going to stop me being a reporter.

Road lobby donations to WestConnex
Facts do matter, so I have been delving a little deeper into why it might be that Labor got locked in so early to the WestConnex project.

There has been a perception that it is all about votes in Western Sydney. Labor politicians may have convinced themselves of that but a small No WestConnex poll suggests that support is not strong and a case could easily be made that $16.8 billion would be better spent on public transport rather than roads.

Democracy for Sale, a project associated with Senator Lee Rhiannon, published a report just before the Federal election showing donations from big road industry companies over 15 years.

Support for roads has been built through donations over a long period.  Over 15 years, major companies associated with the industry have donated more than $15 million with Labor receiving slightly more than the Coalition, probably because there were more Labor governments in power during the selected period. Macquarie and Leighton Contractors ( now CIMIC), both of which are heavily involved in WestConnex, have been the biggest donors.

Since the GFC, NSW reforms banning developer donations in 2009, along with the publicity around the corrupting influence of donations, have seen a reduction in donations, but the timing of more recent Leighton donations is interesting.

The Gillard Labor government went to the polls in August 2010. It was always going to be a tightly fought contest.

Leighton’s annual return for 2010 – 2011 shows that the company made a $50,000 donation to Federal Labor on July 7, 2010 and further donations to Federal Labor totalling more than $10,000 between July and April 2011. On July 7, Leighton also made a donation of $70,000 to the Federal Liberal Party and on July 30, $5,500 to the Federal Branch of the National Party and a further $10,000 on August 27 and $1,750 before June 2011.

The NSW LNP government was elected in March 2011 and then Premier Barry O’Farrell set up Infrastructure NSW, which was chaired by ex-LNP Premier Nick Greiner. In October 2012, Infrastructure NSW recommended a 33km tollway system which it called WestConnex.

On January 28, 2013, the then Shadow Minister for Infrastructure Anthony Albanese announced $25 million to “advance the WestConnex project”. The NSW government invited a number of companies to work on the business case that would justify WestConnex.

Despite the corruption allegations and the company’s record of being involved in failed tollways, Leightons was one of several companies that was invited to be part of the planning and development of WestConnex. This was a key moment in a number of decisions through which the O’Farrell government attempted to make the project a political fait accompli.

Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon raised the issue of donations and WestConnex tollway company political donations in February 2013 when she told the Senate, “The ears of politicians have been successfully bent by the likes of the motorway construction companies… companies like John Holland, Leighton, Thiess and Macquarie Bank have given big donations to the major parties. The public do not know if deals are done behind closed doors, but there is the perception that MPs are favouring private road building businesses at the expense of public transport.”

In the March 2013 budget, Labor included $1.8 billion for the WestConnex. One of its conditions was that it should go to the Sydney CBD. The LNP opposition promised $1.5 billion. In 2013, Leighton Contractors and its subsidiary Thiess were awarded more than $4 million dollars to work on early plans to justify WestConnex.

Analysis of Leighton’s donations for 2012/2013 shows that several donations during this critical period totalled $7272 to Federal Labor. The pro-tollway Tony Abbott led opposition also received $2450 in donations to the Federal Liberal Party branch, $2,200 to the Tasmanian Liberal Party and $909 to the Nationals. In 2013/2014, Leightons donated a further $10,700 to Federal Labor with the Liberal party only receiving $3000.

But the Democracy for Sale report reveals some fascinating detail about the politicians who were directly funded by Leighton in early years. Unfortunately later donation returns do not include such detail.

In 2005/06, Leighton executives attended a private dinner with the then Liberal Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Downer, a fundraising lunch with Labor’s Kim Beazley, lunch and dinner with then Liberal shadow Minister Chris Hartcher, who retired in 2014 after NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption investigated his involvement with Liberal party donations, a dinner with then ALP MPs Paul McLeay and Michael Costa, dinner with National Party MP Warren Truss, and a boardroom dinner with Victorian ALP ex-Premier Steve Bracks. There was also a private dinner with Wayne Swan and Peter Garrett, lunch with former LNP Defence Minister Kevin Andrews, dinner with Queensland Labor ex-Premier Peter Beattie and a NSW Labor cabinet dinner for which $5000 was paid.

In 2006/2007, Leighton’s donations returns record that the Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen’s Prospect Campaign received two donations totally $2700 and Labor’s now Deputy Leader Tanya Plibersek Election Fund received $1800. In the same year, Tony Abbott’s Warringah campaign received $1,000. In 2007/2008, Leighton’s donations return shows that then Labor Minister Martin Ferguson’s campaign account received $3000 in September 2007, and the current Shadow Labor Minister for Communications Jason Clare’s campaign received two donations of $2000 in July and August 2008.

Transfield Services, which has since been acquired by Ferrovial, a major player in tollways, also provide some earlier details of support for particular politicians.

The donations return for Transfield Services in 2010 recorded that in March 2010, the NSW ALP organised a fundraising lunch with Labor Treasurer Wayne Swan and the Minister for the Status of Women Tanya Plibersek, at which Transfield Services donated $2,500. On June 7, 2010 Transfield Services attended a dinner with then Labor MP and now Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Anthony Albanese and donated $2,500. Two weeks later, Transfield attended a dinner for PM Julia Gillard at which a further $5,000 was donated. A week later a further $1,000 was donated at an NSW ALP budget dinner. On June 5, 2012 Transfield Services donated $5,500 to the North Sydney Business Forum, a business political funding associated with then North Sydney Liberal MP Joe Hockey.

It is likely that donations to the Coalition and Labor have had far more influence on transport policy than the concerns of ordinary citizens.

Just before the Federal election, Albanese pulled in ex-Prime Minister Paul Keating for an old style boots and all attack on the Greens at a Labor campaign meeting in Grayndler. I found this ironic because just 30 years ago, I was one of several Fairfax journalists who published an expose on the links between Keating and the property industry in NSW. Our attempts to expose ALP corruption in NSW so angered Keating that it led him to punish Fairfax by allowing Rupert Murdoch to take over the Herald and Weekly Times in 1987. This delivered News Corporation the dominance that allows it to so unfairly campaign against Bill Shorten and the Labor team today – except Albanese, of course. News Corp is campaigning to SAVE ALBO, providing him commentary space and a whole front page promotion to kick of his campaign for Grayndler. I wonder why?

Wendy Bacon, who lives in Newton, a community heavily affected by this roading project, is a supporter of the Greens and endorsed Lee Rhiannon for reelection — she succeeded. Bacon supports the WestConnex Action Group. This article was first published by New Matilda and is republished here with permission.

AsiaPacificReport.nz

EMTV News clip featuring the restricted parliamentary debate on the no-confidence vote and closing out of discussion of student unrest.

By Serah Aupong in Port Moresby

Papua New Guinea’s no-confidence parliamentary vote has been defeated with an overwhelming 85 to 21 votes in favour of Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s government.

The opposition came into the chamber knowing they did not have the numbers to win but used the opportunity to air their frustrations against the Prime Minister.

At the end of the session, the opposition left disappointed not only at losing the vote but in what they claim as suppression of a full debate of the motion.

The government did what it promised, hold together and defeat the no-confidence vote.

However before the vote was taken, there was more than an hour of heated debate which included pointing of fingers, out of order point of orders and swearing.

Keeping within the specifics of the recent court order ensuring the vote went ahead, the speaker allowed debate before the vote was taken.

Deputy Opposition Leader Sam Basil, as sponsor of the motion, outlined the opposition’s reasons for the motion, which included the lack of debate of the 2016 Budget, implementation of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, the Paraka payment issue, disbanding of Taskforce Sweep and the LNG revenue.

Legal reasons
Then Kelly Naru, who had declared allegiance to the rule of law during the week of lobbying, outlined legal reasons for siding with O’Neill.

Following this, Kavieng member Ben Micah talked about telling the truth where he accused members of parliament of not taking into consideration the truth about issues that affect the nation.

From the government, leader of Government Business and Finance Minister James Marape, was the only one who spoke formally during the debate.

He said the motion was “hollow” and was used to cause instability and chaos. He said the government had delivered on 90 percent of its promises.

Towards the end of Marape’s speech, the Speaker stopped debate and moved to take the vote.

This did not go down well with the opposition who still had plenty more to say.

Member for Vanimo Green, Belden Namah, accused the Speaker of hijacking parliamentary procedure.

Screaming match
He refused to sit down, and a screaming match followed from both sides of the House.

In an attempt to restore order on the floor of Parliament, the Speaker stood up. According to parliamentary standing orders, when the Speaker stands all members must sit down.

After reminding the house of that standing order, Parliament quietened down and the vote was taken.

In his earlier speech opening debate on the vote, Deputy Opposition Leader, Sam Basil, attacked the Prime Minister over LNG revenue and the allegations levelled against him.

Much of the debate has previously happened outside of the Parliament House, but the opposition had a lot to say on the floor of Parliament.

Basil also raised concerns regarding budget cuts to church-run health agencies, the underfunding of the Electoral Commission, and the lack of debate about two months of student unrest calling on the Prime Minister to resign.

Serah Aupong is a senior journalist with EMTV News.

AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Camille Nakhid

A group of Indigenous Australian grandmothers have organised themselves to stop the Australian government from taking away Indigenous children from their immediate families and their mums and dads.

The group — who call themselves Grandmothers Against Removal (GMAR) — says the stealing of Indigenous children has been going on for more than 20 decades and the group is fighting the government to have the children returned to their families.

Linda Jackson, a 61-year-old Indigenous woman, a child of the Stolen Generation, said she was taken away from her mother in the 1950s when she was a baby in Western Australia. She said her parents had no rights to them so she and her siblings were placed in institutions and missions and the practice of taking Indigenous children away from their families has continued ever since.

Catherine Jackson, Linda’s 42-year-old daughter, said that GMAR was formed because of the large numbers of Indigenous children who were being taken from the hospitals as soon as they were born or from the family homes.

“It’s like a slave industry but better for the white man because they are taking innocent children who will grow up not knowing their culture,” says Jackson.

Jackson blames the high rate of teenage and youth suicide among Indigenous Australians on their growing up without knowing their culture. The police, says Jackson, come in with the DoCS (Department of Children’s Services now called Family and Community Services) social worker and take the children away without any consideration for their families or the children’s well-being.

‘Very scary’
The children are then placed in “horrible situations with people who don’t know how to handle Indigenous kids” and taught the “white man’s ways”. The children are put “in unsafe care where they are raped by paedophiles…they get beat up, they get stressed out, they don’t eat properly. They can’t sleep because they don’t know what’s happening to them. They’re innocent children so it’s very scary for them, very scary”.

The Stolen Generation is not a thing of the past.

Catherine Jackson says it began more than 200 years ago — when “the white man came here and invaded this country” — and it continues today.

GMAR became involved because of their continued concern for the growing number of suicides among Indigenous youth and the large numbers of children going missing. “Not just children, people that are Aboriginal. They were just being slaughtered and wiped out never to be found when the white man finished with raping these kids in care. What do they do with the kids, you know?”

Laura Lyons*, herself a grandmother who has had children and grandchildren stolen from her, agrees that the children have suffered at the hands of their caregivers: “I know through neglect of these white carers our children have died while in care.”

GMAR has been active in the last two and a half years since it was formed and says that stealing and selling iIdigenous Australians is a money industry. “They see dollar signs…they think that they can sell these children into adoption agencies. It’s just another slave industry where the white man can come in, take whatever and sell the kids off”.

“They get thousands of dollars per child” says Linda and says that Indigenous Australian families get half the amount of money for fostering a child than white families.

Many reasons
Laura said that she knew of one residential care facility where the carer was being paid the sum of A$11,000 per month for the care of 3 children, aged 11, 10 and 8.

According to GMAR, the police and government officials give a number of reasons for taking the children, such as the use of drugs and alcohol in the families, unsafe homes, accusations of molestation in the family, and often use prison records and mental health records against the families.

“They’ll come up with allegations that have never been proven before but all of a sudden they’re there. So then they build up a case on lies against families,” says Jackson.

One of the grandfathers, Christopher Simpson, said he was taken as a child up to Bomaderry. Back then, he said, a car pulled up full of Aboriginal children and they were taken to Bomaderry where he stayed for 16 years, 14 of them in a home without his own family. The grandfather said that children were kept until they were 21 and that “if you’re a good worker they won’t let you go”.

According to Linda Jackson, the boys are stolen to carry out domestic work, farm work, dairy work or sent to the cattle stations.

Linda Jackson has had three of her grandchildren taken away from her. The grandchildren are currently 14, 2 and one year old. It has been 14 years since the eldest was taken away. Linda Jackson said there was no reason for the grandchildren to be taken away.

“The white woman she come in my house and saying we were all drinking and on drugs. And I’ve never taken drugs! And there was no alcohol there. All of my grandkids. I raised all of my grandkids. Even my sister’s daughter too. I mean this white woman turns up to the door. Sees the Aboriginals in there, then she puts an act on, goes, ‘Ah black fellas, I’m gonna get attacked!’ You know what I mean? Then she goes, ‘I’ll be back in about half an hour’. Goes and gets a tank full of cops!’

‘Still a mystery’
Linda Jackson still does not know why the woman showed up at her place. “It’s still a mystery to me. Why? Because she had no reason to come there.”

Linda Jackson’s son had been arrested and the son’s wife and child had been taken to the police station. Catherine Jackson said that her mother should have been given the option to take the grandchild but the police and government officials put the child in welfare. “So my niece has grown up without family and got a new family.”

The grandmothers of GMAR have vowed to keep fighting to take back their stolen grandchildren and to reunite them with their families and culture.

Associate Professor Camille Nakhid of Auckland University of Technology is a contributor to Asia Pacific Report and chairperson of the Pacific Media Centre advisory board.

• *Laura’s story will be featured in an upcoming edition of Asia Pacific Report.

AsiaPacificReport.nz

Buses, taxis normal
PMV buses and taxis were operating normal throughout the city.

The private-owned vehicles are the lifeline of the city because the  majority of Port Moresby’s  residents rely on them for transport.

Shops remained open and residents either watched  TV  or listened to radio broadcasts anticipating the outcome of the vote against Prime Minister O’Neill.

However, schools around the vicinity of Parliament were closed as a precaution measure.

National Capital District police chief Benjamin Turi called on the public to respect the rule of law.

AsiaPacificReport.nz

Police were on full alert in the main city centres of Papua New Guinea’s capital of Port Moresby today to keep watch for any group gatherings and misbehaving from the general public, Loop PNG reports.

What used to be a heavy and busy traffic along Waigani and Gerehu was slow and only a handful of buses were on the road as Port Moresby braced itself for the parliament no-confidence vote over Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s government.

Although some stores were open, most school students in Waigani and Gerehu have been sent home for safety reasons.

Livestreaming link for the PNG no-confidence vote

EMTV livestreaming of the PNG no-confidence vote

AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Ryan Dagur in in Jakarta

Indonesian Church officials and activists have accused police in Yogyakarta of racism and using excessive force after six Papuan students were arrested for singing Papuan songs in their college dormitory.

“Police officers must be fair. They must protect Papuan people too,” Father Paulus Christian Siswantoko, executive secretary of the Indonesian bishops’ Commission for Justice, Peace and Pastoral for Migrant-Itinerant People, said.

“The government has the task to protect all citizens and disregard their ethnic background,” he said.

Police say they surrounded the dormitory belonging to Yogyakarta’s College of Community Development on July 15 to prevent a number of Papuan students from attending a banned rally organised by the People’s Union for West Papua Freedom.

The rally was aimed at supporting a bid by the Papuan nationalist group, the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), to join the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

The group is an intergovernmental organisation comprising Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, as well as the Kanak Socialist National Liberation Front, a political party from New Caledonia. The ULMWP currently has observer status.

The Papuan students said they initially planned to hold the rally in the city center, but decided instead to sing some Papauan songs at the dormitory after organisers failed to obtain a rally permit from local police.

Tear gas
Police allegedly used tear gas on the students before arresting them.

During the arrest it is alleged officers manhandled and racially abused the students, who were also subjected to racial taunts by local pro-Jakarta activists who had gathered to support the police as the drama unfolded.

All the students were later released on July 17 following questioning.

“Police officers must not let racial abuse happen,” said Father Siswantoko.

He said the students had the right to express their views.

“They didn’t even stage a rally, but their voices were silenced anyway,” he said, adding that there is deep-seated prejudice by locals against Papuans.

Risky Hadur, a Catholic student activist also denounced the police action.

Left traumatised
“We express our deep condolences to the death of humanity and brotherhood in this nation.”

The students were left traumatised by the incident, according to Jefry Wenda, coordinator of a Papuan students’ group covering Java and Bali.

“Police officers and other people shouted at them and called them ‘pigs’ and ‘monkeys,’” he said, calling on the government to put a stop to abuses against the Papuan people.

National Commission on Human Rights official Natalius Pigai said the incident would be investigated.

“We must not let such racial discrimination happen,” he said. “We will send a team next week to Yogyakarta to investigate.

Ryan Dagur is a contributor to the Union of Catholic Asian News service.

AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Helen Isbister

Auckland-based Samoan photographer Evotia Tamua will use an artist residency at the National University of Samoa to complete a 20-year photography project documenting the changing lives of people in Salelesi village.

Creative New Zealand, in partnership with the National University of Samoa, offers an annual three-month artist residency in Apia. Established in 2006, the residency celebrates its tenth anniversary this year.

Describing herself as related to almost everyone in Salelesi, on Upolu Island, Evotia will continue her photography culminating in a solo exhibition at MADD Gallery in Samoa this year and in Auckland in 2017.

“I started this project in 1994 when I began my career as a professional photographer. Travelling to Samoa almost yearly I have photographed how the village has adapted to social, political and environmental change,” says Evotia.

“The village has gone from box type TVs or no TVs to large flat screens in open fale. People have migrated from the village, been banished from the village, married into the village, died in the village or are now growing old there.”

Arts Council member Luamanuvao Winnie Laban said: “This is a fascinating project which I am sure will generate great interest in Samoa and New Zealand.  I am looking forward to seeing this wonderful collection of images by such a gifted photographer in one space.”

Evotia Tamua specialises in documenting the Pacific way of life in the islands and in Auckland. She has exhibited her work in New Zealand, Samoa, Australia and England.  Her photography has appeared in Pacific New Zealand and Samoa: Pacific Pride.

Gap in market
In 2007, seeing a gap in the market for Pacific book publishing, she helped found Little Island Press.

In 2008, she published Pacific Auckland, which documents the lives of Pacific Islanders in Auckland, and Polynesian Festival which has a selection of 15 years of photographs from the ASB Polyfest.

Evotia has also worked on projects with visual artist Fatu Feu’u and multi-disciplinary artist Yuki Kihara.

Evotia works as a commercial photographer and has also worked as a tutor and newspaper photographer.

The residency offers New Zealand Pasifika artists the opportunity to develop their potential, skills and practice and is open to established mid-career and senior Pasifika artists who are resident in New Zealand.

Previous recipients include visual artist Siliga Setoga, multidisciplinary artist Shigeyuki Kihara, choreographer/director Lemi Ponifasio, actor/director Nathaniel Lees, the late curator Jim Vivieaere, playwright Fiona Collins, installation artist Tiffany Singh, and the VaHine Collective (Lonnie Hutchinson, Lily Laita and Niki Hastings-McFall).

AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Victor Mambor in Jayapura

The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, Maina Kai, has highlighted the issue of Papua in his report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

In the 32nd session of the UN Human Rights Council Plenary, he reported what was happening in Papua was a phenomenon which had a connection with cultural fundamentalism and nationalism.

He spoke of the domination of a particular culture, a particular language and even a particular tradition which was claimed to be superior than others.

 “My report documented about the phenomenon occurring in China that restricts the rights of assembly and association of Tibetans and Uighurs; in Indonesia against the West Papuans and in other places such as India and Mauritania against the individuals considered [to be] a lower caste,” said Kiai in his report in the plenary.

He also mentioned the significant rise of fundamentalism in the last few years, as seen in the rising popularity of many right-wing political parties, in particular in Austria, Denmark, Hungary and Switzerland.

“The fundamentalism cases initially may look different, but [they have] the same interest. In each case, the superiority has triggered the process of dehumanization or delegitimising of particular groups. Gradually, these groups would lose their humanity and rights. This process can lead to devastating consequences, because history has proved it many times,” said Kiai in his report.

In addition to the report of the UN Special Rapporteur, the civil society groups which are concerned about the Papua issue also reported about the restriction of freedom of expression in Papua.

Arbitrary arrests
Franciscans International, VIVAT International, International Coalition for West Papua, West Papua Nezwerk, Tapol, Minority Rights Groups International, Geneva for Human Rights and the World Council of Churches urged the UN Human Rights Council to ask the government of Indonesia to conduct an investigation into the arbitrary arrests in Papua and other places.

The Indonesian government was asked to guarantee the rights of freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly and association for Papuans.

“We also ask the UN Human Rights Council to urge the government of Indonesia to open the access on Papua for the international community and set a date for the UN Special Rapporteur on the Freedom of Expression an allow other mandate holders to visit Papua,” said Budi Cahyono, the coordinator for Asia Pacific Franciscans International Programme in Geneva to Jubi through email.

Victor Mambor is chief editor of Tabloid Jubi.

AsiaPacificReport.nz