Mission & Justice

12/5/08

Betel nut chewing contributes to the degradation of coral reefs, was a message among others that stood out at the launch of the Pacific year of reefs 2008. People who enjoy chewing betel nuts were told to think twice about how much damage their habit has done to the reefs. An observer at the stall display pointed out that in the Maringe District of Isabel Province, people have damaged the coral reefs in order to produce the lime for betel nut chewing.

(more…)

Aung Hla Tun; 12/5/08

Desperate survivors of Cyclone Nargis poured out of Burma’s Irrawaddy Delta yesterday in search of food, water and medicine as aid workers warned that up to 1.5 million faced death if emergency supplies did not get through soon. Buddhist temples and schools in towns on the outskirts of the storm’s trail of destruction were now makeshift refugee centres for women, children and the elderly as millions of dollars in emergency aid was stalled on airport tarmacs pending permission to enter the country and hundreds of relief specialists were waiting for visas. The reclusive military government is accepting aid from the outside world, including from the UN, but has made clear it will not let in the foreign logistics teams needed to transport the aid into the inundated delta.

(more…)

Editorial; 28/4/08
The announcement by representatives of Papua New Guinea and Australia on the future of the Kokoda Track is already generating disagreement. There was a sense of relief when the environment ministers for PNG and Australia issued a joint declaration about the Kokoda Track, one that ensures the future of both the wartime icon and of the people who live nearby. Reports were carried in The National last week; suffice it to say that it has been agreed that there will be no mining exploration in the Owen Stanley ranges. The issue threatens to become controversial because an Australian mining company, Frontier Resources, has declared that any refusal by PNG to renew the exploration licence would be viewed as “expropriation” by the company. Frontier’s stance on the issue is predictable but deeply unfortunate.

See: http://www.thenational.com.pg/042808/lead_editorial.htm

Exactly where is the Track
Steve Marshall; 28/4/08
This time two years ago I presented a documentary on the Kokoda Track for the ABC’s Foreign Correspondent Program. Given the tracks surge in popularity with Australian tourists, I posed the question as to whether the track was in danger of being loved to death. Back then villagers were gearing up for a new season that would see close to 4000 people pass along the WW2 trail. This year more than 6000 will set out on the week long walk with a staggering 800 timing their pilgrimage with ANZAC day. The increase in traffic is placing the track under incredible pressure and stirs up fears about its long term sustainability. At the time of writing, a Kokoda Track task force is preparing to table a report at the Ministerial Forum that was held in Madang earlier this week.

See: http://www.thenational.com.pg/042808/wkender6.htm

Aung Hla Tun; 12/5/08

Desperate survivors of Cyclone Nargis poured out of Burma’s Irrawaddy Delta yesterday in search of food, water and medicine as aid workers warned that up to 1.5 million faced death if emergency supplies did not get through soon. Buddhist temples and schools in towns on the outskirts of the storm’s trail of destruction were now makeshift refugee centres for women, children and the elderly as millions of dollars in emergency aid was stalled on airport tarmacs pending permission to enter the country and hundreds of relief specialists were waiting for visas. The reclusive military government is accepting aid from the outside world, including from the UN, but has made clear it will not let in the foreign logistics teams needed to transport the aid into the inundated delta.

(more…)

11/5/08

While Burma’s military regime restricted the rush of international aid offered to help hungry and homeless cyclone survivors, the Government was exporting tonnes of rice through its main port. Four of Thilawa port’s five berths were empty yesterday, but a crane was loading large white sacks into the hold of a freighter. The sacks were filled with rice destined for Bangladesh, according to the drivers of at least 10 transport trucks waiting to deliver more rice to the docks. The junta has a monopoly on rice exports and said last week that it planned to meet commitments to sell rice, which has reached record high prices on the world market, even though Burma’s main rice-producing region sustained the worst cyclone damage. The cyclone caused massive destruction in the Irrawaddy River delta, where farmers are now desperate for food.

(more…)

Russell Skelton; 10/508

Broken Hill’s mining boom has no silver lining for the town’s fast growing population of Aboriginal children, many of whom have unacceptable levels of lead in their blood.Recent figures reveal that the number of children with high blood lead levels has increased, but government funding for programs to minimise environmental health risks has been slashed.

(more…)

10/5/08

Seven Red Cross aid workers, including four Australians, have received visas to enter cyclone-hit Burma. Australian Michael Annear, regional disaster response coordinator who has been in Burma since Tuesday, spoke to international media tonight. An estimated 1.5 million people have been left homeless by the deadly cyclone Nargis, which has killed an estimated 66,000 people. Red Cross workers in Burma have had two truckloads of aid supplies arrive, Mr Annear said.

(more…)

Graham Reilly; 8/5/08

The Burmese Government has put self-interest ahead of its duty to its citizens, writes Graham Reilly. For the long-suffering people of Burma, life is misery piled upon misery. Since 1962 they have struggled under the repressive rule of an isolationist, economically inept and intensely paranoid military regime immune to domestic and international pressure to introduce political freedom, personal liberty or human rights. Once the region’s rice bowl, the country is now an economic basket case crippled by spiralling inflation and the regime’s allocation of 40% of the national budget to the 400,000-strong military, a commitment that perpetuates its own power and wealth at the expense of the interests of ordinary Burmese.

(more…)

9/5/08

The first UN aid plane arrived in cyclone-ravaged Burma last night, but US and other international efforts were on hold after the country’s military generals rescinded their approval for American planes to enter Burma. The generals had bowed to international pressure, agreeing to allow the US military to fly critical aid to survivors of last Saturday’s cyclone, which has left up to 100,000 feared dead and one million missing. Thailand’s Supreme Commander Boonsrang Niumpradit said yesterday Bangkok had convinced Burma’s secretive junta to accept US assistance using planes that have been in Thai-US military exercises. A US embassy official confirmed the decision, but US ambassador to Thailand Eric John said later the flight was not going ahead.

(more…)

Sandra O’Malley; 8/5/08

Australia and New Zealand deny they have ditched the possibility of legal action to stop Japanese whaling. Rejecting a report that New Zealand had abandoned taking the legal route, both countries say it remains an option although a diplomatic solution remains their preferred course of action. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, who is on two-day visit to Tokyo, insisted international legal action remained an option among Australia’s strategies to get Japan to stop the annual cull. “We’ll make a decision about the need for legal action in due course at a time of our own choosing, but we are very keen to exhaust diplomatic measures to try and bring this matter to a conclusion,” Mr Smith said.

(more…)