Timor president rejects pardon proposal for former priest and convicted pedophile
On the program today:
Timor Leste President Jose Ramos Horta has decided against pardoning convicted former priest Richard Daschbach.
There are calls for calm in Papua New Guinea's capital, Port Moresby, following the shooting of a 29-year-old woman by police officers.
Outspoken, fierce and a protector of culture and a peacemaker. That's how family, friends and the people of Vanuatu are remembering the late Hilda Lini.
From the ABC's archives, a 1980 interview with Hilda Lini before New Hebrides became independent from France and Britain.
People at the site of a massive landslide in Papua New Guinea are calling for action one year on after more than 600 people died.
Successful applicants of the Pacific Engagement Visa, have started to settle into their new lives in Australia.
A new academy has just been launched by Vanuatu Cricket, with the aim of drawing in the best male and female talent and building a new generation of national team players.
The Trump administration has dramatically stepped up its dispute with one of the United States' top universities, attempting to block Harvard's ability to enrol foreign students.
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Daily Telegraph
8 hours ago
- Daily Telegraph
Woman charged with Australian human trafficking scheme
Don't miss out on the headlines from National. Followed categories will be added to My News. A woman allegedly responsible for the human trafficking and forced labour of 15 students from Papua New Guinea (PNG) has been arrested. The woman, a PNG-based Australian and Nigerian citizen, was arrested by Australian Federal Police officers at Brisbane Airport on Wednesday. It is alleged the 56-year-old lured 15 PNG students to Australia with promises of full educational scholarships between March, 2021 and July, 2023. The AFP charged the woman upon her arrival at Brisbane Airport on Wednesday. Picture: AFP Police allege that upon their arrival, the students were instead forced to sign legal documents to pay previously unmentioned tuition fees, airfares, insurance, visa applications, and legal fees. The students were then allegedly forced to work at farms across Queensland - at times in contravention to their visas - where their wages were withheld and used as payments for their 'excessive' debts, police say. The woman's arrest followed a lengthy investigation by the AFP's Northern Command Human Trafficking Team into a group of PNG nationals who were allegedly being forced to work on farms against their will after moving to Australia to study. The woman allegedly lured 15 students from PNG with the promise of full educational scholarships. Picture: AFP She has since been charged with four counts of trafficking in persons, 14 counts of deceptive recruiting for labour or services, and 13 counts of engaging in conduct that caused a person to enter into debt bondage. The 56-year-old appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday, and was granted conditional bail to reappear in court on September 19. AFP Detective Superintendent Adrian Telfer said the organisation was committed to protecting vulnerable foreign nationals from exploitation in such schemes. '(Alleged) victims of debt bondage and other human trafficking offences can be lured to Australia with a promise of a dream career or free education, things they may not have access to in their country of origin,' Superintendent Telfer said. 'If the conditions of that promise change, it can leave (alleged) victims in an extremely vulnerable situation in a foreign country, where they are likely to have little financial or emotional support, and face issues with language barriers. 'The AFP can help people who are exploited and is focused on ensuring the welfare of (alleged) victims.' Anyone who is being exploited or knows someone being exploited at work in Australia has been encouraged to contact the AFP. Originally published as Dual citizen charged with luring 15 PNG students in human trafficking scheme
ABC News
11 hours ago
- ABC News
Woman who allegedly lured PNG nationals to Australia with fake scholarships charged with human trafficking
A woman who allegedly lured people from Papua New Guinea to Australia with the promise of fully-funded scholarships has been charged with human trafficking. Australian Federal Police allege the 56-year-old woman forced 15 people — aged between 19 and their late 30s — to work on farms against their will instead of receiving the education they had been promised. The woman, who had been based in PNG since 2023 and worked for what police described as a "legitimate business", was arrested by AFP officers when she got off a flight at Brisbane Airport on Wednesday. She has since been charged with more than 30 offences, including human trafficking, deceptive recruitment and debt bondage — the most serious of which carries a 12-year term of imprisonment. Police said the 56-year-old was granted conditional bail after appearing in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday. The AFP first began investigating the woman in 2022 following a tip-off from Queensland Police. It is alleged the woman brought 15 PNG nationals to Australia between March 2021 and July 2023 by offering fully-funded educational scholarships. Police allege the students were then forced to sign legal documents and agree to repay costs associated with tuition, airfares, visa applications, insurance and legal fees, which placed them in excessive debt. Rather than receiving the education they were promised, the woman allegedly forced the group to work on farms at different locations in south-east Queensland, including Caboolture and the Lockyer Valley. It is alleged she received wages on their behalf, which she withheld, claiming it was repayment for their debts. AFP Detective Superintendent Adrian Telfer said the woman allegedly threatened the group with deportation if they did not comply with her instructions. "She also allegedly threatened family members back in PNG," he said. Detective Superintendent Telfer said police do not believe the business the woman worked for was involved. Detective Superintendent Telfer said police were aware of people being lured to Australia with the promise of a "dream career" or "free education" which they may otherwise not have had access to. He described the matter as "disturbing". "They are pursuing an education, a dream to come to Australia ... opportunities they don't find in their own country." Detective Superintendent Telfer said police and other support services were working with some of the 15 PNG nationals who remained in the country. He said police believe there may be more alleged victims. The woman's matter is expected to return to court in Brisbane in September.
News.com.au
11 hours ago
- News.com.au
Dual citizen charged with luring 15 PNG students in human trafficking scheme
A woman allegedly responsible for the human trafficking and forced labour of 15 students from Papua New Guinea (PNG) has been arrested. The woman, a PNG-based Australian and Nigerian citizen, was arrested by Australian Federal Police officers at Brisbane Airport on Wednesday. It is alleged the 56-year-old lured 15 PNG students to Australia with promises of full educational scholarships between March, 2021 and July, 2023. Police allege that upon their arrival, the students were instead forced to sign legal documents to pay previously unmentioned tuition fees, airfares, insurance, visa applications, and legal fees. The students were then allegedly forced to work at farms across Queensland - at times in contravention to their visas - where their wages were withheld and used as payments for their 'excessive' debts, police say. The woman's arrest followed a lengthy investigation by the AFP's Northern Command Human Trafficking Team into a group of PNG nationals who were allegedly being forced to work on farms against their will after moving to Australia to study. She has since been charged with four counts of trafficking in persons, 14 counts of deceptive recruiting for labour or services, and 13 counts of engaging in conduct that caused a person to enter into debt bondage. The 56-year-old appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday, and was granted conditional bail to reappear in court on September 19. AFP Detective Superintendent Adrian Telfer said the organisation was committed to protecting vulnerable foreign nationals from exploitation in such schemes. '(Alleged) victims of debt bondage and other human trafficking offences can be lured to Australia with a promise of a dream career or free education, things they may not have access to in their country of origin,' Superintendent Telfer said. 'If the conditions of that promise change, it can leave (alleged) victims in an extremely vulnerable situation in a foreign country, where they are likely to have little financial or emotional support, and face issues with language barriers. 'The AFP can help people who are exploited and is focused on ensuring the welfare of (alleged) victims.' Anyone who is being exploited or knows someone being exploited at work in Australia has been encouraged to contact the AFP.
