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Govt sympathy
for PNG's
economic crisis
MELBOURNE: Just a week before the
important second Australia-Papua New
Guinea ministerial forum, the Minister
for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Senator
Gareth Evans, has expressed the Gov
ernment's sympathy for the "significant
trouble" facing the Papua New Guinea
economy following the closure of the
Bougainville copper mine.
"What worries everybody is the poten
tial implications of this not only for the
cash flow from Bougainville but future
investment in the resource sector, which
was to be a crucial guarantor of Papua
New Guinea's future economic health,"
Senator Evans told ABC radio.
PNG's economic problems will be on
the agenda of the Australia-PNG minis
terial forum in Port Moresby next week.
The PNG Government devalued the
kina by 10 per cent against all other
currencies on Tuesday after the moth-,
balling of the Bougainville mine and the
sharp fall in world prices of major export
commodities, especially coffee and
cocoa.
A spokesman for Senator Evans said it
was expected that next week's forum
would discuss the effects of the mine
closure on the PNG economy and any
possible extra Australian aid.
Senator Evans would not comment
yesterday on how Australia would re
spond to PNG's economic crisis.
"We are very sympathetic, obviously,
with our colleagues in PNG and we'll be
talking through all these problems and
how we and the rest of the international
community might be able to help things
go forward a bit next week.
"But until then I can't really comment
further."
Senator Evans, the Minister for De
fence, Kim Beazley, the Minister for Jus
tice, Senator Michael Tate, and the
Minister for Resources, Senator Peter
Cook, will attend the two days of talks,
which were scheduled before the current
crisis.
Senator Evans said there was also con
cern over PNG's continuing political in
stability in relation to constitutional
provisions which, in effect, allowed no
confidence motions to be put up in the
PNG Parliament every six months.
"That's been a tremendously destabi
lising factor in the Government's abili
ties to cope with various problem!.
afflicting the country at the moment," he
said.
PNG's political stability will be put to
the test today when the Parliament meets
in special session amidst a growing pub
lic clamour for the withdrawal of govern
ment security forces from Bougainville
and autonomy from Papua New Guinea.
Emotions have been running high fol
lowing the killing of a young woman and
her four-month-old baby by a soldier at
Pamu village, south of Kieta, on Satur
day evening.
The man is alleged to have fired indis
criminately into the village from the
back of a utility.
A second soldier has also been-locked
up, according to reliable sources.
Military sources have attributed the
shooting to nervous anxiety and lack of
proper training.
The deaths have raised fears of retrib
ution and sources on Bougainville say
the militants are expected to respond.
Police Commissioner Paul Tohian an
nounced yesterday a lance corporal had
been charged with manslaughter.
Provincial Premier Joseph Kabui re
newed his call yesterday for the with
drawal of troops.
He has been vocally supported by
Opposition Government MPs and union
leaders.
Editorial. — Page 8.
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