It is demonstrably evident that the Kokoda Initiative and Kokoda Track Authority have lost complete control of Kokoda Tourism. They refuse to publish newsletters, financial reports, or trekker statistics, so no one has any idea what is going on, what they do, or where the money goes.
We cannot even book a campsite because the KTA has not yet worked out how to introduce the most fundamental management tool in any tourism operation: a ‘Campsite Booking System’! It’s akin to building a new international hotel without a system that allows tourists to book a room!
As a result of their maladministration, trekker numbers have crashed by more than 60% since they took control in 2008. This has resulted in the loss of thousands of casual jobs for PNG guides and porters and millions in potential earnings for local villagers.
This is due to Canberra’s policy of directing all aid funds for their Kokoda Initiative on environment, climate change and gender equity at the expense of our shared military heritage across the Trail.
The decline will continue until PNG acknowledges that the prime motivation of the 65,000 Australians who have trekked across it is related to its military heritage and transfers responsibility for its management to the Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture.
