Latest news with #PapuaNewGuineans
The Advertiser
10 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Students 'forced into slavery' with scholarship lure
A woman accused of luring Papua New Guineans to Australia with fake scholarships and forcing them to work on farms has been charged with debt bondage and other human trafficking offences. And in a separate case, a Sydney man has also been charged with human trafficking, accused of stranding his wife and child in Pakistan. The PNG-based woman, who is a dual Australian-Nigerian citizen, was arrested when she arrived at Brisbane Airport from PNG on Wednesday. The 15 PNG nationals who moved to Australia to study were instead forced to work against their will between 2021 and 2023, with some working seven days a week and up to 10 hours a day, federal police allege. The 56-year-old woman is accused of luring them to Queensland on the promise of education scholarships. The students, aged from 19 to their mid-30s, were allegedly forced to sign legal documents and agree to repay costs associated with tuition, airfares, visa applications, insurance and legal fees. She also allegedly threatened family members in PNG. The woman allegedly forced the students to work on farms across Queensland - contravening their visas - and received wages on their behalf as repayments for their debts. Australian Federal Police called the allegations disturbing. "These are individuals who are young, that's a point of vulnerability," AFP Detective Superintendent Adrian Telfer said. "They're extremely isolated. They are pursuing an education, a dream to come here to Australia, opportunities that they don't get in their own country, and they're placed into a position that they weren't prepared for and didn't know how to get out of." Some of the victims were still in Australia and were being supported by the Red Cross, he said. The woman appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with 31 offences and was granted bail to reappear on September 19. The charges include four counts of trafficking in persons, which each carry a maximum penalty of 12 years' imprisonment, and 13 counts of debt bondage, which is a form of modern slavery. In the Sydney case, the AFP alleged a 45-year-old southwest Sydney man deliberately stranded his wife and one-year-old child in Pakistan. After they travelled together to Pakistan in August 2024, the man cancelled his wife's Australian visa and retained his child's passport, then returned without them, police allege. The wife returned to Australia in February and reported the matter to authorities, who helped the child also return. The man was arrested at a home in Austral, in southwest Sydney, on Wednesday and charged with human trafficking offences. He faces two counts of trafficking a person by using deception, and a single count of dealing with identification information involving the use of a carriage service. The man was set to face Liverpool Local Court on Thursday. Federal police urged anyone who had been through something similar to contact authorities. A woman accused of luring Papua New Guineans to Australia with fake scholarships and forcing them to work on farms has been charged with debt bondage and other human trafficking offences. And in a separate case, a Sydney man has also been charged with human trafficking, accused of stranding his wife and child in Pakistan. The PNG-based woman, who is a dual Australian-Nigerian citizen, was arrested when she arrived at Brisbane Airport from PNG on Wednesday. The 15 PNG nationals who moved to Australia to study were instead forced to work against their will between 2021 and 2023, with some working seven days a week and up to 10 hours a day, federal police allege. The 56-year-old woman is accused of luring them to Queensland on the promise of education scholarships. The students, aged from 19 to their mid-30s, were allegedly forced to sign legal documents and agree to repay costs associated with tuition, airfares, visa applications, insurance and legal fees. She also allegedly threatened family members in PNG. The woman allegedly forced the students to work on farms across Queensland - contravening their visas - and received wages on their behalf as repayments for their debts. Australian Federal Police called the allegations disturbing. "These are individuals who are young, that's a point of vulnerability," AFP Detective Superintendent Adrian Telfer said. "They're extremely isolated. They are pursuing an education, a dream to come here to Australia, opportunities that they don't get in their own country, and they're placed into a position that they weren't prepared for and didn't know how to get out of." Some of the victims were still in Australia and were being supported by the Red Cross, he said. The woman appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with 31 offences and was granted bail to reappear on September 19. The charges include four counts of trafficking in persons, which each carry a maximum penalty of 12 years' imprisonment, and 13 counts of debt bondage, which is a form of modern slavery. In the Sydney case, the AFP alleged a 45-year-old southwest Sydney man deliberately stranded his wife and one-year-old child in Pakistan. After they travelled together to Pakistan in August 2024, the man cancelled his wife's Australian visa and retained his child's passport, then returned without them, police allege. The wife returned to Australia in February and reported the matter to authorities, who helped the child also return. The man was arrested at a home in Austral, in southwest Sydney, on Wednesday and charged with human trafficking offences. He faces two counts of trafficking a person by using deception, and a single count of dealing with identification information involving the use of a carriage service. The man was set to face Liverpool Local Court on Thursday. Federal police urged anyone who had been through something similar to contact authorities. A woman accused of luring Papua New Guineans to Australia with fake scholarships and forcing them to work on farms has been charged with debt bondage and other human trafficking offences. And in a separate case, a Sydney man has also been charged with human trafficking, accused of stranding his wife and child in Pakistan. The PNG-based woman, who is a dual Australian-Nigerian citizen, was arrested when she arrived at Brisbane Airport from PNG on Wednesday. The 15 PNG nationals who moved to Australia to study were instead forced to work against their will between 2021 and 2023, with some working seven days a week and up to 10 hours a day, federal police allege. The 56-year-old woman is accused of luring them to Queensland on the promise of education scholarships. The students, aged from 19 to their mid-30s, were allegedly forced to sign legal documents and agree to repay costs associated with tuition, airfares, visa applications, insurance and legal fees. She also allegedly threatened family members in PNG. The woman allegedly forced the students to work on farms across Queensland - contravening their visas - and received wages on their behalf as repayments for their debts. Australian Federal Police called the allegations disturbing. "These are individuals who are young, that's a point of vulnerability," AFP Detective Superintendent Adrian Telfer said. "They're extremely isolated. They are pursuing an education, a dream to come here to Australia, opportunities that they don't get in their own country, and they're placed into a position that they weren't prepared for and didn't know how to get out of." Some of the victims were still in Australia and were being supported by the Red Cross, he said. The woman appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with 31 offences and was granted bail to reappear on September 19. The charges include four counts of trafficking in persons, which each carry a maximum penalty of 12 years' imprisonment, and 13 counts of debt bondage, which is a form of modern slavery. In the Sydney case, the AFP alleged a 45-year-old southwest Sydney man deliberately stranded his wife and one-year-old child in Pakistan. After they travelled together to Pakistan in August 2024, the man cancelled his wife's Australian visa and retained his child's passport, then returned without them, police allege. The wife returned to Australia in February and reported the matter to authorities, who helped the child also return. The man was arrested at a home in Austral, in southwest Sydney, on Wednesday and charged with human trafficking offences. He faces two counts of trafficking a person by using deception, and a single count of dealing with identification information involving the use of a carriage service. The man was set to face Liverpool Local Court on Thursday. Federal police urged anyone who had been through something similar to contact authorities. A woman accused of luring Papua New Guineans to Australia with fake scholarships and forcing them to work on farms has been charged with debt bondage and other human trafficking offences. And in a separate case, a Sydney man has also been charged with human trafficking, accused of stranding his wife and child in Pakistan. The PNG-based woman, who is a dual Australian-Nigerian citizen, was arrested when she arrived at Brisbane Airport from PNG on Wednesday. The 15 PNG nationals who moved to Australia to study were instead forced to work against their will between 2021 and 2023, with some working seven days a week and up to 10 hours a day, federal police allege. The 56-year-old woman is accused of luring them to Queensland on the promise of education scholarships. The students, aged from 19 to their mid-30s, were allegedly forced to sign legal documents and agree to repay costs associated with tuition, airfares, visa applications, insurance and legal fees. She also allegedly threatened family members in PNG. The woman allegedly forced the students to work on farms across Queensland - contravening their visas - and received wages on their behalf as repayments for their debts. Australian Federal Police called the allegations disturbing. "These are individuals who are young, that's a point of vulnerability," AFP Detective Superintendent Adrian Telfer said. "They're extremely isolated. They are pursuing an education, a dream to come here to Australia, opportunities that they don't get in their own country, and they're placed into a position that they weren't prepared for and didn't know how to get out of." Some of the victims were still in Australia and were being supported by the Red Cross, he said. The woman appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with 31 offences and was granted bail to reappear on September 19. The charges include four counts of trafficking in persons, which each carry a maximum penalty of 12 years' imprisonment, and 13 counts of debt bondage, which is a form of modern slavery. In the Sydney case, the AFP alleged a 45-year-old southwest Sydney man deliberately stranded his wife and one-year-old child in Pakistan. After they travelled together to Pakistan in August 2024, the man cancelled his wife's Australian visa and retained his child's passport, then returned without them, police allege. The wife returned to Australia in February and reported the matter to authorities, who helped the child also return. The man was arrested at a home in Austral, in southwest Sydney, on Wednesday and charged with human trafficking offences. He faces two counts of trafficking a person by using deception, and a single count of dealing with identification information involving the use of a carriage service. The man was set to face Liverpool Local Court on Thursday. Federal police urged anyone who had been through something similar to contact authorities.
Scoop
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Experts Split On Australia's Papua New Guinea Military Recruitment Plan
Article – RNZ The two nations are set to begin negotiating a new defence treaty that is expected to see Papua New Guineans join the Australian Defence Force. Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific Journalist Australia's plan to recruit from Papua New Guinea for its Defence Force raises 'major ethical concerns', according to the Australia Defence Association, while another expert thinks it is broadly a good idea. The two nations are set to begin negotiating a new defence treaty that is expected to see Papua New Guineans join the Australian Defence Force (ADF). Australia Defence Association executive director Neil James believes 'it's an idiot idea' if there is no pathway to citizenship for Papua New Guineans who serve in the ADF 'You can't expect other people to defend your country if you're not willing to do it and until this scheme actually addresses this in any detail, we're not going to know whether it's an idiot idea or it's something that might be workable in the long run.' However, an expert associate at the Australian National University's National Security College, Jennifer Parker, is of the view that it was a good idea. 'Australia having a closer relationship with Papua New Guinea through that cross pollination of people going and working in each other's defence forces, that's incredibly positive.' Parker said recruiting from the Pacific has been an ongoing conversation, but the exact nature of what the recruitment might look like is unknown, including whether there is a pathway to citizenship or if there would be a separate PNG unit within the ADF. When asked whether it was ethical for people from PNG to fight Australia's wars, Parker said that would be an extreme scenario. 'We're not talking about conscripting people from other countries or anything like that. We're talking about offering the opportunity for people, if they choose to join,' she said. 'There are many defence forces around the world where people choose, people who are born in other countries, choose to join.' However, James disagrees. 'Whether they're volunteers or whether they're conscripted, you're still expecting foreigners to defend your society and with no link to that society.' Both Parker and James brought up concerns surrounding brain drain. James said in Timor-Leste, in the early 2000s, many New Zealanders in the army infantry who were serving alongside Australia joined the Australian Army, attracted by the higher pay, which was not in the interest of New Zealand or Australia in the long run. 'You've got to be real careful that you don't ruin the Papua New Guinea Defence Force by making it too easy for Papua New Guineans to serve in the Australian Defence Force.' Parker said the policy needed to be crafted very clearly in conjunction with Papua New Guinea to make sure it strengthened the two nations relationship, not undermine it. Australia aims to grow the number of ADF uniformed personnel to 80,000 by 2040. However, it is not on track to meet that target. Parker said she did not think Australia was trying to fill the shortfall. 'There are a couple of challenges in the recruitment issues for the Australian Defence Force. 'But I don't think the scoping of recruiting people from Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands, if it indeed goes ahead, is about addressing recruitment for the Australian Defence Force. 'I think it's about increasing closer security ties between Papua New Guinea, the Pacific Islands, and Australia.'
Scoop
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Experts Split On Australia's Papua New Guinea Military Recruitment Plan
Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific Journalist Australia's plan to recruit from Papua New Guinea for its Defence Force raises "major ethical concerns", according to the Australia Defence Association, while another expert thinks it is broadly a good idea. The two nations are set to begin negotiating a new defence treaty that is expected to see Papua New Guineans join the Australian Defence Force (ADF). Australia Defence Association executive director Neil James believes "it's an idiot idea" if there is no pathway to citizenship for Papua New Guineans who serve in the ADF "You can't expect other people to defend your country if you're not willing to do it and until this scheme actually addresses this in any detail, we're not going to know whether it's an idiot idea or it's something that might be workable in the long run." However, an expert associate at the Australian National University's National Security College, Jennifer Parker, is of the view that it was a good idea. "Australia having a closer relationship with Papua New Guinea through that cross pollination of people going and working in each other's defence forces, that's incredibly positive." Parker said recruiting from the Pacific has been an ongoing conversation, but the exact nature of what the recruitment might look like is unknown, including whether there is a pathway to citizenship or if there would be a separate PNG unit within the ADF. When asked whether it was ethical for people from PNG to fight Australia's wars, Parker said that would be an extreme scenario. "We're not talking about conscripting people from other countries or anything like that. We're talking about offering the opportunity for people, if they choose to join," she said. "There are many defence forces around the world where people choose, people who are born in other countries, choose to join." However, James disagrees. "Whether they're volunteers or whether they're conscripted, you're still expecting foreigners to defend your society and with no link to that society." Both Parker and James brought up concerns surrounding brain drain. James said in Timor-Leste, in the early 2000s, many New Zealanders in the army infantry who were serving alongside Australia joined the Australian Army, attracted by the higher pay, which was not in the interest of New Zealand or Australia in the long run. "You've got to be real careful that you don't ruin the Papua New Guinea Defence Force by making it too easy for Papua New Guineans to serve in the Australian Defence Force." Parker said the policy needed to be crafted very clearly in conjunction with Papua New Guinea to make sure it strengthened the two nations relationship, not undermine it. Australia aims to grow the number of ADF uniformed personnel to 80,000 by 2040. However, it is not on track to meet that target. Parker said she did not think Australia was trying to fill the shortfall. "There are a couple of challenges in the recruitment issues for the Australian Defence Force. "But I don't think the scoping of recruiting people from Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands, if it indeed goes ahead, is about addressing recruitment for the Australian Defence Force. "I think it's about increasing closer security ties between Papua New Guinea, the Pacific Islands, and Australia."
Perth Now
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Australia-Pacific ties enhanced by Labor's election win
You can almost hear the sighs of relief across the Pacific and the Tasman. While Pacific nations had no say in the outcome, the federal election was a sliding doors moment for Australia's relationships with the blue continent. Labor's success allows a number of key Pacific collaborations will continue: the bid to co-host a climate change summit, a defence treaty with Papua New Guinea, enhanced labour mobility and visa pathways. The region had a clear preference, according to Mihai Sora, a former Australian diplomat and the director of the Lowy Institute's Pacific Islands Program. "It's not necessarily a personal affinity for for Labor or for Albanese - it's more Australia's Pacific policy platform," he told AAP. "Continuity of government represents continuity in those in those policies that are very important to Pacific countries." Mr Albanese and foreign minister Penny Wong have much much stock in growing Pacific relationships: visiting more often, and an uptick in bilateral agreements, including landmark treaties with Tuvalu and Nauru. AAP's private discussions with Pacific officials and diplomats, not authorised to speak publicly, confirmed their hopes for Labor's re-election. Papua New Guinea Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko even said as much out loud last month, telling the ABC "why would you want to change something that is working well?". The preference for Labor can also be attributed to Peter Dutton's track record, which included an infamous jibe made at Pacific leaders' expense in 2015. "Time doesn't mean anything when you're about to have water lapping at your door," he said, in a reference to rising sea levels due to climate change. Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr, took Mr Dutton to task for these comments on a visit to Sydney during the campaign. In New Zealand too, there was anxiety that Mr Dutton could increase levels of deportations, a long-running concern for Australia's closest ally. Instead, Senator Wong and Winston Peters will continue their 'odd couple' style pairing as trans-Tasman foreign ministers, who boast a surprisingly strong bond despite stark political differences on domestic issues. Australia's relationship with Papua New Guinea is primed for the biggest step-up following the May 3 election. Mr Albanese is plainly close with PNG counterpart James Marape, walking the Kokoda Track with him last year, and agreeing a weighty deal to put an NRL team in Port Moresby by 2028. "Australia's relationship with Papua New Guinea is huge and has always been important (and) now the two governments are about to negotiate a defence treaty which would represent a huge elevation of security co-operation ties," Mr Sora said. Details of that treaty, announced late last year, remain unclear but are expected to allow Papua New Guineans to join Australia's defence forces. "The one thing that is missing in in the two countries' defence or security ties is this mutual security obligation, laid out in a legal way, in an open way, and in a binding way," Mr Sora said. "Australia would be looking for some kind of mutual security obligation ... we see that's that sort of language in Australia's recent treaties with Tuvalu and with Nauru." Mr Sora said two countries where Australia might look to improve relations during Mr Albanese's second term with the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. The Jeremiah Manele-led government in Honiara, which saw off a no-confidence vote on Tuesday, is more positively disposed to China but has accepted significant Australian assistance to train police officers. Australia also signed a bilateral security deal with Vanuatu in late 2022, but it has not been ratified in Port Vila due to a change of government.
ABC News
03-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
New security treaty expected to allow PNG soldiers to join the Australian Defence Force
The three years Papua New Guinean soldier Derek Levi spent seconded with the Australian Defence Force (ADF) were some of the best of his life. "Australia felt like a second home. I never got homesick and the standard of employment was the pinnacle of what I saw," he said. These days he's back in PNG commanding an engineer battalion in the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF). Derek Levy was seconded in Australia for three years between 2021-23 as an instructor at the School of Military Engineering in Sydney. ( Supplied: Derek Levy ) But like many in the PNGDF, he wonders if his next posting to Australia might be permanent, as Australia and PNG prepare to begin work on a new defence treaty, It follows the release of the ADF's workforce plan last year, which pledged to explore recruiting non-Australian citizens from the Pacific. Experts say opening the door to Pacific recruits would strengthen Australia's relationship with our closest neighbours, beef up security in the region, and potentially pave the way for a new Australian fighting force, similar to the Gurkha in the British Army. ADF recruitment woes PNG officials say Australia has indicated it needs thousands of Papua New Guineans to join the ADF. Australia aims to grow the number of ADF personnel to 80,000 by 2040, however it's not on track to meet that target. A Senate hearing last year was told the military was 7 per cent under strength, or about 4,000 personnel below where it needs to be. Mr Levi said there would be countless Papua New Guineans willing to serve Australia if given the chance. "They [Australia] would get overwhelming applicants," he said. "It would be an employment opportunity with the pride of wearing a uniform. "That's the opposite of the ADF right now, where the young generation (of Australians) don't want to join the army. For us it's different. We do it for the loyalty." Members of the Australian Army and Papua New Guinea Defence Force training together in Wewak on the north coast of PNG. ( Supplied: Australian Army/3rd Brigade ) It's often been reported that young Australians are turning away from the uniform due to cultural and moral reasons. However, Jennifer Parker, an expert associate at the Australian National University's National Security College, said this was a simplistic narrative. She said pinning the ADF's recruitment shortfall solely on young people's values was assumptive because the ADF doesn't release the number of yearly applicants it received. Jen Parker is a an expert associate at the Australian National University's National Security College. ( Supplied ) She said the bigger issue was the ADF's recruitment process, which "It is multifaceted, but we do have evidence from Veterans' Affairs Minister Matt Keogh himself saying it takes 300 days to get people through the door," she said. "That's too long, so I think that is the major issue Defence needs to address." Green light, just a matter of time As for whether PNG recruitment will get approved, she believed a green light was imminent, particularly if Labor was elected back into government. She supports the idea in theory, however she said drafting a recruitment policy would need to be done carefully to avoid issues around brain drain, citizenship and potential pay gaps between Australian and Pacific recruits. She said a hybrid system where Pacific soldiers operated in their own units but under an ADF banner might be the best bet. Papua New Guinea Defence Force members conduct assault exercises as part of Exercise Wantok in 2024. ( Supplied: Australian Army/3rd Brigade ) " I think the focus should be on recruiting units as opposed to individuals with a policy that if they serve in Australia, they return home after service," she said. "Taking highly educated people away from their country can have negative implications, and a difference in pay and standards between the ADF and PNGDF members could create a bad culture." Ultimately, Ms Parker said the initiative was more about strengthening security partnerships than filling holes in the ADF and did not foresee large numbers of PNG recruits being admitted. Photo shows An Australian Army major gives orders to his soldiers who are assembled outside in full combat gear The government says more personnel are needed to operate new military capability, including promised nuclear-powered submarines and missile systems. But defence insiders doubt the ADF will be able to attract the numbers needed. Constitutional amendments may be required to change rules that require foreign recruits to apply for Australian citizenship within 90 days of joining the ADF. However, PNG's Defence Minister Billy Joseph told the ABC last month the impetus to move forward with the plan was strong. "We have a huge youth bulge below the age of 25 and we see the need for us to find employment, jobs and to upskill them so they come back and serve our country later," he said. Back in Australia meanwhile, a detailed recruitment strategy has already been floated. The top 1 per cent Ross Thompson is the the chief executive of Australian labour hire firm PeopleIN. His firm recruits Pacific Islanders as part of the government's seasonal work program, known as the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme. In his younger years, he was a British Army officer in the Queen's Gurkha Engineers. Ross Thompson (left) was a former British Army officer. ( Supplied ) The brigade of Gurkha is made up of soldiers from Nepal and has been part of the British Army for 200 years. They are considered some of the finest and most fearsome soldiers in the world, and Mr Thompson said they offered a blueprint which could be used to recruit soldiers from PNG. "Around 25,000 people apply every year in Nepal for a position in the Gurkhas, and they only take 1 per cent," he said. Mr Thompson's firm presented a strategy based on the Gurkha model to government officials last year. The proposal offered a detailed selection process to fill areas of need for the ADF. "We have 6,000 workers on the (PALM) scheme, so part of this proposal is taking lessons we've learnt over the years, and the other element is my experience in the Queen's Gurkha Engineers, where I was exposed to the recruitment process," he said. "You would have an initial registration, then a selection process with the regions of PNG, and then cut that down to a final stage selection that would be in Port Moresby. "Each stage would have a fitness, medical and aptitude element, and the aptitude element would get tied back to the gaps in the ADF and the roles it needs to fill," he said. A Nepalese Gurkha on a training exercise in New Zealand's South Island's Buller and Tekapo regions. ( Supplied: New Zealand Army ) Mr Thompson said his firm's data suggested PNG had enough skilled individuals to meet the ADF's selection criteria. However, Ms Parker said training pathways would still need to be put in place to bridge education gaps. This is another area where the ADF has shown a reluctance to budge on. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute wrote in February the ADF needed to lower its recruitment standards, saying many Australians who fought and died in World War I and II would have been rejected by today's ADF. However Neil James, executive director at the Australia Defence Association, said there was a deeper question Australia needed to answer before it started recruiting Pacific Islanders into the ADF — why do we need the help of foreigners in the first place? The moral dilemma The idea of Pacific Islanders joining the ADF is not new, according to Mr James. In fact, two Pacific battalions served in the Australian armed forces up until 1975 when PNG gained independence from Australia. He said he can't foresee any model that would work legally without a path to citizenship, which the UK's Gurkha program provides. However a model similar to the Gurkha one raised ethical questions. "One of the arguments we've often heard is that these young, fit Pacific Islanders come from warrior cultures and it's natural to recruit them into our army," he said. " But we've always been very uncomfortable with that because it's a racial assumption. " He said the deeper question was why can't Australians do it? "If your own citizens won't join your own defence force, there's a moral question everyone needs to start asking as opposed to looking for a quick-fix solution to recruit South Pacific Islanders," he said. The ABC has approached the ADF for comment.
