The Director
FOI and Privacy Section
Attorney-General’s Department
3-5 National Circuit
BARTON ACT 2600

Dear Sir,

On 23 April 2008 the Minister for Environment, Heritage and the Arts, The Hon Peter Garrett MP signed a Joint Understanding between Australia and Papua New Guinea with the PNG Minister for Environment and Conservation, the Hon Benny Allan MP in Port Moresby

As part of the management objectives of the Joint Understanding it was agreed the PNG and Australian Governments would put in place the necessary resources and structures to address immediate needs for the 2008 trekking season and create interim Kokoda Track management arrangements.

The Australian government funded a Chief Executive Officer, Mr Rod Hillman, to develop management structures and procedures for the Kokoda Trail.

In December 2008 the PNG Kokoda Track Authority published a list of trek companies and the number of trek permits they had applied and paid for.  The list showed that only one company, Adventure Kokoda Pty Limited had paid for all the trekkers they had led across the Kokoda Trail.  All the other trekking companies were listed as defaulters for varying amounts.

A company owned by Wayne and Michelle Wetherall, Kokoda Spirit Pty Limited, applied for 477 trek permits in 2008 but according to an audit established by the Kokoda Track Authority it was revealed they had led 855 across the trail. 

I understand the Kokoda Track Authority then issued Kokoda Spirit with an account to cover the difference between 477 trek permits they applied for and the 1000 they claimed to have led. The discrepancy would have been in the region of $52,500.

I have been advised that the Chief Executive of the Kokoda Track Authority, Rod Hillman, and the owner of Kokoda Spirit, put in place an arrangement to settle this outstanding account.  I have made a number of attempts to ascertain the details of this arrangement between Rod Hillman and Wayne Wetherall and obtain a copy of the account.

 On the 5th January 2012 I was served with a summons to defend a defamation action against Wayne Wetherall.  I intend to vigourously defend the charge.

Wayne Wetherall’s solicitor states:

‘Upon our instructions, you are aware that in 2008, when the term of the Management Committee of the Authority was expiring, misappropriation and unauthorised expenditure from the Authority’s Bank account were identified and highlighted by Mr Bartlett, to his credit.  At that time, trek operators such as you and our client, were advised not to deposit funds to the Authority’s Bank account, until that situation was rectified.

‘Of the 38 trek operators registered with the Authority at that time, 15 (including you) chose to continue applying for and paying for, their trek permits with their funds being held in safe custody pending the resolution of the Authority’s dilemmas, whilst the majority (23, including our client) ceased applying for and paying for those permits.  This option was chosen by our client upon advice received from Mr Bartlett and there was nothing untoward, dishonest or otherwise inappropriate about that choice.

‘Those 23 operators kept a record of all treks undertaken and trekkers involved in those treks, so that a reconciliation could be undertaken when the time was right, from the Authority’s point of view.  In due course, those records were checked and confirmed by the Authority with the assistance of the Kokoda Ranger and the Efogi Ranger.  Once the reconciliation was completed, those operators paid all fees payable by them, to the Authority.’

In order to determine the facts of the matter I request production of all documentation relating to the reconciliation conducted by the Kokoda Track Authority including all accounting by the Authority as referred to by Wayne Wetherall’s solicitor in the period from 2008.  I also request that the reconciliation include the amount each trek operator listed as a defaulter in the Kokoda Track Authority’s summary of trekker statistics for 2008 be included together with copies of all correspondence between the Kokoda Track Authority and each trek operator over the issue.

I would appreciate your urgent assistance in providing this information under the Freedom of Information Act.