MONTEVIDEO MARU
Most of you will know the
story about the Montevideo Maru – if you don’t, it’s well
worth knowing!
PNGAA Media Release:
Montevideo Search
Those with family involved in the tragedy can empathize with
the families of those men lost on HMAS Sydney. The story of
the Montevideo Maru should also have a significant place in
our Australian history. Australia lost 1053 men who were
said to be on board Montevideo Maru when it was torpedoed by
‘friendly fire’ off the coast of the Philippines on 01 July
1942. We don’t know, for sure, that all the men were on
board. There are several lists with people’s names on them
but these lists are inconsistent and names were included of
people later found to have been executed.
Just as for the Sydney it is important to locate the
Montevideo Maru. With enough interest perhaps this can now
happen. We can build on the momentum generated by today’s
news item on the following ninemsn website indicating
potential support from Kevin Rudd.
The ninemsn team, with Max Uechtritz, have put together an
amazing coverage in a very brief time.
There are several links – please read through them and
encourage your families and friends to sign the petition to
the government to fund a search.
The petition is at:
http://news.ninemsn.com/article.aspx?id=451908
The new homepage with
everything on it (for the moment) is
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/
These are direct
links to articles:
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=452388
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=452396
http://news.ninemsn.com/article.aspx?id=451908
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=452430
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=452388
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=452396
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=452386
Video
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/soundslide.aspx?sectionid=8767§ionname=soundslide&subsectionid=80000&subsectionname=montevideo
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=451783
Song
APPOINTMENT OF
PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY FOR THE PACIFIC
An article by Fergus Hansen (Pat Hopper’s grandson) last
October 19, in the Canberra Times, discusses the need for ‘a
Minister for Pacific Cooperation.’ An excerpt from this
article follows:
‘The minister would have the opportunity to cultivate
genuine personal relationships with all the key players that
should improve our capacity to extract concessions in
critical areas such as reform and accountability. He or she
would have the time to master the politics of each country
and understand the culture, and could then frame our
policies in a way that maximised the receptivity of our
Pacific neighbours to them.
‘Intimately familiar with the region and its politics and
unencumbered by the demands of broader foreign policy, the
minister would also have the potential to develop long-term
strategic approaches to individual countries and the whole
region. ...
‘Australia has little choice but to act. We are, when it
comes down to it, the only sizeable state that cares what
happens across the Pacific. That makes us the critical
player in its future.
‘Having a capable individual as Minister for Pacific
Cooperation would be a significant step towards giving the
Pacific the attention needed to develop long-term policies
that could put it on a path to lasting stability.’
The Hon Duncan Kerr SC MP has since been appointed
Parliamentary Secretary for the Pacific by Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd.
‘Mr Kerr has a long history with the Pacific region. His
late mother led a medical reconstruction team in Japan
following WWII. Mr Kerr was Dean of Law at the University of
Papua New Guinea before his election to parliament in 1987.
He lectured in constitutional and administrative law at UPNG.
He also had a right of private practice. In that capacity he
advised private and government clients and appeared as
counsel in the National and Supreme Court of Papua New
Guinea in electoral, constitutional, tort and contract
cases. A number are reported in the PNGLR series. ‘He was
co-author of The Annotated Constitution of Papua New Guinea
(1985) and a co-editor and contributing author of Essays on
the Constitution of Papua New Guinea (1985).
After his appointment as Parliamentary Secretary for the
Pacific Mr Kerr stated:
‘Australia has a vital role to play in improving the Pacific
region and Labor has made commitments about climate change
initiatives, health, education
and humanitarian aid that I look forward to helping
implement.’
Information about the Hon Duncan Kerr was obtained from
these websites:
http://www.foreignminister.gov.au/parlsec/parlsec_bio.html
http://www.duncankerr.com/media_releases/291107Portfolio.pdf
The Patti Hopper Memorial
Fund - Lukautim Picaninni Project (Update)
There is activity on the
development of the Aids project in ENB province and the
following letter was received from Paul Marshall (who received
the funds form us in 2007) providing an update on the current
situation. Some of you may have also seen the recent 4 corners
program on Aids in PNG and it seems there is greater awareness
and an urgency building as to the seriousness of the crisis
already existing in the communities .
"Plans for the hospice have
accelerated over the past few months. . We are well advanced
in our interactions with the National Aids Council, the
Health Department, and certain medical specialists who are
advising the PNG government. It is now officially recognised
that the epidemic is shifting towards the rural areas (where
85% of the population lives). Potentially, we could be
looking at a volcano ready to explode in ENB, but we don't
really know.
We are waiting on a Dr.
Kavan from Nonga hospital (the officially appointed
specialist advising HIV-AIDS strategy) for an answer to our
question: "Is it strategic to establish a dedicated HIV-AIDS
facility near Rabaul at this time?" This is to develop as a
hospice, training base for medical staff from the New Guinea
Islands, and a refuge for those who are exiled from their
villages because of the stigma of having the disease. I am
expecting something from Dr. Kavan very soon.
The Attorney General of PNG, and the Health/HIV-AIDS
minister are writing letters of endorsement for our project.
One of our greatest strengths is the grassroots network of
village based churches we have access to for the purposes of
education and family support. What I am hearing is that
millions of dollars are being poured into PNG for HIV-AIDS
work, but it is both not getting to areas of real need, and
not achieving grassroots education/understanding about the
disease. Much work remains to be done, we just want to make
sure that whatever we do is really strategic, and doesn't
come out of sentimentality. Thanks for your on-going
interest and support. "
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