The annual Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit recently took place in Papua New Guinea. Controversy has shrouded the build-up to the event; the local government decided it was a good idea to purchase 40 Maseratis to chauffeur attending dignitaries, in a country where poverty is rampant, while two cruise ships were docked in the harbour […]
On February 26, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck 35 kilometers underneath the Southern Highlands in Papua New Guinea, causing at least fifty deaths. An Australian Air Force plane carrying relief supplies landed five days later amid criticism that aid had been too slow to arrive. The effectiveness of the Australian response in PNG will only become evident in time. Yet […]
The South Pacific: a region of inviting sandy beaches, turquoise waters – and unacceptable levels of violence against women. Life is especially difficult in Papua New Guinea, where an estimated 70% of women will be raped or physically assaulted in their lifetime. If this isn’t shocking enough, perhaps the news that witch-hunts still exist – […]
by Cate Mackenzie When it emerged in October 2010 that there was an outbreak of cholera in Haiti, sympathy poured in for those affected; the presence of journalists and international aid workers meant that people across the world were quickly alerted to the situation. But the fact that 16,000 kilometers away, in Papua New Guinea […]