Latest news with #PortMoresby
ABC News
4 days ago
- ABC News
World War II bomber Hell'n Pelican II sets sail for Port Moresby after 10-year restoration
Eight decades after it was last in the sky, an American bomber known as the Hell'n Pelican II is making its way back to Papua New Guinea, where it crash-landed during World War II. On Thursday, the Douglas A-20 Havoc bomber was loaded by crane onto the Navy's ADV Reliant ship, after being transported by truck from the Royal Australian Air Force base at Amberley near Brisbane. It will take three days of sailing to get the plane to Port Moresby, where it will take pride of place at the PNG National Museum and Art Gallery. Colonel Boniface Aruma, from the PNG Defence Force, said it was a significant moment. "It's emotional, but it's also a moment of happiness," Colonel Aruma, who is posted to the Australian Army's 3rd Brigade as Deputy Commander said. "I'd like to say that the aircraft is going back to its final resting place." In April of 1944, the Hell'n Pelican II and crew — Captain Charles Davidson and Sergeant John McKenna — crash-landed when a weather event hampered their return from a mission. "They were struck by a weather event, and that caused the aircraft essentially to run out of fuel, and they were forced to land in the Madang province," Warrant Officer Craig Smith, from the RAAF's History and Heritage division, said. Warrant Officer Smith said the two American airmen were "essentially behind enemy lines" and evaded Japanese infantry as they trekked for 15 days through the jungle to safety. He said the downed plane had been "strafed" with bullets by Japanese Zero planes in an attempt to kill the downed airmen. The bomber was found in 1976 by war historian and author Michael Claringbould. In 1984, it was removed by Mr Claringbould and a team from the Australian Defence Force, which used a Chinook helicopter to lift it from the bush. It was brought by sea to Brisbane, and over 10 years was painstakingly restored and eventually displayed at a museum at the Amberley air base. For Colonel Aruma, the task alone to retrieve and restore the aircraft speaks volumes about the relationship between PNG, Australia and the allied forces that defended the Pacific. "If it wasn't discovered, it will be left to ruins in the middle of the jungle in Madang, but selfless effort by those that went before us to restore this aircraft, to bring it back to life [will prevent that]," he said. "Madang is very mountainous and rugged … the hardest conditions, steep ravines, high mountains, deep valleys, and so I wouldn't be surprised if that aircraft was sitting in the middle of a ravine or in thick tropical jungle that you have to cut through to pull that aircraft out." Remarkably, the bomber was found in good condition, which Warrant Officer Smith said was all thanks to the unforgiving PNG jungle. "Where it actually finally came to rest was in swamp land and, essentially, the mud and the environment preserved a lot of it," he said. Variations of the Douglas bombers were used widely across all fronts of World War II, with an estimated 7,500 Douglas A-20 Havocs manufactured. "It was a light bomber aircraft, and that was its main purpose in life," Warrant Officer Smith said. "The Australian and UK also operated an aircraft very similar to this, and we called it the Boston bomber, but it was essentially the same A-20 aircraft." The aircraft was also used by the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and the Soviet Air Forces. "I know that approximately six were retrieved out of New Guinea to reassemble this one, and there's a second aircraft that's been reassembled and restored and is now on display in Point Cook," Warrant Officer Smith said. He said the pelican painted on the side was the emblem of Second Lieutenant Charles Davidson, who flew the aircraft. "This is the first one to go back to Papua New Guinea," he said. "There's a historical aircraft shelter, a brand new shelter, that's just been built over there." Colonel Aruma said the return of the aircraft was a historic occasion. "This gift not only demonstrates the relationship between the ADF and the PNG, but it goes above and beyond the two forces, and it's so significant," he said. "I'm sure there will be hundreds, if not thousands of people in the capital of Port Morseby lining up to have a look at this aircraft that has been so nicely put together. "It really speaks to the history we share."
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
‘We just sit here': the broken men Australia's offshore detention regime left behind in Papua New Guinea
'Manus is closed. Detention is over, but we are detained still. We are here still, people are suffering a lot still. Every day we get worse, we are dying a little bit more. But nobody cares about us.' Here on a dusty hill on the edge of Port Moresby is the ragged, desperate end to Australia's illegal offshore detention regime in Papua New Guinea. Samad Abdul was 23 when he arrived in Australia by boat seeking asylum. He was on one of the first planes to Manus after Kevin Rudd's 2013 declaration that boat-borne asylum seekers would never settle in Australia. He has been held in PNG ever since, first in the Manus Island detention centre, then in Lorengau and now in Port Moresby – free to come and go from the hostel where he lives, but not to leave the country. The persecution he faced in his home in Quetta, Pakistan, has been formally recognised. He has a 'well-founded fear of being persecuted' in his homeland. He cannot be returned there and Australia has a legal obligation to protect him. Abdul is now 35. 'How long should we wait? We need to know a solution,' he says. There are 16 men housed at this hostel, in the suburb of Five Mile. A similar number are housed elsewhere in the capital. They are the final handful of more than 2,000 who have passed through Australia's offshore processing regime in PNG. Many are physically unwell, others carry deep psychological scars – 'unable to engage', in department parlance, in the resettlement interviews that might grant them a future. Some are wary, even outright hostile, at the presence of outsiders. Mistrust and fear run deep. Abdul is happy to talk. There is little else he can do. His life, he says, is wasting away. 'We do nothing, do nothing all day. We just sit here, wasting our lives.' Hundreds of refugees once detained on Manus alongside Abdul have since left PNG. They now live in Europe, the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Abdul is happy for them. But it's bittersweet. 'We have been so close, we have been through so much together, and then – suddenly – they are gone, gone to their new lives. 'I try to keep in touch with them but it's hard. After a while, I stop calling. We don't speak any more. They have started their lives, they are working, they have families, they can travel now. What do I have to say: I am still here. Doing nothing.' After a series of interviews, Abdul was accepted for resettlement in Canada in 2022, but he's heard little since. In 2016, the Papua New Guinea supreme court ruled the Manus Island detention centre was illegal and ordered it closed. A year later, the Australian government settled a class action brought by detainees, agreeing to pay $70m in compensation to those it unlawfully incarcerated. Australia continues to pay to keep the men in Port Moresby, though successive Australian governments have consistently refused to say how much the 'confidential bilateral agreements' cost, at one stage telling parliament to reveal details would cause 'damage to the international relations of the commonwealth [of Australia]'. The latest agreement was signed in July last year. In Senate estimates hearings in February, the Greens senator David Shoebridge pressed home affairs officials for details on the secret deal with PNG: how much Australia was paying, and for what. 'I think Australian taxpayers have a right to know where their money is going and if there is any actual requirement for reporting on it, particularly if it is given to a third country. Are there concerns … about the very real possibility of funds provided by Australia … being directed to unlawful payments and diverted in PNG?' The home affairs secretary, Stephanie Foster, declined to answer, saying the agreement with PNG was 'confidential', and subject to a public interest immunity claim. Zaki Haidari, a refugee rights campaigner with Amnesty International Australia, says the handful of men left in PNG are 'broken physically and mentally'. 'Their suffering is the direct result of Australia's inhuman asylum policies, which has caused prolonged and devastating harm.' He argues Australia remains 'morally and legally responsible' for the men it sent into offshore processing. 'It was the Australian government that forcibly transferred them to PNG and outsourced its legal and moral obligations. For over a decade, these men are forced to lived in limbo, separated from their families and loved ones, with no path to settlement, no future and no hope. 'Australia must reckon with the immense human cost of these policies and acknowledge the damage inflicted on these men, who only ever asked for protection.' In January, the UN Human Rights Committee published two decisions that stated Australia retained responsibility for the welfare of those it sent into offshore detention on Nauru or elsewhere. 'A state party cannot escape its human rights responsibility when outsourcing asylum processing to another state,' committee member Mahjoub El Haiba said. 'Where there is power or effective control, there is responsibility,' he said. 'The outsourcing of operations does not absolve states of accountability. Offshore detention facilities are not human rights free zones.' A spokesperson for Australia's home affairs department said the government of PNG was responsible for the men who remained in PNG. 'The Australian government does not have any role in the ongoing management of, or service delivery arrangements for, individuals remaining in PNG. 'Individuals are encouraged to engage with the PNG Immigration and Citizenship Authority to receive assistance accessing additional supports and to achieve a permanent migration outcome and start the next phase of their lives.' Questions to PNG's Immigration and Citizenship Authority went unanswered. In the oppressive heat of a Port Moresby afternoon, Abdul has questions of his own. 'How long do we wait? What will happen to us? We deserve answers.'
ABC News
6 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Are the Perth Bears the NRL's insurance policy for PNG?
Papua New Guinea was the talk of the rugby league world when it was announced a club based out of Port Moresby would join the NRL in 2028. In recent weeks however, the focus has shifted to another newcomer, the Perth Bears, who will join the NRL a year before PNG in 2027. Unlike PNG, the Bears are close to a finished product. They have a long-standing brand forged in North Sydney, an established talent pathway and strong commercial backing. Now one researcher is wondering if the Bears are an insurance policy for the NRL in case a PNG struggles to get up and running. FEATURED: Hugh Piper, director at Ancrum Advisory
RNZ News
02-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Pacific news in brief for 3 June
A police landcruiser patrols the streets of the Papua New Guinea capital Port Moresby. Photo: RNZ Pacific/ Koroi Hawkins Twenty people on a bus in Port Moresby were rescued by police officers after their bus was attacked at a roadblock. The PNG National reported the passengers were chased off the bus and the attackers stole valuable items. One passenger said someone stoned the bus and the driver lost control, and then others who were hiding in the bushes came out and robbed them. Acting assistant police commissioner, National Capital District and Central, Benjamin Turi said police had already issued warnings for people to take precautions when traveling up and down the highway. The Governor of the Northern Marianas has laid out his administration's economic recovery plans, urging for unity as the CNMI navigates a challenging but improving fiscal landscape. Governor Arnold Palacios also highlighted key accomplishments during his first State of the Commonwealth Address. He said while the CNMI continues to face challenges, its also seeing signs of growth and resilience. Governor Palacios noted that the new 300 business registrations are signs of recovery and confidence. In the past 12 months, a number of big businesses have closed shop or left the CNMI, and a number of Asian airlines have stopped flying there. Access to reliable electricity across the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) is now on the cards. The FSM has some of the lowest electricity access rates in the Pacific, particularly in Chuuk State, where two-thirds of households lack power. A new project to be implemented by the government, with financing and technical support from the World Bank, will mean thousands of families will benefit from better, more reliable electricity. The US$42 million project will increase access to electricity for over 3,500 people in remote outer islands, while improving the reliability of existing power supply and supporting the increase in renewable energy across FSM's four states: Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei and Yap. Fifty new projects have been announced under the Solomon Islands - Australia Community Partnerships. The Australian High Commission said the projects represent more than 11 million Solomon Islander dollars (US$1.9 million) in direct funding to businesses and communities. The projects include the installation of solar powered streetlights, the construction of new classrooms, upgrades to rural health clinics, and the provision of community water tanks. The Australian High Commissioner to Solomon Islands Rod Hilton said the initiatives will deliver practical benefits to communities, while also supporting local businesses and jobs. Fiji Airways managing director and chief executive officer, Andre Viljoen, is stepping down in October this year. Fiji Airways chairperson, Nalin Patel said Viljoen has accepted the position of CEO at Air Mauritius and will be returning home after a decade of exceptional leadership in Fiji. Patel said under his stewardship, Fiji Airways' annual revenue has grown significantly, from FJ$815.3 million in 2015 to $1.9 billion in 2024. He said Viljoen will remain on the board of directors after his transition. Samoa has marked its 63rd independence day celebrating achieving sovereignty in 1962. Festivities commenced on Sunday with a thanksgiving service at the Catholic cathedral in Mulivai. On Monday, Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa raised the national flag outside the government building in Apia. Additional celebrations are taking place throughout the week.
ABC News
29-05-2025
- General
- ABC News
Cricket PNG keen to revitalise the game in Lae and create new pathways for players in the Highlands provinces
The village of Hanuabada on the fringes of Port Moresby is regarded as the hub of Papua New Guinea's cricketing world. Over many years it has produced a long line of national team players - men and women. But it hasn't always been that way - turn the clock back a few decades and PNG's second city Lae was at the top of the tree. And now with men's cricket in particular heading towards a tough period of transition, Cricket PNG is keen revitalise the game in Lae, and grow the sport in the Highland Provinces, as they seek out the best new talent. Right now there is only one turf wicket in PNG and that's at Amini Park in Port Moresby, but Henao Samual, who took on the role of development manager just three months ago, has ambitions to see a turf pitch put down in Lae within five years.
