PAPUA NEW GUINEA By Oseah Philemon, Editor, Post-Courier
24 February 2003

Freedom of the media is guaranteed under the Papua New Guinea National Constitution. It is one of the rights that is strongly defended despite attempts in the past by certain elements of Government to interfere with it. The Constitution guarantees every citizen the freedom of liberty; justice; freedom of expression and freedom of information. The media has used this freedom to report fearlessly on many issues of importance to the public.

The Commission of Inquiry into the state of the Papua New Guinea forest industry came about as a result of a series of stories in a newspaper about corrupt practices in that sector. Recently another inquiry was concluded into the private sector workers' superanuation fund following newspaper reporters of millions of kina going missing - money belonging to the contributors.

Many leaders and professional people have been recommended for referral to various constitutional offices such as police for further action and we await the final outcome. In response to attempts in the National Parliament to introduce a Private Member's Bill seeking to control the media a former chief ombudsman once wrote: "The role of the civil society and a free press are crucial in the fight against corruption in Papua new Guinea. That we have a mass media that is free of State control and a vigilant civil society is not lost to the Ombudsman Commission. This freedom of the media must, of course, be exercised with responsibility. But I would shudder to think that one day a government might force legislation to control the press. There is a fundamental symbiosis between a politician and the journalist. Without one, the other cannot live. We must ensure at all times that we do not disturb this relationship. This means maintaining an open and free press and, consequently, an open and free parliamentary democracy."

In 1996 the Ombudsman Commission referred a leader to the Leadership Tribunal for prosecution under the Leadership Code for misconduct in office. The leader was found guilty and subsequently dismissed from office. It its report to Parliament on that matter the Commission stated: "Press and media coverage of the misdeeds of public figures is part of the checks and balances that is part of the Constitutional system of Papua New Guinea. The right and duty of the Papua New Guinea media to report on misconduct and to demand accountability is a significant and valuable tool of democracy. The public was alerted by the media to these offences. That has resulted in this eventual determination."

War Against Corruption
Two years ago the Media Council of Papua New Guinea which comprises all media organisations - press, radio and television - made a bold decision to take on the fight of exposing corruption in the public as well as private sectors. It invited the public to send in tips or information about any corrupt activities they might have come across so that these can be investigated and exposed by the media. The result has been overwhelming. This public response has resulted in the media exposing quite a number of matters that have been kept secret from the public view for a long time.

This 'war' now involves members of the civil society as partners. The Community Coalition Against Corruption is still continuing its work and moving to educate the public about their responsibility towards making Papua New Guinea a better country by exposing corrupt people and their practices.

Threats Against the Media
In the war against corruption the media has dug deep into a number of issues and disturbed the perpetrators who have resulted to legal threats against the media. There is not one media organisation in Papua New Guinea that has not received letters from lawyers threatening court action for alleged defamation. Most of these threats have no real grounds but they have been made to intimidate the media and force journalists to back-off.

My own organisation has written back to the lawyers stating that we believe in fairness and would be most happy to offer equal space to the aggrieved parties to state their side of the story. The only proviso being that the head of the organisation put his name to the article and state clearly that his company or organisation has not been involved in any untoward activity. We are still waiting for their reply.

Attacks on Journalists
Over the course of the past two years a number of journalists were attacked while carrying out their duties.

Media Council of Papua New Guinea
Over the last few years the Council has done much work to finalise its constitution, put in place a media industry-wide code of ethics of journalists and now about to set up an independent complaints tribunal to adjudicate on public complaints against the media. This is an important step which the Council is determined to see completed as soon as possible.

The Media Council of Papua New Guinea has played a major role in the training of journalists. It continues to constantly seek funds from all kinds of sources to run courses and workshops for journalists - most of whom are quite young and inexperienced. Last year alone it ran courses in reporting the general elections which proved to be a great success in enabling journalists to better cover the disastrous 2002 general elections. It also conducted courses in reporting crisis and reporting children's issues.

The Commonwealth Press Union funded our first sports reporting course. In 2001 the Council hosted the Pacific Islands News Association conference under the theme: "The Media and the Pacific Child" focusing attention of issues affecting the children as enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It was the first time ever that a PINA conference had actually focused on a major social issue of this kind. The Council has now set a new standard for future PINA conferences. Training is one of the prime objectives of the Council. It wants more training for Papua New Guinea journalists because it believes firmly that the future of the media in the country cannot be guaranteed without regular training.